Yahweh's Agreement with Abram

Genesis 15

Yahweh's Agreement with Abram

Abram has received blessings from Melchizedek and has turned down an offer of affiliation with the King of Sodom [a potentially powerful ally].  Now Abram receives the Word of the Lord in a vision:

After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 

I haven't watched closely so far, but I think this is the first (of many) "fear not" assurances from God to man. In this case, God gives Abram the same promises He gives to us: I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.

But Abram wants some specific answers to specific questions.  And God provides those answers.

But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 

When Yahweh spoke earlier to Abram about the extent of his offspring - he made a comparison to the dust of the earth - uncountable.  Next he will draw a comparison to the number of stars - still uncountable.

He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Paul references this belief in his Romans letter:

"... No distrust made Abraham waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”  Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,  who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification."

Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

There is an altar offering in Exodus where God calls for a fellowship offering of sheep and goats and cattle. These same animals are called for sacrifice at the foot of Mt Sinai to seal the covenant between God and his people. This type of sacrifice was formalized under the priests from the line of Levi.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. 

Earlier, Abram spoke to Yahweh in a vision.  Now he encounters God again, this time in a dream.  Usually, we associate the presence of the Lord as light and comfort - but Abram is confronted with terrifying darkness before God speaks to him.  I think, in a way, like the covenant sacrifices preceding the temple sacrifices; this terrifying darkness is speaking to Abram, letting him experience what his offspring will endure as they are enslaved and separated from God for 400 years.  On one hand, Abram has accepted and agreed to the promise of God regarding the land and his descendants. On the other hand, it could not be easy to "get what you want" at the cost of your children's children freedom.  There is fear in being weak and helpless, but wise men fear being powerful.  

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Yahweh is beginning to set apart Abram's offspring as a people for Himself. God will watch over them, but will also use them to perform his works on the earth.  Specifically against the Amorites (descendants from Ham). God also says he will bring judgement on the nation (Egypt) that enslaved His people.

[And, for later reference, note that God is drawing a parallel between 400 years and 4 generations.]

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 

The sun has gone down.  I assume Abram is awake now - at the beginning of the new day.  The fire pot and the torch remind me of God's covering for Moses and the people as they leave Egypt and flee Pharaoh. Others have commented that the tower of smoke in the desert gave covering from the hot sun and the pillar of fire at night gave heat and light and protection.  Now Abram sees God's presence in these items as Yahweh himself walks the covenant path.

On that day the Lord cut a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Usually, in a covenant between two people, each has to make the walk between the pieces of the sacrifice.  In this case, Yahweh walks alone. He is making a unilateral contract between himself and Abram's offspring (physical as well as spiritual).

This is not what most of us would consider an ordinary prayer life.  Abram is shown a vision in which he converses with God. God gives him a set of promises. Abram asks for clarification as well as a way to confirm those promises.  And in the midst of all that, God cuts a one-way covenant with Abram as a guarantee of His promises.   

In one of my early classes in college, the teacher posed a question - if you could ask God one question, what would it be?

At the time, I thought it was stupid - "It's called prayer, and we can ask as many questions as we want."  But I didn't say this in my out-loud voice.  I was young, and thought that getting-along was the most important thing.  

Many of the responses were flip - given by young, arrogant atheists and agnostics. Others were heartfelt, angry, or bitter. And most of those were based on assigning evil motives and actions to God. Another category were the stupid questions, offered by youngsters who thought they were deep thinkers, (Why is there war?)

My question got both the Catholics and the Protestants angry with me: "What were you missing that we were created to fill?"  God as "incomplete" is a real threat to some folk's belief systems.

I don't know if this exercise was simply a litmus for the teacher to identify believers and non-believers, or if it was something else.  But I still hold the memory of some of those honest and direct questions; and how differently they were expressed and discussed outside the church walls.

There is a time and place for organized corporate praise and prayer with our Creator; but there is also a season for spontaneous individual personal prayer with our Papa in heaven.