Introduction
‘After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’ But Abram said, ‘Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so, a servant in my household will be my heir.’ Then the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars —if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.’ Genesis 15:1-6
THE LORD’S COVENANT WITH ABRAM
After the events of the previous chapter, the Word of God came to Abram in the form of a vision, Genesis 15:1.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The mingling of day scenes and night scenes, Genesis 15:5 / Genesis 15:12, the passing, evidently, of many hours, the slaughter of animals, the darkness, the deep sleep, and other factors of this chapter are best understood, and all difficulties removed by strict attention to what this chapter is, ‘a vision.’
He had reason to be afraid, Genesis 15:1, because of the war he had won and so he would worry about people taking revenge. God is going to make up for what he had given to the Lord and the reward will be God is going to be with him, He will be his shield, Genesis 15:1. In other words, God promised to protect him, 1 Corinthians 10:13.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following, concerning Genesis 15:2.
‘Abram used a new title for God calling Him Master (Adonai) Yahweh (i.e., Sovereign LORD). Abram had willingly placed himself under the sovereign leadership of God.’
Abram also seems to be concerned about his lack of children, Genesis 15:2-3. Under the Hurrian law of the time, if a couple had no children to carry on their heritage or inherit their possessions, they could adopt a servant to be the heir of all that they had and so it’s possible that Abram had adopted Eliezer who was a good man and Abram’s right-hand man, Genesis 15:2-3 / Proverbs 17:2 / Hebrews 6:11-12.
He may also be concerned about his lack of children, Genesis 15:3, in order to carry out the promises of Genesis 12:1 / Genesis 13:14-17. I think it’s important to point out that even though Abram doubted, it was sincere doubt.
By asking Abram to count the stars, He was reassuring Abram that Eliezer wasn’t the man or a part of God’s plan, Genesis 12:7 / Genesis 13:15-16, but Abram himself would have many children, as numerous as the stars, Genesis 15:4-5 / Genesis 13:16. Abram believed God and took Him at His word, Genesis 15:6, even though it would be fifteen years before he got his child.
Because of Abram’s response, he was credited as righteousness, Genesis 15:6. This is the first time the word ‘believe’ is used, Romans 4:1-3, and it’s important to point out that he was made right before God because of his faith and because of his obedient walk, He believed God not believed IN God, James 2:19.
This is also the first time the word ‘righteousness’ is used, note that he was credited before he was circumcised, Romans 4:9-10. Today all Christians are sons of Abram by faith, Romans 4:19-24.
‘He also said to him, ‘I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.’ But Abram said, ‘Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?’ So, the LORD said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.’ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.’ Genesis 15:7-11
God reminds Abram that He was the one who called him out of Ur, to give him the land which he will possess, Genesis 15:7 / Genesis 12:1-3. Abram is clearly doubting Genesis 15:8, but Abram’s doubts were sincere doubts.
God goes ahead and makes a covenant with him. Covenants were common between individuals and nations at the time of Abram. In the making of a covenant, the promises of the covenant are first declared, and then sacrifices are made to seal the agreement, Jeremiah 34:18-20.
Here the Lord directs Abram to prepare to seal the covenant God is about to make. Notice the animals that Abram was directed to bring to God, Genesis 15:9, and note this wasn’t for sacrificial purposes but as confirmation of a covenant.
Abram brought all the animals to God, then he cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other, however he didn’t cut the birds in two, Genesis 15:10.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘According to the law, Leviticus 1:17, fowls were not to be divided asunder but only cloven for the purpose of taking out the intestines.’
Remember this is a vision. After preparing the animals, Abram sees some birds of prey coming to eat the carcasses, but he drove them away, Genesis 15:11 / Matthew 13:4.
Morris, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the birds.
‘They symbolized the efforts of Satan to thwart the plans of God.’
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The birds of prey are unclean, Leviticus 11:13-19 / Deuteronomy 14:12-18, and represent foreign nations, Ezekiel 17:3 / Ezekiel 17:7 / Zechariah 5:9, most probably Egypt. Thus, Abram driving off the birds of prey from the dismembered pieces portrays him defending his descendants from the attacks of foreign nations.’
‘As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, ‘Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.’ Genesis 15:12-16
At sunset, Abraham fell into a deep sleep, Genesis 2:21, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him, Genesis 15:12. God reassuringly tells Abram that he is going to have to be patient as God reminds him that the fulfilment of the land promise isn’t going to happen immediately Genesis 15:13.
There are certain things which must happen first, the first of which is his descendants would first go into Egypt and become slaves to the Egyptians. They were going to have to remain there as slaves for 400 years, Genesis 15:13, which is a clear reference to their time in bondage in Egypt.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The same period is referred to as 430 years in Exodus 12:40, a well-known pseudocon, but no contradiction exists. Note that it is not the total stay in Egypt, but the period of their “affliction” which is here prophesied as ‘four hundred years.’ They were not afflicted during the early years of their sojourn there while Joseph was yet Pharaoh’s deputy.’
There’s no doubt the sin of these people was terrible, hence why God wanted them destroyed so that they wouldn’t influence the children of God when they entered the land, Genesis 15:14. This is a reference to the judgement God brought upon the Egyptians, Exodus 7-12. Notice also they will come out of Egypt with great possessions, Genesis 15:14 / Exodus 12:36.
Notice Abram is told that he will go to his ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age, Genesis 15:15 / Genesis 25:7-8.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This implies that the fathers, though dead, still exist. To go from one place to another implies, not annihilation, but the continuance of existence. The doctrine of the soul’s perpetual existence is here intimated.’
Notice the phrase, ‘for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure,’ Genesis 15:16. God is patient with people and nations, but the Amorites were going to reach the point of no return where they will be judged by God. This was going to be fulfilled when Joshua takes the Promised Land for God, Deuteronomy 9:4-5.
Francisco, in his commentary, says the following.
‘God would not arbitrarily dispossess one people for another, even to fulfil His purpose. Later, when the Canaanites were conquered, it was because they had lost the right to the land by their own sinfulness. Later, the Jews were expelled for the same reason.’
‘When the sun had set, and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day, the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.’ Genesis 15:17-21
Here we see the sacrificial covenant being made, the smoking pot and burning torch signify God’s presence, Genesis 15:17 / Exodus 13:21-22 / Exodus 19:18 / 1 Kings 8:10-12 / Exodus 3:4. Notice that Abram plays no part in this covenant, God went through this covenant Himself, Genesis 15:17 / Jeremiah 34:18-19.
In other words, it’s based on who God is not because of Abram and anything he has done. The covenant included the promise of the land, Genesis 15:18, where the list of nations mentioned was living at this time, Genesis 15:19-21.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Here are ten nations mentioned, though afterwards reckoned but seven, Deuteronomy 7:1 / Acts 13:19. Probably some of them which existed in Abram’s time had been blended with others before the time of Moses, so that seven only out of the ten then remained.
We must remember that God was bringing Abram’s descendants into the Promised Land, so He could establish them as a nation and eventually bring the Messiah, Genesis 3:15, who would introduce a new covenant, Jeremiah 34:18-20.