Genesis 15 is one of the most important passages in the Bible for several reasons. But it's also strange.
It begins with the familiar account of God promising Abram an heir of his own body and through him uncountable offspring; Abram believed God, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness. But it continues
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?” (Gen 15:7-8)
Believing he will have a child is one thing. The promise that he'll inherit that land was another, and Abram wanted something more than just God's word.
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. ...
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 ...." (Gen 15:9-11, 17-18)
Huh? Abram asked for something more. He wasn't specific. A sign? A contract? And next thing he's cutting animals in half and watching a floating torch?!
The whole thing is just bizarre. What's going on?
From archaeology, we now know this cutting animals in half thing was not uncommon in the region. It was, among other things, used at times to seal a covenant. The dead animals may have been a visual aid representing what would happen to the party who broke the covenant. God cannot die, but this would represent to Abram the seriousness of the promise.
When covenants were made in this way, the parties involved would walk between the halves of the animals together. But on this occasion, Abram was just an observer. The "smoking firepot with a blazing torch" passed between the pieces alone.
Most covenants contain stipulations for both sides. The Mosaic Covenant made many demands of Israel. On this occasion, though, rather than making stipulations for the behavior of both parties of the covenant, God told Abram what he would do. This covenant only depended on God being true to his word: Abram's descendants would inherit the land.
So, this was a promise from God. And God keeps his word. The latter part of Joshua, the long boring list of which tribe got which stretch of land, records the fulfillment of this promise.
God made us a lot of promises in the scriptures. We can trust him to keep those promises, too.
Part of Bible 101
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