The Weirdest Picture of the Gospel (Genesis 15)

Let me just say, this story may seem weird to us now, but it made perfect sense back in the day.

After studying out the whole Sodom and Gomorrah thing, I really wanted to do a post on 'Holy Violence'. 

"The kingdom of God suffereth violence and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11:12. 

But, try as I might, I just can't get out of Genesis.

Remember when I started this study of Sodom and Gomorrah, I said I was skipping covenant stuff that I would come back to?  Well, here we are.  People reading what we are going to study today will probably think, "What in the world?!"  But, it is actually, in my mind, the most complete and profound picture of the gospel you can find in the old testament; and, believe me, there are a lot of pictures to choose from.

The Bible says in the 15th chapter of Genesis that the Word of the Lord came to Abram (his name wasn't changed yet) and said, 

"Fear not Abram. I am your shield, your reward shall be very great."

Abram shows his doubt here.  God had promised in chapter 12, when he called him out of his home land, that He would make Abram a great nation.  Yet, he remained childless.

So, Abram says to God that all that he owns at this point is going to go to his servant, Eliezer of Damascus.  Abram says, 

"Behold you have given me no offspring and a member of my household shall be my heir," Genesis 15:3.

By now Abram, being prompted by God, has left the land of his father, he has packed up all he owned and headed to a strange country because God told him that he would be the father of nations.  Years had passed and still no children.

So, God told Abram that it would not be a member of his household but his very own son that would be heir to the promise.  God told him to look toward heaven and number the stars if he could, 

    "So shall your offspring be," vs. 5

Then God tells Abram to bring a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.  God didn't instruct Abram at this point.  It appears to me that Abram knew what was about to happen.  So, he cuts the animals in half, not the birds, and lays them half against the other.

Quick note. The Bible says that when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram chased them away.  We may study this another day but for now, it is just something for you to ponder.  Why do you think God included this little detail?

As the sun set, a deep sleep fell on Abram and he had a vision of the Lord.  God assured Abram that even though his offspring would be sojourners in another land for 400 years (Egypt), God would judge that land for the affliction they cause Abram's offspring and they would come out of that land with great possessions and inhabit this promised land.

God told Abram that he couldn't have the land yet because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete.  The next time you hear someone call God genocidal, remind them of His long-suffering for Sodom and the search for righteousness there.  Then remind them that God didn't pronounce a death sentence on the Amorites until it was fully warranted.

Anyway...At this point in the vision, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces of the animals.

The Bible says, 

"On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates..." Genesis 15:18

 God goes on to list the names of peoples whose land would become the land of Abram's progeny.

So again, what in the world is going on with the slaughtered animals and the smoking fire pot and flaming torch?
What could all this mean?

I don't know if you have ever heard the expression, "Cutting a covenant" but, that is what is happening here.  Basically, to dramatize how serious you are about your contract, you cut an animal in half, walk between the halves and say, "So shall this happen to me if I don't come through."

Jeremiah 34:18 says, 

"And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts..."

It seems that cutting animals in half to emphasize your commitment to a contract wasn't unusual in those days. But, what makes this so unusual in Genesis is the fact that God is doing the promising.  Basically, God is saying that if He doesn't keep his promise He will slaughter Himself.  That's how strong was Gods promise.

What else do we see here?  What was Abram's part in the contract?

Nothing.  God did it all.

Usually when this kind of agreement was made, both parties offered animals and both passed through, binding the contract.  If this kind of contract was made between a king and a common person, only the common person was made to pass through.  The king makes the rules and it is the common man's responsibility to fulfill his obligation to the king.

See how far down God stooped?  In verse 8 Abram asks God how he would know God would keep His promise.  God said, "Let me prove it to you by making a life and death covenant. You don't have to do anything but believe."  

This is why we hear, 

"And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness," Genesis 15:6.

 This is probably the most important verse in Genesis and is repeated four times in the New Testament: Romans 4:9, Romans 4:22, Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23.

God did all the work.  All Abram had to do was believe.  

Was Abram a better believer than the rest of us?  I think not.  He was doubting the word of the Lord at the beginning of the chapter, just like we do sometimes.

Now for the most amazing part of this whole thing. God said, "The covenant is broken, someone has to die like those animals."  This is where the awesome picture of the Gospel comes in.  

Just as Jesus was not only the redeemer (the one who purchases the slave to set them free, Isaiah 59:20), He was the ransom (which is the price that was paid 1 Timothy 2:6).

God took on all aspects of  this.  He walked alone through the animals.  He took on both sides of the covenant, the one who made the promise and the one to whom the promise was made. God was not only the covenant maker, He took on the role of covenant breaker for us. 

"For when God made a promise to Abraham since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself," Hebrews 6:13.

 God said, "If you  keep my commandments, I will bless you abundantly but if you don't you will be cursed and die." This is a summation of the 26th chapter of Leviticus. Lots of wonderful blessings were listed but then so are lots of curses for disobedience ending in death.  This is also the point of our story today.

God himself passed between the parts of the animals.  He went through as covenant maker for both parties.  God took on our part of the covenant and had to die for our breaking of it.  In other words, Jesus became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God showed His plan that was made from the foundations of the earth (Revelation 13:8) that we could not fulfill His righteousness by ourselves. He would have to die to make a way for us to be His own.  All I can say is, "Thank you, Jesus, for taking my place."  I am truly humbled and amazed.