Genesis 15:1-11
Ge 15:1
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram
in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy
exceeding great reward.
After Abram met with the king of Sodom who offered to let
him keep all the spoils he retrieved from the four marauding kings, he refused
to keep any of the spoils because he did not want to give bragging rights to the
king of Sodom who could then claim that he made Abram wealthy.
Here God comes to Abram in a vision and assures him of something even
greater. God tells Abram that he is
his shield which means his protector and as a result Abram was not to fear any
of his earthly enemies. Then God
tells him that he is Abram’s great reward.
This is true for all believers in Christ.
Abram did not need any of the spoils because if he needed anything God
would provide for him whatever he needed.
God being his reward also meant that the reward went beyond the horizons
of earth. God was the eternal
reward of Abram which meant that when this earthly life was done he would have a
place in Heaven for eternity.
For here have we no continuing city, but
we seek one to come. (Hebrews 13:14)
Ge 15:2
And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing
I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Then Abram asks God about his promise of an heir.
In ancient customs if a man does not have a child, he may name a steward
or male servant as his sole heir.
Abram knew that he had much earthly goods but he lacked an heir to leave it to.
Then he asks God concerning Eliezer of Damascus who must have been a very
faithful servant of his. In those
days legal inheritance was as important as natural inheritance.
Ge 15:3
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed:
and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Abram reminds the LORD that he has not given him seed
which is another term for a natural child from his loins.
Then he once again asks God concerning Eliezer who was born in his house
if he could be the heir of his estate.
Since Eliezer was the steward for Abram, he would have been capable of
managing all the affairs for Abram’s estate after Abram had died.
Abram was thinking in legal terms instead of thinking in spiritual terms.
It was like he was rushing God because he thought his death was imminent.
Ge 15:4
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him,
saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine
own bowels shall be thine heir.
Then the LORD comes to Abram and reconfirms that his heir
would not be someone outside of Abram’s lineage but the heir would come from his
own body through Sarai. Eliezer,
although faithful to Abram, would not be the heir since he was not in the
Messianic line.
Ge 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said
unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Then the LORD brought Abram outside and told him to look
toward Heaven. He was then told to
number the stars and if he was able to, then he would know the number of his
descendants. Abram’s descendants
would come through the physical nation of Israel by the twelve tribes but his
spiritual descendants would be innumerable because today people are becoming
saved and Abram’s everlasting descendants number in the millions maybe billions.
And if ye
be Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)
Ge 15:6
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for
righteousness.
Then Abram believed in God because he knew that God was
the one who could be trusted. If
you notice that Abram did not trust in the promise of God but his trust was in
the one who made the promise. Abram
was a saved man and he believed God and that belief stemmed from the fact that
he was made righteous by God through salvation.
For what saith the scripture?
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Romans
4:3) True salvation allows us
to believe God since the Holy Spirit indwells us.
Abram was acting out of a right spirit when he believed God because doubt
is a tenet of unbelief. When we
believe God, we are also acting out of a righteous spirit.
Ge 15:7
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought
thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
Then the LORD reassures Abram that it was he who brought
him out of Ur of the Chaldees, a place of idolatry, and brought him unto the
land of Canaan for an inheritance for his physical descendants fulfilled under
Joshua. Abram would not live to see
the promise fulfilled but he nevertheless believed God that it would happen in
his timing. This is something
Christians must understand, a promise made by God does not necessarily mean it
will come to pass immediately. In
Abram’s case, it would be about 600 years to fulfillment.
Ge 15:8
And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall
inherit it?
Abram did not yet understand, it seems that he was a
person who liked to rush things. He
wanted to name Eliezer as his heir and now he wants to know in what way will he
know that he will inherit the land?
He had believed God for the promise of a son but now he is having a hard time
believing God that he would inherit such a large land.
Ge 15:9
And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years
old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a
turtledove, and a young pigeon.
Then the LORD asks Abram to bring a sacrifice and gave
him very specific orders as to what he should sacrifice.
He was to bring a heifer of three years old which would be about the age
the heifer was the strongest. Then
he was to bring a female goat of three years.
Then he was to bring a male ram of three years old.
Then he was to bring a turtledove and a young pigeon.
Each of these animals represent a characteristic of Abram’s posterity.
The heifer represented service in labor and patience in sufferings.
The goat represented those with malicious qualities such as lust and
lasciviousness. The ram represented
strength and endurance. The
turtledove and young pigeon represented those who are simple and harmless.
A mixture of all these kinds of people would make up the physical nation
of Israel.
Ge 15:10
And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the
midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
Then Abram prepared the sacrifice and divided the three
land animals and laid them out
possibly on a big rock. He did not
divide up the birds. He divided the
animals in halves and did not divide them any further.
Ge 15:11
And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram
drove them away.
Nothing had happened for a while until some fowls which were probably vultures had spotted the sacrifice just lying there and then decided to come down and get a free meal but Abram chased them away and they were disallowed from disturbing the sacrifice.