Genesis 15

Genesis 15:1

4. Abraham’s Promised Heir (Chap. 15)15:1 The first verse is closely linked with the last part of chapter 14. Because the patriarch refused the rewards of the king of Sodom, Jehovah said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward,” thus making Abram both protected and fabulously wealthy. 15:2-6 Being childless, Abram feared that their servant, Eliezer of Damascus, would be their heir, since that was the law at that time. But God promised him a son and descendants as numerous as the stars. Humanly speaking this was impossible, since Sarai had passed the time when she could bear a child. But Abram believed God’s promise, and God declared him to be righteous. The truth of justification by faith enunciated here is repeated in Rom_4:3, Gal_3:6, and Jam_2:23. In Gen_13:16 God had promised descendants as numerous as the dust, and here in 15:5 as numerous as the stars. The dust pictures Abram’s natural posteritythose who are Jews by birth. The stars depict his spiritual seedthose who are justified by faith (see Gal_3:7). 15:7-21 To confirm the promise of a seed (vv. 1-6) and of a land (vv. 7, 8, 18-21), God acted out a strange and significant symbolism (vv. 9-21). David Baron explains: According to the ancient Eastern manner of making a covenant, both the contracting parties passed through the divided pieces of the slain animals, thus symbolically attesting that they pledged their very lives to the fulfillment of the engagement they made (see Jer_34:18-19). Now in Genesis 15, God alone, whose presence was symbolized by the smoking furnace and lamp of fire, passed through the midst of the pieces of the slain animals, while Abram was simply a spectator of this wonderful exhibition of God’s free grace. This signified that it was an unconditional covenant, dependent for fulfillment on God alone. According to another view of this passage, the sacrificial pieces represent the nation of Israel. The vultures speak of the Gentile nations. The land that is not theirs, of course, is Egypt. Israel would be delivered from Egyptian bondage and return to Canaan in the fourth generation. The smoking oven and the burning torch describe the national destiny of Israelsuffering and witness-bearing. Israel’s deliverance would not come until the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. These pagan inhabitants of Canaan must eventually be exterminated. But God often allows evil to run its course, sometimes to the seeming detriment of His people, before He judges it. He is longsuffering, not willing that any should perisheven the depraved Amorites (2Pe_3:9). He also allows evil to come to fruition so that the awful consequences of wickedness can be clear to all. Thus His wrath is demonstrated to be completely righteous. Verses 13 and 14 pose a chronological problem. They predict that Abram’s people would be in harsh servitude in a foreign land for 400 years, and that they would leave at the end of that time, carrying great wealth with them. In Act_7:6 this figure of 400 years is repeated. In Exo_12:40-41 we read that the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, were sojourners for 430 years, to the very day. Then in Gal_3:17 Paul says that the period from the confirming of the Abrahamic Covenant until the giving of the Law was 430 years. How can these figures be reconciled? The 400 years mentioned in Gen_15:13-14 and in Act_7:6 refer to the time of Israel’s harsh affliction in Egypt. Jacob and his family were not in bondage when they first came to Egypt. On the contrary, they were treated quite royally. The 430 years in Exo_12:40-41 refer to the total time the people of Israel spent in Egyptto the very day. This is an exact figure. The 430 years in Gal_3:17 cover approximately the same period as Exo_12:40-41. They are reckoned from the time that God confirmed the Abrahamic Covenant to Jacob, just as Jacob was preparing to enter Egypt (Gen_46:14), and they extend to the giving of the Law, about three months after the Exodus. The four generations of Gen_15:16 can be seen in Exo_6:16-20 : Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses. Israel has not yet occupied the land promised in verses 18-21. Solomon had dominion over it (1Ki_4:21, 1Ki_4:24), as over vassal states, but his people did not occupy it. The covenant will be fulfilled when Christ returns to reign. Nothing can stop its fulfillment. What God has promised is as sure as if it had already occurred! The river of Egypt (v. 18) is generally believed to be a small stream south of Gaza now known as Wadi el Arish, and not the Nile.