“In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying…” (Gen. 15:18 NRSV).
Genesis 15 records the events of a very significant day in the life of Abram. It comes after God gave Abram a great victory over the kings of the east, which led to Abram’s meeting with Melchizedek and the patriarch’s refusal of reward from the king of Sodom (Gen. 14:13-24). “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” (Gen. 15: I ). The day begins with this promise and ends “after the sun had gone down” with God’s sealing of the covenant with “a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch” passing between cut pieces of various animals (Gen. 15:17-21 RSV).
In the complementary series by Bro. David Levin, he commented on the earlier promises made to Abraham regarding land and seed. In the following article, Bro. David Green concentrates on the covenant of righteousness revealed in Genesis 15.
Into Abram’s Life we now have this extraordinary covenant of promise given. It begins, as recorded in Genesis 15:1, with a statement by God:
“Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (KJV). Abram refused payment in earthly terms from the sinful kings of the valley (Gen. 14:22); he had only accepted blessing from Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of God. God now assured Abram that, as God had been his shield in battle, so God will provide ample reward for Abram’s service of faith. God tells him that he will have a son of his own and, moreover, his descendants would be as the stars of the heavens. (Those of us who have the pleasure of living away from city lights and see the heavens on clear, cloudless nights may marvel along with Abram at the magnitude of this promise.)
Abram’s faith counted for righteousness
It is here that the statement is made that becomes the basis of our faith: “And he believed the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6 KJV).
We are simply told that Abram believed. “Believe” is from the Hebrew amman which is translated in a variety of ways, each of which has to do with a continuing action of trust. Perhaps the most eloquent use of the word is by Moses in Numbers 11:11-12. Here the word is translated “nursing” with the sense of caring for, protecting, shielding, or nurturing. It includes education, guidance, and growth. Belief is not merely the academic acceptance of fact, but it translates into a life in which even the faith itself is nurtured and cared for as a nurse does for the child throughout its life. (See also Ruth 4:16, II Sam. 4:4).
Abraham thus didn’t merely accept this promise as fact, he incorporated it into the very fiber of his life. It became part of him and is witnessed to by his life. It is no mere statement of faith but a way of life that is seen by those around him. As noted in the epistle of James, his faith was later proven so those of all time could see it: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God” (Jam. 2:22 ASV).
It is equally inspiring to note when we read of his faith: “it was reckoned unto him as righteousness.” Interestingly, the verb “reckoned” is in the Hebrew imperfect tense, indicating Abram’s faith was counted for righteousness not on this one occasion only, but on a continuing basis throughout his life. This continuing action of reckoning follows Abram through his life and ours even to the blessing of eternal life. It is seen in the forgiveness of our sins, the fellowship provided by the Father and the promise of life to come. We note also that the Hebrew for “reckoned” is chashab which means, “To think, devise, reckon” (Young’s Concordance), indicating that God “devises” righteousness for Abram (see Psalm 32:2, or, in the negative sense, Psa. 35:20).
We, who respond to God with the faith of Abraham, receive a similar reward. We, through Christ, will receive the reward of the faithful, which is the righteousness of God. God becomes our shield and exceeding great reward. The wages of sin is death as the Sodomites, who trusted in the spoils of war (Gen. 14:21), were about to find out, but the blessing of God is the devising of righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23).
A covenant of righteousness
Keeping in mind Paul’s statement in Romans 6:23, we continue to the covenant of righteousness that is now made as recorded in Genesis 15:9.
Abram is instructed to kill and divide three animals: a heifer, a she-goat and a ram. He is also to kill a turtledove and a young pigeon. These he laid out, presumably in a line, with the pieces against each other.
Jeremiah 34 provides interesting insight to the procedure portrayed in Genesis 15. In Jeremiah, we are told that they made a covenant to proclaim liberty to their Hebrew slaves. This covenant consisted of dividing the carcass of a calf; those who were making the covenant passed between the pieces (Jer. 34:18). The ones passing between the pieces were parties to the covenant and responsible for keeping it.
In the covenant made (cut) with Abram, God is the only one who passes between the pieces and is clearly identified with the sacrifice. It is God who selects the animals and birds. It is a form of God’s glory that passes between the pieces. Other than in killing, dividing and laying out the pieces, Abram plays no role. This is God’s oath.
We mentioned in an earlier article that in this particular case the verb used with covenant is the word to cut off (Tidings 3/98, pp. 93-94). What is seen in this covenant and signified by the sacrifice is the cutting off of sin and the uncleanness associated with death. Each of the animals and birds selected (by God) appear in the law as sacrifices for sin.
Heifer Numbers 19 The red heifer, the sacrifice for uncleanness
She-goat Numbers 15:27 Sacrifice for sin through ignorance
Ram Genesis 22:13 Sacrifice provided by God in place of Isaac
Exodus 29:15 Sacrifice of consecration of Aaron and his sons
Leviticus 5:15 Trespass offering.
Turtledove Leviticus 1:14 Alternate for lamb if financially necessary
Leviticus 5:7-11 Alternate for trespass offering
Leviticus 12:6 Sacrifice of atonement for the birth of a child.
God here is actively presenting sacrifice and God is identifying Himself with it. The smoking furnace may well be the action of burning the pieces so that they become “burnt offerings” by the hand of God (the words allude to the type of portable cooking stove used in that day). Righteousness is being “devised” by God and following that statement is sacrifice for sin as provided by God. It is not Abram’s sacrifice, since Abram only follows God’s instructions. Abram does not pass between the pieces – God does (in a figure). It is in answer to Abram’s question, “How will I know I will inherit the land?” The answer is redemption from sin and death through grace. How else will Abram inherit? He is told he will die of old age. Moreover there has yet to be a fulfillment of the promise of inheritance. What is required for him and for his seed is the declaration of righteousness through forgiveness of sins and thus resurrection. Without forgiveness of sin there is no life.
“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7).
The same is true for us. We have declared that we believe and witnessed to it, in part, through our baptism and, in full, in our walk before Him. God selected the means by which we could have redemption from sin and deliverance from death as a result of that redemption. God identified with that means by sending His son as the propitiation for our sins. It was not of our strength or our doing, but God’s. It was not according to our timetable, but God’s.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Rom. 5:8 KJV).
Three years old
The heifer, she-goat and ram involved in this covenant were all to be three years old (Gen. 15:9). This is an intriguing criterion. The number three is associated with significant acts by God.
- It was on the “third day” that God came down Mt. Sinai and gave His Law (Ex. 19:11). The difference between these children of Abraham and their father is apparent. Whereas he also felt great dread when darkness descended upon him, his response was faithfulness. Their response is to separate themselves from God (Ex. 20:19).
- It was on the “third day” that Jonah was “resurrected” to continue his mission of grace to the Ninevites.
- It was on the “third day” that Christ was raised and the ultimate act of grace was given to those that believe.
- Hosea the prophet speaks of the correct response to Yahweh: “Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up; after two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him” (Hos. 6:1 KJV).
Inheritance
The covenant that is cut by God has to do, then, with inheritance by grace. This covenant of righteousness is directly connected to a territory that extends from the Nile to the Euphrates, a territory that Israel has never possessed. It thus becomes clear that this is a covenant having to do with God’s ultimate plan. It will only be at the return of Christ that this covenant will be fulfilled.
As we have noted, the covenant has to do with the declaration of righteousness and forgiveness of sin. This covenant also has to do with the future kingdom of Christ which he will share with those who are declared righteous and whose sins are washed away.
The covenant that is cut here does not only mention the amount of territory but specifically mentions the people that were resident in it in Abraham’s day. This is the territory of the children of Ham, the son of Noah, who received the curse from Noah (Genesis 9:25). They were to be the “servants of servants” and the slaves of the children of Shem and Japheth.
“And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Gen. 6:25).
The unrighteousness of Ham finds its ultimate end in the inheritance of the faithful. Faithful Abraham’s seed will displace the Amorites, who God forecasts will eventually fill up their iniquities. Within a few years Sodom and Gomorrah become synonyms for evil and the example of the judgment of God. The greatest of the Rephaim (giants) would eventually fall to David, the seed of Abraham and the beloved of God, as will the Jebusites, the possessors of Mt. Zion.
A certain covenant
As we conclude these thoughts we should note the words, “I have given.” In Genesis 15:2, Abram asked God what he would “give” him. Here God tells him, “Unto thy seed I have given this land…” (Gen. 15:18). This is not an inheritance that will be given but an inheritance that is given to a seed not yet born. God declared and it has been accomplished.
“I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory” (Isa. 45:23 KJV).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One