But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 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. - Genesis 15:7-10
Dr. Timothy Keller wrote, “There is no greater picture of the gospel in all of the Bible than the second half of Genesis 15.”
I have to admit, that statement at first sounded a little extreme to me because I don’t think I ever really understood what was going on in this encounter between God and Abraham.
Notice that God does not tell Abraham what to do with these animals. He just tells him to bring them. Somehow Abraham just knew what to do. Apparently, God and Abe know what is going on, but we don’t (yet). As soon as God told him to go and get these animals, Abraham knew that God was about to make a “covenant,” a solemn, binding contract. (The common method for contracts or covenants in the ancient world.)
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, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. - Genesis 15:17-18
I think we need a little explanation for what is going on here. We live in a written/literate culture. The written word has great importance in our culture. We have covenants or contracts too. If you hire a contractor to build an addition on your house, you both sign a contract that is meant to bind you both to the terms of the agreement. Abraham lived in an oral culture, a storytelling culture. Contracts were dramatized; they would act out the terms or penalties of the covenant.
Jeremiah 34:18 – “The men who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me. I will treat them like the calf they cut in two and then walked between the pieces.”
This was how you made (“cut”) a covenant in those days, ritually identifying with the cut up pieces if you failed to fulfill your part of it. Both in our day and in Abraham’s day, parties were meant to be held accountable to the contract. (Next time you build an addition or hire a contractor, try this Old Testament method instead of a signed contract.)
This was such an effective method that it was the method used between kings and those who wanted to enter the king’s service. But it was usually just the servant that would pass through the pieces. So, here we have God (King above all kings) and He is about to enter into a contract/covenant with Abraham. But God does two stunning things (15:17-18) that must have totally astounded Abraham. And there are no more doubts from Abraham after this.
The first astounding thing is who passes through the pieces. (Gen 15:17) A smoking firepot and a blazing torch (smoke and fire). These are strange images and hard words to translate from Hebrew. These are the same two words used to describe God’s presence at the top of Mount Sinai and the same two words used to describe the pillars of cloud and fire that guided Israel in the wilderness. These are the symbols of God’s glory and presence. God (the King) in His glory and power passes through the pieces! This is God’s answer to Abraham’s doubts about God.
The second astounding thing is who does not pass through. Notice that once God passes through, the covenant is made/ cut. Abraham does not pass through!? What kind of covenant is this that only the King passes through? Only the Master is made accountable? This is God’s answer to Abraham’s doubts about Himself.
God says (in effect) I will hold up my end of the covenant and I will even bear the penalty if you should fail! This is a one-sided covenant. We have a King who says I’ll take the punishment for both sides!! Abraham could have no idea of the eventual cost of this covenant (the cross).
Isaiah 53:8 – By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
“He (Jesus) was cut off from the land of the living.” This is covenant language. Jesus passed through for us! He was cut off for our sake! He kept the covenant even when we break it!
Jeff Frazier
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