Covenant with Abram – Genesis 15:7-21

Wikipedia has a decent article on Biblical covenant.  There are several covenants God makes with His people, the covenant with Noah never to destroy the earth again by a flood, the covenant with Abraham, which we will see here, the covenant with Israel in the Mosaic Law, the covenant with David about his eternal kingship, and the New Covenant with Israel (Jeremiah 31).  The Abrahamic covenant is really the basis for the Mosaic, Davidic and New covenants.  Is it unconditional or conditional?

[7] And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” [8] But he said, “O Lord Yahweh, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” [9] He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” [10] And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. [11] And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

[12] As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. [13] Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. [14] But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. [15] As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. [16] And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

[17] When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. [18] 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, [19] the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, [20] the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, [21] the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:7–21, ESV)

God’s promise to Abram had two parts.  One, an offspring without number that become a great nation, and two, a land for this nation to thrive in, the land of Canaan.  The Lord Yahweh (Abram’s term for God) has reaffirmed His promise to provide Abram an offspring, and now Abram wants to know about the land part.

As a way of confirming His land promise to Abram, Yahweh has Abram bring a heifer, a goat and a ram, as well as two birds.  He has Abram cut the animals in half and kill the birds but not cut them in half, and create a pathway to walk between.  Jeremiah 34:18 mentions this form of covenant making:  Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.  In other words, the walking between the pieces of slain animals signifies making a covenant together, while the death of these animals speaks to what will happen to whomever violates the covenant.

Abram has to protect these slaughtered animals from the vultures.  As day ends Abram falls into a deep sleep and has a fearful feeling of overwhelming darkness, which we may suppose is a prelude to Yahweh’s coming.  Yahweh does come to Abram in his sleep and tells him the land will be his but only after a 400 year sojourn in a nation that will afflict them (Egypt is not mentioned, but we know the rest of the story).  Yahweh tells Abram that the reason for the delay is His patience with the Amorites, inhabitants of Canaan, who haven’t reached the tipping point for divine judgment on them as a nation.  When their iniquity is “full” He will bring Israel back to dispossess them.

We aren’t told if Abram is still asleep or not, but as it is dark, a smoking fire pot (a clay baking oven) with a torch comes and passes between the sacrificed animals.  This is presumably Yahweh, who alone passes between the pieces, who alone makes Himself responsible for keeping this covenant.  Yahweh will see to it that these promises are fulfilled, no matter what.  This does not mean that every generation in Israel will possess this land.  They won’t.  They will break covenant with Yahweh, and there will be consequences, but He will never retract this promise.  He will cause Israel to come back into covenant and He will fulfill this promise as long as this earth lasts.

Then Yahweh gives Abram more specific dimensions to the land, north and south at least (from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates).  The one time when we see this complete dimension achieved is during the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 4:21).  This land is the promised land.