Genesis 15
Justification
The Cutting of the Covenant
1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”
“After these things” means after the war of the four kings vs. the five kings of the last chapter. Jehovah came to Abram in a vision. The Hebrew word for vision is מַחֲזֶה (machazah) with an article, meaning the specific vision. Abram will see a vision of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Abram moved to Canaan to be blessed by God. Instead, he was attacked by superior armies and his nephew was captured. He was afraid, so God told him not to fear. God was his shield. It was God who protected Abram from the four invading kings.
Abram did not collect any spoils from the battle. God told Abram that his spoils were God Himself.
2But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?”
The Hebrew for “sovereign Lord” is אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהוִה֙ (Adonai Jehovah), meaning the sovereign-covenant-keeping-promise-keeping-God. This is the first time that this compound name is used in the Bible. Abram confirmed that God was in control of all things, including the results of the last war. He is also a God who keeps His promises.
Abram’s complaint was "what does wealth matter if I do not possess a son to inherit it?
3Abram added, “Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”
According to the Code of Hammurabi and the Nuzi Tablets, a childless couple were free to adopt their slave in order to possess an heir.
4But look, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.”
Notice that the son was to come from Abram, but Sarai was not mentioned.
5The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then He said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
In an earlier prophecy, God told Abram that his seed would be as numerous as the dust on the ground. Amillennialists spiritualize these two passages to make it fit their own theology. They teach that the dust is the earthly seed of Israel with earthly promises and the stars are the heavenly seed of the church with heavenly promises. This is heresy. This heresy is not taught anywhere in the Bible.
6Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty.
The Hebrew word for “believed” is אָמַן (amin), a hiphil stem, meaning that The Lord caused Abram to believe. The hiphil stem is a proof text of election and predestination. At the same time, it disproves Arminianism. Man does have free will, but he always uses his free will to reject God.
Romans 3:10-11 states, “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands God. There is no one who seeks God.” Abram was born totally depraved and evil. He would have remained in this hopeless condition, never understanding or seeking God, unless God chose him out of Ur. God caused him to believe. If God had remained silent, then Abram would have never sought after God. He would have died as a moon-worshiper of Ur, living his eternity in the Lake of Fire.
Once the Lord made His call to Abram, this call was irresistible. Abram’s response was that he believed God. Therefore, God imputed righteousness to him. He justified Abram. He gave him eternal life that can never be lost. If Abram sins, then he will be spanked by his heavenly Father. However, God will never allow Abram to lose his eternal life. God’s love is too great to lose a son, even if the son is rebellious.
7The Lord said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
The Hebrew word for “Lord” is יְהוָ֗ה (Jehovah), which is the covenant-keeping-promise-keeping-God. The Holy Spirit uses this name for God whenever Israel or covenants are mentioned in Scripture. This name reminds the reader that God is the one who keeps His promises. Jehovah reminded Abram that He removed him from Ur and placed him in Israel so that he could possess that land. God promised Abram that He would give him the land of Israel. He did not promise that He would give Israel to the church. This verse must be taken literally and not spiritually. Otherwise, one can make the Scriptures say anything that they want instead of what God meant.
8But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, by what can I know that I am to possess it?”
Abram called God אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהוִ֔ה (Adonmai Jehovah), meaning that God is in control of all things and He is a God who keeps His promises. Abram asked God for a sign of confirmation.
9The Lord said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
Jehovah is going to confirm the Abrahamic Covenant to Abram with blood.
10So Abram took all these for Him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half.
According to the Mari Tablets, men would make a covenant by slaying an animal and then they both would walk together between the animals. According to Jeremiah 38, if one of the men failed to keep the covenant, then his blood was to be spilled like those of the animals that were slain.
11When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
This was a bad omen. Part of the Abrahamic Covenant required Israel to go into Egyptian slavery for 400 years.
12When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him.
The sun went down at dusk. The Hebrew word for “asleep” is תַּרְדֵּמָה (tardamah), meaning a deep supernatural sleep. This was the same kind of supernatural sleep that fell upon Adam when part of his side was taken to create Eve. Even in this supernatural sleep, Abram was aware of the details, as he felt great terror.
13Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
Jehovah predicted that Israel would be enslaved by Egypt for 400 years.
14But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions.
When Egypt enslaves Israel, they will receive the curses of the Abrahamic Covenant. Israel will depart with many possessions, which is the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant.
15But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.
Abram will die before the enslavement in Egypt. He will die at the age of 175 years old. He will join his ancestors, who had physically died, but they were still eternally alive in Sheol. Sheol was the holding place of saints. Jesus emptied Sheol at his resurrection and brought all of the saints up to heaven in their sporitual bodies. These same saints will receive their physical bodies at the Rapture.
Many of Abram’s ancestors were the seed-sons of Adam and Noah.
16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”
Abram’s descendants will return to Canaan in the fourth generation. The four generations are found in Exodus 6:16–21. They were Levi, Kohath, Amram, and then Moses and Aaron. This verse shows that a generation does not always mean forty years. Sometimes, a generation can be twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, or even one hundred years.
God gave the Amorites 400 years to turn to Him. When they refused, He sent Joshua into the land to exterminate them.
17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts.
This is the Shekinah Glory, which is the visible representation of God on earth. The Shekinah Glory is introduced with the Hebrew word הִנֵּה (hinah), meaning “behold, the Lord is about to do something very, very important!”
The Shekinah Glory often appears as a light, fire, cloud, or a combination of these things. Notice that the Shekinah Glory walked through the divided sacrifices alone. This meant that God would keep His part of the promise, but Abram and his descendants would not have to keep their part. In the very next chapter, Abram will fail. Israel will fail many times.
This is an unconditional covenant. Despite Israel’s continual future rejection of God, Jehovah will still keep His promise of the covenant.
18That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River
Abram’s seed will inherit the land of Israel. Amillennialists spiritualize this passage, misinterpreting it to mean that God will give the church all of the promises of Israel. The specific boundaries are given. The seed of Abram is to possess all of the land between the Nile and Euphrates River. The Nile River is in Egypt. The Euphrates River is the outside border of Iran and Iraq. Israel has never possessed all of this land in their history, but they will in the future. Since God already predicted that Abram would die before his seed entered Egypt, then God must raise Abram from the dead. It is the only way that Jehovah, the covenant-keeping-promise-keeping God, can keep this promise.
19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
The Kenites inhabited the Arabah desert.
The location of the Kenizzites and Kadmonites is unknown.
20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
This is the first mention of the Hittities. The Bible referenced them 47 different times. However, they became a lost civilization. For centuries, many scholars mocked the Bible, claiming that there was no evidence of a Hittite civilization, so the Bible must be in error. Then, Hugo Winkler excavated forty different Hittite cities. He found the actual peace treaty between the Egyptians and the Hittites. The Hittites lived in modern Turkey, but they settled in Canaan as well.
The location of the Perizzite is unknown.
The Rephaites lived on both sides of the Jordan River.
21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
Amorites means “western”. There were the Canaanites who lived in the Phoenician area.
The Girgashite may be the same as the Karkisha of Asia Minor that migrated south.
The Jebusites lived in Jerusalem.
In conclusion, the human viewpoint of the satanic world system teaches that man must work his way into heaven.
The divine viewpoint of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God teaches that Abram, like all believers, was saved by faith alone.
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1. SAQ--What is the theme of Genesis 15?
2. What is justification?
3. How was Abram justified?
4. Explain the Shechinah Glory in Genesis 15?
5. Why was Abram put to sleep by God?
6. What is the archaeological importance of the Hittites?
7. What were the dimensions of the land promise of the Abrahamic Covenant?
8. Who did God predict would enslave Israel?
9. How long would Israel be enslaved?
10. How long will God give the Amorites (Canaanites) to repent?