Abraham’s covenant encounter in Genesis 15
The encounter between God and Abraham in Genesis 15 is one of the great covenantal encounters in the Bible. It is an important chapter because there is nothing else like it in the Word. God only enters into covenant a few times in the Bible, and each one is incredibly significant. It is also important to understand this chapter because Paul’s basis for salvation by faith is this covenant encounter between God and Abraham: “‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:3, quoting Genesis 15:6). Abraham’s encounter is not simply an Old Testament story, then; it is the foundation for our New Testament faith.
We are saved by faith because Abraham secured his promise by faith. Our promise of salvation is secure only to the extent that Abraham’s promise is secure. Furthermore, it follows that our salvation is connected to God’s covenant with Abraham. Paul interprets Genesis 15 as the basis of God’s ongoing covenant with people. God’s agreement with Abraham is not something that has passed away, but it is something that Jesus has secured.
In this chapter, Abraham asks God if He intends to fulfill the promise made in Genesis 12. Abraham only addresses two of the promises—the promises of descendants and land—but the covenant encounter of Genesis 15 is God’s confirmation of what He spoke in Genesis 12, which means all three promises are ultimately confirmed by the covenant act.
The encounter begins as Abraham expresses his pain to God and asks for assurance that the promises of Genesis 12 will be fulfilled literally.
But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” (Genesis 15:2–3)
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.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” (vv. 7–8)
Abraham is in pain because God made him a promise, but Abraham cannot see any way for the promise to come to pass. He cannot have one son, much less many descendants, and he is also wandering the land he is supposed to possess. It is important to understand the entire context of the covenant encounter. The key question is whether or not the promises will be fulfilled literally. Abraham is concerned that another brought into his house will inherit his promise instead of his physical son. To use New Testament language, Abraham is concerned that someone grafted into his family will fulfill the promise of a son. God emphasizes the literalness of the promise. Yes, there will be billions, like Abraham’s servant, who will be grafted into Abraham’s house and receive blessing. However, the promise given to Abraham will have a literal fulfillment in his descendants.
In the conversation, God repeats and affirms both His promises from chapter 12:
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:4–5)
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.” (v. 7)
After verbally confirming His promise, God enters into covenant with Abraham in a covenant ceremony during which He fully commits to perform the promises:
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.” 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. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. (Genesis 15:9–12)
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 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, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (vv. 17–21)
There are several key components of the covenant ceremony that we have to recognize. The first is its cultural significance. The ceremony was based on an ancient method of making an agreement. In this ancient ceremony, two individuals would walk between split animals to make a public statement of their commitment. The commitment was that it should be done to them as it was done to the animals if they should break their agreement. God wanted to assure Abraham that this was a permanent agreement by using an ancient ceremony that Abraham understood.
Second, God did not allow Abraham to contribute to the performance of the covenant. Though the covenant was made with Abraham, when it was time to make covenant, God put Abraham into a deep sleep, leaving him unable to contribute to the covenant ceremony. This happened because Abraham’s righteousness came from faith. Faith, or confidence in God’s Word, was the only thing that God allowed Abraham to contribute.
Third, two parties had to walk through the sacrifices to make the covenant, but instead of God and Abraham walking through it together, God walks through it. This is one of the most interesting events in Scripture. There is not a third party to the covenant. It is between Abraham and God, yet Abraham sees two manifestations of God, a flaming torch and a smoking fire pot (some translations say “oven”), moving through the animals together.
What does this signify? Only God made covenant with Abraham, yet he saw two manifestations walk through the animals in the covenant ceremony. In the New Testament, we see the intimate partnership between the Father and the Son in the work of redemption. In light of later Scripture, we can recognize that the two manifestations of God that Abraham sees represent the Father and Son walking through the sacrifices. This means the Father and Jesus made a commitment to each other to fulfill the promises made to Abraham. This is significant because, if Abraham had been allowed to walk through with God, then Abraham’s ability would determine whether the covenant failed or succeeded, since because he would be committing his strength to keep it. God knew Abraham’s weakness, so He guaranteed the covenant Himself. He knew that Abraham’s sin, and the sin of his descendants, would break the covenant. That is why the Son walked through with the Father, committing Himself to be sacrificed like the split animals in order to ensure the success of the covenant. This emphasizes the permanence of the covenant and God’s commitment to it. This was more than a symbolic promise; it was also a prophetic act. Because of Abraham’s sin, and the sin of his descendants, the reality is the Son would be sacrificed like the animals. That future sacrifice would permanently secure the covenant.
God’s commitment to fulfilling the promises He made to Abraham in Genesis 12 is on full display in Genesis 15. The dramatic covenant ceremony emphasizes that Abraham’s righteousness has no part to play in the fulfillment of the promises. God Himself will secure the promises with His own righteousness. This is one of the key themes of the promises made to Abraham: the promises are neither threatened nor secured by Abraham’s ability to obey. They are promises God made to a man and committed Himself to fulfill. There is a reason that Paul understood righteousness by faith from this chapter. He understood God’s commitment to fulfilling these three promises through His own strength.
To understand God’s redemptive plan, it is important to recognize these key differences between this covenant and the Mosaic law, where God laid out requirements, with blessings and curses, and the outcome of the agreement was based on the people’s performance. These key differences are why Paul says that the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus has caused one to pass away (Sinai) and another to be guaranteed (Abraham) forever.
1
God’s initial promises to Abraham make the land promise clear. See also Genesis 15:7, 8, 18.
2
See Acts 10:45; 13:47–48; 15:12; 26:23; Romans 11:11; Galatians 3:8, 14.
3
See Romans 11:12–15.
