The Promise Sealed by a Sacrifice
As you will recall, Abram was discouraged when Lot returned to Sodom, and perhaps a little fearful of repercussions, having said to Bera, King of Sodom, “I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal.” That may explain why the Lord came to him “after these things” in a vision to say, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Gen 15:1) Why worry about the strongman, Bera? “I am your shield.” Why give a second thought to the forfeited spoils of war? “I am thy exceeding great reward.”
Abram was perhaps feeling empty and ineffective since Lot had returned to Sodom. He did not worship. Lot was very precious to Abram and he could not so easily recover his heart. Instead, he reminded the Lord that he was still childless. He may have wondered what reward would have any meaning since he had no children, nor even, it would seem, a nephew. What he owned would pass out of his family to a different one, perhaps to his chief servant, Eliezer, who was not of the house of Eber.
Genesis 15:1-6
1. 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.
2. And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
The Bible tells us that Abram believed God regarding the promise of an heir who would be his son and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. God credited his faith to him as righteousness. This is the significant first mention of the doctrine of salvation through faith alone by grace alone.
We are now halfway through our Bible study. We have discovered many steps along the way to becoming an intercessor:
1. Separation — “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house…” Gen 12:1. Most Christians will not be called to leave their homeland nor homes, but all must separate themselves from the world.
2. Know and contemplate the promises of God — “…in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Gen 12:2, 3
3. Obey God — “So…Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him” Gen 12:4
4. Worship God. Call on the name of the Lord — “…there builded he an altar unto the LORD… and called upon the name of the LORD.” Gen 12:7, 8
5. Slip and fall, but then repent — “Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake… And he went …unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.” Gen 12:13; 13:3, 4
6. Wherever you dwell, worship. Let it be a continual practice — “Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.” Gen 13:18
7. Care deeply about your family and friends. Be willing to show your love by your actions — “And they took Lot…And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants…” Gen 14:12-14
8. Trust God for strength beyond your own abilities — some intercessions will draw you out far beyond your natural ability to pray “…and pursued them unto Dan…And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot…” Gen 14:14-16
9. Never take credit for the mighty works of the Lord. Give God the glory — “And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand (said Melchizedek). And he (Abram) gave him tithes of all.” Gen 14:20
10. Stand against evil; don’t compromise, be righteous — “And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD… that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich…” Gen 14:22, 23
11. When you are discouraged, do not hide your feelings from the Lord. Have an honest relationship with God — “And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless…” Gen 15:2
12. Have faith in God. Trust without seeing — “and …the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be…And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Gen 15: 5, 6
Have you taken all these steps? You are on your way to becoming an intercessor!
Abram trusted God regarding the promise of an heir but in respect to the real estate, he sought a sign or guarantee. Ownership of land requires a deed or formal acknowledgement of transfer from one owner to the next. As well, there must be a delineation of boundaries. In response, the Lord graciously sealed a covenant with him.
7. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8. And he said, LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9. And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
Abram was instructed to bring a heifer, goat and ram, each three years old—in the prime of their lives, along with a dove and a young pigeon. He did this and then cut the animals in half and placed the halves opposite each other.
The Bible does not state that God told him to place the halves opposite each other, yet it is known that during that era, covenants were sealed by doing so, and then the party committing himself to the agreement would walk between the pieces of the dead animals which signified his oath, “May it be done to me if I do not keep my pledge.”
Perhaps God chose these animals to be sacrificed because he would in time assign them to be used as sin and guilt offerings when Israel grew to an age of accountability. (Leviticus passages)
In addition to the sealing of the covenant, the Lord prophesied to Abram:
12. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
The Lord knows our frame. He knows we are weak. Therefore, he explained this aspect of the unfolding of the promise of the land. It would be the possession of Abram’s seed, but they would not dwell there for four generations, during which time they would be strangers in a foreign land. God’s people needed these details to continue hoping under affliction, or to appreciate the sovereignty of God, in retrospect.
17. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19. The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20. And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21. And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
For nearly all of her national life, Israel did not occupy the entire area which God promised and gave to Abram. At this we should all cry, “O, that I may take ALL of the land God has promised to me.” O, that we may all seek and find ALL the acres of wisdom and truth he has provided for us, and perform ALL he sets before us to achieve. The fact that Israel did not ultimately claim all of the land promised to her is not a reflection on the Lord.
We see from this ceremony in which God sealed the agreement with Abram for the Promised Land, that he reveals himself as a firepot holding a blazing torch, and meets with him as one king with another. He is a consuming fire, God Almighty, the Eternal One, the Light in our Darkness. He does all his good pleasure; he lifts up his own and encircles the outsiders by their love.
He makes a pact with his chosen one. That one will be given a promised kingdom based on an atoning sacrifice. The believer must lean into Christ for atonement for sin, so that he might come into his inheritance and walk with God: These are the essential criteria for effective intercessory prayer. Most importantly, we see that God, not Abram, walked through the pieces. God bound himself to His promise, based on an atoning, bloody sacrifice.
The firepot and torch that passed between the pieces of the animals were not to signify a self-maledictory oath since the Lord God cannot break his word nor perish. Rather, this ceremony pictures the Father giving His only son that man might have life, and enter or gain the kingdom, the land of God. Yet though it symbolizes the sacrificial death of Christ that makes possible the giving of God’s kingdom to his people, it was also a real occurrence that guaranteed the transfer of a specific piece of real estate to the children of Abram.
Belittling of Bible truth and errors in Christian doctrine can occur if either the reality of a biblical event or what it symbolizes is denied. Some may say, “Yes, Jesus is divine, but the Old Testament stories are mostly myths.” Others may say, “Archeology may verify the accounts in the Old Testament, but the New is not especially reliant on the Old.”
All believers may reliably say, “The whole Bible is the Word of God, and ‘The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself…’” (Westminster Confession I-9) Indeed, the Old and New Testaments are one piece, yet the Bible’s warp and woof stretches the ability of the careful reader to fully grasp its truths. Much assistance from mentors and the Holy Spirit is needed.
After the sealing of the covenant for the land, life went on. The glory of this personal and very dramatic encounter with the Living God faded. From this mountain-top experience, Abram was heading toward a valley and a very dark mist as he traveled toward becoming an intercessor.