Assurances: Genesis 15:7-21

Abram and God have had one short exchange where God tells Abram that he will have a son to inherit the land God promised and Abram believes what god tells him.  In verse 7, God reiterates His purpose for Abram, "[I] brought you out of [your homeland] to give you this land to take possession of it."

We might well ask, "why did God say this?"  He had already initiated a conversation with Abram, listened to his situation, and made a response.  Abram believed what God said so that should be the end, right?  Thanks for the chat.  Good night.  Enjoy the rest of your dreams.   

Instead, God makes a statement and waits for a response.  Again!  It seems Abram's trust about an heir wasn't the only thing on God's agenda.  Abram responds by asking God how he can KNOW that he will inherit the land.  

Now God's purpose for extending the conversation make a little more sense.  He is assuring Abram about two of the promises not seen: an heir and the land he was giving to Abram's descendants.  

God's response starting in verse 9 seems a bit strange.  Why all the animals?  Why the smoking firepot and torch?  What's going on here?  Derek Kidner notes in his commentary "Genesis" that this covenant ritual usually involves two parties passing through the carcasses.   Each party was ritually saying, "if I break our agreement, my fate should be the same as that of these grotesquely slaughtered animals."  Here, however, only God (manifested as the firepot and torch) makes this agreement.  The covenant is clearly one-sided - a great blessing for Abram.

But, why should God make such a one-sided agreement at all?  Well, firstly, Abram really has no power to  accomplish the promise.  He cannot give himself a child and even if he could, he has no power to build a nation from that child.  Only God has the power to do those things.  Secondly, in verses 13-16, we learn that the nation won't be created for over 400 years.  Abram certainly wouldn't be around to see that!  So God makes a covenant with Abram to show him how serious He is about accomplishing the promise.  In effect, the eternal God was saying, "I, who cannot die, will die before I break this promise to you and your descendants."  The strength of the promise was now rooted in the immortality of the creator-God.  I cannot think of any greater assurance.

Looking ahead:  Ok, I just cannot help myself here.  The comfort and assurance God gives Abraham and his descendants in this section is mirrored in another section of scripture too.  You might be tempted to read Ephesians 1 (particularly verse 14) where Paul talks about God giving his spirit as a pledge (or down payment) guaranteeing inheritance.  This simple phrase has a similar effect of rooting promises in God's eternal and unified nature.  He guarantees the promise of redemption by giving Christians His spirit.  While God effectively told Abram He would die before breaking the promise, God tells Christians they can keep His spirit if He breaks his promise.  He does not simply make a promise, He backs it up with his unbreakable, eternal nature.  God goes above and beyond to comfort and assure all His children.