15:1-21. The Covenant Made.
The Seed and The Land.
1. The Covenant Maker. (The Word of Yahaveh).
2,3. Inquiry. "What will You give?"
4,5. The Covenant. Announced. (The Seed).
6. Belief.
7. The Covenant Maker. (Yahaveh).
8. Inquiry. "How shall I know?"
9-11. The Covenant. Prepared.
12-16. Answer. "Know of a surety."
17-21. The Covenant. Solemnized.
1921 B.C.
Genesis 15:1 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."
(The Incarnate Christ is Faith's shield. "These things" spoken of here are the battle with the Babylonians, and the meeting with Christ, Melchizedek the Priest of the Most High God, and the offering of Abrams tithe to him. So this is at a later time that this vision came to Abram. Remember in Ephesians 6:10-20, God is telling us that in the preparation for the spiritual battle that is coming upon our generation in these last days, we are also to wear the shield of God. Each part of that protection is given, and those who have the spiritual eyes to see, are putting that armor on.
In Ezekiel 44 we are told that the reward and inheritance of the elect, the saved, in the Millennium Age and beyond, is God. We become joint heirs with Christ, and reign with Him in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We will be with Him through eternity. "I am" is the sacred name of God. He is our shield and defense.)
2 And Abram said, "LORD God (Yehovah Adonai, 1st occ. relating to blessing in the earth), what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer (=God is his help) of Damascus?"
(Abram is tithing to God, yet, Abram asks God, how can you give me an inheritance when I don't even have a child to pass the inheritance on to. Remember, God has already promised him children many years prior. Abram is saying, "I hear you Lord, and I believe you, but where is my child?")
3 And Abram said, "Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."
(Abram knew what the purpose of the "heir" was, it was to extend the wealth of a person to the next generation, and down through his bloodline. God had promised Abram that the Messiah would come through his seed, his offspring. There was "man's" Law in the land, i.e. the Code of Khummarabi, some of which were unfair and unequal).
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."
(This is a total commitment by God that Abram would have a son.)
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven (God chose for Abram), and tell the stars (the heavenly calling in Israel), if thou be able to number them": (hence Joab's objection in 2 Sam.24:3) and He said unto him, "So shall thy seed be."
(We see here an unconditional promise from God to Abram. It is numbered in the entire "Israel", all of the tribes, and as we will see in the next chapter. The many nations apply also to God's promises made to Hagar, and her son Ishmael, also a son of Abram. Ishmael also had twelve sons, which were also of Abraham's seed, and today they form the Arab nations of the world.
This seed of Abram is traceable, however, most Christians of today desire to remain ignorant to their true inheritance.)
6 And he believed in the LORD (i.e. believed what he "heard" [Rom.10:17].); and He counted it to him for righteousness.
(This positive imputed righteousness because he believed concerning Christ. It was more than forensic righteousness, which was negative or non-imputation of sin. This was the consequence of the Gospel preached to Abram [cp. Gal.3:8, and read Rom. 4, and Gal. 3]. When we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, He becomes our shield, and in control of our lives; just as He has control over all events concerning Abram and all promises, and that is "belief". Abram believed that God would do exactly as He said He would do, and this faith in God was imputed to Abram as righteousness. Abram believed that the promised Messiah would come through his seed.)
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?"
(Abram is asking for proof of the promise of inheritance. It is o.k. to ask God how, but don't ask Him why because that would be like doubting Him.)
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."
(5 items, the #5 = Grace, because Covenant was unconditional. All of these animals are animals of sacrifices. This was a sacrifice, and some commentators are drawn to the fact that these animals were each three years old, and that is the length of time of Jesus Christ's ministry on earth, three years.)
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.
(Abram cleaned the animals and divided them, only he did not cut up the birds.)
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
(Another attempt by Satan to prevent the Covenant? If you see the vultures moving in to destroy that sacrifice, do you fight to drive them away. When God gives you an understanding of part of His Word, do you allow some false prophet, some man of the cloth pushing traditions of men, to discredit the precious seed of understanding given by the Spirit of God. It is high time we protect our sacrifice to God, and that property must come first in our lives.)
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
(Put to sleep so that he should have no part in it, and that the Covenant should be unconditional, in which "God was the One" and only contracting party)
13 And He said unto Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed (i.e. Isaac) shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
(This 430 years is the time of the Israelite captivity in Egypt. This prophecy to Abram is ancient history to our generation.)
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge (i.e. punish): and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
(Remember the plagues placed on the Pharaoh and the Egyptians at the end of the captivity? That is this judgment in the vision to Abram.
It will seem bad to the Israelites while the are in captivity, however, they will be well off in the end and far richer than when they went to Egypt. This is all part of God's plan.)
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace;
(= die and be buried. Abraham's fathers were idolaters. See Josh. 24:2)
thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again:
(i.e. Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses, Jochebed [born in Egypt].)
for the iniquity (= idolatry) of the Amorites is not yet full."
(The Israelite nations will deal the punishment on the Amorites for their sins. These Amorites are a mixture with the fallen angels, the Nephilim, and also the Kenites. In these latter days the Book of Amos, in the second chapter addresses the transgressions that they will bring upon both houses, the House of Israel [the Christian nations], and the House of Judah [the Jews]. These Amorites are the blood descendants of the Nephilim, of the Canaanite nations, and they will cause much rebellion against God, and be dealt with by the sword of Israel.)
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.
(In the term; "passed between those pieces", is in direct reference to Abram's sacrifice, and their acceptance by God. God is the consuming fire that is the "smoking furnace", but the "lamp" is the promise of the "deliverer" [Moses] that would come. That deliverer is in the type of Christ, and he will bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Jesus Christ is the ultimate deliverer between man and God for all times, and the fire on this altar of Abram sealed the Covenant.)
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land,
(Before this it was "I will". From now on it is "I have".)
from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
(Never yet even to this day possessed with these boundaries)
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims (another link in the chain from 6:4),
21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
(Remember from Chapter four that the "Kenites" were the descendants of "Cain", whose father was Satan. The rest of all these ten nations are all mixed and inbred from the Nephilim, the offspring of the fallen angels. These ten nation are the complete listing at Abrams time, and include all of Satan's forces and children on the earth. Their joining came together in their mixed marriages with fallen angels.
When God speaks and gives us direction, that is law. The Law's of God are his covenant, and the covenant spoken by God four thousand years ago, is as firm today as it was then. When Christ went to the cross at Calvary, He became the New Covenant to his people, and by our repentance for our sins, and accepting Christ's finished work on the cross by faith, we then have nothing to worry about, and especially with these satanic people, or any nation.
Jesus Christ gave us the power over all of Satan's realm, including the Kenites, and their one world system. They are taking control today through their four hidden dynasties, and those dynasties simply do not have any power over the force God has given in the protection of His own. That Covenant and power is extended to you and I today.)