Les Tripp
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.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:5-6).
Abram’s relationship with the Lord is solid enough he could remind the Lord of the promise that he would be the father of nations (chapter 12). The Lord’s response follows Abrams refusal to accept the king of Sodom’s offer of a reward. The Lord promised Abram his reward would be very great and compared his descendants to the stars in the heavens.
This is followed by the very short but powerful statement that Abram believed, and the Lord counted his faith as righteousness (15:6). This statement is repeated in Romans 4:3, 22; Galatians 3:6; and James 2:23. But Abram was not totally obedient. Total obedience is not in our DNA. Like Abram, believers are considered righteous even though they sin.
Abram requested assurance that he would possess the promised land. In response, the Lord told Abram to take a three-year-old heifer, goat, and ram with a turtledove and a pigeon and cut the animals in half. Some interpret this to mean that God would be dead if he did not keep his promise. Another interpretation is that the animals represent the descendants of Abram, all of Israel. Abram followed instructions, but scavenger birds descended on the dead animals. Some believe the scavengers represent Israel’s enemies. Others believe they represent the affliction the Israelites suffered in Egypt.
Then the Lord told Abram in a dream that his offspring would live in Egypt for 400 years and be servants of the Egyptians, that they would leave Egypt with great possessions, that Abram would be buried in peace, and that his people would return to Canaan when the Lord was ready to judge the Amorites.
When Abram completed the preparation of the carcasses, a smoking torch and flaming pot, representing God’s presence, passed between the halves of the animals. Some believe the path between the halves of the animals was a loop forming the symbol for infinity, eternity, or forever. This covenant involved God alone. At the end of the ceremony, the Lord described the boundaries of the land his descendants would possess and listed the people to be displaced.
While The Lord’s covenant with us is on his part alone, we need to believe.