God's Promise of a Son
Study note
After the events of chapter 14, God comes to Abram in a vision and tells him not to be afraid. Abram honestly shares his concern — he has no children, and his servant Eliezer of Damascus would inherit everything. God assures Abram that his own biological son will be his heir. God takes Abram outside and tells him to count the stars — his descendants will be that numerous. Verse 6 is one of the most important verses in the Bible: Abram believed God, and God counted his faith as righteousness.
1 After all of this, the Lord spoke to Abram through a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your protector, and your reward from me will be exceedingly great." 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 But Abram replied, "Lord God, what kind of reward could matter to me? I still don't have any children! At this rate, my servant Eliezer from Damascus is going to end up with everything I own." 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 Abram went on, "You have not given me any children. So one of my household servants will get everything I own." And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 Then the Lord's message came to him: "No — that servant will not be your heir. Instead, you will have a son of your very own, and he will inherit everything." 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 God brought Abram outside and said, "Look up at the night sky. Try to count all those stars — if you can!" Then he told him, "That is how many descendants you are going to have." 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 Abram believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
The Covenant Ceremony
Study note
God reminds Abram that he brought him from Ur to give him this land. When Abram asks for assurance, God instructs him to prepare animals for a covenant ceremony. In the ancient Near East, making a covenant involved cutting animals in half and walking between the pieces, symbolizing 'may this happen to me if I break this agreement.' As the sun sets, Abram falls into a deep sleep and God reveals that his descendants will be strangers in a foreign land where they will be enslaved for 400 years — a prophecy of Israel's time in Egypt. After dark, a smoking fire pot and a blazing torch (representing God) pass between the animal pieces. Only God passes through, meaning this covenant depends entirely on God's faithfulness, not Abram's. God promises the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates.
7 God also told him, "I am the Lord — the one who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans so I could give you this land as your very own." 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 Abram asked, "Lord God, how can I be sure that this land will truly be mine?" And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 God told him, "Go get me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon." 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 Abram brought all these animals, cut them down the middle, and laid the two halves across from each other. But he left the birds whole. 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 Vultures swooped down on the animal carcasses, but Abram shooed them away. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun went down, Abram fell into a deep, heavy sleep. A thick, scary darkness settled over him. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 The Lord told him, "Here is something you need to know for certain: Your descendants will live as outsiders in a country that is not their own. The people there will force them into slavery and treat them badly for 400 years." 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 "But I will punish the nation that enslaves them. After that, your descendants will leave that place loaded with wealth." And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 "As for you, you will live a long and peaceful life and die at a ripe old age." And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 "Four generations from now, your descendants will come back here. The Amorites living here have not become wicked enough yet for me to drive them out." But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 The sun went down. It became very dark. Then something amazing appeared. A smoking clay pot with a blazing torch passed between the cut-up animals. 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 That very day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, "I am giving this land to your children's children. It stretches from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River." 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 "This includes the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites," The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 "Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites," And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 "Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites." And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.