GENESIS 15
7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. – Genesis 15:7-11
GENESIS 15 ABRAM’S DESIRE FOR A SIGN FROM GOD
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
Though the Lord promised Abram the land of Canaan and many offsprings
His mind still goes back and forth from faith to some doubting
So, the Lord God reminded him how he called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans
Yet Abram wanted a sign of the covenant promise for the promised descendants.
God instructed Abram to prepare a heifer, a female goat, a ram,
A turtledove, and a young pigeon, all of them three years old
Abram cut the animals in half except for the turtledove and pigeon
When the birds of prey came down on the remains, he drove them away.
This is an interesting account when Abram just got assurance of God’s promise of a land of his own and many offspring. He believed, but not long after that, he still had some doubts as to how these promises were going to be fulfilled by God. So, he wanted a sign from God. Instead of a visible sign, God instructed him to prepare a sacrifice to solidify his covenant promise to him. We still witness Abram’s obedience to follow the demand of God for such offerings. The ESV study notes says that that the ritual described here is possibly a type of oath. God is saying that he will become like the dead animals if he does not keep his word referred to in Jer. 34:18-20. Another interpretation is that the sacrificial animals symbolize Abram’s descendants and the “birds of prey” (Gen 15:11) signify their enemies (unclean nation). Human’s limited minds cannot fathom how the promises of God will come to pass, but he wants us to trust him completely with no doubting.
REFLECTION
- What does James 1 tell us about wisdom and faith that Abram struggled here?
