Scripture Reading: Genesis 15

Genesis chapter 15 for our meditation tonight. Genesis chapter 15. Genesis 15, I'll read the chapter and then we'll look at it in some detail. So Genesis 15, beginning in verse one.

After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. But Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me seeing I go childless and that heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus? Then Abram said, Look, you have given me no offspring.

Indeed, one born in my house is my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him saying, this one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir. Then he brought him outside and said, look now toward heaven and count the stars if you are able to number them. And he said to him, so shall your descendants be.

And he believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness. Then he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it? So he said to him, bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.

Then he brought all these to him and cut them in two down the middle and placed each piece opposite the other. But he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram.

And behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then he said to Abram, know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them. And they will afflict them 400 years. And also the nation whom they serve, I will judge.

Afterward, they shall come out with great possessions. Now, as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation, they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

And it came to pass when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying, to your descendants, I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Repham, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your written word. We know it's God-breathed, and we receive it as such. And help us, God, to submit to the authority of Holy Scripture, to see in it our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, from cover to cover. and to see your handiwork and all that you have done in terms of saving sinners by him. We ask that you would bless this time, encourage our hearts, cause us to reflect afresh upon what we have in the gospel of our salvation.

And may all of this act of worship be an expression of praise and gratitude and thankfulness to you for your many blessings to us. Forgive us now for all sin and all unrighteousness and guide us by your Holy Spirit. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

Introduction

Well, on Wednesday nights, we are going through the Pentateuch as a whole. So we started in Genesis, we went through Exodus and Leviticus, and now we're in the book of Numbers, and God willing, we'll be in Numbers 20, excuse me, this Wednesday night. And one of the things that we have seen repeatedly in the book of Numbers is that they're wandering through the wilderness en route to the land that God had promised. And that promise reached back all the way to the book of Genesis.

God promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob that he would give them the land of promise, that land of Canaan, that land that was flowing with milk and honey. Well, as we see here in this particular chapter, Abram was a man of great faith, but even Abram wanted a sign. He wanted confirmation. This wasn't an expression of his doubt, but similarly to what we find in a Gideon and what we find in a Hezekiah, they ask God to confirm the promise and that's precisely what we have in Genesis 15.

It's a covenant ceremony with Abraham.

Promise to Abraham (vv. 1–6)

So I want to look first at the promise to Abraham in verses 1 to 6 and and then the confirmation by covenant in verses seven to 17. So let's look first at the promise to Abraham in verses one to six, and there's a few observations here.

The Comfort of God

First, note the comfort of God. And if we look at this passage, notice in 15, one, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. The after these things must refer to what takes place in Genesis chapter 14. Basically, you had a coalition of Eastern kings that launched an attack upon Western kings.

And in that attack, they subdued and kidnapped and took Lot, the nephew of Abram. And Abram then armed his servants and they went on a mission to recover Lot. And so Abram was victorious in that particular exchange. And as he returns, according to 1418, this is the instance where Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine.

He was the priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram and said, so after these things, this message comes to Abram at a time most likely that he desperately needed to hear it. If the coalition of Eastern kings could launch one attack, they could certainly launch an additional attack. If a coalition of Eastern kings could do that, then a coalition of Western kings could do that. These were marauders.

These were people that wanted to conquer. These were people that wanted to subdue others and take their stuff. And so as we look at 15.1, we need to remember that context. So after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, Do not be afraid.

He's encouraging the patriarch to not fear. God has seen him through that battle. God has enabled him to recover his nephew. God has blessed him such that Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine to him and blessed him.

But as well, note the reason why he says to not be afraid. Notice in verse one, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. Notice he doesn't say, do not be afraid, Abram, because you're really good with those armed servants. Those men are crack shots.

Those men are great with the weapons. Those men are great at stealth and recon and every art associated with military activity. That's not why he tells him not to be afraid. He tells Abram not to be afraid because I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.

Look back in 1418. So after, we read in verse 19 rather, he blessed him and said, blessed be Abram of God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand. That's the fleshing out of what God relates here in 15.1. I am your shield.

This coalition of Eastern kings can go so far, but no farther. This coalition of wicked men can go so far, but no farther. I am your shield. So on the basis of who God is and what God does on behalf of his people, he exhorts the patriarch not to be afraid.

But also notice, he says, I am your exceedingly great reward. If you go back to chapter 14, look again at verse 20, after the section that I read, and he gave him a tithe of all. So this is how Melchizedek, king of Salem, honors Abram. Now note the difference or the contrast with the king of Sodom.

He was one of the Western kings. It says, now the king of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons and take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the Lord, God most high, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. So when God tells him in 15.1, do not be afraid.

I am your shield. God is the one who had defended Abram from all of his enemies. But as well, when God says, I am your exceedingly great reward, Abram already tasted that experientially. The king of Sodom says, go ahead and return my men, but I will give you whatever else that you want.

And Abram says, no, I don't want that arrangement, because then you will attribute my blessing and my profitability to yourself. He says, no, God is my exceedingly great reward. Now he does make provision in verse 24, except only what the young men have eaten and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion.

So Abram already tasted and seen that the Lord was good. Abram already knew this by way of experience. So when God comes to encourage him not to fear, he simply reminds him of what he's already been. And I think there's an encouragement for us in our Bible reading.

It's not so much new information that we're after. Rather, it is a reminder of what we know God to be. That's why you read your Bible. That's why you listen to sermons.

That's why you reorient yourself and refamiliarize yourself with the promises of God. They are yea and amen in Jesus Christ. We're not looking for a new angle. We're not looking for a new discovery.

We're rather looking anew to see the same old God. And I do not mean that disrespectfully. I mean in the sense that God is a rock. that God is there for us, that He is our shield, that He is our exceedingly great reward. Certainly, Abram could join us tonight in singing, if we happen to be singing this one, riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, thou mine inheritance now and always, thou and thou only, first in my heart, high king of heaven, my treasure thou art.

So Abram, don't be afraid, I am your shield, I've got you, I'm gonna protect you, and know that I am your exceedingly great reward.

Abram's Childlessness

That then brings us to the response of Abram. Notice in verses two and three, he highlights his childlessness. Now this, as far as Abram is concerned, is a bit of a concern because God has promised that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars of the sky and of the sand on the seashore. And thus far, he didn't have any children.

So look at what he says in verse two. But Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus? Then Abram said, look, you have given me no offspring. Indeed, one born in my house is my heir.

So his suggestion is that this servant be made his heir. Now he's going to suggest that with reference to Ishmael in chapter 17 in verse 18, but God is going to decline in each of these instances. Why? because the son of promise is Isaac. And while it may appear that you are too old to have children, nothing is too hard for God.

God is the God of all flesh. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. God is able to open the womb. God is the author of biology.

God is able to fulfill all that he has promised. But at the same time, we understand why Abram is expressing what he is expressing here.

The Lord's Promise and Sign

Notice then the Lord's promise and sign, verses four and five. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him saying, this one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir. Then he brought him outside and said, look now toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to number them. And he said to him, so shall your descendants be.

We know that ultimately this hinges upon the seed of Abraham, which is Jesus Christ our Lord. He is identified as such in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 16. When we do look at the book of Revelation and we see that great multitude that no man can number, those stars that cannot be numbered, that sand on the seashore that cannot be numbered, it's not primarily due to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is due to their seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one in whom all the nations, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

So God basically says to Abram, just relax. I've got this. It's not going to be your servant. It's not going to be the son born of the bond woman, Ishmael, but it's going to be the son of promise that comes from you and Sarah.

Namely, it is going to be Isaac.

Justification by Faith Alone

And then notice, Abraham expresses his faith. And this is the verse that launches a thousand ships in terms of scripture. This is a verse that is utilized by a multitude of men in the Old Testament and in the New Testament and throughout church history. It is the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Look at what we read in verse six. And he, Abram, believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness. So the promise was not conditioned by Abraham's works. Abraham performed well, Abraham did well, Abraham never feared again.

That's not what it says. It tells us very clearly he believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness. This is the turning point. I'm not suggesting that Abram was a reprobate prior to this time, but this is the articulation of his relationship with our blessed God.

John Gill says he believed in the promise of God that he should have a seed, and a very numerous one. He believed that the Messiah would spring from his seed. He believed in him as his Savior and Redeemer. He believed in him for righteousness, and he believed in his righteousness as justifying him before God.

Not the act of his faith, but the object of it. Not the act of his faith, not, oh, good for you, Abram, you've expressed some faith. Doesn't really matter what that faith is in, but insofar as you have faith, thus I'm gonna justify you. No, faith is only as good as its object, and the glory of justification is by faith alone, in Christ alone, to the saving of the sinner.

As our confession says, not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness, but by imputing Christ's act of obedience unto the whole law and passive obedience in His death for their whole and sole righteousness by faith, which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God. So how does Abram, out of Ur of the Chaldeans, go from an idolater, which he was, he worshipped the gods of his fathers, we know that, it's confirmed for us in the book of Joshua in chapter 24, just in case there was any misunderstanding. Coming out of Ur of the Chaldeans, you were not a Yahweh worshipper. Coming out of Ur of the Chaldeans, you were not given over to the true and living God.

So how does he go from point A to point B? Because he's a good man, because he's a great man. He is a good man and he is a great man. But he goes there by God's grace.

He goes there by the saving grace of faith and repentance. He believed God. He looked to the promise of God, and I'll argue in a bit, that he had a lot to go on. He didn't have both the Old and the New Testaments.

He doesn't have as much as we do. But what he had, he held on to. And what he had, he believed in. Calvin makes the observation with reference to justification by faith.

He says, The merit of works ceases when righteousness is sought by faith. For it is necessary that this righteousness should be freely given by God and offered in His word, in order that anyone may possess it by faith. For it is especially to be observed that faith borrows a righteousness elsewhere, of which we in ourselves are destitute. Faith borrows a righteousness of which we are destitute.

We get the alien righteousness of another, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the language of Luther. We need an alien, outside-of-ourself righteousness, and that is imputed to us, and it's received by faith alone. Calvin goes on to say, "...otherwise it would be vain for Paul to set faith in opposition to works when speaking of the mode of obtaining righteousness." And he's commenting there on Romans 4.

Remember Romans 4, that great declaration of justification by faith alone. Where does Paul go? He goes to Abraham. He goes to the Old Testament.

He goes to David in the Psalms. It's never been the case that Old Covenant Israelites that were actually saved were saved by a result of their works. They were saved by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Their faith was forward-looking.

Their faith was rooted in the promises of the coming of Christ, but it was the same Christ that they believed in. Abel went to heaven by virtue of Christ. Every patriarch went to heaven by virtue of Christ. Every prophet, every godly man, every godly woman that entered into heaven went by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

So this is a wonderful statement concerning Abraham. He believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness. I should qualify that. It's a wonderful statement concerning God.

He justifies us freely by his grace, according to Romans 3 and verse 23. So that's the backdrop. So we've got this issue of childlessness and the question of heirship. And God says, don't worry about it.

You're going to have a great number of descendants.

Confirmation by Covenant (vv. 7–17)

That then brings us to this confirmation by covenant in verses 7 to 17.

Covenant Preamble

Note in verse 7, you have what's called a preamble, sort of a historical prologue to a covenant. And we see there in verse 7, then he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to inherit it. Same way that the Ten Commandments start, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. There's this preamble, there's this historical statement, there's this confirmation of the facts and what God had performed or what God had done on their behalf that sets the context or framework for the coming covenant.

Then notice what we have. God restipulates what he is going to do. He restipulates it there in that verse, to give you this land to inherit it. Now, Abram says, Lord God, verse 8, how shall I know that I will inherit it?

Let's just stop here. I don't want to get psychological, but I think we can enter in. You kind of get the drift when he says, Lord, how's it going to be that my descendants outnumber the stars and the sand? How's it going to be that I'm going to inherit this land?

And as far as Abram's concerned, he just came out of a skirmish, a battle with these Eastern kings, the coalition of Eastern kings. How's this gonna work? That's what he's saying. It's clear, right?

Like, I'm not making that up. Let me just double check. Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it? Now, we might think that, how dare you?

You just expressed faith in the living and true God. Your faith is concretely rooted in his promises. How could you even dare to question if you'll inherit it? You see, God doesn't respond that way.

God doesn't upbraid him. God doesn't rebuke him. God doesn't reprove him. God rather answers him, and he answers him by way of covenant.

The request for a confirmation. Wenham says, how am I to know is a request for a sign to confirm the promise, not the expression of doubt. Let's see something, a bit of a foreshadow, a bit of a down payment, a bit of a taste, if you will, knowing that this is in fact your plan, that I inherit the earth. So God doesn't rebuke him, but God says to Abram in verse 9, he said to him, bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.

For those of us who have been wandering through the wilderness on Wednesday nights and who lumbered in Leviticus at Sinai, this is the language of the Levitical sacrificial system. This is foreshadowing. This is typifying. This is kind of advancing, tipping the hand.

This is what's going to happen, at least in terms of Old Covenant Israel and their approach to a thrice holy God. So he tells him, bring me a three-year-old heifer, three-year-old lamb, a female goat, three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. And then note that he prepares the animals.

The Glory of Christ in the Ritual

And I think it's here that I want us to see the glory of Christ. Now, that may seem a little bit counterintuitive, but I hope by the end of the sermon you'll see the glory of Christ. Notice in verse 10, "...then he," Abram, "...brought all these to him, and cut them in two." Down the middle. That means what it said.

Don't rat me out to PETA. Don't call, you know, the SPCA. But that's what it meant. take the animals, cut them in half. Yes, that means they would die unless they were super animals that could somehow survive being mutilated.

So they're cut in half and then they're put on either side, right? So half a dead animal here, half a dead animal here. There's an aisle way or a route right between the two. He brought them or brought all these to him and cut them in two down the middle and placed each piece opposite the other.

But he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. I think that speaks to something that's gonna be covered later in the book of Deuteronomy, but underscores judgment, underscores condemnation. The symbolism of these vultures is the ultimate fate of the covenant breaker.

That's the significance of this ceremony by way of a spoiler. The issue is that the parties to the covenant walk between these animals. Dead animal, dead animal, parties walk between them. The idea being when you get to the end and you've ratified the covenant, that if I break my part of this covenant, remember a covenant is more than an agreement or a contract.

There's skin in the game with reference to a covenant. I mean, there's lots of technical definitions that one could give about covenant, but just understand there's skin in the game. There are consequences for failure. There are consequences for reneging.

There are consequences for breaking. And so the parties to the covenant walk between these animals with the understanding that if I break the covenant, if I renege on my obligation, then may what happened to these animals happen to me. In other words, it's a maledictory oath. I mentioned that this morning.

Remember benediction and malediction? Malediction is what we see in Matthew 27. Let his blood be upon us and our children. It is invoking the curse and wrath and fury of God should we be found guilty.

That's the significance of this particular ceremony. So Abram does it dutifully. And as I said, I think it points forward to Deuteronomy 28, 26, or at least captures that. Thematically, your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.

That is the covenant curse, or one of the curses placed on old covenant Israel, should they go in the land and not be faithful. If they renege on their covenant, then they're going to be basically carrying. Now,

The Promise of the Covenant

note then the promise of the covenant in verses 12 to 16. Now, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram. This is the same sleep as Adam's in Genesis 2.21. So, when a deep sleep fell upon him, and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.

Then God said to Abram, know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them and they will afflict them 400 years. And also the nation whom they serve, I will judge afterward, they shall come out with great possessions. Now, as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace, but you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation, they shall return here for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

So the reference to his descendants assumes the promise of descendants. God never makes sort of any kind of a hypothetical plan here. It's purposeful. It is decretal.

It's going to come to pass. He mentions your descendants. He mentions as well their bondage in Egypt. They're going to be Strangers in a strange land.

They're gonna be in bondage. We know that in the book of Exodus, that is precisely what we have. As well, there is a promise of redemption from the bondage in Egypt in verses 14 and 15. Now, when we look at a passage like that, it should remind us that we usually want things right now.

We pray and we want it right now. Well, no, it might be 400 years. You're not gonna get it right now. Why is that?

Because that's God's purpose and plan. That's God's decree. That's God's means by which He does what He does for His glory and for our well-being. So it's never a good thing for us to question, well, why is it taking so long?

Are you ever going to answer? Are you ever going to respond? Remember that no is a response, and that yeses at times may take some time. And so patience is definitely a helpful requisite in the life of the Christian.

And then notice the return to the land of promise in verse 16. But in the fourth generation, this is after Egypt, after bondage, they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. Amorites here is what's called a synecdoche. It's a part for the whole.

It means all the Canaanites, those mentioned in verses 19 to 21, their iniquity is not yet complete. It means that God does not deal capriciously or arbitrarily, but he will bring upon them the judgment of dispossession from the land and the brutality of war from the warring Israelites because of their sin. He doesn't just look down at Israel and say, man, I just love you so much more than these wretches. Go ahead and take their land.

These wretches asked for the judgment and fury and wrath of God. When Israel goes into the land and they become wretches like the Canaanites and God deals with them in like manner through Assyria and through Babylon. He brings the same justice upon them that he brought upon the Canaanites through them. So again, lesson here, donate the Canaanites.

Don't imitate the Canaanites. When you go into the land, be faithful to what God calls you to in the covenant.

Ratification and Typology of the Gospel

And then note the ratification of the covenant, verses 17 and 18a. And it came to pass when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying, So this was the ratification of it. Tonight I'm gonna read from Matthew 26 when we have the supper.

Jesus is ratifying the new covenant in his blood. The old covenant was ratified through blood as well. At the base of Sinai in Exodus chapter 24, blood was sprinkled upon the people of God as they swore fidelity to Yahweh. This is a ratification of the covenant that God is making with Abram to underscore his faithfulness, not Abram's, but God's faithfulness in response to the question about an heir and in response to the question about inheriting the land.

The Lord wants Abram to know that this is in fact promised, this is in fact real, this is in fact going to take place. So the smoke and the fire are symbolic for the presence of God. The smoking oven and burning torch were an emblem of the divine being according to John Gill, and I think he's right. But what is intriguing here?

What is interesting? I mentioned earlier, if you and I were contracting a covenant, or ratifying a covenant. We're ancient Near Easterners, and we're going to covenant together. We bring our animals together.

We cut those animals in half. We place them on either side. We then walk down that aisle together. But you see here, it's only God.

So here, it's not Abraham. It's God's unilateral covenant that he is purposed to give descendants and to give the land to Abraham. It is not conditioned upon the faithfulness of Abraham. Now, the old covenant was conditional as a covenant of work, such that when they enter into the land, they're not faithful.

God ejects them from the land. But the giving of the descendants, the giving of the land, God covenants to do that, and God covenants to do that by himself. Now remember the symbolism involved. The parties to the covenant walk down in the midst of the animals.

What's the end game? If I renege on this covenant, then may what happened to these animals happen to me. See, God the Lord is the covenant party. God the Lord is the covenant maker.

God the Lord is the covenant keeper. It's like I mentioned with reference to Psalm 1. Yes, don't walk that way. Don't live with evil people.

Walk, get far from wretched people. But that's a description of Christ. The law of God is His delight. Brethren, if you can honestly say that that's true of you 24-7, you've achieved what no other man this side of Jesus has achieved.

It is the God of heaven and earth that promises. It's the God of heaven and earth that provides. It is the God of heaven and earth that keeps covenant. John Gill mentions or comments, it being usual in making covenants, for the covenanters to pass between the parts of a creature slain, signifying that should they break the covenant made, they deserve to be cut asunder as that creature was.

A more recent theologian, O. Palmer Robertson, a little bit longer of a quote, but he says, by dividing animals and passing between the pieces, participants in a covenant pledge themselves to life and death. These actions established an oath of self-malediction. If they should break the commitment involved in the covenant, they were asking that their own bodies be torn in pieces just as the animals had been divided ceremonially.

In the case of the Abrahamic covenant, God the Creator binds himself to man the creature by a solemn blood oath. The Almighty chooses to commit himself to the fulfillment of promises spoken to Abraham. By this divine commitment, Abraham's doubts are to be expelled. God has solemnly promised and has sealed that promise with a self-maledictory oath.

The realization of the divine word is assured. Now back to Abram's question. How do I know I'm going to inherit the earth? A perfectly sufficient answer would have been, because I said so.

How do we know we're going to go to the park tomorrow, dad? Because I said so. Well, I want to sign. Okay.

This is a very serious sign to confirm the promise of God. A self-maledictory oath on the part of Yahweh, such that if we pass through, or I pass through this, and it doesn't come to pass that you have a great seed, and it doesn't come to pass that you inherit a great land, then may what was done to these animals be done to God himself. Brethren, that's precisely the gospel. That's precisely Galatians 3.

God made Christ a curse. Christ took upon himself the malediction. Christ took upon himself the destruction. Christ took upon himself the dissolution that those animals deserve, or that those animals got and those parties to the covenant deserve.

Christ is what we see in Genesis 15 in this ancient ceremony where half animals are on either side, and God passes through the midst of that. He's preaching Jesus to him. He's preaching the gospel to us. He's teaching us concerning substitutionary blood atonement.

Christ bore the penalty for our sin. I know that we affirm substitution, substitutionary penal atonement. I know that we confess that and we affirm it, but do we ever stand in awe and wonder at it? He took our place on the cross.

Romans 3, God set forth Christ as a propitiation through his blood. You know what a propitiation is? It deals with wrath. And that presupposes guilt.

So our guilt is heaped upon the Savior. Our Savior stands in our place. He takes that wrath and that fury and that curse and that judgment. He takes what happens to those animals upon himself so that his righteousness can then be given to us and so that our sins may be cleansed by his precious blood.

So God, to Abraham, to assuage him with reference to these what seems to be outstanding promises that are almost unattainable or seem to be unattainable in terms of seed and land, God doesn't just say, because I said so. God goes through this elaborate situation or ceremony to confirm to Abraham that everything he says is true. Of course, the apostle picks up on this in Hebrews chapter 6, speaks about God swearing an oath. There's no one greater outside of God whereby God can swear by them, so he swears by himself.

He's putting his integrity on the line. He's putting his faithfulness on the line. He's putting it all on the line for us men and for our salvation. As we read this ancient ceremony, as we read this odd sort of an answer or response to Abraham's question concerning seed and land, never forget that it points us to the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is precisely what takes place in the gospel of our salvation. The emblem of the divine being passed between the animals alone, not accompanied by Abraham. As well, the curse of the covenant was taken by God himself should He reneged on his promises. Gil again, only God passed between the pieces, not Abram.

This covenant being as others God makes with men, only on one side, or we might call it unilateral. God in covenanting with men promises and gives something unto them, but men give nothing to him, but receive from him. Meredith Klein, by passing alone between the pieces, God swore fidelity to his covenant promises and took upon himself all the curses symbolized by the carcasses. So in that old covenant setting, there was no reneging on the part of Yahweh.

There was no forsaking on the part of God. There was no infidelity on the part of God. So therefore, no decimation or dissolution of the divine being for his having been unfaithful to the terms of the covenant. When we get to the new covenant, the problem wasn't with Jesus.

But Jesus is that man of Psalm 1. Jesus is that representative of all that the Father had given him. Jesus takes for us that punishment that is due to us because we broke covenant, because we are unfaithful, because we have transgressed the law, and because we have lacked conformity unto it. So this text, not only is it a wonderful promise to Abraham's inquiry about seed and land, but it's a wonderful typology of what God does in the gospel.

Boundaries of the Land and the Seed

The section ends with the boundaries of the land, the geographical, the ethnological, and the typological. It's intriguing because Paul tells us in Romans chapter four that the promise made to Abraham was that he would inherit the world. But if you read the boundaries, that's not the world. Again, it transcends Abram.

It speaks concerning Abram's seed, that Galatians 3.16 seed, which is Jesus Christ. How can it be said that Abraham inherited the world? Because of Christ. Psalm 2, ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.

Matthew 28, go therefore and make disciples of what? All the nations. Revelation, men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. So when God promises to Abraham, it is certainly applicable to Abraham and Old Covenant Israel, but it looks beyond them, as so much of Old Covenant Israel is typological, foreshadowing and prefiguring the kingdom of God in and through the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is the seed of Abram and all the elect in him are covenant partakers of the blessings of God. So in this passage, we see the faith of Abraham. That faith was not brought to God and then rewarded by God. No, that faith was the instrument by which he laid hold of the promises of God, specifically concerning Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith was the instrument. And we remember, hopefully we remember in John chapter eight, when Jesus is disputing with the unbelieving Jews and he gets into Abraham, where they claim Abraham is our father. So Jesus says, if Abraham was your father, you wouldn't try to kill me. Pretty simple thing here.

If Abraham was your father, you wouldn't want to kill me because I'm the seed of Abraham. Just so you know. What does Jesus say to them? Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and he was glad.

What do they respond? You're not yet 50 years old. Have you seen Abraham? Before Abraham was, I am.

But when he says Abraham rejoiced to see my day, you mean the faith of Abraham was such that it laid hold of Jesus Christ? Yeah. He had Genesis 3.15. He had Genesis 3.21.

He had Genesis 22, or he's going to have Genesis 22. They had a lot of data. And the data that they had by God's grace believed it and thus received justification by faith alone through Christ alone. As well, we see the faithfulness of God, the exhortation given to him, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.

The promise given to Abraham, the reiteration of the seed promise and the land promise, and then the confirmation by covenant. We have the indefectibility of the covenant, not subject to failure or decay. It is grounded in the oath and promise of God himself. In fact, turn there, we'll end in a moment, Hebrews chapter six, to see what the apostle says concerning God and Abraham.

Hebrews chapter six. Verse 13, for when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself saying, surely blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.

Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs a promise, the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath. God was determined to confirm to the likes of us that what He is saying, He is going to accomplish. It's amazing. It's truly amazing.

Verse 18, that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. You know, when you see these Jesus fish on cars, you know, the ethus, the symbol for Jesus that the early church used, you know, another symbol that they used was the anchor. I don't see anchors on cars, but wouldn't be a bad pitch.

Why? Because our God is a rock. Our God is one that we can anchor to. Our God is faithful.

Our God answers a simple question with an elaborate ceremony invoking curse upon himself if he doesn't see through it with reference to seed and land. That's our God. So much so that in the fullness of the time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law. Notice, he goes on.

And which enters, verse 19, this hope we have is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. And then just turn to Galatians 3. We should read Galatians 3, 13 in light of Genesis 15. Galatians 3, we'll pick up in verse 10.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue, notice, in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. The old covenant was a covenant of work. You had to do all things in order to be saved by virtue of the old covenant. God was operating according to promise and the coming covenant of grace wherein he saved the Abels, he saved the Abrams, he saved the Isaacs, he saved the Jacobs.

But the purpose of that old covenant as a system was to hedge the people of Israel in keep them from jeopardizing the seed, and as well, it was to show them their need for the seed, to show them their need for this Psalm 1 man. Certainly as they sang Psalm 1, they had to be mindful, as I think we all are, that ain't me. I kind of want, well, I really want to be that, but I know I'm not. I'm trying, by God's grace, I make a little headway once in a while.

But there's a consciousness, as you sing Psalm 1, that ain't us. So they were taught to look forward to the fullness of the time when God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Notice, verse 11, But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident. For the just shall live by faith.

He invokes the prophet Habakkuk. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. Verse 13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, curse it is everyone who hangs on a tree.

He has become a curse for us. He has taken upon himself the fate of those animals in that ceremony. He has taken it upon himself that if A party in the covenant reneges. If a party in the covenant fails and falters, that party should suffer wrath and fury.

Christ took that for us. He is our covenant head. That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Application

Well, brethren, hopefully that's at least a bit of a sketch to show as to how Jesus is what Genesis 15 is pointing forward to. We have much to be thankful for. We've got a gracious and a faithful God. And when it comes to our lives as God's people, the supper is a great help. witnessing baptism, participating in baptism, the preaching of the word, the reading of the word, the fellowship of the saints, all those things are calculated to feed our faith and encourage us and strengthen us in the knowledge of God so that we live in a manner that is consistent with our calling in the gospel.

In other words, we know we're not that Psalm 1 man, but as saved sinners, conquered by grace, we know who the Psalm 1 man is, and as a result, we have his righteousness, and now we do want to follow him. And we do want to go wherever he leads. But we also need to be reminded of those other passages in the Scripture that we are going to stumble. We are going to falter.

We are gonna sin. There is remaining corruption. Romans chapter seven and Galatians chapter five. There's the reality that we ought to just be upright and holy, but we're not.

So we need to believe with every fiber of our being, not only the imperatives that tell us to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel, but the great indicative of a passage such as 1 John 2. Brethren, if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. Never forget that. I'm reminded of a gathering of Scottish, I think they were covenanters.

They were having their Lord's Supper and it was not as common. I don't think they had it every month. I'm not sure it was quarterly, whatever the timeframe was. But the minister noticed that as the cup got closer to a particular woman, she started crying even more.

What's she doing? What's she going through? Probably something that you and I have gone through before. I don't know.

It's been a rough week. I haven't done everything I should have done. I haven't followed that salmon man like I should have. You ever get that?

You don't have to raise your hand. You don't have to nod. You don't even have to look in my direction. You kind of get that, I believe there's forgiveness, but it's just, yeah, I don't know.

So the minister sees this woman crying, and every time the cup gets closer and closer and closer and closer, and he stands before her, and he hands it to her, and he says, it's for sinners. This is for sinners. Redeemed sinners and sinners. We have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous.

By faith, lay your hand upon the surety of a better covenant, confessing your sins and find mercy from him. Proverbs 28, 13 is always true. Whoever confesses and forsakes will find mercy. You say, but pastor, I'm not always the forsaker I ought to be.

I don't want to sound irreverent. I don't want to sound cheeky. I don't want to sound trivializing. But welcome to the club.

None of us are the forsakers we ought to be. That's why the Psalm 1 man came. That's why the Psalm 1 man lived. That's why the Psalm 1 man died.

And that's why the Psalm 1 man was raised again for our justification. Praise God for his faithfulness and his mercies to us.

Closing Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and our Holy Father, we thank you for this ceremony with Abram and what it instructs us concerning our new covenant situation. And what a blessing that you sent your son, that he was a curse for us. Truly an amazing thought, an amazing reality, that you bore our penalty on that cross.

You heaped our sin upon him. punished him in our stead and then heaped his righteousness upon us. What a glorious exchange and what a wonderful God. And may we tonight, as we eat this bread and drink this cup, proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. And we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 2:21; 3:15; 3:21; 14; 14:18; 14:19; 14:20; 14:24; 15; 15:1; 15:2-3; 15:4-5; 15:6; 15:7; 15:7-17; 15:8; 15:9; 15:10; 15:12-16; 15:14-15; 15:16; 15:17-18; 15:19-21; 17:18; 22
• Exodus 24
• Numbers 20
• Deuteronomy 28:26
• Joshua 24
• Psalms 1; 2
• Proverbs 28:13
• Matthew 26; 27; 28:19-20
• John 8
• Romans 3:23; 3:25; 4; 7
• Galatians 3; 3:10; 3:11; 3:13; 3:16; 5
• Hebrews 6; 6:13; 6:18; 6:19
• 1 John 2:1
• Revelation 5:9; 7:9