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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." 8 And he said, "Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?" 9 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 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. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. ~ Genesis 15:7-11
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 15 where we have seen evidence of Abram's faith in God. In the remainder of the chapter, we will see why Abram continued to trust God. This is most important because it is through the channel of trust that we are made right with God and we grow in our faith in Him.
In today's passage the Lord reiterates to Abram that the only source of righteousness for all people is Him, the God of the Bible. Due to the Fall, we cannot produce our own righteousness, no matter how good we may be in comparison to others. The only way that we access rightness before and with God is that He through our faith in Him gives us that right standing before Him. When God imputes His righteousness to us we are therefore justified in His sight. Our struggle is to fight off the idea that we somehow play a part in our righteousness which is impossible. When we try in the slightest way to contribute to our acceptance before God, we deny the perfect justice and grace of God. Our right standing before God is the result only of His grace working in our lives so that we might believe in Him.
In v.7 of today's passage we read, "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.'"
After crediting Abram with righteousness based on his faith alone in the promises of God, the Lord now reveals Himself further to Abram. The Lord didn’t just say that He would give the land to Abram, but that He would give it to him as an inheritance. Of course, this was preceded by the fact that God had brought Abram out of the polytheistic culture of the city of Ur. Having done that, God was giving to Abram the life that he always wanted. Like Abram, we cannot conceive of the great things God has in store for us until we go through certain moments with Him and we see Him for who He truly is. It is only then will we ever be made ready to receive what He has in store for us.
In v.8 of today's passage we read, "And he said, 'Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?'"
Once again Abram employed the name "Adonai God" giving clear indication that he understood the sovereign rule of God in his life and that he was obeying God to the best of his abilities. Essentially here, Abram was saying to God, "I believe, help my unbelief." In that moment Abram illustrated the struggle we all have with God: that this side of heaven it will be a constant battle to continue to believe God. And, God is not surprised by this, by the way. Abram’s problem was with trusting God and resting in His promises. This led Abram to ask for more evidence that it was truly God who was doing the needed work. And as we will see, God placated to Abram's request.
In v.9 of today's passage we read, "So He said to him, 'Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.'"
In response to Abram's request for a sign, the Lord told him to bring to Him five animals which were all animals that would be, under the Torah, ceremonially clean animals, suitable for sacrifice. The heifer, the goat, and the ram were all three years old, meaning that they were fully grown and in the prime of life. The number three throughout the Bible is sacred, and denotes the perfection of the victim in point of its maturity. All of these animals and birds picture for us the Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate, perfect sacrifice. Our deliverance from the penalty and the power of sin must always be based upon the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, otherwise we could never have entered into a personal relationship with God.
In v.10 of today's passage we read, "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."
The Bible doesn’t say that God told Abram to sacrifice these animals but Abram did so because he already understood what was required by God. Abram already knew that the only thing that overcomes death is life. Pictured in the three year old animals was the Lord Jesus in His greatest strength and greatest perfection to take down sin and death on our behalf. Pictured in the birds was the innocence of the Lord Jesus which is what was needed to conquer sin and death. In those days they knew that a covenant was an agreement between at least two parties. The cutting of the animals in two was to "seal a deal" or to "cut a deal." These covenants were often referred to as a "blood oaths." In the modern world, we seek out the services of a lawyer to draw up the paperwork and both parties would sign the necessary documents.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away."
As Abram waited for the confirmation of the covenant from God, birds of prey came down on the sacrifices. In order to maintain their purity and keep them from being defiled, Abram had to chase the unclean birds away. As believers in the God of the Bible, we presently are waiting on the final completion of our covenant which was made at the high cost of the life of God’s own Son. As we wait, we are the "living sacrifices" who are desirous of being used of our God as His servants in this dying world. Our problem is that as we wait on the Lord, the unclean birds of the world which are a representation of "the self life" come to beckon us away from the life God has now called us to. It is the self life that comes down and tries to pollute our lives with a lifestyle tainted by pride and selfishness. But God has shown us that we need to chase these unclean birds away and wait quietly upon Him as He works in us, around us, and through us. Our struggle with the self life is not in vain because it is through this struggle that God calls the lost in this very needy world to Himself.
