Genesis 15

Gen 15:1 After these things the Word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.

the word of the Lord - Christ, the essential Word, appeared to Abram in an human form, visible to him, and with an articulate voice spoke unto him. The word of the Lord is a phrase used, when connected with a vision, to denote a prophetic message. This is the first place where God is represented as revealing himself by his word.

I am thy shield - to protect him against all his enemies. Ephesians 6:16 Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

and thy exceeding great reward - the Lord himself would be his reward.

There have been various conjectures concerning the manner in which God revealed his will, not only to the patriarchs, but also to the prophets, evangelists, and apostles. It seems to have been done in different ways. 1. By a personal appearance of him who was afterwards incarnated for the salvation of mankind. 2. By an audible voice, sometimes accompanied with emblematical appearances. 3. By visions which took place either in the night in ordinary sleep, or when the persons were cast into a temporary trance by daylight, or when about their ordinary business, 4. By the ministry of angels appearing in human bodies, and performing certain miracles to accredit their mission. 5. By the powerful agency of the Spirit of God upon the mind, giving it a strong conception and supernatural persuasion of the truth of the things perceived by the understanding.

the word of the Lord - Genesis 20:7 Now therefore, restore his wife to the man. For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live. And if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours. Here Abram’s role as prophet is developed. God’s words to Abram is even introduced in the style in which later prophets are address: “the word of the Lord came to Abram.” Abram saw this in a vision. The Hebrew word mahazeh for vision only occurs in one other place: with Balaam in Numbers 24.

Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord God, what will You give me, since I am going childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

And Abram said - The late Dr. Dodd has a good thought on this passage; “I would read, says he, “the second verse in a parenthesis, thus: For Abram Had said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, etc. Abram had said this in the fear of his heart, upon which the Lord vouchsafed to him this prophetical view, and this strong renovation of the covenant. In this light all follows very properly. Abram had said so and so in Gen_15:2, upon which God appears and says, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. The patriarch then, Gen_15:3, freely opens the anxious apprehension of his heart, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, etc., upon which God proceeds to assure him of posterity.”

Lord God - The name 'ǎdonāy is here for the first time used in the divine records. It denotes one who has authority; and, therefore, when applied to God, the Supreme Lord. Abram hereby acknowledges Yahweh as Supreme Judge and Governor, and therefore entitled to dispose of all matters concerning his present or prospective welfare.

What wilt thou give me? - Of what use will land or wealth be to me, the immediate reward specified by the promise? Eliezer of Damascus is the heir.

Eliezer of Damascus – who is this steward of his house, this Eliezer of Damascus, commentators are not agreed. The translation of the Septuagint is at least curious: Genesis 15:2 And Abram said, Master [and] Lord, what wilt thou give me? whereas I am departing without a child, but the son of Masek my home-born female slave, this Eliezer of Damascus [is mine heir.] (Septuagint) The son of Masek intimates that they supposed meshek, which we translate steward, to have been the name of a female slave, born in the family of Abram, of whom was born this Eliezer, who on account of the country either of his father or mother, was called a Damascene or one of Damascus. He is said to be of Damascus; either he was born there, or his parents, one or other, were from thence, who very probably were Abram's servants; and this Eliezer was born in his house, as seems from Genesis 15:3.

Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, You have given no seed to me. And behold, one born in my house is my heir.

one born in my house is mine heir - meaning either Eliezer or his son, whom he had made his heir, or intended to make him, since he had no child. According to the usage of nomadic tribes, his chief confidential servant, would be heir to his possessions and honors. But this man could have become his son only by adoption.

Gen 15:4 And behold, the Word of Jehovah came to him saying, This one shall not be your heir. But he that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your heir.

Gen 15:5 And He brought him outside and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He said to him, So shall your seed be.

The Lord reiterates the promise concerning the seed. As he had commanded him to view the land, and see in its dust the emblem of the multitude that would spring from him, so now, with a sublime simplicity of practical illustration, he brings him forth to contemplate the stars, and challenges him to tell their number, if he can; adding, “So shall thy seed be.” He that made all these out of nothing, by the word of his power, is able to fulfill his promise, and multiply the seed of Abram and Sarai. Here, we perceive, the vision does not interfere with the notice of the sensible world, so far as is necessary. This is also seen in other visions. Daniel 10:7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. For the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great quaking fell on them, so that they fled to hide themselves. John 12:29 Then the crowd who stood by and heard said that it thundered. Others said, An angel spoke to Him.

so shall thy seed be - as innumerable as the stars, as they were, even his natural seed, Hebrews 11:12 Heb 11:12 Because of this came into being from one, and that of one having died, even as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore; and especially his spiritual seed, who have the same kind of faith he had, and as they will be in the latter day particularly, Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall be, in the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, there it shall be said to them, You are the sons of the living God.

Note that in this passage, the Lord compares Abram’s descendents to the stars in the heaven, a follow up to Abram’s confirmation of the Lord as Creator of heaven and earth. The comparison to the stars in heaven occurs frequently throughout the OT.

Gen 15:6 And he believed in Jehovah. And He counted it to him for righteousness.

And he counted it to him for righteousness –
First - From this confessedly weighty sentence we learn, implicitly, that Abram had no righteousness. And if he had not, no man had. We have seen enough of Abram to know this on other grounds. And here the universal fact of man’s depravity comes out into incidental notice, as a thing usually taken for granted, in the words of God.
Second - Righteousness is here imputed to Abram. Hence, mercy and grace are extended to him; mercy taking effect in the pardon of his sin, and grace in bestowing the rewards of righteousness.
Third - That in him which is counted for righteousness is faith in Yahweh promising mercy. In the absence of righteousness, this is the only thing in the sinner that can be counted for righteousness. First, it is not of the nature of righteousness. If it were actual righteousness, it could not be counted as such. But believing God, who promises blessing to the undeserving, is essentially different from obeying God, who guarantees blessing to the deserving. Hence, it has a negative fitness to be counted for what it is not. Secondly, it is trust in him who engages to bless in a holy and lawful way. Hence, it is that in the sinner which brings him into conformity with the law through another who undertakes to satisfy its demands and secure its rewards for him. Thus, it is the only thing in the sinner which, while it is not righteousness, has yet a claim to be counted for such, because it brings him into union with one who is just and having salvation.

And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness - one of the most important passages in the whole Old Testament. It properly contains and specifies that doctrine of justification by faith which engrosses so considerable a share of the epistles of Paul, and at the foundation of which is the atonement made by the Son of God: And he (Abram) believed heemin, he put faith) in Jehovah, vaiyachshebeita lo, and he counted it - the faith he put in Jehovah, to Him for righteousness, tsedakah, or justification; though there was no act in the case but that of the mind and heart, no work of any kind. Hence the doctrine of justification by faith, without any merit of works; for in this case there could be none - no works of Abram which could merit the salvation of the whole human race. It was the promise of God which he credited, and in the blessedness of which he became a partaker through faith.

And he believed in the Lord - That is, believed the truth of that promise which God had now made him, resting upon the power, and faithfulness of him that made it: see how the apostle magnifies this faith of Abram, and makes it a standing example, Romans 4:19-21 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body already dead (being about a hundred years old) or the deadening of Sarah's womb. He did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what God had promised, He was also able to perform. He was not weak in faith; he staggered not at the promise: he was strong in faith; he was fully persuaded.

And he counted it to him for righteousness - That is, upon the score of this he was accepted of God, and, by faith he obtained witness that he was righteous, Heb_11:4 This is urged in the New Testament to prove, that we are justified by faith without the works of the law, Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, for Abram was so justified, while he was yet uncircumcised. If Abram, that was so rich in good works, was not justified by them, but by his faith, much less can we. This faith, which was imputed to Abram for righteousness, had newly struggled with unbelief, Gen_15:2, and coming off, conqueror, it was thus crowned, thus honored.

and he counted it to him for righteousness - even Christ and his righteousness this was imputed to him without works, and while he was an uncircumcised person, for the proof of which the apostle produces this passage, Romans 4:3; wherefore this is not to be understood of any action of his being esteemed and accounted a righteous one, and he pronounced and acknowledged a righteous person on account of it; for Abram was not justified before God by his own works, but by the righteousness of faith, as all that believe are, that is, by the righteousness of Christ revealed to faith, and received by it: what is imputed is without a man, and the imputation of it depends upon the will of another; such the righteousness of Christ without works imputed by God the Father. This is the first time we read of believing, and as early do we hear of imputed righteousness.

Please note that first he had been counted righteous through his faith before the Lord entered into the covenant with Abram.

Gen 15:7 And He said to him, I am Jehovah that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.

the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees - not only called him, but brought him out of it; God had brought him out of this wicked place, and separated him from the men of it, and directed him to the land of Canaan. Note similarity to Exodus 20:2 I am Jehovah your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

to give thee this land to inherit it - to be an inheritance to his posterity for ages to come; he gave him the promise of it, and in some sense the possession of it, he being now in it.

Gen 15:8 And he said, Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?

This shall not be thine heir--To the first part of his address no reply was given; but having renewed it in a spirit of more becoming submission, "whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it" [Genesis 15:8], he was delighted by a most explicit promise of Canaan, which was immediately confirmed by a remarkable ceremony.

And he said, Lord God - Adonai Yehovah, my Lord Jehovah. Adonai is the word which the Jews in reading always substitute for Jehovah, as they count it impious to pronounce this name. Adonai signifies my director, basis, supporter, prop, or stay; and scarcely a more appropriate name can be given to that God who is the framer and director of every righteous word and action; the basis or foundation on which every rational hope rests; the supporter of the souls and bodies of men, as well as of the universe in general; the prop and stay of the weak and fainting, and the buttress that shores up the building, which otherwise must necessarily fall. This word often occurs in the Hebrew Bible, and is rendered in our translation Lord; the same term by which the word Jehovah is expressed: (but to distinguish between the two, and to show the reader when the original is Yehovah, and when Adonai, the first is always put in capitals, Lord, the latter in plain Roman characters, Lord).

Whereby shall I know - This did not proceed from distrust of God's power or promise, but he desired this, For the strengthening of his own faith. He believed, Gen_15:6, but here he prays, Lord help me against my unbelief, Now, he believed, but he desired a sign, to be treasured up against an hour of temptation. For the ratifying of the promise to his posterity, that they also might believe it. Not as questioning or doubting whether he should or not; but this he asked for the further confirmation of his faith in the promise, and for the sake of his posterity, that they might more easily and strongly believe that they should inherit the land given and promised to them; nor is it culpable to ask a sign of God with such a view; good men have done it, as Gideon, Judges 6:36-37 And Gideon said to God, If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the grain-floor. And if the dew is on the fleece only, and dry upon all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said, Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20:8-9 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This will be the sign from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing which He has spoken. Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? without being blamed for it; yea, Ahaz is blamed for not asking one, Isaiah 7:10-12 And the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I tempt the LORD.

Gen 15:9 And He said to him, Take Me a 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.

And He said to him - The Lord now directs him to make ready the things requisite for entering into a formal covenant regarding the land. These include all the kinds of animals afterward used in sacrifice. The number three is sacred, and denotes the perfection of the victim in point of maturity. The division of the animals refers to the covenant between two parties, who participate in the rights which it guarantees. The birds are two without being divided, just as in sacrifice the doves were not divided into pieces, but placed upon the fire whole (Lev_1:17). The animals chosen, as well as the fact that the doves were left whole, corresponded exactly to the ritual of sacrifice. Yet the transaction itself was not a real sacrifice, since there was neither sprinkling of blood nor offering upon an altar (oblatio), and no mention is made of the pieces being burned. The proceeding corresponded rather to the custom, prevalent in many ancient nations, of slaughtering animals when concluding a covenant, and after dividing them into pieces, of laying the pieces opposite to one another, that the persons making the covenant might pass between them. The wide extension of this custom is evident from the expression used to denote the conclusion of a covenant, to hew, or cut a covenant; whilst it is evident from Jeremiah 34:18 And I will give the men who have sinned against My covenant, who have not done the words of the covenant which they cut before Me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts, that this was still customary among the Israelites of later times. The choice of sacrificial animals for a transaction which was not strictly a sacrifice, was founded upon the symbolical significance of the sacrificial animals, i.e., upon the fact that they represented and took the place of those who offered them. In the case before us, they were meant to typify the promised seed of Abram. But there is no sure ground in Jer_34:18. for thus interpreting the ancient custom. The meaning which the prophet there assigns to the symbolical usage, may be simply a different application of it, which does not preclude an earlier and different intention in the symbol. The division of the animals probably denoted originally the two parties to the covenant, and the passing of the latter through the pieces laid opposite to one another, their formation into one: a signification to which the other might easily have been attached as a further consequence and explanation. And if in such a case the sacrificial animals represented the parties to the covenant, so also even in the present instance the sacrificial animals were fitted for that purpose, since, although originally representing only the owner or offerer of the sacrifice, by their consecration as sacrifices they were also brought into connection with Jehovah. But in the case before us the animals represented Abram and his seed, not in the fact of their being slaughtered, as significant of the slaying of that seed, but only in what happened to and in connection with the slaughtered animals: birds of prey attempted to eat them, and when extreme darkness came on, the glory of God passed through them. As all the seed of Abram was concerned, one of every kind of animal suitable for sacrifice was taken. God was now giving to Abram an epitome of that law and its sacrifices which he intended more fully to reveal to Moses; the essence of which consisted in its sacrifices, which typified the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

3 years old - Ramban thinks, that this number represents the three sorts of sacrifices, the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the peace offering; and that of these three kinds of animals. It is much better to interpret them of Abram's posterity, comparable to these creatures, both for their good and bad qualities; to an "heifer" for laboriousness in service, and patience in sufferings; and for their backslidings, Hosea 4:16 For Israel slides back like a backsliding heifer. Now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place; to a "goat" for their vicious qualities, their lusts and lasciviousness; and to a "ram," for their strength and fortitude; and to a "turtle," and a young pigeon, for their simplicity, innocence, and harmlessness, when they were in their purest state, Psalms 74:19 Do not deliver the soul of Your turtle dove to the multitude; forget not the congregation of Your poor forever; and it may be observed, that these were the only fowl used in sacrifice. One commentator says the idolatrous nations are compared in the Scriptures to bulls, rams, and goats; for it is written, Psalms 22:12 Many bulls have circled around Me; strong bulls Of Bashan have surrounded Me: Daniel 8:20-21 The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. Song of Solomon 2:14 O My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let Me see your face, let Me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is beautiful. The division of the above carcasses denotes the division and extermination of the idolatrous nations; but the birds not being divided, shows that the Israelites are to abide for ever.”

Gen 15:10 And he took all these to himself, and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece against one another; but he did not divide the birds.

and laid each piece one against another - as that there might be a passage between them; 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 deserved to be cut asunder as that creature was. So a burning lamp, or lamp of fire, an emblem of the divine Being, is said, Genesis 15:17, to pass between those pieces.

but the birds divided he not - so the birds used in sacrifice under the law were not to be divided, Leviticus 1:17 And he shall cut it in two with the wings of it, not dividing it. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD.

Divided them in the midst - The ancient method of making covenants. A covenant always supposed one of these four things:
1. That the contracting parties had been hitherto unknown to each other, and were brought by the covenant into a state of acquaintance.
2. That they had been previously in a state of hostility or enmity, and were brought by the covenant into a state of pacification and friendship.
3. Or that, being known to each other, they now agree to unite their counsels, strength, property, etc., for the accomplishment of a particular purpose, mutually subservient to the interests of both. Or,
4. It implies an agreement to succor and defend a third party in cases of oppression and distress.

For whatever purpose a covenant was made, it was ever ratified by a sacrifice offered to God; and the passing between the divided parts of the victim appears to have signified that each agreed, if they broke their engagements, to submit to the punishment of being cut asunder; which we find from Matthew 24:51 And He shall cut him apart and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; Luke 12:46 the lord of that servant will come in a day when he does not expect, and at an hour when he does not know. And he will cut him apart, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers, was an ancient mode of punishment.

Gen 15:11 And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Abram drove them away - As the animals slain and divided represent the only mean and way through which the two parties can meet in a covenant of peace, they must be preserved pure and unmutilated for the end they have to serve. This is to be understood of birds of prey, as eagles, vultures, kites, crows, &c. and are an emblem of the Egyptians chiefly, and other enemies of Israel, who came upon them to devour them.

Gen 15:12 And it happened as the sun was setting, and a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And, behold, a horror of great darkness fell upon him!

And the sun was about to set - This visit of the Lord to Abram continues for two nights, with the intervening day. In the former night he led him forth to view the stars Gen_15:5. The second night sets in with the consummation of the covenant Gen_15:17. The revelation comes to Abram in a trance of deep sleep. The Lord releases the mind from attention to the communications of sense in order to engage it with higher things. And he who makes the loftier revelation can enable the recipient to distinguish the voice of heaven from the play of fancy.

A deep sleep - tardemah, the same word which is used to express the sleep into which Adam was cast, previous to the formation of Eve; Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh underneath.

A horror of great darkness - Which God designed to be expressive of the affliction and misery into which his posterity should be brought during the four hundred years of their bondage in Egypt; as the next verse particularly states. The vision here passes into a prophetic sleep produced by God. In this sleep there fell upon Abram dread and darkness. The reference to the time is intended to show the supernatural character of the darkness and sleep, and the distinction between the vision and a dream. It also possesses a symbolical meaning. The setting of the sun prefigured to Abram the departure of the sun of grace, which shone upon Israel, and the commencement of a dark and dreadful period of suffering for his posterity, the very anticipation of which involved Abram in darkness. For the words which he heard in the darkness were these (Gen_15:13.): “Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them (the lords of the strange land), and they (the foreigners) shall oppress them 400 years.” That these words had reference to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, is placed beyond all doubt by the fulfilment. The 400 years were, according to prophetic language, a round number for the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exo_12:40). “Also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge (see the fulfilment, Exo_6:11); and afterward shall they come out with great substance (the actual fact according to Exo_12:31-36). And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age (cf. Gen_25:7-8); and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again.” The calculations are made here on the basis of a hundred years to a generation: not too much for those times, when the average duration of life was above 150 years, and Isaac was born in the hundredth year of Abraham's life.

Gen 15:13 And He said to Abram, You must surely know that your seed shall be a stranger in a land not theirs, and shall serve them. And they shall afflict them four hundred years.

Know, know thou - This responds to Abram’s question, Whereby shall I know? Gen_15:8. Four hundred years are to elapse before the seed of Abram shall actually proceed to take possession of the land. This interval can only commence when the seed is born; that is, at the birth of Isaac, when Abram was a hundred years of age and therefore thirty years after the call. During this interval they are to be, “first, strangers in a land not theirs” for one hundred and ninety years; and then for the remaining two hundred and ten years in Egypt: at first, servants, with considerable privilege and position; and at last, afflicted serfs, under a hard and cruel bondage. At the end of this period Pharaoh and his nation were visited with a succession of tremendous judgments, and Israel went out free from bondage “with great wealth” Exo. 12–14.

Thy seed shall be strangers - So they were in Canaan first, Psalms 105:11-12 saying, To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; when they were a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it, and afterwards in Egypt: before they were lords of their own land, they were strangers in a strange land. Thus the heirs of heaven are first strangers on earth.

four hundred years - These four hundred years are to be reckoned from the birth of Isaac to the Israelites going out of Egypt.

Gen 15:14 And also I will judge that nation whom they shall serve. And afterward they shall come out with great substance.

will I judge - This points at the plagues of Egypt, by which God not only constrained the Egyptians to release Israel, but punished them for all the hardships they had put upon them. The punishing of persecutors is the judging of them; it is a righteous thing with God, and a particular act of justice, to recompense tribulation to those that trouble his people.

shall they come out with great substance - as they did after the four hundred years were ended, and after the Egyptian nation was judged and punished; then they came out of Egypt, with much gold, silver, jewels, and raiment, which they borrowed of the Egyptians, who were spoiled by them, though very justly; this being but a payment of them for the hard and long service with which they had served them; the exact fulfilment of prophecy, Exodus 11:2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow from his neighbor, and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and jewels of gold.

Gen 15:15 And you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good old age.

Go to thy fathers - This verse strongly implies the immortality of the soul, and a state of separate existence. This implies that the fathers, though dead, still exist. To go from one place to another implies, not annihilation, but the continuance of existence. The doctrine of the soul’s perpetual existence is here intimated. Abram died in peace and happiness, one hundred and fifteen years before the descent into Egypt.

thou shall be buried in a good old age - this signifies that he should live long.

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

In the fourth age - An age here means the average period from the birth to the death of one man, generation. This use of the word is proved by Numbers 32:13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years until all the generation which had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed. This age or generation ran parallel with the life of Moses, and therefore consisted of one hundred and twenty years. Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Four such generations amount to four hundred and eighty or four hundred and forty years. From the birth of Isaac to the return to the land of promise was an interval of four hundred and forty years.

For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full - Amorite, the name of the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, is used here as the common name of all the inhabitants of Canaan, just as in Jos_24:15.

for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full - and therefore as yet would not be turned out of the land, and the seed of Abram could not till then inherit it: wicked people have a measure of iniquity to fill up, which is known of God; some are longer, some are quicker in filling it up, during which time God waits patiently and bears with them; but, when it is completed, he stays no longer, but takes vengeance on them, Matthew 23:32 and you fill up the measure of your fathers. The Amorites were only one of the nations of the Canaanites, but were a very strong and powerful one, and are put for them all, and are the rather mentioned, because Abram at this time dwelt among them; and it seems as if there were some good men among them, such as the confederates of Abram might be, and they were not arrived to that depth of wickedness they afterwards would and did, and which brought on their ruin, and so made way for the posterity of Abram to inherit their land.

Gen 15:17 And it happened, the sun went down, and it was dark and behold, a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp passed between those pieces.

A burning lamp passed between the posts - On occasions of great importance, when two or more parties join in a compact, they either observe precisely the same rites as Abram did, or, where they do not, they invoke the lamp as their witness. According to this, the Lord Himself condescended to enter into covenant with Abram. The patriarch did not pass between the sacrifice and the reason was that in this transaction he was bound to nothing. He asked a sign, and God was pleased to give him a sign, by which, according to Eastern ideas, He bound Himself. In like manner God has entered into covenant with us; and in the glory of the only-begotten Son, who passed through between God and us, all who believe have, like Abram, a sign or pledge in the gift of the Spirit, whereby they may know that they shall inherit the heavenly Canaan.

Smoking furnace and a burning lamp - The oven of smoke and lamp of flame may symbolize the smoke of destruction and the light of salvation. Their passing through the pieces of the victims is the ratification of the covenant on the part of God, as the dividing and presenting of them were on the part of Abram. The propitiatory foundation of the covenant here comes into view, and connects Abram with Habel (Abel?) and Noah, the primeval confessors of the necessity of an atonement.

Smoking furnace and a burning lamp - Probably the smoking furnace might be designed as an emblem of the sore afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt; but the burning lamp was certainly the symbol of the Divine presence, which, passing between the pieces, ratified the covenant with Abram, as the following verse immediately states. Perhaps too this burning lamp prefigured the pillar of a cloud and fire which led them out of Egypt.

Passed between those pieces - The passing of these between the pieces was the confirming of the covenant God now made with him. It is possible this furnace and lamp, which passed between the pieces, burned and consumed them, and so completed the sacrifice, and testified God's acceptance of it, as of Gideon's, Judges 6:21 Then the Angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes . And there rose up fire out of the rock and burned up the flesh and the unleavened cakes . Then the Angel of Jehovah went away out of his sight. Manoah's, Judges 13:19-20 And Manoah took a kid with a food offering, and offered it upon a rock to the LORD, and did wonderfully. And Manoah and his wife looked on. For it happened when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, the Angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it and fell on their faces to. the ground. Solomon's, 2Chronicles 7:1 And when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices. And the glory of the LORD filled the house. So it intimates, That God's covenants with man are made by sacrifice, Psalms 50:5 Gather My saints to Me; and those who cut My covenant by sacrifice, by Christ, the great sacrifice. God's acceptance of our spiritual sacrifices is a token for good, and an earnest of farther favors.

Passed between those pieces - It set before Abram the condescension of the Lord to his seed, in the fearful glory of His majesty as the judge of their foes. Hence the pieces were not consumed by the fire; for the transaction had reference not to a sacrifice, which God accepted, and in which the soul of the offerer was to ascend in the smoke to God, but to a covenant in which God came down to man. From the nature of this covenant, it followed, however, that God alone went through the pieces in a symbolical representation of Himself, and not Abram also. For although a covenant always establishes a reciprocal relation between two individuals, yet in that covenant which God concluded with a man, the man did not stand on an equality with God, but God established the relation of fellowship by His promise and His gracious condescension to the man, who was at first purely a recipient, and was only qualified and bound to fulfil the obligations consequent upon the covenant by the reception of gifts of grace.

behold a smoking furnace - all this was represented in a visionary way to Abram, and was an emblem of the great troubles and afflictions of the children of Israel in Egypt, called the iron furnace, Deuteronomy 4:20 But the LORD has taken you and brought you out from the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to Him a people of inheritance, as you are today, and may have respect to the furnaces in which they burnt the bricks they made, Exodus 9:8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Take to yourselves handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh; the Jewish paraphrases make this to be a representation of hell, which is prepared for the wicked in the world to come, as a furnace surrounded with sparks and flames of fire; it intimated to Abram, that the kingdoms would fall into hell:

and a burning lamp - an emblem of the Shechinah, or majesty of God, who afterwards appeared in a pillar of fire before the Israelites in the wilderness, after their deliverance out of Egypt, and when their salvation went forth as a lamp that burneth, of which this was a token: this burning lamp passed between the pieces of the heifer, goat, and ram, that Abram had divided in the midst, as was usually done when covenants were made, this covenant being as others God makes with men, only on one side; God, in covenanting with men, promises and gives something unto them, but men give nothing to him, but receive from him, as was the case between God and Abram.

Gen 15:18 In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, I have given this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

The Lord made a covenant - In that instant the covenant was solemnly completed. Its primary form of benefit is the grant of the promised land with the extensive boundaries of the river of Egypt and the Euphrates.

The Lord made a covenant - signifies to cut a covenant, or rather the covenant sacrifice; for as no covenant was made without one, and the creature was cut in two that the contracting parties might pass between the pieces, hence cutting the covenant signified making the covenant. The same form of speech obtained among the Romans; and because, in making their covenants they always slew an animal, either by cutting its throat, or knocking it down with a stone or axe, after which they divided the parts as we have already seen, hence to smite a covenant, and to cleave a covenant, were terms which signified simply to make or enter into a covenant.

From the river of Egypt – Some commentators claim this is not the Nile, but the river called Sichor, which was before or on the border of Egypt, near to the isthmus of Suez; Joshua 13:3 from Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite, five lords of the Philistines: of Gaza, of Ashdod, of Ashkelon, of Gath, and of Ekron; also the Avim. This promise was fully accomplished in the days of David and Solomon. 2Samuel 8:3 David also struck Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. 2Chronicles 9:26 And he reigned over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. Others claim it refers to the Nile River.

In that same day, the Lord made a covenant - He had said before, To thy seed will I give this land, but here he said, I have given it; that is, I have given the promise, the charter is sealed and delivered, and cannot be disanulled. The possession is as sure in due time, as if it were now actually delivered to them. In David's time and Solomon's their jurisdiction extended to the utmost of these limits, 2Ch_9:26. And it was their own fault that they were not sooner and longer in possession of all these territories. They forfeited their right by their sins, and by their own sloth and cowardice kept themselves out of possession.

The Abrahamic Covenant as formed (Gen_12:1-4) and confirmed; (Gen_13:14-17); (Gen_15:1-7); (Gen_17:1-8) is in seven distinct parts:
1) "I will make of thee a great nation." Fulfilled in a threefold way:
a) In a natural posterity -- "as the dust of the earth (Gen_13:16); (Joh_8:37); namely, the Hebrew people.
b) In a spiritual posterity -- "look now toward heaven . . . so shall thy seed be" (Joh_8:39); (Rom_4:16-17); (Rom_9:7-8); (Gal_3:6); (Gal_3:7); (Gal_3:29) namely, all men of faith, whether Jew or Gentile.
c) fulfilled also through Ishmael (Gen_17:18-20).
2) "I will bless thee." Fulfilled in two ways:
a) temporally (Gen_13:14); (Gen_13:15); (Gen_13:17); (Gen_15:18); (Gen_24:34-35)
b) spiritually; (Gen_15:6); (Joh_8:56).
3) "And make thy name great." Abraham's is one of the universal names.
4) "And thou shalt be a blessing" (Gal_3:13); (Gal_3:14).
5) "I will bless them that bless thee." In fulfilment closely related to the next clause.
6) "And curse him that curseth thee." Wonderfully fulfilled in the history of the dispersion. It has invariably fared ill with the people who have persecuted the Jew -- well with those who have protected him. The future will still more remarkably prove this principle (Deu_30:7); (Isa_14:1); (Joe_3:1-8); (Mic_5:7-9); (Hag_2:22); (Zec_14:1-3); (Mat_25:40); (Mat_25:45).
7) "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." This is the great evangelic promise fulfilled in Abraham's Seed, Christ (Gal_3:16); (Joh_8:56-58).

In Gen_15:18-21 this divine revelation is described as the making of a covenant (from to cut, lit., the bond concluded by cutting up the sacrificial animals), and the substance of this covenant is embraced in the promise, that God would give that land to the seed of Abram, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. The river of Egypt is the Nile, and not the brook of Egypt (Num_34:5) the boundary stream Rhinocorura. According to the oratorical character of the promise, the two large rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates, are mentioned as the boundaries within which the seed of Abram would possess the promised land, the exact limits of which are more minutely described in the list of the tribes who were then in possession. Ten tribes are mentioned between the southern border of the land and the extreme north, “to convey the impression of universality without exception, of unqualified completeness, the symbol of which is the number ten” (Delitzsch). In other passages we find sometimes seven tribes mentioned (Deu_7:1; Jos_3:10), at other times six (Exo_3:8, Exo_3:17; Exo_23:23; Deu_20:17), at others five (Exo_13:5), at others again only two (Gen_13:7); whilst occasionally they are all included in the common name of Canaanites (Gen_12:6). The absence of the Hivites is striking here, since they are not omitted from any other list where as many as five or seven tribes are mentioned. Out of the eleven descendants of Canaan (Gen_10:15-18) the names of four only are given here; the others are included in the common name of the Canaanites. On the other hand, four tribes are given, whose descent from Canaan is very improbable. The origin of the Kenites cannot be determined. According to Jdg_1:16; Jdg_4:11, Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite. His being called Midianite (Num_10:29) does not prove that he was descended from Midian (Gen_25:2), but is to be accounted for from the fact that he dwelt in the land of Midian, or among the Midianites (Exo_2:15). This branch of the Kenites went with the Israelites to Canaan, into the wilderness of Judah (Jdg_1:16), and dwelt even in Saul's time among the Amalekites on the southern border of Judah (1Sa_15:6), and in the same towns with members of the tribe of Judah (1Sa_30:29). There is nothing either in this passage, or in Num_24:21-22, to compel us to distinguish these Midianitish Kenites from those of Canaan. The Philistines also were not Canaanites, and yet their territory was assigned to the Israelites. And just as the Philistines had forced their way into the land, so the Kenites may have taken possession of certain tracts of the country. All that can be inferred from the two passages is, that there were Kenites outside Midian, who were to be exterminated by the Israelites. On the Kenizzites, all that can be affirmed with certainty is, that the name is neither to be traced to the Edomitish Kenaz (Gen_36:15, Gen_36:42), nor to be identified with the Kenezite Jephunneh, the father of Caleb of Judah (Num_32:12; Jos_14:6 : see my Comm. on Joshua, p. 356, Eng. tr.). - The Kadmonites are never mentioned again, and their origin cannot be determined. On the Perizzites see Gen_13:7; on the Rephaims, Gen_14:5; and on the other names, Gen_10:15-16.

Gen 15:19 the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

The ten principal nations inhabiting this area are here enumerated. Of these five are Kenaanite, and the other five probably not. The first three are new to us, and seem to occupy the extremities of the region here defined. The Kenite dwelt in the country bordering on Egypt and south of Palestine, in which the Amalekites also are found Numbers 24:20-22 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable and said, Amalek was the first of the nations. But his latter end is to destruction. And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable and said, Strong is your dwelling-place, and you put your nest in a rock. But the Kenites shall be wasted until Assyria shall carry you away captive. 1Samuel 15:6 And Saul said to the Kenites, Go! Depart! Get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. They dwelt among the Midianites, as Hobab was both a Midianite and a Kenite Numbers 10:29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law: We are going to the place of which the LORD said, I will give it to you. Come with us, and we will do you good. For the LORD has spoken good concerning Israel. Judges 1:16 And the sons of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the sons of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad. And they went and lived among the people. Judges 4:11 And Heber the Kenite, of the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent toward the plain of Zaanaim, near Kedesh. They were friendly to the Israelites, and hence some of them followed their fortunes and settled in their land 1Chronicles 2:55 And the families of the scribes who lived at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab. The Kenizzite dwelt apparently in the same region, having affinity with the Horites, and subsequently with Edom and Israel Genesis 36:11 And the sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. Genesis 36:20-23 These were the sons of Seir the Horite living in the land: Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom. And the sons of Lotan: Hori and Heman; and Lotan's sister was Timna. And these were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. Joshua 15:17 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 1Chronicles 2:50-52 These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur. The first-born of Ephratah was Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim; Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader. And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons: Haroeh, half of the Manahethites. The Kadmonite seems to be the Eastern, and, therefore, to hold the other extreme boundary of the promised land, toward Tadmor and the Phrat. These three tribes were probably related to Abram, and, therefore, descendants of Shem. The other seven tribes have already come under our notice.

The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites - In this and the following verses ten nations are reckoned as occupying the land of Canaan at this time, whereas only seven are mentioned in the times of Moses and Joshua; and these three are not among them, and seem before those times to have been extinct, or were mixed with the other nations, and were no more distinct ones;.

Gen 15:20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the giants,

And the Hittites - Who had their name from Heth, a son of Canaan, see Genesis 10:15 And Canaan fathered Sidon, his first-born, and Heth, they dwelt about Hebron, in the south of the land of Canaan:

and the Perizzites - these dwelt in the wood country of the land, Joshua 17:15 And Joshua answered them, If you are a great people, and if mount Ephraim is too narrow for you, get up to the forest and cut down more for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants; and seem to have their name from dwelling in villages, and at a distance from towns and cities, and were a boorish and uncivilized people, Genesis 13:7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived then in the land.

and the Rephaims - or "giants”; they dwelt near the Perizzites, Joshua 17:15; of these see Genesis 14:5 And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and struck the giants in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

Gen 15:21 and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

And the Amorites - The same with the Amorite, Genesis 10:16; they inhabited both on this and the other side Jordan:

and the Canaanites - which were a particular tribe or nation that bore the name of their great ancestor Canaan, Genesis 13:7:

and the Girgashites - the same with the Gergesenes in Matthew 8:28 And when He had come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, two demon-possessed ones met Him, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one might pass by that way;

and the Jebusites - who inhabited Jerusalem and about it, which was first called Jebus, from the founder of this nation.