Scripture Text (NRSV)
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a
vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall
be very great."
15:2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I
continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
15:3 And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a
slave born in my house is to be my heir."
15:4 But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be
your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir."
15:5 He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count
the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So
shall your descendants be."
15:6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as
righteousness.
15:7 Then he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of
the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess."
15:8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall
possess it?"
15:9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female
goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young
pigeon."
15:10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each
half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
15:11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram
drove them away.
15:12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and
a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire
pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,
"To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the
great river, the river Euphrates.
Comments:
15:6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.
How many of us believe the Lord today? As our culture has had more influence on the
church than has the church on the culture, I wonder how many preachers will encourage
their congregations to believe God? How many will lift up the Bible as God's word, His
revelation, His truth and encourage their congregations to believe what it says? The more
that I am around fellow pastors the more I ask myself, "What are they doing in the
pulpit?" I hear the philosophy of humanism, the philosophy of socialism, the
philosophy of Darwinism (evolution) lifted up as truth and the Bible mocked and ridiculed
- by fellow preachers! Thank God, Abram was able to listen to God and to believe Him.
Since God is not a respecter of persons, I believe that we pilgrims of today can also
count our faith in God done in Christ Jesus as our righteousness. Great is the Lord, and
greatly to be praised. He alone is worthy of our adoration – not the philosophy of
theology of this world. Oh that the modern church would follow after the Christ and
believe in his wondrous power just as Abram believed God would somehow produce children
from his old reproductive organs and his wife’s barren womb.
Pastor Dale in KS
I too believe that the Bible contains God's truth, but as I read Pastor Dale's
comments, it crossed my mind that Abram believed the Lord and didn't even have the benefit
of the Bible. Does that mean that we too shouldn't limit God's truth to the Bible but
allow for some experiencing of that truth in our lives? Deke of the North
Right on, Deke! As I pondered your comment I connected your observation with Jesus'
observation in the Gospel lesson that Jerusalem kills the Prophets... the religious
establishment ("Jerusalem") had the Bible but were not open to experience the
truth of the Prophets' witness (at the time of the Prophets). The religious establishment
of Jesus' day was not open to experience the truth of Jesus' witness as they, too, had
their Bible.... It is not belief in the Bible that saves us; it is in trust in and
commitment to God that we find salvation.
Eric in KS
A PS to my last comment...
I'm an Episcopalian and stand firm on the Anglican theological tradition (first set
down by the Elizabethan divine Richard Hooker) which seeks to find and understand God's
truth in a three-pronged method of inquiry, starting with Scripture but acknowledging that
not every answer to every question is going to found therein. The other two prongs --
often described as legs of a three-legged stool -- are "right reason" and
"tradition."
"Right reason" is our intellect guided by the Holy Spirit; it encompasses our
experience as well as our rational thought. John Wesley, the Anglican priest who began the
Methodist movement, bifurcated this prong into "reason" and
"experience" -- Wesley was "post-Enlightenment" and, like our culture,
understood "reason" by the cold rationality of the "scientific
method." Hooker, however, was pre-Enlightenment and so saw "reason" as
broader in scope. At its heart, Hooker's understanding of "right reason" is that
human intellect is "right" when it is guided by the experience of God's Spirit
at work in our lives. Hooker insisted that any "correct" answer obtained through
the application of "right reason" could not conflict with Scripture.
The third leg of the stool is "tradition" ... what have the People of God
(the Church) said, done and taught through the ages. Again, tradition cannot conflict with
Scripture.
Some branches of the Protestant Reformation, even up to our time, have ignored two of
the legs by adopting a the doctrine of "Sola Scriptura". The Roman Church is
often accused of abandoning two legs by relying most heavily on "tradition" in
the form of the Magisterium or "teaching office of the Church".
As an Anglican Christian (I admit my biases!) I believe we are most likely to hear and
rely upon God's guidance when we stand on Hooker's three-legged stool, not limiting
ourselves to Scripture only (and thus trying to limit God's Presence in our lives), nor
restricting ourselves to what the church has said in the past, but looking to both
Scripture and tradition through the lens of divinely-inspired reason.
(Now getting down off my soap-box.... or three-legged stool, if you prefer....)
Blessings, Eric in KS
Abram doubted God.
First he doubted that God would provide for him an heir. In response, God showed Abram
the wonders of the heavens, and God whispered words of hope so thatAbram would believe.
But then, Abram turned around and doubted God again. This time it was over whether he
would actually possess the land God had promised him. Now God does not point and whisper
but instead sets up the traditional sacrifice used to seal a contract between two parties.
Then God sends a "deep and terrifying darkness" upon the sleeping Abram.
La noche oscura?
God speaks in many ways. Sometimes the most effective is out of the darkness. Would
that God would speak to everyone. Would that we listen!
DSS
I don
In verse five God brings Abram out of his tent to count the stars "if you are able
to count them." How could Abram count the stars? The sun had not yet set!
DSS
It seems as if the main issue in the text is God's promises and the barrenness of Abram
and Sarah and the persistence of barrenness even after the promises. I don't think Abram
doubts as much as he bears witness or "protests" the fact that the promises have
not yet come true. When? How much longer? When will I know?
Brueggemann says, "It is part of the destiny of our common faith that those who
believe the promise and hope against barrenness nevertheless must live with the
barrenness." Genesis commentary
We should be thankful that Abram gave voice to the fact that the promises have not yet
come true and that faith can still be experienced even as we wait on the promises of God.
KCK
In Hebrew, a covenant is never "made", it is always "cut". Blood
must be shed and the parties invested in the covenant must pass between the halves of the
carcasses. This is part and parcel of the Hittite covenant-making. The person[s] who pass
between the two halves of the carcasses are sealed in blood. If one does not carry out
her/his part of the covanant, what happened to the animals will happen to that person. We
see this very interesting phenomenon occuring in Exodus 24:1-11 where Moses takes
"...half of the blood [of oxen] and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed
against the altar. Then he took the book of the covanant and read it in the hearing of the
people; and they said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.'
Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, [1] <'See, the blood of the
covanant which the Lord has made with you> in accordance with all these words.' Then
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel wwent up and
[2]<they saw the God of Israel>...God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the
people of Israel; [3]<also they beheld God, and they ate and drank>"
#1 is quoted from the Septuagint again in Matthew 26:28 by Jesus in the upper room. #2
& #3 are what is basic to our understanding of the Eucharist - to behold God, to eat
and drink, and to celebrate the covenant blood - but we also are under obligation to
"be obedient". In the Genesis text, the "smoking fire pot and a flaming
torch passed between these pieces" is God's participation in the covenant. Since it
doesn't say Abraham passed between the animals, perhaps it is describing not a bilateral,
but a unilateral covenant to which YHWH commits himself to Abram and his desceidants. An
interesting question: since God never goes back on his word, is this covenant still in
effect? Lots of implications about the "Palestinian" question. Does this
necessarily mean that Israel ALONE has the right to this land? Cannot the Palestinians
also lay claim to being descendants of Abram?
Paul in central Texas. :-)))
This reading speaks directly to our own experience - believing in God in the midst of
prayers (apparently) not answered - remaining faithful in the wilderness - unable to see
God's hand at work in the world about us - being tempted to abandon the promise (for
something I can control or fulfill myself). It is all here.
tom in ga
God promises a childless and doubting Abram that he
will have a son, that his descendants will be as numerous as the
stars, and that the land will be their inheritance. Abram's trust in
God's promise is sealed with a covenant-making ritual, a sign of God's
promise.
you are correct but in the very next chapter Abram and
Sari, doubting God's ability once again, devise a plan to create heirs
for themselves with the fruit of Hagar's womb. CDW
No matter how wonderful we may think Abram is because
of his faith relationship with God, we always see in the human
condition humans short sightedness, and misrepresentation of others.
His objection to the available heirs, is clearly seen in this pericope.
Shalom
Sylvia
Aah, tough passage!
Initial thoughts:
1) The passage could be divided in half around the
pivotal "And Abram believed, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness!" (Paul did a thorough treatment of this in Rom.4 so we
won't repeat them here.)
1a) In the first part, it is so strange that Abram
could bring himself to believe in God. He repeated his
question/complain to God twice when God bragged about himself as a
shield to Abram, and God didn't even address the complain in an
adequate manner. Instead, God was just giving him more promise by his
Word. No wonder it is so hard for us to believe, since we are so used
to getting the proof needed in life.
But is it really no proof? God protected Abram in Egypt
earlier in Ch.12, helped him win the wars in Ch.14 - so there were
proofs for God as Abram shield! No, what Abram really meant were,
"Your protection is not what matter in my life, it's my desire to have
a son that's matter!" (Perhaps that's the motivation for Abram to
leave Ur in the first place, when God promised that he will become a
great nation!) This angle would rub against where many people are
today: Does God deliver in the area that matter the most to me?
Unfortunately, God wouldn't give any proof. All He gave
is Words and Promises. The setup is clear: you are to trust me, or not
- no proof, no deposit. I am who I am, my Word alone counts. So, Abram
decided to trust God (perhaps built on the limited experience he had
with God's protection as a shield so far). Faith is incrementally
weaved.
1b) After Abram chose to believe in God, He reiterared
the promise of land and possesion. Once again, the rational mind of
Abram kicked in, "How would I know? Give me proof!" What God did this
time is using the ancient practice of the land (passing through the
cut-up animals) to establish a covenant with Abram. Faith preceded
covenant. Faith allow Abram to advance one more step closer to God.
This time, "a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him" (Aslan
is terrible, but He is good). Notice the delay between Abram finished
all the prep and the time the passing took place. God is also in a
habit of taking His time. In the mean time Abram faithfully guarding
the carcasses. Finally, God came and signed the contract - using human
custom to accomodate for human weakness in faith. So, even after the
mustard seed of faith was breaking out through the surface in the soul
of Abram, God in his gracious and merciful way, continue to protect it
and helped it grow. Twenty-five years later it will be a giant tree,
where Abraham trusted God so much to be willing to slay his own son.
But it started here in this pivotal breaking of the ground.
God of Abraham, of Issac, of Jacob; God of Jesus
Christ; help us in this day and age to be able to have faith in you.
Coho, Midway City
I'd like to quote an extended passage here that
pertains directly to Genesis 15. It is from the recent book, "The Holy
Wild: Trusting in the Character of God," by Mark Buchanan (an author I
highly recommend, BTW):
"[God's] faithfulness began far back, first in
creation, then through various covenants. Four thousand years ago, God
made covenant with Abraham. Through Abraham, He chose a people for
Himself, a people to walk in His ways, live by His grace, trust in His
word, display His character. He *promised* all this.
"But here's the rub: He guaranteed the promise by *His*
own faithfulness, not Abraham's. Abraham, left to his own, driven by
his own anxiety and shortsightedness, would keep passing his wife off
as his sister, would keep siring Ishmaels. Abraham, like other people
I know, was fickle. He was too skittish, too slipshod of will and
wayward of heart to uphold the magnitude of the promise. A promise
this big--this cosmic, this historic, this intimate--needed to be
established on something more solid than human willingness or ability.
"It needed God's faithfulness.
"The story is told in Genesis 15. God promises Abraham
he will make him a mighty nation, and through him and his seed to
bless all nations. To establish the promise, God *cuts covenant* with
Abraham. This was an ancient ritual, in which the covenant partners
hewed an animal in two. The severed pieces were laid out facing each
other, a pathway marked between them. The partners of the covenant
walked this pathway between the bloody halves of the carcass. This was
to enact two things: a pledge to walk within the bounds of their
promise, and a willingness, if they didn't, to suffer the same fate as
the animal, to be hewn and scattered.
"Always, both partners walked the pathway.
"Except in this instance. Here, all the other elements
of cutting covenant are in place--the promise, the halved animal, the
two pieces laid out, a pathway between. Only this time, just one
covenant partner walks the pathway. God alone does.
"The covenant, the vastness of its promise, depends on
God alone." (The book is copyrighted 2003, Multnomah Publishers, and
the quote can be found on pp. 59-60.)
Somehow or other, I plan to incorporate this wonderful
explanation into my sermon this week. BTW, you may already know this,
but I just barely remember from my study of Hebrew and with Buchanan's
calling it to mind again, that the Hebrew verb used for "making" a
covenant is in fact "to cut."
Blessings to all-- Heidi in MN
Thanks, Heidi in MN, I've been kind of stuck -- and you
helped!! PM in PA
Thank you Heidi, you also helped to focus my thinking
this week. In the Luke discussion, one of the latest posts by
revgilmer (starts out with movie quotes) speaks of "the inevitability
of grace" Good tie-in between the two passages. Blessings LGB
Heidi in MN: Great quote! Thank you!
I am planning on relating this text to Lent by talking
about the idea of covenant. God covenanted with God's people long
before the gift of Jesus Christ. The Israelites -- the antecedents of
the Jewish people -- had a deep relationship with God that was not
superceded by the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Jesus himself was Jewish, as were the earliest Christians (there was
controversy over whether the Gentile converts would need to become
circumcised before being allowed to follow the Christ-followers).
Christianity did not exist as a separate religion until some time
after Jesus' death.
I am not sure EXACTLY where I am going with this, but I
do want to do something with anti-Semitism, which unfortunately
becomes more popular during the Lenten season. Whether or not Mel
Gibson's movie encourages anti-Semitism (I have not seen it yet),
Lenten practices in many eras of history have encouraged anti-Semitism
even more than usual during this Lenten season.
But the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament) which
Christians continue to include in our Bible, include such beautiful
covenant statements as the one that appears in Genesis 15. God's
covenant with the Israelites -- the Jewish people -- is a reminder to
us of our heritage in Judaism. Yes, we are Christian (I assume most of
you who participate in this forum are), and yes, we proclaim that the
Jewish rabbi, Jesus, is the Christ and is set apart from all other
humans as the Son of God. But God's covenant with the Israelites was
real too. Does this mean that the Jewish people of today have sole
claim over the land of Israel? I am not going to go so far as to say
that. But it does mean that the descendents of Abraham, which include
Jews, Muslims, AND Christians, have a covenant with God, and God's
covenants will not be broken.
As several of you have said, Abraham was not perfect.
He did not accept God's covenant as easily as God was willing to make
that covenant. He was human and made mistakes, made what we consider
today to be bad judgments. He was not Jesus Christ. But neither are
we. If we truly lift Jesus up as the only Son of God, then we must
accept that all others, including the very founders of our faith, are
human beings who are not without sin. Abraham was the founder of 3
faiths, through his covenant with God. As such, the three faiths that
grew out from his descendents are to be honored, as well as those who
follow those faiths today. (This does not mean that faiths other than
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are not to be honored too. God makes
covenants where God will, and God created ALL humankind in God's
image.)
If anyone has any other ideas on tie-ins with this
scripture to Lent, I would greatly appreciate hearing them!
Blessings and peace, California Preachin'
Sorry I'm coming to this late this week, and without
reading (just skimming) the offerings already, I think some things
have been touched on.
Thanks for the great quote Heidi. The only point I
would make on that is that God not only walks the covenant path alone
... but does it both directions.
This is not a story about Abram and Abram's faith. I
think it is more a story of God and God's reliability. Abram had faith
already before the covenant ritual took place in his dream. Not only
that -- but he slept through it all. He was not even "in" the story at
that point.
Sure Abram had conversations with God -- I believe God
invites and responds to those. It's okay to complain and even question
... yet, Abram had faith and God felt it righteous. This is about God
and God living up to God's promises to us. The difference between
God's promises and our experiences of them is one of our perception
(did my prayer get answered? no? yes? if it didn't get answered MY
way, then it must not have been answered ... MY perception issue, not
a lack of God's promise)
I sort of see God as the Everyman (pardon the
non-inclusive language here) -- the Willie Lowman of the desert set,
if you will. Abram has a close enough relationship with God that his
doubts can waver and he can be honest about them, but, in the end, has
faith even in the darkness that God will, indeed, come through. God is
faithful. God is persistant.
This story is one of my first ah-ha stories thirty some
years ago. It still blows my mind every time I read it, that God does
not just speak a vow (which he does do), but God takes it upon the
divine self to follow the ancient ritual of cutting the covenant ...
and takes both parts of the covenant upon Godself. Only God will be
forfeit ... God will fulfill the promises made. We are asked to
promise or forfeit nothing ... yet, it is in grateful response to
God's love and fulfillment of promises that we return our firstfruits.
The life-blood of the covenant ritual animals shed for us and the
life-blood of the covenant Son shed for us are the seals of covenants
between creator and creature. The first is one of several ancient
covenants, the latter is the newest and last, the one that is sealed
forever between us.
mm in pa
Thank you, mm in pa, for your additional thoughts. The
part about God walking the covenant both directions is HUGE! Esp.
these days when so many are seeing "The Passion of the Christ" (I have
not yet) and some are calling it glorification of violence or sado-masochism,
perhaps this covenant passage can help set some context and show how
Christ took upon *himself* *our* failure to keep the covenant that had
been "cut" and so, in a sense, suffered the same bloody, destructive,
deadly fate as the animals which Abram laid out for the Gen. 15
covenant ceremony.
I am in the midst of sermon-writing at this moment.
Thanks for adding some great thoughts to my work!
Heidi in MN
Thank you all for your thoughts, Heidi and mm. I had
written a sermon on the Luke passage, but yesterday the Word of the
Lord came to me to preach on covenant, covenant of membership.
Preparing Lenten activities (which the church claims they WANT), and
then having few to none show up, having to ask people to give more
financially...etc., I experienced God calling me to review the
membership covenant (faithfulness of presence, gifts, prayers and
service). Also heard the bishop speak about "distinctiveness" of UM
tradition being the doctrine of sanctification, holy living. Lent the
perfect time to address giving 1/10 of ourselves in every aspect of
our lives, as per our membership covenant. God bless each preacher and
each listener. Jane in Iowa
Okay, you'd think I could get it right the first time
.... when I said that God went in BOTH directions, I actually meant to
say that God took BOTH PARTS of the covenant. It usually was when both
people entering the covenant walked together through the animals ....
in this case, God took BOTH PARTS -- as both the smoking pot and the
flaming torch. Effect is the same, just didn't want to mislead anyone.
And the tie-in with Lent, I assume California Preachin'
Pastor that you've connected that this IS the biggest tie in with Lent
we could possibly have. God is fulfilling the covenant made -- through
the incarnation and death of Jesus, God's self in the form of the Son,
to fulfill the covenant once and for all.
This does not lead us to supercessionism, the idea that
the Jews' covenants are in any way outdated. As you mentioned, those
are covenants with us as well. If we negate them, then we say that GOd
is faithless.
It astounds me that more people this week are not
pulled to this passage. It is so seminal and central.
mm in pa
Sorry for the really late post. However, I found it
interesting that although the covenant is unilateral with God alone
making the promise, Abram gathers the animals to be used in covenant
making. He is a full participant in the covenant, even if he isn't
required to take on any promises or responsibilities.
Rich in Bama
The covenant made in Genesis, chapter 15
is based solely on the love of God. Abram had nothing to do with it
and no matter what he did, God will not break this covenant, mankind
had no need in walking between because they had no control. This was
God's covenant forever to Abram and his descendents. It is a faith
factor on Abrams part.(Hebrews 11: 8, 9)Question - Is this God and the
Holy Spiritas as the smoking fire pot and flaming torch? Abram is like
a lot of us looking for his will, instead of God's will
