Life of Abraham Series : Abraham’s Question
December 2024
“And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an 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 took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.”
—Genesis 15:7-15
As we study the life of Abraham, we notice that Abraham’s knowledge of God was progressive, meaning that Abraham did not have complete knowledge concerning God and God’s will for his life. Such is our experience with God. A person’s revelation or understanding of God and His ways are progressive. Second Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” This knowledge,which is understanding of who Christ is and what Christ did regarding redemption, can only be learned through the study of God’s Word and one’s prayer life, which means this knowledge is not something that is learned quickly. Abraham’s journey was not easy or quick. There was much that he had to learn and much that he had to unlearn, which is true of all of us.
In Genesis 15:8, Abraham asks a question, “Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”speaking of the land of promise. Actually, this is the second question asked of God. The first question is found in Genesis 15:2, which asks, “What wilt thou give me?”
The answer to the first question is Christ and Christ alone. The answer to every question of life is the same— Jesus Christ. The revelation of justification by faith (Gen. 15:6) is the revelation of Christ. He is the Savior and the justifier. He alone can satisfy the longing of the heart. He alone can fill the void of one’s life.
The answer to the second question, as found in Genesis 15:8, has to do with how all of this will come about. How will God bring about Abraham’s inheritance and aninheritance to eternal life? That answer is found in Genesis 15:9, “And He said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.” These animals represented God’s covenant to man who believes. It is a covenant of grace. This covenant has been established by God through His Son, all because of Calvary, which these animals being offered up represented.
George Williams, in his Complete Bible Commentary, says of this, “The covenant was unconditional. God was the one and only contracting party (Gal. 3:20), but its foundation was grace, for five living creatures are sacrificed to establish it. Five in the Scripture is the number of grace; and these five sacrifices set out the fullness of the great sacrifice of Calvary.”
One should also notice that the heifer, goat, and ram were to be three years old, which signified the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. As well, the heifer symbolized the Lord’s priestly office. The she goat symbolized His prophetic office. The ram symbolized His kingly office. The turtle dove symbolized Him being led strictly by the Holy Spirit, while the young pigeon symbolized Him obeying the Spirit in every capacity.
Genesis 15:10 then tells us that the three larger animals were literally cut into two pieces with one piece on one side and the other piece laid on the other side. This portrays the only way sin could be handled—the shedding of blood and the broken body of our Lord.
Then Genesis 15:11 states that “the fowls came down upon the carcasses.” These fowls represent the demon powers of Satan that come to oppose the believer and the opposition of Satan against Calvary. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Going back to Genesis 15:11, it says, “Abram drove them away.” This speaks of the power the believer has in the name of Jesus. The Lord can drive them away. Verse 12 says, “An horror of great darkness fell upon him.” This speaks of the suffering that would come to Israel and also to the saints of today. This suffering is Satan attempting to rob the child of God of his or her peace and joy. Suffering and persecution will come against the true child of God because of the hatred that the world has against the child of God.
So little by little, Abraham was learning about who God is and what He had to do to bring about our redemption just as we, too, are learning and growing in grace.