Life of Abraham Series: Abraham And The Vision Of The Smoking Furnace And The Burning Lamp
January 2025
“And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.”
—Gen. 15:17
In the twelfth and fifteenth chapters of Genesis, we find what is known as the Abrahamic covenant. This covenant guaranteed the promise of the possession of land as well as the promise of a people to occupy the land, and the promise of blessing, which would be fulfilled in its truest sense in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The fifteenth chapter is also a vision given by the Lord to Abraham. Genesis 15:17speaks of a smoking furnace and a burning lamp. The furnace and the lamp not only had a meaning for Abraham, but also a meaning for us today.
IT WAS DARK
The Scripture records the going down of the sun and the darkness that followed. The physical darkness would portray the spiritual darkness that is in the world due to the fall with the entrance of sin that followed. We are literally seeing the world around us implode before our eyes. In our own nation, we have endured two recent hurricanes that devastated communities in several states, riots in our streets, and violent crime on the upswing, and it’s all because of the darkness that covers our land.
John 3:19-20 says, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”This darkness blinds men to the truth, and the only hope is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why God has raised up SBN and given to us a worldwide platform, so that in spite of the darkness, light does shine forth.
THE SMOKING FURNACE
In this vision, the Lord showed Abraham a smoking furnace. The smoking furnaceportrays to us the tests and trials through which Israel would have to go, and where we must also pass through.
Isaiah 48:10 says, “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” The furnace of affliction is allowed by the Lord to show us our ongoing need for the work of the Holy Spirit regarding purification. God allows the furnace in order to refine and purify. It is only through affliction that we see the impurities of ourselves. Gold has to be refined for the impurities to be melted away so the purity of the gold can shine forth. As believers, we must understand that the furnace of affliction is for our good, to make us into the man or woman of God that we are supposed to be.
THE BURNING LAMP
The burning lamp that Abraham saw portrays the Word of God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” A burning lamp provides light in the darkness and so too does the Word of God provide light to the believer in life’s trials and afflictions. The answer to every problem that plagues the human heart is found in the Word of God. The Bible is God’s revelation to the world of who His Son Jesus Christ is—the Son of God; and what He did—died on Calvary’s cross to atone for the sins of humanity. The Bible is God’s lamp that shines, that illuminates truth.
The phrase, “that passed between those pieces,” is very poignant. It concerns the sacrifice of Genesis 15:9-10. The burning lamp passing between the sacrifice tells us that the Word of God is centered around the cross, and the sacrifice represents Calvary. The Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, presents the cross and tells us that the only safe path is, “between those pieces.” If one tries to walk through this world any other way, the burning lamp will not function because we have left the safety and protection of the sacrifice of Christ.