Before the LORD began to reveal Abram's future descendants and their inheritance to him in Gen. 15, the LORD allowed Abram to see a special covenant sacrifice. The types of animals used in this sacrifice would also be used as sacrifices by future generations in the Tabernacle, and Temple of God.
The wonderful thing about this revelation to Abram ("The Exalted One is My Father") is that it was the Gospel of Salvation that was revealed. No other man that we know of, ever witnessed this revelation in this awesome manner. It is one of the most amazing events in scripture.
This is the Gospel according to Abram:
"So He (the LORD) said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon." Gen. 15:9
The significance of some of these animals being three years old, is that they are the more valuable because at this age, they are grown, or nearly grown, becoming able to produce, or having been trained to work. The meanings of the Hebrew words used to describe the animals are also interesting:
heifer- circular, round, revolve
she goat- strong, prevail, make firm, make secure
ram- sacrifice, a leader, pillar, door frame, door posts
turtle dove- beloved, succession, order, plait or braid of hair or gold, circlet, an ornament
worn for the head
young pigeon (nestling)- wounded, flay, strip, to tear away, seize, take away by violence,
galled (make sore) and wounded
In these animals I see the circular, revolving world. I see the strong and prevailing Father, who made the world firm and secure in Himself by offering His beloved successor, or Son, a Leader Himself, as a sacrifice upon a pillar, a frame, a support, a doorway. This Son's Kingship, mocked but declared to all, was seen in the plaited circlet (of thorns) He was given for His head. This beloved successor was taken by violence, wounded, flayed, stripped. I see John 3:16 all over this:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son....."
Let us continue with the experience of Abram:
"And when the vultures (fowl) came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him." Gen. 15:11-12
fowls- ravenous, birds of prey, shrieking, screaming, greedy, swooping, rushing, pressing,
indignant, wrath
carcass- dead body, exhausted, faint, void of strength
drove away- blow, disperse by blowing
sun- brilliance, battlements, pinnacles, shields
was going down- besiege, come against, stricken
deep sleep- very great inertness, stupefy with sleep or death
horror- terror, dread, terrible, frightful, formidable
great darkness- intense, powerful darkness, misery, withholding of light, hidden
As Jesus was losing strength on the cross, and had become exhausted and faint, I can almost hear the shrieking of the demons as they greedily came swooping in to devour in their great wrath. The breath of God, the Ruach ha Kodesh, blew them and dispersed them from touching the Son of God. His holy One would not see corruption (Ps. 16:10). This brilliant Pinnacle, Battlement of defense, and Shield of God was besieged and stricken.
As He was stricken, as this Son died on the cross, Abram experienced the terror, the profound and extremely powerful darkness and misery of death.
However, before we even got to this point, before Abram had even experienced this, the LORD had come in a vision to Abram in the first verse of this chapter, and had told him, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, and your exceedingly great reward (price, compensation, fare, prepared banquet)."
In the middle of this darkness, a smoking furnace, and a burning torch passed between the pieces of the sacrifice. In forming a covenant, men would pass between the divided pieces of the sacrifice together (Jer. 34:18-19). However, this covenant that Abram was witnessing was a covenant that had been made between Father and Son (Ex. 19:15, Jn. 1:4, Isa. 62:1, Ps. 119:105), that the Son was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (Mt. 13:35, 25:34, Jn. 17:24, Eph. 1:4, Heb. 9:26, 1 Pet. 1:20, Rev. 13:8, 17:8). It was the covenant made to provide atonement, salvation, and everlasting life to man.These forms of smoke, light and fire, "overflowed/impregnated" these "cut off, separated, destroyed" carcasses. No man, including Abram, who did not walk between the pieces, was involved in this covenant.
In a prophetic promise to Abram in this chapter (v. 13-14), in the same manner that the Gospel of Jesus takes us from a condition of bondage to sin, fear and death into the freedom of life, Spirit, and Truth, the LORD tells Abram that He will deliver Abram's descendants from the affliction of slavery. They would come out of this bondage with great possessions. This prophetic Word, this Light, had been spoken over these future descendants, and would deliver them.
Immediately following this revelation of the Gospel, on this same day, the LORD did make a covenant with Abram (v. 18-21) promising his not-yet-born descendants the physical land from the river of Egypt to the River Euphrates. Again, in this covenant, we can see the Gospel by looking at the Hebrew meanings of the words involved:
The spiritual land from the river of Egypt (besieged place, siege enclosure, entrenchment, distress, confine, adversary, foe)) to the River Euphrates (fruitfulness, to break forth, sweet water, fruit-bearing tree) extends from the waters of "death/misery" to the waters of "abundant life". This is the land of the Son.
"...that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Our Father is our shield and our very great reward.
"Grace to Overcome"
Dedicated to, and in remembrance of Jennifer C.
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