B. Genesis 14:19 – And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
1. Melchizadek was a priest of God, yet did not offer a sacrifice. Is this another foreshadowing of Christ?
C. Genesis 14:20 – And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
1. Both the Targum and The Book of Jasher as well as most commentaries following the Jewish tradition identify Melchizadek as Shem, Noah’s son. According to the Biblical record Shem was in fact alive;however, he does not meet the qualifications descibed by the author of Hebrews
2. There is only one entity that meets all of the criteria put forth in Hebrews 7:3, the Word , being God Himself
3. Could Melchizedek have been the Word incarnate?
a. If no, who else could he have been that would fit the criteria put forth in Hebrews 7:3 for even the angels had a beginning.
b. If yes, what purpose was He fulfilling?
· The office of priest since the priesthood had yet to be established
· Was not yet born of flesh and as such was not filling the office of the Lamb of God
· May have had a body similar to that of the resurrected Christ or may have been similar to a hologram a representation of Christ on this earth which would be another way of saying "like the Son of God"
c. John 8:56 -58- Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
· Could Jesus perhaps be referencing the meeting between Abram and Melchizedek in this passage?
II. Refusal of the King of Sodom’s Gifts (Genesis 14:21 -24)
A. Genesis 14:21 – And the king of Sodom
1. Offered to give Abram everything except his people
2. Was this offer out of fear of Abram and his servants or gratitude for what they did?
B. Genesis 14:22 – And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
1. This would have had to give the king of Sodom
2. Lift up mine hand – swear
C. Genesis 14:23 – That I will not [take] from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
1. When did Abram do this? Not recorded in Scripture but likely immediately after the the fight, which means everything that Bera offered him he already had in his possession and he turned it over to Bera at this time
2. Is there any significance to the order of these events:
a. Abram receives bread and wine, and a blessing from Melchizadek.
b. Abram gives a tithe of all his possessions to Melchizadek
c. Abram refuses all material gifts from Bera, king of Sodom
d. Abram allows Bera to feed his servants
D. Genesis 14:24 - Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
1. Aner – ענר `Aner, “boy”, an Amorite chief
2. Eschol – אשכל 'Eshkol, “cluster”, an Amorite, the brother of Mamre, dwelling in Hebron
3. Mamre – ממרא Mamre', "strength" or "fatness", an Amorite who allied himself with Abram
4. Abram only takes food for his men and the return of his men
5. These three appear to be head of their own contingents within the coalition and Abram is deferring any reward from Bera to these 3.
6. Three Amorites that allied themselves with Abram, much different from these Canaanites interactions with Joshua.
I. The Covenant (Genesis 15:1-21)
A. Genesis 15:1 – After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.
1. The first occurrence of the Word of the Lord
2. Establishes the context of the entire chapter as being part of this vision
a. No indication whether Abram is conscious during this vision
b. No indication as to whether the actions that took place in this chapter are part of this vision or if Abram was able to perform the actions independent of the vision.
3. “In a vision” One of 4 occurrences in scripture
4. “Fear not”, what is it that Abram fears? Possibly going childless
5. “I am thy shield” – This should already be apparent to Abram as he just took on 4 kings and once and was able to overcome them
a. Shield Hw. - מגן magen, shield, buckler from the root גנן ganan, meaning to defend, cover, surround
b. Ephesians 6:16 – Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
· Shield Gk. - θυρεός thyreos, a shield, a large oblong, four cornered shield from the root θύρα thyra meaning any opening like a door, an entrance, way or passage into
c. Perhaps the Lord is saying this to Abram to settle his fears of retribution from the 4 kings he just defeated
6. exceeding great reward is God himself as Abram’s shield, his protector
B. Genesis 15:2 - And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?
1. Lord God – אדני יהוה 'Adonay Yĕhovih, my lord, lord
2. Eliezer - אליעזר 'Eliy`ezer, "God is help"
C. Genesis 15:3 - And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
1. One born in my house – who? Abram saying that he has no child and one that is of the household (Eliezer) will inherit the household.
2. Two separate statements shows the patience of God by allowing to Abram to get these frustrations off of his chest.
D. Genesis 15:4 - And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
1. God specifies to Abram that it will be his own child, not a child of a servant
E. Genesis 15:5 - And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
1. Compare to 13:16 where Abram is told his seed shall be as the dust of the earth. We have two similar comparisons in terms of number. However, here his seed is elevated from the lowly state of being dust of the earth to the stars in heaven.
a. Hebrews 11:12 -16 – Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city.
· Earthly – dust of the earth
· Heavenly – stars in the heavens
o Hebrews 3:1 – Wherefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.
o The comparison appears to be not only numbers, but also the nobility of having a heavenly calling.
2. So shall thy seed be… seed shall be as the stars of heaven, this is not stated after the 13:16 statement regarding the dust of the earth emphasizing the heavenly calling placed upon Abram’s seed
F. Genesis 15:6 - And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
1. Not easy for a 75 year old childless man to believe
2. Believed – proved constant in his faith
3. counted it to him for righteousness
a. How do we reconcile this with: “all have sinned and fallen short” and “there are none righteous, no not one”
b. Didn’t say that Abram was righteous
c. Rather by him believing what God said, it so pleased God that it was counted as righteousness
d. Justification by faith is consistent in Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Faith is all that counts as far as righteousness goes as none of Abrams other works are mentioned, nor do they seem to matter at this point. Works are merely an evidence of Faith.
e. This verse could have only been given to Moses through inspiration from God as there is no way to know if Abram believed or if that belief was counted to him for righteousness.
4. Galatians 3:8-9 – And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.” So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
G. Genesis 15:7 - And he said unto him, I [am] the LORD that brought thee out of Ur
1. Who is speaking? The Word of the Lord from v.1
2. The Word of the Lord says “I am the Lord” or I am Yĕhovih, further equating the Word with God Himself.
H. Genesis 15:8 - And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
1. We just read that Abram believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, yet here we see Abram asking God to validate His promise.
a. Abram asks, not in a spirit of doubt but with the purpose to be more solidly established in its conviction. H.C. Leupold
b. Similar requests were made by:
· Gideon – Judges 6:17
· Mary – Luke 1:34
I. 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 turtledove, and a young pigeon.
1. In response to Abram’s request for a token of God’s promise
2. Five animals symbolic of grace
3. Unconditional covenant, only requirement was for Abram to gather the animals
J. Genesis 15:10 - 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.
1. God only told Abram to gather these animals, He said nothing about “dividing” them but Abram seems to know what God wants without being given complete instruction.
2. The phrase "make a covenant" is found thirteen times in the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew text this phrase is "karat beriyt". The word karat literally means "to cut". When a covenant is made a fattened animal is cut into pieces and laid out on the ground. Each party of the covenant then passes through the pieces signifying that if one of the parties fails to meet the agreement then the other has the right to do to the other what they did to the animal
a. This is not a sacrificial offering, but a covenant
b. Is all of this happening within the vision, or is Abram able to perform all of these actions while also viewing the vision?
3. Jeremiah 34:18-20 - And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.
K. Genesis 15:11 - And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
1. Just like the dead bodies in Jeremiah 34:20 drew out fowl and wild animals so did the pieces of the dead animals here, but Abram drove them away.
2. Abram was ready to make this covenant
3. God just told him to lay out these pieces, Abram knew what this meant he must have been overjoyed at the anticipation of making a covenant with God himself. I can picture Abram waiting with jubilance chasing away the birds and animals at his age would have been something to behold.
L. Genesis 15:12 - And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
1. Does this occur within the vision or without?
2. Horror - אימה 'eymah, feminine noun, terror dread
3. Darkness - חשכה chashekah, feminine noun, darkness from the root verb chashak meaning to be or become dark, grow dim, be darkened, be black, be hidden
M. Genesis 15:13 - 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;
1. Prophecy of the captivity in Egypt
2. Abram hearing this during his deep sleep
N. Genesis 15:14 - And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
1. Establishment of a principle that it is with great tribulation that God’s people enter into the Kingdom of God
a. Acts 14:22 – Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God
b. By what tribulation might we enter the Kingdom of God
· The tribulation that Christ endured on our behalf
· We as Christians might endure while here on earth living for the Lord, but the price for our salvation was paid by Jesus Christ when he endured the tribulation of the cross, by His own choice.
2. Establishment of a second principle in that God will judge the nations regarding the treatment of His people
a. The nations that persecute His people will be judged for their actions
O. Genesis 15:15 - And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
1. A clear proclamation of eternal life as going to “thy fathers” has much more meaning than being buried next to them in a tomb as God differentiates between “going to thy fathers” and being “buried in old age”
2. Additional witness to this fact is that Abram was not buried with his fathers but in the cave he purchased to bury Sarah.
P. Genesis 15:16 - But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet full.
1. Amorites/Canaanites have not yet transgressed possibly they have not yet intermingled with the fallen angels
2. Indicates that the Amorites will take part in a major transgression against God sometime in the future and God will use Abram’s seed to judge them.
a. Partially explains why the land is to be given to Abram’s seed and not Abram himself
b. No indication here of what that transgression might be, we can speculate that this may be referring to the “and also after that” of Genesis 6:4 when fallen angels mingled with humans to create the hybrid Nephilim. There is no indication here that the Amorites are a giant people, but in Amos it becomes obvious to the reader that they are giants.
· Amos 2:9 - Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height [was] like the height of the cedars, and he [was] strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
3. Why are Amorites the only people mentioned? Amorites are a nation of Canaan , and apparently the greatest and most powerful whose name is sometimes used in a wider sense, so as to include all nations . ~Gesenius’s Lexicon
Q. Genesis 15:17 - 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.
1. WHOA! The covenant was executed, who were the parties involved?
2. The smoking furnace and the burning lamp, God’s judgment and God’s Word, the covenant God establishes with Himself. Judgment is required, but a covenant of grace is formed with the light of His Word (remember the 5 animals, 5 representing grace)
a. Furnace - תנור tannuwr, furnace, oven, fire-pot, (portable) stove - of God's wrath, His furnace (fig)
· Psalm 21:9 - Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
· Malachi 4:1 - For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
· Isaiah 31:8-9 - Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire [is] in Zion Jerusalem
b. Lamp - לפיד lappiyd, torch
· Isaiah 62:1 - For Zion Jerusalem
· 2 Samuel 22:29 - For thou [art] my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.
· Psalm 119:105 - Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
o John 1:4-5 – In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
o Revelation 21:23 - And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.
· Psalm 132:17 - There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
3. God the Father made a covenant with the Son, for God knew that Abram would not be able to keep it. The promise is fulfilled through Christ
R. Genesis 15:18 - In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
1. This is an additional covenant, the first was made with Abram’s seed, who would be Christ Jesus
2. Covenant - ברית bĕriyth, covenant, alliance, pledge
3. This territory was realized twice
a. I Kings 8:65 – under Solomon
b. II Kings 14:25 under Jereboam II
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