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Dividing Animals: The Covenant of Genesis 15
The story of Abraham is a very well-known one to most Christians, and for good reasons. He’s consistently held up as one of the exemplars of faith and righteousness, he’s the father of a multitude of OT nations, and he’s one of the key characters in the story of the Messianic lineage. Many of the stories told of Abraham in Genesis are common studies for Christians, but there is one in particular that often seems to leave Christians scratching their heads or quickly moving on to more familiar territory: the story of God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 (Abraham is technically still Abram at this point, but he’ll be referred to as Abraham for clarity’s sake). To clarify, the first seven verses of the chapter are common knowledge; God promises Abraham an heir of his own offspring, and that his descendants will equal the stars of heaven in number. It is what happens in vs. 8 and onward, however, that often confuses people who don’t know the context of the covenant being created between God and Abraham.
An important note to insert here before we get too deep into this topic: the first verse of this chapter notes that “after (the war of the kings described in Ch. 14) the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying…”. There is no indication that this vision stops at any point between the vs. 1 and the vs. 8. This would lead us to conclude that this entire discussion, and the events that we’re about to discuss, are part of this same vision narrative. That may help us to explain why some of the things that are described seem so odd to us!
After God promises Abraham his descendants and the possession of the land of Canaan, Abraham asks what seems to be a simple question: “God, how may I know that I will possess it?” In vs. 6, we are told Abraham believes in God’s promises (and that God reckons this as righteousness on Abraham’s part), so this is not a question of Abraham not trusting in God’s promises. It should instead be read as Abraham seeking confirmation of the promises that have been made; Abraham is looking for God to give a sign as the seal of Abraham’s covenant relationship with Yahweh. It is there that God gives Abraham the command to bring several animals (a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon) to God, and these animals (excluding the birds) are cut in half. The bisected animals are then laid down with each half opposite of each other, leaving a path between the halves.
To modern sensibilities, this seems extremely odd to say the least! Note that this is not a sacrifice of some sorts; there is no mention of fire or burning the animals, nor is there an alter on which the animals are offered. Instead, this seems to be an example of a custom of this time period where two parties would make a covenant (a formal agreement between persons or parties). When a covenant was made, the two parties would step between divided animal parts as a sign of their intended faithfulness to the promises made; if either party violated the covenant, they were agreeing their cursed fate would be the same as the slain animal! This custom appears again in Jeremiah 34:18-19, where God condemns those who have “passed between the parts of the calf” and violated the covenant. Thus, God is condescending to speak to Abraham in a way the Patriarch would understand and is using language and imagery from the man’s own culture so that he would fully comprehend what God is saying.
The vision then has an odd note in vs. 11; birds of prey come to attack the carcasses, and Abraham is forced to drive them away. While this would certainly not be out of place for carrion birds to come steal bits of dead animals, it should also be noted that “birds of prey” is used repeatedly in the Bible as an image of foreign nations such as Egypt (Ezekiel 17:3, 7; Zechariah 5:9). Thus, Abraham driving these bids away could be an image of God’s protection for His covenant people from foreign/evil nations of the world. While this might seem an odd metaphor, as it means that God’s covenant people are represented by bisected animals, remember the promises that have been made through Genesis to this point; the seed of the Woman in Genesis 3:15 would bless all of mankind through his defeat of the Serpent, and Abraham was promised in Genesis 12:3 that “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” God’s covenant people would be the tool through which God would bring covenant blessings on all peoples! This idea of God protecting His covenant people from foreign oppressors also makes sense given the context of what God is about to reveal to Abraham in the next few verses.
The narrative then says that “when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abra(ha)m; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.” Remember that we noted earlier that this entire chapter appears to be a vision: in vs. 5 Abraham is able to look up at all the stars, but the birds of prey in vs. 11 would have been daytime predators. Time seems to be passing quite rapidly in this narrative, and it seems to make the most sense if we view this as a vision that Abraham is experiencing.
The terror that Abraham seems to experience is likely related to the suffering that God promises on his descendants, and it might be intended to convey Abraham’s emotional state throughout the following verses. God fully reveals the promise of the land of Canaan to Abraham: he will not possess the land himself, but rather after four hundred years of slavery and oppression his descendants will be brought into the land in a triumphant victory. Despite the hardship of this vision, Abraham is consoled by God that he will not deal with these tragedies; rather, Abraham will die in peace and be buried after a long, full life.
The vision then concludes with a passage through the divided animals, but it is not Abraham who passes through them. Rather, a “smoking oven and a flaming torch” pass between the pieces of the animals. It is then God who makes the covenant promise that “to your descendants I have give this land.” While the idea of an oven and a torch is unique to this vision, the similarity to other appearances of Yahweh (the Burning Bush, the smoke and fire of Mt. Sinai, the pillar of cloud and fire that leads Israel, etc.) would seem to confirm this is indeed God Himself passing through these animals to fulfill this covenant. The fact that it is the Lord, rather than Abraham, who passed through the animals has interesting connotations; one commentator says “it is God himself who walks between the pieces, and it is suggested that here God is invoking the curse on Himself, if He fails to fulfill the promise.” Given that God is eternal and unable to be divided, this would be a sign of how utterly sure the promises God is making are: the only way for these promises to not happen would be for God to be cut in half, and such an impossible thing means the promises will assuredly come true! It is also interesting to note that Abraham does not walk between the pieces. While Abraham (and his descendants) will be required to be obedient to their covenant relationship, the promises are the responsibility of God alone. The only way that Abraham’s descendants are going to be able to take possession of this land of promise is through the power and working of God Himself!
So, what can we glean from this odd vision of Abraham? A few things of importance: first, that God is incredibly gracious in His dealings with mankind. God wants Abraham to have confidence in the promises that He is making. Not only does He acquiesce to Abraham’s request for a seal of confidence, He does so in a way that Abraham would readily understand and have faith in. In the same way, God has ensured that His word and His teachings have been able to be understood today by all peoples in every language and cultures…just think of how amazing it is that the Bible is able to be read and understood in hundreds of different languages today! A second important lesson is that God has taken the responsibility of the covenant responsibilities upon Himself; He does not expect us to do what is impossible for us to accomplish! Our responsibility is to trust His word and obey our covenant responsibilities to God, and God will take care of working all other things to His good plan.
While Abraham’s vision in this chapter can be confusing at first glance, it should serve as a good reminder of God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises – and a reminder of how we should trust in the promises of life and salvation made to us!
