Abram's Heir-Stylist

Genesis 15

The chapter begins with a vision. Abram hears God tell him to not be afraid and that He is Abram's reward. Abram seems potentially frustrated or skeptical replying- "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" and further "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

It's comforting in a way to realize that even Abram- who converses directly with God, has moments of doubt, times when promises from God seemed out of reach. If Abram has these moments, how much more so would we? God doesn't reprimand him for a lack of faith, instead He offers words of confirmation. He says- look at the stars, count them, this will be the number of your offspring.

Puzzling though, God requests a heifer, goat, lamb, dove and pigeon. Abram cuts the heifer, goat and lamb in half- the birds remain intact. God then tells Abram about the 400 year suffering his offspring would endure and the eventual punishing of their captors. He tells Abram that he will live a long life.

Vs 17 reads:" When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces." (NIV) Apparently this sealed the covenant- or at least gave Abram a sign to confirm what was said.

What's the deal with the animals? Isn't it enough that God said it? It seems like Abram knows he is speaking to God- if that's the case it wouldn't be to confirm that God is God. Is this a test to see if Abram will follow commands? Is this a form of sacrifice on Abram's part?

Again I'm struck by the long-sightedness it would take on Abram's part to see all of this as a blessing. Yes, the gift of a child would surely seem a blessing. But 400 years of suffering for offspring might seem like a less than stellar gift. Maybe cultural differences allowed Abram to see the blessing- but I doubt that he understood the significance of all he was being given.
What great faith it must take to believe that "blessings" from God, even those that don't seem too positive, are actually things we can trust are for our own good. Wow- to be able to see suffering as a blessing- hard to understand, but truly admirable.

One last puzzling piece: God says that "In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." So He's holding off until the Amorites sin a little more? That's pretty scary- when we wallow, God may wait until our wallowing is it at it's worst before stepping in and punishing. Maybe the key here is that these folks were the enemy of His people. Still seems scary.