Daily Devotional

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May 11 2008

Genesis 15:17 “When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces!”

It’s the mystery of faith! It’s the mystery of God’s presence. I suppose you could call it “proof.” I suppose you could say it’s “the sign” that Abram was looking for! Note again the exchange between Abram and God in vs. 7: “Then He said to him, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess!” God is God! The Lord is personal and unexplainable and powerful - all powerful. God’s ways are not man’s ways! Abram countered in vs. 8: “But, he said, ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’” God’s response was to instruct Abram to “bring Me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Abram followed the Lord’s instructions and cut the animals in half except for the birds! This “cutting” of the animals into pieces and walking between them is the formal, ceremonial act of “cutting a covenant.” The term for “cut” is often translated “make” a covenant. What we think this means is an invoking of a curse upon yourself if you do not keep the covenant - like “cross my heart - hope to die” - to absolutely promise that what you re saying is 100% true! When the parties of the covenant walk between the “pieces” of a dead animal like God did in vs. 17, it’s an indication of the truthfulness of the promise. What God promises in this covenant is going to be fulfilled or “may I be cut in two…may I be split into pieces if I do not fulfill my end of the covenant!” What else could the “smoking fire pot and flaming torch” represent other than the mysterious presence of the Lord? God’s presence was to guide Israel years later after their 400 year sojourn in slavery in Egypt that the Lord reveals to Abram in this passage as “a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night!” And let us recall that “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path!” How often does God reveal Himself in the darkness after the sun goes down when our vision of earthly scenes is blocked by the darkness - how often do we discover the will of God? It can happen any time of the day, but how often it seems to happen in the mystery of darkness!

Lord, may Your Spirit bear witness with our spirits that we are indeed Your children! When life gets dark, may we look for Your presence. When life gets dark, may we trust always in Your promises. May we “trust and obey for there is no other way!” May we follow in the footsteps of the father of faith - Abram!