HDWN? Abraham and Sarah... and many, many animals

Y’ALL… Last week’s post about Abram and Sarai is tame compared to this one. BUCKLE UP!

As always, Bible verses are linked throughout this post, so you can follow along. Better yet, get your Bible out while you read this! There is nothing like the Word of God.

*Please, note that my mission is to connect ancient Biblical stories to a modern generation; all stories will be told with modern language and analogies (and memes), linked back to specific verses for reference.

Last week, we ended off with Abram and Lot each going their separate ways - Abram moves west toward Canaan, and Lot heads east toward Sodom. 

Already, we hit the ground running. You see, war has broken out across the land. Altogether, 9 different kings are duking it out, split into strategic alliances of 4 kingdoms against the other 5. When the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah join in the battle, the people residing in these areas flee. The problem in this area? Tar pits… yeah, talk about a sticky situation. As citizens are fleeing, some fall into these pits (y’all literally I can’t make this up), others escape to hill country, and some unfortunately are captured by the enemy. Lot and his possessions are taken by enemy forces (Genesis 14:1-12).

One POW escapes, and he rushes to tell Abram of news that his kinsmen had been captured. Abram drops everything, gathers up all of the trained men of his household, and goes to rescue his relatives. He and 318 of his men are able to not only defeat the enemy, but literally chase after them as they scatter. He brings back Lot, all of Lot’s possessions, and the women and people that were being held with him (Genesis 14:13-16).

After Abram literally wipes the floor with these enemies, kings start to take notice of him. Abram is the talk of the town. The king of Sodom comes out to have a meet-and-greet with Abe, and the king of Salem, Melchizedek (we’re gonna call him King Mel), brings bread, wine, and a blessing for Abram. King Mel is also a high priest of God Most High, so he blesses Abram saying (Genesis 14:17-20):

So Abram gave him a tenth of everything he had come to have. The king of Sodom said, “My guy, give me my people back, but take the goods for yourself. You earned it.” But Abram said, “Nah, I can’t man. I’ve lifted my hand to God that I wouldn’t even take a thread of anything that is yours… You can’t make me rich. I’m taking nothing but what the young men have eaten and the men I came with” (Genesis 14:20-24).

Now, here’s where things start getting juicy.

After this, the Lord comes to Abram in a vision; He says, “Abram, don’t be afraid. I am your shield, and your reward shall be great.” Abram remembers one of God’s initial promises… but he still has no child and no heir. Abram is honest about his feelings with God - because he has a relationship with Him. He cries, “God, what will you give me? You’ve still not given me a son of my own, which means that my house will belong to someone who isn’t my own. My house? Gone. My 401k? Gone. My time share in the Caymans? Gone.” 

But God, in His faithfulness, said, “Abram, your son will be your heir.” God tells Abram he really needs to go on a walk and clear his head. While outside God says, “Dude, do you see all these stars? You can’t even count them because I’ve made so many of them, right? So your offspring will be.” And Abram looked up at the stars, and believed (Genesis 15:1-6).

God says, “Abram, my guy, I brought you from where you came to give you this land.” Abram (to the tune of Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”) asks, “How will I know that I will possess it?” (Genesis 15:7-8) Here’s where things get… a little messy. 

Trigger Warning: The following involves blood, guts, and gore.

God tells Abram to bring Him the following grocery list:

• 1 heifer, 3-years-old

• 1 female goat, 3-years-old

• 1 turtledove

• 1 young pigeon

What are they doing with these animals, you ask? CUTTING THEM IN HALF (except for the birds, of course). Yeah, you read that right. Abram cuts all of the animals (except the birds) in half. IN HALF PEOPLE. Abram lays all of the halves over the other. Not to be gross, but let’s get real… and by real I mean gross. Now the heifer alone has 4 stomachs just laying out over the grass. Between the goat and the ram, that’s another 8 stomachs strewn about the place. We’re talking just a river of blood, guts, and meat. With all of the… entrails… all over the place, vultures swoop down to try to eat their share, so Abram becomes a human scarecrow driving them all away (Genesis 15:9-11).

As the sun starts to set, Abram becomes Sleeping Beauty, and he falls into a deep sleep. A great, dreadful darkness also falls on him. God says to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners (someone who resides in a temporary place) in a land that is not their own. They will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for 400 years.” No wonder God put Abram in a deep sleep… This isn’t exactly the best start of a conversation. God continues, “But, I will bring judgment on the nation they serve, and afterwards, they will come out with great possessions. You, Abram, will die in peace and at an old age, but your offspring will come back here in the 4th generation” (Genesis 15:12-16).

Now whether Abram was awake for this next part or not, we aren’t exactly sure. In the darkness of night, a smoking fire pot (think like an ancient form of an oven) and a flaming torch appear. It’s important to know here that oftentimes fire is a representation of the Lord - think the burning bush that speaks to Moses or the pillar of fire the Isrealites see when they come out of Egypt. So, these two items pass between all of the animal halves, walking through the river of blood and all those guts and entrails. On this day the Lord makes a covenant (a promise) with Abram saying, “To your offspring, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” Basically, God is telling Abram that no matter who is in the land, the land will belong to Abram’s offspring - and that’s a promise (Genesis 15:17-21).

No you’re probably thinking, “Okay Kennedy, so God makes a promise with Abram… but Abram’s asleep? And why are a smoking pot and a torch passing through all those animals? This makes no sense.”

Let me break it down.

So, walking through slaughter of animals means this: passing between the sacrificed animals implied a binding oath between whoever participated. Walking between the devastatingly gruesome slaughter meant accepting that level of destruction for yourself if you were to have broken your side of the promise. You’re saying, “If I break my promise to you, let my body be torn to pieces. Let the vultures of the air and the beasts of the land devour me.”

Here’s the catch - Abram did not pass through the slaughter himself. I bet you’re like, “Uh… so that means he’s not part of the promise, then?” No, he is! Remember God being represented by fire? The smoking pot and torch are meant to represent Him! 

Here’s the kicker: God knew that Abram, in all his humanness, wouldn’t be able to uphold his side of the covenant. So God - in His love, faithfulness, devotion, and compassion - walked through the blood of the covenant with Himself, meaning that when Abram fell short (as all humans do), he wouldn’t have to suffer gruesome death.

Remind y’all or anything? Oh yeah… THE LITERAL GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. Just as Jesus fulfilled a promise to keep us from spiritual death, God does the same thing here (foreshadowing, if you will) keeping Abram from death. God passes through the river of sacrifice to say that He will suffer for this covenant… which He does considering the cross. 

Y’ALL! THAT’S REALLY WHAT HE DID THOUGH! AND GUESS WHAT??? HE LOVES ALL HIS CHILDREN THAT MUCH!!! HE LOVES YOU THAT MUCH -  HE WANTS TO PROTECT YOU FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH AND WANTS TO PROMISE YOU A PURPOSEFUL AND FULFILLING FUTURE!

Next week, we’ll deal with the whole Sarai x Hagar drama, we’ll talk circumcision (oh yeah, we’re going there), we’ll catch up with Lot after his stay in Sodom, and we’ll go through another round of “But she’s my sister!” 

Thank you for reading! Hey, you - yeah you, the one reading this… God loves you. He has a purpose and plan for you. And me? I appreciate you. Reach out with your questions and thoughts!