15:7
There now follows a sealing of the covenant. We must be wary of worshipping idols, physical objects which cannot see or hear. However, the material does matter and God gives us physical signs or seals of spiritual realities. God gave us baptism, and He gave us the Lord’s supper. These things do not save us in themselves, yet they remind us of what God has done in Christ. So here Abram is given a physical symbol of the covenant. God reminds Abram that He brought him up out of Ur of the Chaldeans in order that he might possess this land. God initiated the events, and He brought Abram out of Ur for a purpose. God acts in our lives for a reason, for a purpose.
15:8-11
Abram then asks how he is to know that he will possess the land. This is an entirely understandable question. There is a fine dividing line between doubt and faith. Zechariah questioned the angel when he was told about John and was struck dumb for a time as a result. Here Abram is not rebuked. Instead God gives Abram what, to us at least, seems a rather strange answer. Abram got various creatures, killed them and then laid them out.
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