48 | Genesis 14:20
“ Blessed be Abram by God Most High , Creator of heaven and earth . x
20 And praise be to God Most High , y who delivered your enemies into your hand .”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of ev ery thing . z 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram , “ Give me the peo ple and keep the goods for yourself .”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom , “ With raised hand a I have sworn an oath to the Lord , God Most High , Cre a tor of heaven and earth , b 23 that I will ac cept noth ing be long ing to you , c not even a thread or the strap of a san dal , so that you will never be able to say , ‘ I made Abram rich .’ 24 I will ac cept noth ing but what my men have eaten and the share that be longs to the men who went with me — to Aner , Esh kol and Mamre . Let them have their share .”
The Lord ’ s Covenant With Abram
15 Af ter this , the word of the Lord came to Abram d in a vision :
“ Do not be afraid , e Abram . I am your shield , a f your very great reward . b ”
2 But Abram said , “ Sovereign Lord , what can you give me since I re main child less g and the one who will in herit c my estate is Eliezer of Damascus ?” 3 And Abram said , “ You have given me no chil dren ; so a ser vant h in my house hold will be my heir .”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him : “ This man will not be your heir , but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir . i ” 5 He took him out side and said , “ Look up at the sky and count the stars j — if in deed you can count them .” Then he said to him , “ So shall your offspring d be .” k 6 Abram be lieved the Lord , and he cred ited it to him as righ teous ness . l 7 He also said to him , “ I am the Lord , who brought you out of Ur of the Chal de ans to give you this land to take pos ses sion of it .” 8 But Abram said , “ Sovereign Lord , how can I know m that I will gain pos ses sion of it ?” 9 So the Lord said to him , “ Bring me a heifer , a goat and a ram , each three years old , along with a dove and a young pi geon .”
10 Abram brought all these to him , cut them in two and ar ranged the halves op po site each other ; n the birds , how ever , he did not cut in half . o 11 Then birds of prey came down on the car casses , but Abram drove them away .
12 As the sun was set ting , Abram fell into a deep sleep , p and a thick and dread ful darkness came over him . 13 Then the Lord said to him , “ Know for cer tain that for four hun dred years q your de scen dants will be strang ers in a coun try not their own and that they will be a 1 Or sovereign b 1 Or shield ; / your reward will be very great c 2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain . d 5 Or seed
14:19 x ver 22
14:20 y Ge 24:27 z Ge 28:22 ; Dt 26:12 ;
Heb 7:4
14:22 a Ex 6:8 ; Da 12:7 ; Rev 10:5-6 b ver 19
14:23 c 2Ki 5:16
15:1 d Da 10:1 e Ge 21:17 ; 26:24 ;
46:3 ; 2Ki 6:16 ; Ps 27:1 ; Isa 41:10 , 13-14 f Dt 33:29 ; 2Sa 22:3 ,
31 ; Ps 3:3 15:2 g Ac 7:5 15:3 h Ge 24:2 , 34 15:4 i Gal 4:28
15:5 j Ps 147:4 ; Jer 33:22 k Ge 12:2 ; 22:17 ; Ex 32:13 ; Ro 4:18 *; Heb 11:12
15:6 l Ps 106:31 ; Ro 4:3 *, 20-24 *; Gal 3:6 *; Jas 2:23 *
15:8 m Lk 1:18
15:10 n ver 17 ; Jer 34:18 o Lev 1:17
15:12 p Ge 2:21
15:13 q ver 16 ; Ex 12:40 ; Ac 7:6 , 17
14:20 a tenth . In order to affirm Melchizedek ’ s remarks , Abram gives him a tithe , or tenth , of the recovered goods . 14:22 – 24 Abram swiftly dismisses the king of Sodom ’ s offer . He will not become indebted to the king of Sodom in order to fulfill God ’ s plan that he become a “ great nation ” ( 12:2 ). Although Abram has demonstrated that he is more than the equal of earthly kings , he recognizes that such greatness comes from God and is not the product of merely human effort .
15:1 – 21 The Lord ’ s Covenant With Abram . The related issues of descendants and land dominate this chapter ; both are essential to the future creation of a great nation . Whereas vv . 1 – 6 focus on Abram ’ s childlessness , vv . 7 – 21 address the issue of how Abram can be certain that his descendants will possess the land of Canaan . The earlier conditional promise of nationhood ( 12:2 ) is now strengthened by a covenant that guarantees unconditionally a future fulfillment centuries after Abram ’ s death . 15:1 very great reward . The events of ch . 15 are a sequel to Abram ’ s rejection of the plunder taken from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah . Rather than place his hope in wealth acquired by force , Abram looks to God . Possibly , Abram ’ s vision occurs at night , for v . 5 indicates that numerous stars are visible . 15:2 Eliezer of Damascus . His identity is uncertain ; he is mentioned by name only here . He is highly trusted by Abram and is perhaps a slave who came originally from Damascus . During his journey to Canaan , Abram probably acquired men to look after his herds and flocks ( 17:23,27 ). Ancient Near Eastern texts provide examples of childless couples adopting a member of their household to be their heir . Because the meaning of the Hebrew text is slightly obscure ( see NIV text note ), the interpretation of this verse should be approached cautiously . 15:6 This verse is highly significant within the episode . Descriptive comments like this are very rare in OT narratives and are all the more important when they occur . Abram ’ s trust in God becomes the basis upon which God views him as righteous . Only later is Abram circumcised ( 17:23 – 27 ). The concept of righteousness based on faith becomes an important biblical principle for how people are brought into a right relationship with God . In the NT Paul quotes this verse three times ( Rom 4:3,22 ; Gal 3:6 ) to argue that Gentile Christians can be righteous through faith without being circumcised ( Rom 4:1 – 25 ; Gal 3:1 – 9 ). The apostle James observes that Abram ’ s faith later expresses itself in good works ( Jas 2:21 – 24 ). 15:9 – 17 The ritual described here has been interpreted in different ways . Based on possible parallels with Jer 34:18 – 19 , this may be a self-curse in which God indicates that he will become like the dead animals if he breaks his promise to Abram . Alternatively , the “ smoking firepot ” ( v . 17 ) may represent God ; the animals , Abram ’ s descendants ; and the birds of prey , their enemies . If we adopt the symbolism of this second alternative , this unusual event anticipates the future presence of God among the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt . 15:13 four hundred years . God indicates clearly to Abram that his descendants will take possession of the land of Canaan only after a long period of time has elapsed . This figure , which may refer to all of the time spent in the foreign land and not just the period of oppression , is probably best understood as a