Smoke And Fire

Gen 12:1-3

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation,  and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

The Abrahamic Covenant is a foundational element in the biblical narrative, representing God's promise to Abraham and his descendants. Established in Genesis 12, this covenant includes several key components: the promise of land, numerous offspring, and blessings that would extend to all nations through Abraham's lineage. This agreement highlights a unique relationship between God and Abraham, characterized by faith and obedience. The covenant is reaffirmed multiple times throughout the Scriptures, particularly in Genesis 15 where God elaborates on these promises, indicating that they are irrevocable and encompass both spiritual and physical dimensions.

The Abrahamic covenant is also considered a unilateral covenant because it was initiated and established solely by God. We see this where Abraham prepared a sacrifice for the covenant  in Genesis 15:9-10 as follows, 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 pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Now in the ancient Near Eastern context, it was customary for both parties entering into a covenant to walk between the divided animals, symbolizing a commitment wherein they agreed that if either party failed to uphold their end of the agreement, they would suffer the same fate as the sacrificed animals. In this instance, however, it was God alone who passed between the pieces in the form of a smoking firepot and a flaming torch, underscoring that the covenant relied solely on His faithfulness.

And what of the smoking pot and the flaming torch ? We see in Genesis 15:12 that, 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Here the Hebrew word for “Deep Sleep” is “Tardema” which is commonly used for Divine Revelation (see Job 4:13). Furthermore, the word “Tardema” is also used in Genesis 2:21 where Adam also fell into a deep sleep. More importantly, while Abraham was in a deep sleep, Genesis 15:17 tells us that,  “When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.” Clearly, Abraham's deep sleep serves as a profound moment of Divine Revelation, illustrating the intimate communication between God and humanity.

Furthermore, it is during this trance-like state, God reveals His covenant to Abraham, promising him countless descendants and the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession. The smoking pot and the flaming torch clearly symbolize God as he unilaterally walked between the animal sacrifice to consummate the covenant on both His and Abraham’s behalf (hence a unilateral covenant). Consequently, the process in which the covenant will be carried out is foreshadowed by the smoking oven and the flaming torch. The smoking pot represents the trials and refining process that Abraham and his descendants would undergo. The blazing torch furthermore, symbolizes the presence of God and His illumination of the path.

Prayerful Thought….

3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:3-7

And Remember…….

“Never regret a day in your life, Good days bring happiness, Bad days bring experience ”

“May the peace and grace of the Lord always be with you” - Dr Lee