000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

Second Sunday in Lent/Year C 231
rescuing his nephew Lot (Genesis 14), but Sarai is barren (Gen. 11:30).
And without an heir, the promise of Genesis 12:1–4 to make the couple a
great nation could not be fulfilled. The situation of Sarai and Abram is
similar to that of Israel during the exile and after the return to a homeland
in disrepair, when Genesis was given its final form: their future as a
people was in doubt.
God came to Abram in a vision, just as God came to many prophets.
The first words that God spoke reveal that the promises and call of God
can be disturbing: “Do not be afraid.” These words frequently begin oracles
of salvation when the people felt imperiled and need assurance.
Despite the fact that God points out that God is Abraham’s shield (Gen.
15:1), the human progenitor questions whether God can keep the promise
of an heir (v. 2), pointing out that a slave child could be the heir in the
absence of a child to Sarai (v. 3). If Abram was bold enough to question
God in the very presence of the Holy One, we should do so as well. In
Genesis 15:4, God stated flatly that the slave child will not be the heir.
Sarai and Abram will have a biological child together (Gen. 15:4).
The usual translation of Genesis 15:6 puts the emphasis on Abram’s
trust in the promise: “he [Abram] believed the LORD; and he [NRSV: the
LORD] reckoned it to him [Abram] as righteousness.” However, another
translation is grammatically possible and theologically preferable: “he
[Abram] believed the Lord, and he [Abram] reckoned it to him [the Lord]
as righteousness.” 67 “Righteousness” (sedaqah) is a relational term that
refers to doing what is right. The latter rendering is preferred because
Abram has trusted God, but to this point in the story, God has not fulfilled
the promise. God’s righteousness, not Abram’s, has been in question.
Abram, however, declared that God is, indeed, righteous. God coming to
Abram has as much as made the promise certain.
When Abram sought a sign to demonstrate God’s righteousness, God
told Abram to cut animals in two (Gen. 15:8–11). This action was employed
in covenant-making ceremonies in the ancient Near East and gave birth to
the expression “to cut covenant,” a synonym for making a covenant.
In the same “deep sleep” as the first human being was in when God created
woman (Gen. 2:21), Abram envisions the future offspring as aliens
and prisoners in Egypt and also foresees divine judgment on (and the offspring’s
liberation from) Egypt (Gen. 15:12–16).
The divine presence is represented by the smoking fire and flaming
torch passing between the animals (Gen. 15:17–20). Verse 18 makes the
meaning of the scene explicit: God has cut covenant with Sarai and
Abram. Henceforth, the couple (and their descendants) and God are conjoined.
“When covenanting parties pass through the halves of sacrificial