WHERE
THERE’S SMOKE
Introduction
I remember working as a plumber in a house in Toronto, Canada. I’d just finished what I thought was a beautiful repair job on a pipe in an awkward place. I’d had the old blowtorch going as I soldered a pipe to another pipe buried in a wall. I was admiring what I thought was a neat job when I saw smoke! Oh! Oh! You know the old saying: Where there’s smoke there’s fire! I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t noticed the smoke. I could have burned down the whole house with everyone in it. Have you ever noticed that the fire-brigade never teaches their men to check and see if the door is open before they break it down?
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When I was at technical
college learning how to be a plumber our instructor used to say, “Always
make sure that the flame never leaves the end of your torch!” Apparently, the flame had left the
end of my torch and had run up the pipe inside the wall. It had set fire to some wood shavings inside the wall of the
woman’s house in which I was working. The
“firies” managed to put the fire out. But what a mess when it was all
over! They had to smash big
holes in the bathroom wall to find the fire to put it out.
Adam and Eve started a fire,
as it were, in the Garden of Eden. Adam
kindled the fiery anger of God as he let sin and evil into God’s beautiful
creation. He broke the Covenant
of Works that God had placed him under.
God’s pouring out fire and brimstone on places like Sodom and Gomorrah, according to Scripture, are examples
of how much God hates sin and evil.
But we are thankful that God
has provided sinners an escape from His fiery wrath. And we escape through faith in Jesus Christ who rescues us from
the wrath to come. However, I
want you to know that His rescue plan is not like a bunch of firemen smashing
holes in walls. No! Christ’s
plan to put the fire out is much more carefully planned. And it was all executed with perfect timing and with surgical
precision. This plan we call The
Covenant of Grace.
The whole Bible is the
revelation of this Covenant. And
here in Genesis 15 we see the Lord ratify His covenant with Abram, the father
of all believers.
“On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram” Genesis 5:18.
The general gist of what we’re
looking at in the following is: The Covenant of Grace is God’s plan to
rescue His people from the fire.
First, we’ll put ourselves in Abram’s shoes and consider the covenant from his perspective. Then we’ll put our own shoes back on and consider the covenant as it stands today.
The Little Picture
We need to look at the content of Genesis 15 through
the eyes of Abram, because, if we’re to understand anything of this passage, then
we need to try to see things the way he saw things So, let’s for the moment
observe things as did Abram living around 2000 BC.
Take note that Abram didn’t have a copy of New Testament,
not even a KJV! He didn’t even have an Old Testament and any version, including
ancient Hebrew. God spoke to him directly in a vision (15:1), and then a dream
(15:12). Therefore, take note that everything that transpired in Genesis 15
took place in a vision and a dream.
As the Lord communicated with Abram, and Abram with
the Lord, the subject of offspring and land arose again. The Lord had already
promised Abram offspring and land for them to dwell in. So, what we see before
us is the ratification of this promise. In other words, the Lord in this
covenant-cutting ceremony was binding Himself by His Word to Abram. He was
confirming, giving Abram confirmation of His promise of offspring and land. But
if you look at the way the Lord chose to do it, you’d be excused for thinking
there was a whole lot more to it than that. What, with bits of dead animals not
to mention the smoking oven and burning torch! Like they say, Where there’s
smoke there’s fire!
So, what’s really going on here? Well, in Genesis 15:1
the LORD had told Abram He was his shield and exceedingly great reward. And in 15:6
we see that Abram believed in his shield and exceedingly great reward. For that
is who the Lord revealed Himself to be to Abram. Notice in verse 1 that the
Lord also said to Abram, “Do not be afraid.” From those words we might
anticipate what the Lord was going to do a little later. For in verse 12 we’re
told that “horror and great darkness feel upon him,” i.e., Abram.
Let’s make sure we’re all looking at the same thing
here. There’s Abram sitting in an armchair or whatever on his own somewhere. Then
he starts to have this vision. The closest any of us will ever come to a vision
is perhaps a vivid daydream. Remember when you were off fishing or riding a
horse when really you were sitting at your desk staring at the blackboard in
school? Well, Abram’s vision would be nothing like that. All his senses would
have been heightened. He got to converse with the Lord, and the Lord showed him
things. The Lord took him outside and showed him the stars in heaven.
Abram also got to carve up a cow, a ram, a goat, and
place them strategically. He placed one half of the other opposite the other. He
placed a pigeon on one side and a dove on the other. He even got to chase some
vultures away from the carcasses. All of this took place in a vision.Image from Web
Then a deep sleep fell upon him along with horror and
darkness. It was the type of darkness you could plunge a knife into – right up
to the hilt! It was a scary darkness. The kind of darkness that gives you the
creeps. The kind that makes the hair on the back of your neck bristle with
terror. But the Lord has already said to Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am
your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Then we’re told in 15:17 the sun had gone down. It was
dark. And behold, “A smoking oven and a burning torch passed between the pieces.”
This is what Abram saw. This was the revelation which God burned into his
heart. Abram personally witnessed the Lord make a covenant with him. This
covenant is the Covenant of Grace which is still in force today.
Just before we move on to our second point, let me
quote some words of Louis Berkhof. Louis Berkhof is a well-respected Reformed
Theologian. He says,
The Bible teaches that there is but a single gospel by which men can be saved. And because the gospel is nothing but the revelation of the covenant of grace, it follows that there is also but one covenant. The gospel was already heard in material promise, Gen. 3:15, was preached unto Abraham, Gal. 3:8, and may not be supplanted by any Judaistic gospel, Gal. 1:8,9.[1]
Let’s all hang onto the line, “The Gospel is nothing but the revelation of the Covenant of Grace.” Therefore, this covenant making ceremony must be full of the Gospel. Abraham has already heard and believed in the Gospel. For in Genesis 15:6 we’re told Abram has received through faith the righteousness he needs to save him from the fires of hell. For he has believed in the Lord who is his shield, his exceedingly great reward. He has been justified, i.e., declared righteous, which is evidenced by his faith in the Lord. He believes in the Lord, the Lord who rescues us by His Gospel. The Lord rescues us as a fireman might rescue someone from a burning building, someone who is about to be engulfed in the flames.
The Big Picture
Now, again, let’s remind ourselves that Abram didn’t
have a copy of the New Testament under his arm. He didn’t have a copy of the
Apostles’ Creed or the Westminster Confession of Faith. But, by the same token,
the Bible tells us that Abram heard the Gospel (Gal. 3:8). So, he wasn’t some
Neanderthal. He wasn’t some evolutionist’s caveman.
Abram had a true knowledge of God revealed to him. He
had the righteousness of God revealed to him. And he had the holiness of God
revealed to him. And all these things were to revealed to him by the Lord
Himself. How can I say this? Because Abram heard and believed in the Gospel. And
by believing in the Gospel Abram was embracing the true knowledge of God, His
righteousness. and His holiness, i.e., the things Adam lost in the Fall.
In short, God was at work in Abram’s heart. God was
busy reforming Abram back into the true image and likeness of God. For the Covenant
of Grace, i.e., the Gospel, brings with it the true Knowledge of God, His
Righteousness, and Holiness. Therefore, Abram would be seeing and understanding
much more than todays’ Christian credits him.
So, let’s consider what Abram would be seeing and
understanding. What was Abram doing while the Lord was confirming His covenant
with him? Well, keep in mind that this was, first off, taking place in a vision.
Then the vision intensified into a dream as Abram went into a deep sleep which
fell upon him. The deep sleep and the darkness that fell upon him were
supernatural.
It was the Lord who came seeking Abram. It was the
Lord who had called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans (Gen. 15:7). It was the Lord
who had come to him in this vision. He’d come now to confirm the covenant or
Gospel He had already revealed to Abram. Abram was already believing in the
Gospel. He was trusting in the Lord as his shield, his exceedingly great
reward.
So far, Abram, would have had the same basic knowledge
of God stated in the Westminster Confession of Faith. WCF 7:1 under the head
“God’s Covenant with Man” states,
The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto Him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of Him as their blessedness and REWARD, but by some voluntary condescension on God’s part, which He has been pleased to express by way of covenant.[2]
God has condescended to reveal Himself in His covenant
to Abram. So, Abram would have understood something of the great humility of
God. For he saw Almighty God humble Himself to talk to him and show him the
covenant. And also, as he waited for the Lord, he would have contemplated the
meaning of the carcasses. They were graphic pictures of sin and death! These
were the very types of animals that were to be used in the future sacrificial
system. These were “clean” animals. Even Noah, years before, knew about clean
birds and animals. How did Abram know he was supposed to cut them in half? Well,
that’s how you cut a covenant in those days.
The same ceremony was still going on in Jeremiah the
Prophet’s day, “And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who
have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when
they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it – the princes of
Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people
of the land who passed between the parts of the calf – I will give them into
the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their
dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the
earth” (Jer. 34:18-19).Image from Web
Abram had to drive away the vultures from the
carcasses. He knew that those dead animals were there instead of him. He could
see that God would accept a substitute sacrifice on his behalf. But he knew
that that substitute would need to be worth more than a cow, a ram, goat, a
dove and a pigeon. He knew that his substitute sin offering would need to be a
man – a special man. There was coming a time when the Lord would say to Abram, “Take
your son, your ONLY son Isaac, whom you love... and offer him as a burnt
offering” (Gen. 22:2).
Abram knew that the blood of goats and heifers and
sheep wouldn’t satisfy the justice of God. He knew that these things were just
picture symbols of the real thing. Just as in the future Moses would sprinkle
the blood of the everlasting covenant on the people. Just as we today sprinkle
the blood of the everlasting covenant symbolized in water baptism. But Abram
knew his substitute needed to be a man who was righteous in the eyes of God. He
knew he needed to be child from heaven, a child from God Himself, a child of
promise, even the conditional promise, a child of the covenant.
He knew his substitute needed to be his exceedingly
great reward, the blessing of the covenant, the One who would shield him from
all his enemies, the One who would cover his sins against the fiery wrath of
God, against death itself. And yet what a terrible dilemma the Lord placed
Abram in if He had promised him descendants as numerous as the stars only for
them to be destined for the fires of hell! But Abram knew, as we shall see as
we follow his life, that God’s love is a covenantal love. He knew according to
His covenant, God would save him and his whole house. Just as the Lord saved
Noah and his whole house, so the Lord would save Abram and his whole house to
which you and I today belong. For, as Peter says, “For the promise is to you and
to your children, and to all who afar off, as many as the Lord our God will
call” (Acts 2:39). And the condition of the Covenant is that we believe
in the Lord and His Covenant, i.e., the Gospel. Abram, we’re told in Romans
4:11, is the father of all who will believe – in the Gospel.
So Abram sat there contemplating death as he looked at
the blood and the carcasses. And as the sun had set and horror and great
darkness fell upon him, he would have tasted something of the terrors of hell. For
hell is in outer darkness, as the Lord informs us in Matthew 8:12 But hell is
more than that. It’s the place where the burning wrath of God abides forever on
those who do not believe in the same Lord in whom Abram believed (John 3:36).
However, Abram didn’t have to worry about hell. For he
believed in the Lord. The Lord who had already told him he’d be buried at a
good old age. He’d been told that he’d go to his fathers in peace, not torment
(15:15). But what a terrible and awesome sight it must have been for Abram, to
see the Lord appear as a smoking furnace and a burning torch! How he must have
sensed the holiness and the righteousness of God in this sight. For Abram saw
God reveal Himself as a consuming fire! Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is a
consuming fire.”
We take it that the sacrificed animals were consumed
as the Lord passed between the pieces. Consumed by the same righteous holiness
which consumes, burns up, all sin in its path. As the holiness and
righteousness of God was manifested to Abram, he would have been acutely aware
of his own unholy unrighteousness. But, as the torch and the pitcher meant
victory for Gideon’s army over the enemies of the Lord, so the smoking oven and
torch meant victory for Abram over sin and the last enemy, death. For here
Abram could see clearly that the Lord was rescuing him from his sins, from sin and
death. For here he could see that this covenant was completely and utterly a
covenant of grace. God had condescended to make, to cut a covenant with him to
save him and his faithful house from the consuming justice of God. Abram could
see the Gospel, the good news of his salvation as he fixed his eyes upon the
Lord.
How is it with you? Is the gospel just some billowing
smoke to you? Have you at least noticed the smoke? Remember, where there’s
smoke there’s fire. Our God is a consuming fire, but His Covenant of Grace is
our shield. For the Gospel reveals the One who is our shield, our exceedingly
great reward.
The Covenant is the thing which stops our whole house
burning down. For the Gospel deflects the wrath of God from Abram and his whole
house to which we belong. Like the blood painted on the lintel protected Israel
from the destroying angel at Passover in Egypt, the Covenant the Lord cut with
Abram signified what happens to covenant breakers. They are to be consumed by
the fiery wrath of God.
Jesus received the fiery wrath of God as it was poured
out upon Him on the cross. But not as a covenant breaker, but for covenant
breakers such as us. For He kept perfectly the Covenant by which we are
condemned, i.e., the Covenant of Works. He kept the Covenant of Works. Even
unto death did He perfectly do the will of the Father. And, since the Covenant of
Grace is from everlasting, God’s justice was satisfied by the death of Christ
our substitute. Therefore, He was consumed by the fire of God not for His own
sin but for the sins of His people a people as numerous as the stars! “For God
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).Image from Web
Jesus asked for our forgiveness, and He said He was
going to prepare a place for us. For in His Father’s house there are many
mansions. It’s a land of milk and honey, a place with no sin, pain, crying,
sorrow or death (Rev. 21:4). It’s a place in which righteousness dwells.
The Lord kept Abram waiting as Abram sat contemplating
the meaning of what he was witnessing. He pondered the dead carcasses, torn in
half. He pondered their poured out blood. As Jesus ate the Passover Lamb with
His disciples He took bread, gave thanks and broke it. With the cross waiting
for Him outside the door, He said, “Take, eat; this is MY body
broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took
the cup after supper saying, ‘This is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as
often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24-25). The Lord says
to Christ as recorded by His Prophet Isaiah, “I will preserve You and give You
as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth” (Isa. 49:8).
Make no mistake, our covenant is IN Christ.
Nay, God’s covenant with Abram and us IS Christ! Christ our
covenant hung on a cross between two divided places. He hung between the two
places that were torn apart by Adam’s sin, heaven and earth. As He hung
there contemplating what it all meant supernatural darkness fell upon Him and
over the whole land and the sun was darkened (Luke 23:44-45). Horror and great
darkness fell upon Him as, like Abram, God kept Him waiting. He experienced the
outer darkness of hell, “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?” Then the
fiery wrath of God consumed Him, “My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me.”
Then, when His work was finished, a deep sleep fell upon Him – even the sleep
of death!
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The Gospel declares that you must believe in the Lord
to be saved from your sins. Therefore, you must believe in the same Lord in
whom Abram believed. Jesus Christ was his shield, his exceedingly great reward.
For Jesus is the sum and substance of the Gospel. For in Him and His Gospel the
righteousness of God is revealed (Rom. 1:17).
Jesus says that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and
saw it and was glad (John 8:56). Along with Abram Jesus rescues all who by
God’s grace call on Him. He delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10)
and believe the Scriptures when they tell us about wrath to come.
Abram shooed the birds of prey away from the carcasses
as he waited patiently for the Lord to come. Then the Lord appeared as a
smoking oven and a burning torch. The Lord is coming in like manner again. But let
us not grow impatient. For “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). And the verses
following say, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which
the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with
a fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming
of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on
fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according
to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness
dwells.”
Our God is indeed a consuming fire! And He’s going to
purge the whole universe of unrighteousness. He’ll do this as He comes when He
comes to confirm His covenant with the world, the cosmos! He’ll separate the
sheep from the goats. As the pillar of smoke and fire separated His people from
the Egyptians, so the Son of God will stand between His own people and those
who belong to the world. A river of fire separate them, even a lake of fire
into which the Devil and his followers will be thrown.
Our God is a just God He punishes iniquity. But praise
be to His name, He is also merciful. The smoking oven and the burning torch
must have been a terrifying sight on a dreadfully dark night. But the Good News
is that it was simply the LORD’s way of showing Abram that He was, sometime in
the future, going to cauterize the gaping, festering wound of our sin. It was a
picture of what He was going to do to His only begotten Son Jesus Christ at
Calvary. This is what was being confirmed to Abram, as we see recorded here in
Genesis 15.
It was Abram who shed the blood of these animals. God accepted his sacrifice. It was Christ who shed His own blood. God accepted His sacrifice. Therefore, the LORD, Abram’s shield, his exceedingly great reward, kept His covenant He had cut with Abram. He kept it unto death, even His own death upon a cross.
Conclusion
If all you’ve seen is a bit of smoke, then
remember – Where there’s smoke there’s fire! Just pray that it’s the fire of
the Gospel that’s burning in your heart. But don’t call on the fire brigade to
come and put it out. Call on the Lord Jesus Christ to come and set your whole
house on fire. Call on Him to come and set your whole street on fire. Call on
Him to set the whole nation of Australia on fire. Call on Him to set the whole
world ablaze with His glorious Gospel of Grace!
[1] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, reprinted
June 1991), 279.
[2] Westminster Confession of Faith,
Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Practical Use of Saving
Knowledge, the Directory for the Publick Worship of God, the Form of Church
Government, etc., (Free Presbyterian Publications, Glasgow, (First Reprinted
1976), 1985), 41.
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