The 1st Dream in Genesis - Abraham's Covenant

Abraham's Covenant

Context:
Abraham had just conquered several kings from several cities, slaughtering their armies, in order to save his nephew Lot (and Lot's family) who was captured into slavery. Because our text (ch 15) starts out with "Fear not," I can conclude that Abraham was afraid of revenge from the lands he had conquered or from other cities that would want to attack him. Later in Genesis Jacob feared surrounding villages when his sons slaughtered a city in revenging their sister's rape. Abraham was probably afraid of similar consequences, so the context of God's promise to Abraham was Abraham's need for survival.

The next sentence reinforces my claim: "I am your shield." God told him not to be afraid because God would protect him.

Being assured of his survival, he then turned to God about the survival of his name. God had promised already to make him a nation, but as of yet God had not made good on his promise, so Abraham's next question was about his lack of children. God promised that he would have children and lots of descendants. Abraham believed God.

In obedience to God, Abraham cut 3 animals in half and killed 2 birds. Protecting them from birds he eventually fell into a deep sleep as the sun was going down.

The Dream:
Darkness and horror surrounded Abraham as God told him that his descendants would face 400 years of slavery and pain in a land that was not theirs, would then be delivered with great wealth and would then return to the land where Abraham lived. God let Abraham know that the land could not yet be taken because the sin of the people was not yet at its height.

Reflecting back to Abraham's fear for survival, God promised him a long life.

Whether it was part of the dream or whether it happened after the dream, a smoking firepot and a burning torch passed through the pieces of the offering. This was part of a custom in making solemn vows in a world that had little or no writing, so could make few if any written contracts.

And in this covenant, God promised to give the land that Abraham was in to his descendants.