Question: “Why did God send a burning torch and a furnace to Abram In his trance and what do they signify? (Genesis 15:17)”
Answered by: Daniel Grimes, who has been a volunteer with us since July, 2005.
Answer: Thank you for visiting the Got Questions website. We hope the answer to your question is of help.
According to commentary the reason God sent the burning torch and furnace to Abram in his trance was His way of making His presence known and to seal a covenant relationship with him (Genesis 15:17,18). The image we get then is that Abram was in God’s Holy presence and glory.
‘smoking fire pot and flaming torch’ These are symbols to remind us of God’s presence with Israel on their way to the promised land (Exodus 13:21; 19:18; 20:18). Fire reminds us of Moses witnessing the burning bush which magnified the presence of God (Exodus 3:4). And we are reminded of the fire from heaven which consumed sacrifices (1 Kings 18:38, 1 Chronicles 21:26, 2 Chronicles 7:1).
‘passed between these pieces’ The smoking fire pot and blazing torch that Abram watches represents God himself walking between the animal carcasses binding himself solemnly to his covenant promise. Notice in the passage that Abram just observes and doesn’t walk between the pieces. This is an indication that God swears by Himself to keep the covenant terms. Meaning that God invokes a self curse upon Himself should He fail to keep His promise to Abram. Thus Abram never ‘signed’ the covenant, because God ‘signed’ it for both of them. Abram only entered into the covenant with God by faith alone.
The Bible describes God as “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), so it is not surprising that fire often appears as a symbol of God’s presence. To read more go to … http://www.gotquestions.org/Holy-Spirit-fire.html
Bottom Line: God’s presence is all that we need, and we should expect it, though not in a way that we would necessarily expect.
Sincerely in Christ,
Daniel
Question:“The chastisement of our peace was placed on Him? What does it mean.”
Answered by: Olivia Bortner, who has been a volunteer with us since February, 2014.
Answer: I’d be more than glad to help you! This verse comes the King James Version of Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” This Old Testament verse is speaking prophetically (meaning about the future) of the coming Christ and what He would do to atone for sin. Jesus came to be crucified for us so that we could have eternal life. The word “chastisement” is best translated in the sentence as punishment. As in, through the punishment He endured on the Cross, we are able to have a peace from God that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7). To summarize, Isaiah 53:5 is talking about how the Savior would come and be punished so that we could have peace. I hope that this answers your question and feel free to write us back. God bless!
