Catholic Commentary on Genesis 15

"Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)

The Covenant with Abram

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield and your very great reward. Abram's response is honest: what can you give me since I remain childless? The promise of descendants means nothing without a child, and his heir will be his servant Eliezer. God takes him outside: look up at the sky and count the stars, if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be. And then the verse that Paul will make the cornerstone of his theology of grace: Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

The Catechism calls this the foundational text of the doctrine of justification by faith: the standing of righteousness before God is not produced by human achievement but received by faith in the divine promise (CCC 146). Abram has no child, no land, no visible ground for confidence. He believes the God who promised, and that belief, that trust, that orientation of his whole being toward the word of God, is counted as righteousness. Paul will argue in Romans 4 that this happened before circumcision, making Abraham the father of all who believe, circumcised or uncircumcised.

God seals the covenant with a covenant ceremony: Abram cuts animals in two and arranges the halves. A smoking firepot and a blazing torch, symbols of God's presence, pass between the pieces. In the ancient world, both parties to a covenant walked between the cut animals, invoking on themselves the fate of the animals if they broke the terms. Here only God passes through. The covenant is unconditional. Its fulfilment rests entirely on God's faithfulness, not Abram's performance.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, Abram believed the LORD and it was credited to him as righteousness. Not after he had produced the child. Not after he had taken the land. While the stars were still only stars and the promise was still only a word. Faith that is credited as righteousness is faith that believes God before the evidence arrives. Count the stars. They are your credentials before God.

Prayer

Lord God, you told Abram to count the stars and promised him offspring as numerous. He believed you and you counted it as righteousness. Give us Abraham's faith: trusting your promise before the evidence appears, resting in your covenant that rests on your faithfulness alone. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

15
God’s Covenant with Abram
(Romans 4:1–12; Hebrews 11:8–19)
1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
 
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
 
2 But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
 
4 Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”* 15:5 Cited in Romans 4:18
 
6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.† 15:6 Cited in Romans 4:3, Romans 4:22, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23
 
7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
God Confirms His Promise
(Numbers 34:1–15; Romans 4:13–25)
 
8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
 
9 And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”
 
10 So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
 
13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.‡ 15:14 Cited in Acts 7:6–7 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
 
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

*15:5 15:5 Cited in Romans 4:18

†15:6 15:6 Cited in Romans 4:3, Romans 4:22, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23

‡15:14 15:14 Cited in Acts 7:6–7

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