The Lord said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great.” Abram asked how this could be since a slave in his house was the heir (Eliezar of Damascus). God told him he would have a son for an heir, and that his offspring will number the same as stars in the sky. Abram believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. Then he asked God how he would know he would posses it. God told him to bring animals, and he did, and split them down the middle and laid the pieces opposite to each other. The sun was setting and Abram fell into a deep sleep, terror and great darkness descended on him. The Lord said Abram’s offspring would be strangers in a land and enslaved oppressed there for 400 years, but that He would judge that nation and they will go out with many possessions. They will return because the iniquity of the Amorites has not reached its full measure. When the sun set it was dark and a smoking fire-pot and flaming torch passed between the divided animals. The Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring.”
God is the shield of His people and saves His people by faith alone. God promises by making a covenant carrying implication that He should be cut in two if He breaks it. He tells Abram what’s going to happen in the future to inflame His faith – God will prove Himself to be true. God didn’t break His covenant with His people, and yet His Son was crushed for our unfaithfulness.