Genesis 15:9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
Commentary describes what is happening here as the signing of a contract–Abram wants reassurance of God’s promises, and God directs him to draw up the contract. However, as Abram is waiting for God to walk through the carcasses (as His signature), Abram falls “into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.”
Genesis 15:10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.
Commentary does not address this “thick and dreadful darkness” in any way, and when I went to BibleHub.com to check other translations of this verse to see if maybe only NIV sounded so ominous, I saw that every single translation of Genesis 15:12 contains some version of terror/horror/great darkness. Commentary on the verse itself indicates that the terror and great darkness was the weight of an encounter with the divine–God.
Genesis 15:11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
Precious Savior, I struggle with encounters with You being described in terms of terror/horror/great darkness. I get it, but I don’t think of You as terrifying. Thank You. Help me, when I encounter Your presence to lean into Your goodness and light and not to be afraid. Help me to draw closer to You always. Amen.
Genesis 15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
Have a blessed day.