Then we get Lot and Abraham parting, as Uncle and Nephew are competing for the same grazing. Both wealthy, and both needing to have unconflicting interests. So this is the key to this for me.. Abraham said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
The next bit is about Lot picking the best land for grazing but ends up right next to Sodom and Gomorrah. Meanwhile Abraham by not asserting any privilege gets the most incredible promise, which is the re-affirmation of his call by God back at the beginning of chapter twelve. This is the beginning of the concept of 'as far as the eye can see'. (So we have telescpes now!)
Chapter 14 describes Abram rescuing Lot. Good bit of man story next with battles and booty. Verse 18 shows the begining of the Bread and wine ritual being intoduced into Abram's ritual repetoire. Also that Abram shares out all the captured loot and people between His allies.
God reassures Abram in a vision, and Abram pleads with God for the thing he realy wants, which is His own heir. (Typical bloke, didn't say, 'The child my wife is desperate for'... nope, it was a man thing to want the heir).
Any way the point of rambling up to this point is to get to the Damian Hurst art scene... (no it wasn't Damian Hurst that thought up the cutting in two stuff). Interesting that this aspect is still ritualistic. Wonder what effect it actually has on people walking through these exhibits. Better not be making any oaths you don't plan keeping while walking around the gallery!
I have come to a conclusion for now, that Abram cut the land mamals in two because they have a 'favoured' side. If you watch animals, they have a preferred side. A ridden animal prefers to turn one way over another. A ploughing animal is the same. Whereas a Bird is completely different.

Birds don't 'favour' one side over another. They have to be able to respond instantly to change.
Every feather is attuned to the nuance of wind, lifting currents, and yet it remains completely focused on where it is going. No need to cut it in half then. A Bird has perfect poise already.
It's a bit blurred because I enlarged it too much, but look at those wingtips, and the tail down not full flex, so it can get it's head up for a photocall.
The significance of the Dove? The only bird that will fight to the Death, and the Pidgeon who closely resembles the Dove, will not.
This seems all so symbolic of the Subjective, and Objective aspects of Consciousness. What is God intimating? That both 'halves' may be inequal, or 'loaded' with preference, but that God will pass through between this 'imperfection' of prefered, and hard wired tendancy, to 'see through' His purpose? Perhaps....
...Needs more dwelling on, because I got this far, but can't see how this fits the 'end game' yet.
I Like the idea of God turning up in a Brazier! (Girl thing sorry...). I suppose the flaming torch is a metaphor for the maleness of God.
I feel sorry for the Egyptians really. The next time the they get a visit during a famine is when Joseph has risen to power over all of Egypt. Talk about skimming it. Joseph manages to indenture the whole population, as they have to sell all their posessions to 'Pharaoh' to buy food. Joseph then leases back the farms and equipment to the Egyptian people. So He has turned a 'free people' into serfs. Probably even the Temples had to submit in the end, as the local surplus had been stored for safekeeping in the fat years. So I reckon that by year five of the famine, Joseph had completely revised the whole power matrix in Egypt. I am surprised Pharaoh let him get away with it. I never made the connection of a Visir being a Revisor before.
Back to that promise in Genesis 15 from verse 12 to 16. Pretty accurate. Exept leaving out the bit where Abraham did a realy mean thing by passing Sarah off as his sister, and forgeting to mention Joseph bankrupts the Egyptians by taking advantage of the correct interpretation of Pharaoh's dream. That benefits Joseph's immediate family. I am wondering if this is the first unveiled reference to nepotism, must re read up to this point again. Honestly, every time I read the Bible it seems different. Like the 'never ending story'. You have to keep a close eye on it, otherwise it's all over the place. AHA! So that's what it's all about. It does change, it's not me just thinking it changes.
Then the balance of power gets restored over a period of time, once crops are growing and the Egyptian people get enough back together. I bet they revolted! Turned the tables back on the now populous Israelites and put them to making mud bricks near Goshen. Actually there was a huge temple and city built fairly quickly up North, I suppose I ought to revise a bit of Archeology. It was a glittering city covered in blue tiles if memory serves.
Hmmm... I am drifting about too much here. Well I just played with this thread a bit. It obviously popped out on purpose and wiggled itself around tantalizingly. It will weave itself back in no doubt if I get to a point of not having it floating in my head like a feather on the breeze.
Time for bed, sweet dreams and a blessed and refreshing sleep.