The Hebrew noun accurately translated “oven” refers to a “baking oven” as distinct from a kiln or smelting furnace—both of which burn much hotter. (The Hebrew nouns for “kiln” or for “smelting furnace” are more likely to appear in contexts of God's wrath or judgment.)
In this passage, God is not passing judgment on Abraham, as He did on the Egyptians in Exodus 14 or on Sodom in Genesis 19. Nor is He protecting Abraham from an enemy, as He promises to do in the case of His people in Isaiah 4. Rather, Genesis 15 links smoke to the sort of oven in which people prepare food. The symbolic action indicates that God and Abraham were going to have a meal together. There was peace between them; they were in fellowship. In this context, smoke represents the fellowship of God and man in peace.
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