Read Genesis 15
The Lord’s Covenant With Abram
1 After this, 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 said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
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.”
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. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestorsin peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Go Deeper
This chapter builds off of the previous one, where we saw Abram, victorious in battle, properly giving credit where credit is due. He remembers God’s faithfulness to him thus far, and this passage begins with God appearing to him in a vision, assuring him of God’s continued commitment to him. Throughout this entire chapter, God formally establishes His covenant with Abram. He again promises Abram many descendants, saying his offspring will be so many that they will be like the stars in the sky (which is why we’re still singing Father Abraham to this day).
All of this had to still feel far-fetched to Abram, right? He had heard this before, yet he still didn’t have a son of his own. He and his wife were both of old age. Yet God still continued to promise to make him a father to an entire nation. It would’ve been easy for Abram to doubt God; we often doubt God’s promises that seem far more likely to come true than what God was promising Abram. But verse 6 tells us everything we need to know about Abram: Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Abram trusted God. Abram believed that God was who He said He was. Abram had faith. This verse is so pivotal that James and Paul would both quote it in the New Testament as one of the cornerstone doctrines of the faith: God accepts us by His grace and our faith. God also shows Abram a glimpse of what is to come for his people while Abram is in a deep sleep. It’s not all good. In fact, some of it is going to be terrible. But God, as He has done all along, will deliver His people once again because He is faithful and He keeps His promises.
Questions
What do you notice about Abram’s response to God in this passage? What about God’s response to Abram?
Is reflecting on God’s faithfulness something you do well? Or do you often forget and doubt God’s goodness over time?
What do you learn about God in verse 6? What’s the theological significance of this verse?
Did You Know?
Pastor and commentator David Guzik has this note on Genesis 15:6 (and the New Testament references found in Romans 4 and Galatians 3):
“This is one of the clearest expressions in the Bible of the truth of salvation by grace, through faith. This is the first time believe is used in the Bible and the first time righteousness is used in the Bible. This is the New Testament gospel in the Hebrew Scriptures, later quoted four times in the New Testament.”
9 thoughts on “Genesis 15”
“He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (v5). I wonder how often Abram must have gazed into the night sky reminding himself of God’s promise. When would the impossible become possible? What scripture records is Abram believed the Lord. This didn’t mean he wouldn’t have questions, but that his faith would triumph doubt. As a Christ-follower, whatever we are walking through, remember to watch for pinholes of light puncturing the darkness and through faith believe that “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Knowledge or trust
God acted and Abraham followed. He didn’t just believe in God, he believed God. Faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Faith is not being able to see the outcome in the moment. We all feel “in the dark” in our walk with God. We all have emotions so getting the “feels” is normal also, we just cannot let those “feels” overtake us. We have be like Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” Gal 5:6. Ours and Abraham’s greatest need is righteousness. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23. There is none righteous, no, not one, Rom 3:10. When we trust in Christ our righteousness is counted (or put on our account) 2 Cor 5:18-21 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. God is the great I AM, that is our assurance, that He will do what He says He will.
Galatians 3 is about by Faith, or by works of the law.
God before faith came Abraham, who was under the law, which was a tutor and guide to show me through the OT knowledge that through Christ I may be justified, that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God by faith. And now that faith has come, I are no longer under the control and authority of the law, it is for my learning. When I was born again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified andI am a child of God set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges through faith in Christ Jesus. When I was baptized into Christ, into a spiritual union with the Christ, the Anointed, Iwas clothed with Christ, that is, taken onI have taken on His characteristics and values. There is [now no distinction in regard to salvation] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for I believed am one in Christ Jesus [no one can claim a spiritual superiority]. And if I belong to Christ [if I am in Him], then I are Abraham’s descendants, and [spiritual] heirs according to [God’s] promise. (Gal 3:23-29 amp). God help this to be so in my life as I walk in these minutes of this day help me to see Your people through Your love goggles to know without a doubt that throuogh Your Son I am counted righteous and so are they or so may they be. God give me words to speak that edify You in these minutes today in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Faith is not being able to see the outcome in the moment.” SO true! I am reminded so often to “place my faith in GOD –not in outcomes.” Woohoo!
❤❤❤
An amazing explanation of the animals cut in half and the fiery torch and smoking pot is given here by Timothy Keller. It starts at 18 Minutes if you wish to get right to it. AMAZING!
https://www.google.com/search?q=Timothy+Keller+on+God+walking+as+a+fiery+pot+and+torch+through+the+sacrifice&oq=Timothy+Keller+on+God+walking+as+a+fiery+pot+and+torch+through+the+sacrifice&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTIyMzg4ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ab7d1e8e,vid:4MLqalGN_ZQ,st:0
What immediately catches my eye is this: God takes Abram outside and instructs him to look up at the sky (v. 5). In order to RECEIVE God’s vision, Abram had to FOLLOW … and OBEY.
It’s an incredible thing to receive a vision from God – a glimpse of the Divine “already/not yet.” But just as extraordinary – and even more challenging – is to LIVE as a visionary people. To follow God into a future only God can see.
I’m reminded of an HCBC Christmas musical our kids put on many years ago, which included a modern-day version of Mary’s “Magnificat.” One of the lines remains with me to this day:
“It’s almost unbelievable how ordinary people live extraordinary lives when they choose to follow You.”
We all have that same opportunity when we, like Abram, “walk by FAITH, not sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). When we “live life in accordance with God’s promises, even when they can’t be seen. When we:
• TRUST GOD, even when we can’t see him working;
• BELIEVE in God’s preparation;
• FIND STRENGTH in God’s promises; and
• LIVE by what we believe – not by what we can see.”*
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Oh, Lord, I am an ordinary woman longing for the extraordinary life found only in following you. Help me to live what I believe as I trust you, find strength in you and daily take that next step of faith!
*Online commentary
God is to insane! Bro is predicting the whole future😭😭.
Thats my god! Love to see it.
I do relate with Abram. It’s hard to trust gods promises when things seam impossible.
6 “Abram believed the Lord“
Fascinating point that this the first use of the term “believe” in the Bible. Wow!
I read the most amazing article going deeper into the covenant itself and it is incredible. I copy and pasted a part bc it is too good to sum up in my own words.
Full article: https://www.chorusinthechaos.com/blog/covenant-god-genesis-15
Feb 29, 2024- Written by David Chambers
The Hebrew word translated covenant is “Berith.” This word comes from the root word Brit which means cut. It’s the source of the Hebrew word for circumcision. So it’s most accurate to say that God cut a covenant. He made a bond in blood.
And what happens in verses 12-16 was the standard covenant model of the day. The official name of this covenant model was called the suzerain-vassal treaty. In short, two parties would enter into a formal business or familial relationship with each other, there was always a greater party, usually a king, ruler, or man of great wealth, and the lesser party. This was often local leaders or non-land-owners promising to care for the king’s land as his vassals (or something along those lines).
“As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.”
Dread. Horror. Fear. God was there, present, and as Abram was put into a sleep he experienced a fear unimaginable. This is pure conjecture on my part because the text doesn’t say it, but perhaps God is giving Abram a small glimpse of his holiness and wrath against sin. The darkness that comes from being in the presence of God without a mediator standing in the gap.
But what we do know is that this is not the only time someone connected to this covenant would experience this dreaded darkness. Christ would Himself cry out to the Lord on the Cross “My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me!” Yes Abram glimpsed a dreaded darkness, but God put Abram to sleep, he put Christ to death.
There would be no mediator for Jesus as he bore the penalty for sin. He experienced death, He experienced the consequences for all the sins of His people. and if you trust in Christ for your salvation He did it all, for you.
Now some of you may have noticed that there was a 5th and final aspect of a covenant ceremony that wasn’t explained in the previous section. The final part of a covenant ceremony was the section detailing the blessings and curses. This is different from the content of the covenant. This is the result of the covenant being kept or broken. The first unveiling of the blessing of this covenant is Abram’s descendants receiving and living in the Land. God reiterates this in verses 18-21
But what about the curses for failing to keep the covenant? Well, the curse here is the animals cut by Abram. At a covenant ceremony, the animals were cut, they were divided making a pathway between the carcasses. And then after all the other ceremonial rites and promises were laid out, the two parties would walk through the pieces together showing their new bloody bond and commitment to each other. There’s nothing like this in our culture, the only image we really have is a marriage ceremony with the aisle of two sides participating in the covenant vows by being witnesses. But in the Ancient Near East, the parties agreed to be cut up in pieces if they didn’t keep their vows. Effectively they were saying “May I become like these pieces – May my body broken, my blood poured out.”
But when the time came to finalize this covenant, to walk through the pieces together, to promise to fulfill conditions and be faithful lest they become like the dead animals, where is Abram? Asleep in the corner. And what happens next is vital and necessary for our salvation: “When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord cut a covenant with Abram.”
Do you see what’s happening here, do you understand what you just read? God Himself passed through the pieces. The firepot and torch image is a theophany, it’s a physical representation of God’s special presence, just like the burning bush. God Himself swore to uphold the covenant entirely on His own. He promised to bear any covenant curse that came from the breach of the covenant. God Took on the responsibility of everything.
God walked through the pieces and made a vow! There is no name higher, no being more glorious, no object of value for God to swear by than Himself. God Bound Himself, To Himself, Through Himself to set apart a people made holy for His glory.
Abram couldn’t keep the covenant; he couldn’t always be faithful to God. After this, we have many instances recorded of his failures. But he never broke the covenant because he didn’t pass through the pieces. He couldn’t keep it, we can’t keep it. But we don’t have to, it’s been kept for us by Christ.