The Book of
Genesis 15
21 verses≈ 3 min2 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promiseChapter 15
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for good
God’s Covenant with Abram
After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
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Abram
But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
God
Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6
The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
Reflect
Believing in the dark
Abram had no son, and nothing he could see had changed. God simply took him outside and said, “So shall your offspring be.” And “Abram believed the LORD.” Faith isn’t pretending the problem isn’t there; it is trusting the One who has spoken. Where are you being asked to take God at His word before you can see how it will work out? Write it down.
God Confirms His Promise
But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
Pray
Honest questions
Abram believed, and still he asked, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?” God didn’t scold him. He answered with a covenant. Bring your honest questions to God today. Thank Him that He doesn’t ask you to hold up His promises by your own strength, and ask Him to steady your faith where it is weak.
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
0:21
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.
How a covenant was cut
Whiteboard
In the ancient world, people could seal a covenant by walking between the halves of slain animals, as if to say, ‘May this be done to me if I break my word’ (Jeremiah 34:18). But Abram is asleep. Only “a smoking firepot and a flaming torch” pass between the halves. God binds Himself, and the promise rests on Him alone.
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
From the river of Egypt to the Euphrates
God brought Abram “out of Ur of the Chaldeans” and now gives his descendants the land “from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates.” The river of Egypt is usually taken to be the Wadi el-Arish, a seasonal stream in northern Sinai; its exact place is uncertain.
Question
Quick question
As darkness fell, something passed between the halves of the animals.
Who passed between the halves when the covenant was made?
You’ve experienced
Genesis 15
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A verse to carry with you
Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6
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