Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Genesis 15 – God’s covenant with Abram. According to Bible scholars, the events of Genesis 15 took place approximately in 2081 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Genesis 15 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Genesis 15 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Genesis 14, we read about the Abram rescuing Lot, his nephew. Well, in this Bible study on Genesis 15, we will read about God’s covenant with Abram.
Without any further delay, let us study together Genesis Chapter 15, shall we?
Abram Has No Offspring
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
In Verses 1-2 of Genesis 15, The Lord appeared to Abram in a vision and told him not to be afraid. By doing so, the Lord assured Abram that He was not there to harm him.
The Lord told Abram that He-The Lord is his shield, his exceedingly great reward. And, Abram replied to the Lord God and told him that he was childless and he asked if the heir of his house was Eliezer of Damascus, his servant? Abram continued speaking and told the Lord that He had not given him any offspring (with Sarah, his wife). Hence, he said that a male born in his house (as his servant) would be his heir.
Observation
Abram makes it clear that it is the Lord who gives us children. Therefore, he told the Lord that He had not given him any offspring. We as humans cannot boast that we create life. We do not! God has simply given us the ability and the sytems in our bodies to create a new human body so that a new life can inhabit it. And, that life does not come from us. It comes from God Almighty.
The Lord Promised Abram An Heir
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
In Verses 4-6 of Genesis 15, the Lord said to Abram that Eliezer of Damascus would not be his heir as he had assumed and that Abram’s heir would come from his own body. Then, the Lord brought Abram outside and asked him to look towards heaven and count the stars and see if he was able to number them. Then, He told Abram that his descendants shall be innumerable just as the stars of the sky.
Abram believed in the Lord and the Lord accounted Abram’s belief in Him for righteousness. In short, Abram’s belief in what the Lord said to him (the Lord’s word) made him righteous in the Lord’s eyes.
The Lord Gives Abram The Land As Inheritance
7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” 8 And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”
In Verses 7-8 of Genesis 15, the Lord said to Abram that He is the Lord who brought him out of the city of Ur in the Chaldean land to the new land (Canaan) to inherit it. Abram replied and asked the Lord God, how shall he know that he will inherit it?
The Lord Asked Abram To Prepare The Animals And Birds For Sacrifice
9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
In Verses 9-11 of Genesis 15, the Lord, in reply to Abram’s question in Verse 8, instructed him to bring specific animals and birds for sacrifice. Abram did according to the Lord’s instructions and cut the animals in two down in the middle and placed each piece opposite the other. However, he did not cut the birds in two. Verse 11 of Genesis 15, records how vultures swooped down on the carcasses of the sacrificial animals and birds, that Abram had prepared for the Lord, to feast on them and Abram drove them away. All this happened while Abram was waiting on the Lord.
Observation
The vultures swooping down on the carcasses of the sacrificial animals has a deeper meaning behind it. When we do the Lord’s work there will be vultures noting and swooping down trying to steal what belongs to the Lord. That includes our spirit-filled lifestyle, fasting, faith-based works, a consecrated life etc., It is our duty, as Abram, to drive those vultures (evil predators) away and not let them “FEAST” on our sacrifice because the sacrifice is ‘holy’.
The Future Of Abram’s Descendants
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
In Verses 12-14 of Genesis 15, it is recorded that at sunset, a deep sleep fell upon Abram and horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram that his descendants certainly will be strangers in another land and that they will serve other masters and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. However, the Lord said that He will judge even the nation that ruled four hundred years over Abram’s descendants. And, Abram’s descendants shall come out with great possessions. We will see this in the Book of Exodus in the upcoming bible studies.
In Verses 15-16 of Genesis 15, the Lord told Abram that he would go to his fathers in peace (die in peace) and he shall be buried at a good old age. However, in the fourth generation, Abram’s descendants would return to Canaan again, because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete.
Note
Amorites inhabited the land of Canaan and they were one of the most powerful groups of the region who involved in pagan worship.
The Lord’s Covenant With Abram
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same 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, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
In Verse 17 of Genesis 15, when the sun went down completely and it was dark, a smoking oven appeared and a burning torch passed between the animals and birds that Abram had sacrificed to the Lord. Verse 18, tells that, on the same day, the Lord made a covenant (oath) with Abram and said to him that He has given his (Abram’s) descendants the land from the River of Egypt to the River Euphrates including all the various tribes in the region.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the bible study lesson on Genesis 15. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments box below. I highly appreciate it. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!