Genesis 15 God's covenant
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Genesis 15 God’s covenant with Abram.
Genesis 15 God’s covenant with Abram.
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Last week we look at Abram as he came to the defense of his family member, his nephew by the name of Lot who had been taken captive by those eastern kings who came to attack those western areas of Sodom and Gomorrah after those western kings had rebelled and stopped paying tribute to those in the East.
And as Lot and others ere attacked and taken captive, the word came to Abram. And he called forth his trained me and called for them go with him and his allies to counter attack those who had captured his family. And God gave them the victory.
All these things happened because God was with him.
Today we come to chapter 15.
Lets look at the first 3 verses… Gen 15:1-3
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
So after these events and after Abram’s confession to the King of Sodom that he relied on the Lord His God we find that the Lord speaks to Abram.
And verse 1 tells us that the word of the Lord came to him in a vision.
So stop here and realize that God does speak to his people. At times he speaks face to face, at others through people, and through dreams and visons.
Here is says that God spoke to him in a vision. Now this particular word for vision (ma-haze) only occurs 4 times in the OT, in contrast to other words used for visions and dreams. The idea is more than just the word of God coming to him, it is really like God is speaking to him as if he has showed up face to face with him.
And listen to him, God says “Fear not, I am your shield and your reward shall be very great...
Remember, Abram did not keep anything of the “booty” that was taken when he defeated those enemies that had captured Lot. He only asked the King of Sodom to allow them ( those men and other other allies who helped Him) to keep what they needed to sustain their life.
The phrase “fear not” is really like hey Abram, be strong and courageous. And tells him why… I am your shield. I am the one who will take care of you, protect you form the strikes of the enemy. You can rest in the protection of the divine.
But not only am I your shield, Your reward shall be great. A great reward, is His divine promise…
Abram has heard God’s promise but he doesn’t understand it completely I think.
His reward, his blessing would be a family, descendants who would carry on after him, but He has not seen that yet...
And in verse 2 Abram protests a bit if you will, what will you give me Lord, I still remain childless, all I have is a servant who is like a son, Eliezer of Damascus. Who most likely was born in his home and has grown up like a son to Abram.
Abram thought this would be the one who would receive his inheritance. Why? He has no child.
Verses 4-5 Gen 15:4-5
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
God sets the record straight here, This man, Eliezer will not be your heir, your very own son shall be your heir.
The Lord is telling him to wait for the birth of his own child, this would be the substance of faith. Waiting on the Lord is a measure of faith. God will make good on HIs promises.
And so the Lord brought Abram outside and told him to look toward the heavens… What would be see. the stars..
Now think of this, in our area, we have so many man made lights in our communities that we see some of the stars. But if you go way out into the country side where there are no artificial lights, you see hundreds of stars.
So this was God’s promise to Abram...not only would he be a father, he would be a father of multitudes, a numerous as the stars
Wow… what a promise God is sharing with Abram…
Verse 6 Gen 15:6
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Abram believed.… what does this mean, Abram believed? Belief equals trust, and it is trust in the Lord.
The word in the hebrew ‘believed” mean to place your trust in someone with confidence. he believed God would carry out this promised made to him.
Now think about this for a moment, Abram has previously responded by faith. What he has already believed that made him take God at his word and go… leaving his homeland to follow the Lord is faith.
So to me I see a faith that is growing continually more and more like it is for us.
As a consequence, Abram’s faith, the Lord will credit it as righteousness. The term credited, can be translated a reckoned or counted, but it means to assign value to it. So here in this case, the Lord assigns Abram’s faith the value of righteousness....
So think of it, the Lord counted his faith… saw it, and for him, because he believed, it was righteousness that was given to him.
Behavior conforms the person...
If you trust God you will walk with him regardless...
Verse 7-8 Gen 15:7-8
7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
God reminds him, I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess. This was the beginning of the covenant promise God made with him, He has taken care of him thus far...
But Abram asks the Lord , How shall I know. Now don’t beat up Abram up because of this question, he wants to know what the sign of this will be..
Remember he is old, he is looking for it to come to pass, how will I know?
Verse 9 Gen 15:9
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
5 animals are requested by the Lord, and interesting enough is that three of the 5 are the ones typically prescribed for Israel’s sacrificial rituals, The heifer, goat and ram...
3 years old most likely tells us when its age was the most valuable
The heifer, was only used on special occasions, the appointment of David as king, and the purification rites.
The goat, was a diverse animal, both for its domestic uses and ritually. It was one of two permitted animals on the sacrifices for the Day of Atonement.
The Ram (male sheep), it was used in the ordination of the priests and other sacrifices associated with the guilt offerings
The turtledove and pigeon also had applications at times with various offerings, at times they would be substituted instead of provided a larger animal if a person wasn’t able to afford a lamb, or goat.
Verse 10-11 Gen 15:10-11
10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
Abram did as the Lord commanded and he brought the animals and cut them in half and laid them out before the Lord, even driving off the birds of prey
These help formulate a covenant with the Lord. To understand this better, lets keep looking at what the Lord is telling hiim.
Verses 12-17 Gen 15:12-17
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
As the sun set and evening came upon the scene, what do we see… The Lord allows Abram to fall into a deep sleep, and it will here, the Lord will speak to Abram.
While God made a covenant with Abram, he allows him to see the future as well.
There will be a time when your people will be sojourners in a land, a place where they will not be in a land that is theirs, no!
Instead they would be servant in this land and they would suffer for 400 years..
Well we know exactly what future he is speaking about, The Lord is telling him about the journey into the land of Egypt and were they will be slaves to the Egyptians.
V 14... I will bring judgement on that nation… oh what is the judgment, it is the 10 plagues.. because Pharoah will not allow his people to leave under Moses leadership.
Do you remember the plagues..
Blood: The Nile River and all other waters turned to blood, killing the fish and making the water undrinkable.
Frogs: Frogs swarmed out of the Nile and infested the entire land.
Lice: Gnats or lice covered the land and people of Egypt.
Flies: A swarm of flies, or wild animals, plagued the Egyptians and their livestock.
Livestock Pestilence: A deadly disease killed most of the livestock in Egypt.
Boils: Painful boils broke out on the Egyptians and their animals.
Hail: A severe hailstorm with fire struck the land, destroying crops and trees.
Locusts: A massive swarm of locusts consumed all remaining vegetation.
Darkness: A thick, palpable darkness covered Egypt for three days, while the Israelites in the land of Goshen had light.
Death of the Firstborn: Every firstborn son in every Egyptian household, and the firstborn of their cattle, was killed. The Israelites marked their doors with a lamb's blood and were "passed over"
And as they left, they were given great treasures from the people of Egypt, happy to see them go after much suffering through the plagues...
You will rest in peace Abram with your fathers, but 4 generations from now all this will take place...
V17 we see God’s presence with him. How the smoking fire pot and flaming torch . Fire is often associated with God’s presence.
Now the last section V 18-21 Gen 15:18-21
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
On this day the Lord made a covenant with Abrham, to your offspring I will give this land.
So for those children coming after Abram, God would give the land he has been wandering through...
Ten peoples inhabit the land, and the number 10 symbolizes completeness, and these ten nations seem to represent all the inhabitants of the land
now a note on one special name… .
The Kenizzites indetifies caleb’s ancestry, and the name Kenaz as the grandson of Esau.. who is head of the Edomite clan.
