GENESIS 15:1-21
INTRODUCTION
A. Genesis 15 Is One Of The Key Chapters In The Whole Bible.
In This Section, God Tells Us About His Official Ratification Of The Abrahamic Covenant, Which Is The Basic Covenant For All Salvation And Prophetic Truths.
B. In This Chapter, There Are Some Definite Firsts.
This Is The First Time God Is Called Adonai Jehovah:
(Mighty Covenant-Making God).
The Terms BELIEVE And RIGHTEOUSNESS:
First Occur Here,
Lays The Basis For The Whole Doctrine Of Justification By Faith.
ONE POSSIBLE OUTLINE:
I. PROMISE OF THE HEIR (15:1-6)
II. PROMISE OF THE NATION (15:7-21)
A. COVENANT PREPARATION (15:7-11)
B. COVENANT PROMISE (15:12-16)
C. COVENANT CONFIRMATION (15:17-21)
I. PROMISE OF THE HEIR (Genesis 15:1-6):
THE PROMISE OF GOD.
A. The Divine Revelation (1:1).
The Lord God Appears To Abram In A Vision.
God Told Abram To Fear Not.
God Told Abram He Was His Shield And Great Reward.
1. Abram Was Not To Fear His Enemies.
Abram And His Small Band Of Well-Trained Men Had Just Routed An Enemy And Its Armies.
Perhaps This Enemy Would Come Again To Attack Abram.
God Assures Abram That He Is His Shield And Protector.
2. Abram Was Not To Fear Being Childless.
God Made The Promise To Abram That He Would Have A Son.
That Promise Was Not About 10 Years Ago.
Was Abram Worried About Dying Without A Son ?
What Does It Mean That God Would Be His Reward ?
The Bible Often Speaks Of The Coming Of A Child As A Reward. (Gen. 30:18; Psa. 127:3).
B. The Human Response (15:2-3):
If God Is To Fulfill His Covenant:
Abram Must Have A Child.
Abram Believes God Will Reward Him.
BUT:
Abram Was Becoming Impatient And Confused.
Abram Was Becoming Discouraged.
Abram TRIES TO SOLVE THIS “DIVINE PROBLEM”:
He Still Has No Son.
His Best Prospect Was His Servant Eliezer To Be His Heir.
His Custom Allowed For This Servant Sonship For Inheritance.
C. The Divine Assurance (15:4-5):
God Assures Abram That Eliezer Is Not The Heir.
God Assures Abram The True Heir Will Be His TRUE SON.
God Shows Abram His Family Will Be Numberless As The Stars.
D. The Human Reward For Faith (15:6):
Abram Believed In The Lord And His Promise,
Abram Believed In Jehovah On The Basis Of His Faith,
And Jehovah God Declared Abram Positionally Righteous.
Salvation Is Believing In God,
That God Will Carry Out His Promises,
This Is Justification By Faith.
(Rom. 3:24-25).
Abram Was Not Saved By Works But By Faith;
Yet He Later Proved The Reality Of His Faith Through His Works (James 2:21-24).
Theological Question:
1. How Was Abram Saved?
ABRAM WAS SAVED
BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
IN GOD WHO MADE HIM A PROMISE.
All Believers Of All Time Are Saved By Grace Through Faith On The Basis Of Christ's Death.
(Eph. 2:8-9, Rom, 3:25).
The Object Of Faith Changes Due To The Fact That New Testament Believers Have More Revelation.
Old Testament Believers Were Saved By Believing In God Who Would Send His Son.
New Testament Believers Are Saved By Believing In The Son Whom God Has Sent.
NOTE:
Surely The Abrahamic Covenant To THY SEED Included Something Greater Than Numerous Descendants,
For THROUGH THY SEED All The Families Of The Earth Would Be Blessed.
(Gen. 12:3).
The New Testament Tells Us That The Abrahamic Covenant Is Ultimately Fulfilled Through Christ.
(Gal. 3:16).
Abram Did Not Understand All The Details.
Abram Did Grasp That The Abrahamic Covenant Did Include The Promise Of Messiah Who Would Come.
Old Testament Saints:
Were Saved In God's Promise Of Messiah Who Would Come.
New Testament Saints:
Are Saved In The Messiah Who Has Come.
One Looks Forward To The Cross,
The Other Looks Back To The Cross.
2. When Abram Saved?
Was Abram A Believer Before This Event Took Place In Genesis 15:6?
Answer:
Abram Was Saved Years Before This Time.
But Genesis 15 Is The Official Enactment Of The Covenant.
Do You Agree That God Wanted To Drive Home The Concept Of Justification By Faith To Abram ?
Also In Genesis 15 Abram's Faith Is Directly Connected With God's Promise Respecting His SEED.
(Genesis 15:18),
Which Seed Was Christ.
(Galatians. 3:16).
The Faith, Which Was Counted For Righteousness, Was The Faith, Which Believed What God Had Said Concerning The Promised Seed.
There Is No Justification Apart From Christ.
(Acts 13:38-39).
First, PROMISE OF THE HEIR (Genesis 15:1-6):
NOW:
II. PROMISE OF THE NATION (Genesis 15:7-21):
THE PERFORMANCE OF GOD:
A. COVENANT PREPARATION (15:7-11):
1. The Divine Reassurance (15:7):
God Again Reassures Abram That He And His Seed Will Inherit The Land.
(Gen. 12:1-3).
2. Desire For The Covenant (15:8):
Abram Asks God The Question As To How He Can Be Sure Or Certain That He Would Fulfill The Covenant.
He Believed But Wanted Confirmation For His Belief.
This Is Not An Attitude Of Unbelief.
This Is An Attitude Of Of: HELP ME IN MY UNBELIEF.
3. Preparation For The Covenant (15:9-11):
God Gives Abram Confirmation By Officially Enacting The Covenant Through A Blood Agreement.
He Has Already Initiated The Covenant With His Servant.
(Genesis 12:1-3).
BUT HE NOW FORMALLY RATIFIES THE COVENANT:
It Becomes Official.
It Was Like A Ceremony To Represent The Agreement.
IT WAS A BLOOD COVENANT:
HOW IS A BLOOD COVENANT PERFORMED ?
The Contracting Parties Would Agree On The Terms.
They Would Take An Animal, Slay It,
They Would Divide The Carcass Down The Backbone,
Place The Divided Parts Opposite Each Other On The Ground.
This Would Form A Pathway Between The Pieces.
Then, The Two Would Join Hands,
Recite The Terms Of The Contract,
Walk Together Between The Divided Halves Of The Slain Animal.
It Signified That They Were Bound In A Contract Until Death,
And If Either Violated The Terms Of The Contract, His Blood Should Be Poured Out As The Blood Of The Animal Had Been Poured Out.
Only Death Could Break This Covenant.
(Jer. 34:18-19).
Abram Took Five Clean Animals,
Showing The Importance Of This Covenant,
Divided Them And Placed Them Opposite Each Other.
God Was About To Confirm His Covenant With Abram.
Then, God Caused A Deep Sleep To Fall On Abram,
This Is So Abram Could Not Participate In The Ritual Personally.
B. COVENANT PROMISE (15:12-16):
Permanence Of The Covenant.
God Assures Abram That He Will Bring His Seed Through To Blessing Even Though There Will Be Problems Along The Way.
Here God Makes A Prophecy That Israel Will Be In Bondage For 400 Years In Egypt.
This Figure Is A Round Number Conception Just As In Acts 7:4-6 And The 430 Years In Two Other Cases (Exo. 12:40-41; Gal. 3:17) Is The Precise Total.
God Will Judge Egypt And Israel Will Leave With Great Wealth.
This Prophecy Had Its Fulfillment When Jacob Took His Family To Egypt Around 1880 B.C.
Abram Is Now Told That He Will Not Have A Part In This Return To The Land But His Seed Will.
Abram Will Die And Go To Be With His Fathers.
(Fathers Of Belief Not Physical Fathers For They Were Pagans)
God Assures Him That In The 4th Generation They Will Return.
That Is, After 400 Years They Would Return To The Land.
C. COVENANT CONFIRMATION (15:17-21):
1. Performance Of The Covenant (15:17):
In A Dream:
Abram Saw A SMOKING FURNACE AND A BURNING LAMP THAT PASSED BETWEEN THE SACRIFICES.
In The Old Testament The Burning Lamp Or Light Signified The Presence Of The Shekinah Glory Of God.
(Exo. 3:2-6; 13:21; 19:18).
God ALONE Passed Through The Sacrifices.
God ALONE Was Binding Himself By A Blood Covenant.
God Was Showing That He Alone Would Fulfill The Promises.
God Will Perform Every Part Of The Abrahamic Covenant.
2. Promise Of The Covenant Reiterated (15:18-21):
There Are Two Major Thoughts In This Section:
THE SEED AND THE LAND.
1. The Land.
God Now Gives The Boundaries Of The Land He Promised To Abram And His Seed.
The Boundaries Of The Land Are Clearly Given.
On The South, The Nile River.
On The East, The Euphrates River In Mesopotamia.
On The West, The Mediterranean Sea Line.
On The North, Syria And Its Boundaries.
2. The Seed.
God Says: UNTO YOUR SEED I HAVE GIVEN THE LAND.
ABRAM's Seed Would Inherit The Land Forever.
Abram Understood This To Be His Physical Seed,
To Those Of His Physical Seed Who Would Also Believed God For The Fulfillment Of The Covenant.
Theological Question:
HOW DOES A BELIEVING GENTILE RELATE TO THIS COVENANT?
Paul Clearly States That The Covenant Was Made To Abraham And His Seed, And, By Divine Interpretation Says This Seed Was Christ Himself.
Christ Is The One Who Will Ultimately Fulfill The Abrahamic Covenant And All Who Are Related To Christ Whether Believing Jews Or Believing Gentiles Will Be Blessed Through Christ.
Galatians 3:16-29.
Believing Gentiles Are A Seed Of Abraham.
Gentiles Are Believing Seed, Not Literal Physical Seed Of Abraham.
As Believing Seed In Christ, The Gentile Partakes Of The Abrahamic Covenant.
We Believe That He Partakes Of The Universal Aspects Or The Salvation Aspects Of The Covenant.
Grafted Into The Covenants.
(Rom. 11:17).
A Chosen People, A Royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation, A People Belonging To God.
(1 Pet. 2:19).
And Part Of The People Of God.
(1 Pet. 2:10).
God Promised The Land To Abram And IMPLIED To Christ.
God Promises To Give The Land To Christ And Indirectly To All Who Are His Seed By Faith.
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