Genesis 15:1-21
Q.1. What further promise did God give to Abram to confirm their unique relationship? (Gen.15:1-1-6)
After Abram’s meeting with Melchizedek, and his determination to honour God, the Lord spoke to him in a vision (see Gen.14:22-15:1). In the vision God confirmed that He would give Abram a son. Because Sarah was beyond childbearing, Abram thought God would provide this son through the adoption of his servant Eliezer (see Gen.15:1-3). However, God promised that this heir would come from his own body. He promised descendants as numerous as the stars (see Gen.15:4-5). Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen.15:6). This is one of the pivotal declarations upon which the gospel is built. This offers salvation to all who believe in Him, regardless of race. Abram later had a son with Sarai’s handmaid. This was not the son whom God had promised. He had promised a son to Abram and Sarai. Abram should not be too severely criticised for taking this option suggested by Sarai, since it did on the surface align with God’s promise.
Q.2. What do we learn about the significance of Abram’s faith response? (Gen.15:5-7 c.f. Rom.4:1-5, 13-25)
God had promised that Abram would become a nation as numerous as the stars, with a permanent title to the land of Canaan (see Gen.15:5 c.f. Gen.13:14-17). Abram’s standing with God was granted by faith. It was not based on his performance – Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen.15:6 c.f. Rom.4:1-5). This is an amazing revelation of God’s heart toward sinners. Right standing with God is entirely a matter of faith (see Rom.4:3, 20-22; Gal.3:6). Long before Abram had a son … long before his offspring increased … and before the covenant of circumcision … and long before the Law was given – Abram was justified before a holy God by faith, not by his own feeble efforts. Then why was the Law inserted? To prove that mankind was unable to perfectly keep God’s standard, and to show that without exception we need a Saviour (see Rom.3:21-24; 6:23; Gal.3:23-26). Thus, God’s grace is extended and guaranteed to all those who are connected to Abraham by faith (see Rom.4:13-18).
Q.3. How did God and Abram seal the covenant? Why is this understood as an UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT? (Gen.15:8-16)
How could Abram know that he was to be the inheritor of these promises? (see Gen.15:8). The promise was sealed by a blood covenant that was consumed by fire from Heaven, while Abram was in a deep sleep (see Gen.15:8-17). It is understood as an UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT, because it was undertaken by God alone, while Abram slept – On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the Euphrates River … (Gen.15:18). In other words, God will keep His promises, in spite of humanity’s inability to live up to His holy standards. This is a most comforting truth for us today.
Q.4. What prophecy did God make to Abram about his as yet unborn descendants? (Gen.15:13-21)
It is an interesting pattern, that God accurately predicts the future without fail (see Is.46:5, 8-11). Not surprisingly, God unfolded the future of Abram’s descendants some four hundred years into the future (see Gen.15:13-16). He even spelled out the exact boundaries of the Promised Land to which Abram’s descendants would return (see Gen.15:18-21 c.f. Gen.13:14-17; Dt.32:8; Acts 17:26). No other nation on earth has an Unconditional Covenant with a description of the Title Deeds. For the reasons above, we support Israel’s claims to the whole portion described as their land.