Read: Genesis 15 NLT – The LORD’s Covenant Promise to Abram – Bible Gateway
“Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, ‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!’ So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, ‘I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River.’” Genesis 15:5, 18 NLT
Last week in Sunday’s Biblical Insights Abram is visited by the king of Salem, Melchizedek. The king brought a large meal for Abram and his men after their victory over the kings of the north. Melchizedek blessed Abram and he blessed God. Abram gave a gift of one-tenth of all the spoils to the Lord and His servant, Melchizedek. The king of Sodom was present and offered Abram all the goods that were returned to Sodom. Abram in his generosity did not want a thing, only what his men and his allies where entitled to. He would take nothing for himself.
This week in chapter 15, God renews His promise to Abram with a covenant. Chapter 15 opens with God telling Abram in a vision not to be afraid because He is Abram’s protector. Abram may have been afraid of retaliation from the four kings and their armies he had just defeated. Abram may also have had something else on his mind. He said in reply, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.” (Gen.15:2 nlt) Abram was concerned that he still had no children and he wasn’t getting any younger. He suggested to God that his servant Eliezar could be his heir. The custom in Abram’s day was that if a couple was childless they could adopt one the servants to be the heir. Abram was asking permission to do so.
The Lord said no to Abram’s request. He had other plans. Abram and Sarai would have a son, yes, in their old age. God then directed Abram outside and said, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (Gen.15:5 nlt) In ancient Palestine more than 8,000 stars were visible in the dark sky of a Near Eastern night. The enormous amount of stars in the sky was God’s illustration of the promise to come. Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. This is the first time ‘believe’ and ‘righteousness’ are used in the Bible. This is the core foundation of justification by faith. Abram believed God. When one believes God and His plan for salvation without any works involved on our own, it is counted to us as righteousness. God sees Jesus’ righteousness in us as we accept Him as Lord and savior.
Abram believed God and asked how he could be sure of His promises. He asked in faith believing, not suspecting if God’s promises were true. God is going to confirm His promises to Abram with a covenant, a legal binding agreement with a formal expression of intent. “The LORD told 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.’” (Gen.15:9 nlt) Abram was to gather these animals suitable for sacrifice. Three years old was the prime age for animal sacrifices. A serious covenant is sealed with blood. Abram then cut the animals in half, but not the birds, laying their pieces side by side. The idea is walking through the two halves seals the covenant by saying if I break it, may the same thing be done to me.
“As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him.” (Gen.15:12 nlt) God caused a deep sleep to come over Abram. Abram did not need to walk through the pieces. The ratifying of the covenant did not depend on him, but on God. Our salvation does not depend on us, but on God. The Lord gives Abram a preview of his descendants before they enter the Promised Land. “Then the LORD said to Abram, ‘You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. After four generations your descendants will return here to this land.’” (Gen.15:13-14, 16 nlt) The Lord is assuring Abram his descendants they will occupy the land as promised.
“After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses.” (Gen.15:17 nlt) The Lord God passed through the pieces represented by the smoking firepot and a flaming torch. In ancient times this solemnized a covenant. It was only necessary for God to pass through the pieces. This covenant is God’s alone. It cannot fail because God does not fail. The Lord God keeps His promises. “So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, ‘I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River.’” (Gen.15:18 nlt) The Lord gives Abram the specific boundaries of the land and the current occupants as a definite acquisition, it will happen. The children of Israel did move into the Promised Land, but they have not possessed its entirety to this day. But God’s promise to Abram still stands. Israel will possess all the land promised them when Christ returns to rule from Jerusalem. Our Lord keeps His promises.
Next week Abram and Sarai become impatient………..
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