The
Covenant of Genesis 15—B’rit Bein Ha’Btarim
Genesis 15:1-21--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." 2But Abram said,
"Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3Then Abram said, "Look, You have
given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" 4And
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."
5Then 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." 6And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to
him for righteousness. 7Then 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."
8And he said, "Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?"
9So 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." 10Then 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. 11And when the vultures came down on the carcasses,
Abram drove them away.
12Now when the sun was going down, a deep
sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
13Then 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. 14And also the nation whom they
serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be
buried at a good old age. 16But in the fourth generation they shall
return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
17And 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. 18On 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-- 19the Kenites, the
Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the
Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the
Jebusites."
1. Based on Genesis 15:1-3 is
Abram concerned about physical descendants or spiritual children of
faith?
2. Based on Genesis 15:4-5 is
it necessary that the heir of the promise to Abram be an actual physical
descendant from Abram’s own body?
3. Based on Genesis 15:5 what
picture does Adonai use to show Abram how numerous his descendants will
be?
4. How does this picture differ
from that given in Genesis 13:16 (compare and contrast)?
5. Considering that 1) Adonai
created the heavens and the earth first, 2) the Torah calls heaven and earth as
witnesses to the covenant of Torah, and 3) Yeshua said that heaven and earth
would pass away before any part of the Torah would pass away, what is the
significance of Adonai giving Abram the two particular pictures of how numerous
his physical descendants would be?
6. Based on Genesis 15:9-21
what do these verses describe?
7. Based on Abram’s question in
Genesis 15:8 how does Adonai answer the question?
8. Now that you understand
progressive revelation, what new information concerning the land and descendants
did Adonai disclose?
·
Question #1—Physical
descendants
·
Question #2—Yes,
absolutely. Abram thought that
Eliezar would have to be his heir since he had no physical offspring. Adonai corrects his perception, stating
that only one from his own body could be the heir to the
promise.
·
Question #3—The stars in the
heavens are a picture of the vast number of his future
offspring.
·
Question #4—The previous
picture was associated with the dust of the EARTH. This picture is associated with the
stars of HEAVEN.
·
Question #5—Scripturally,
truth is established by two witnesses. Being true to His word, Adonai chooses
two witnesses to give a constant witness to the truthfulness of his promise to
Abram. The dust is chosen because
it is a witness from the EARTH. The stars are then chosen because they
are a witness from the HEAVEN. Thus, the heavens and the earth are
witnesses to the Abrahamic covenant!
Whenever we see the dust of the earth or the stars of heaven we should
always be reminded of the covenant with Abram, to multiply his seed
exceedingly!
·
Question #6—The
cutting of a covenant between Abram and Adonai.
·
Question #7—By
cutting the covenant with Abram.
·
Question #8—Adonai gives the
actual borders of the land. Abram’s
descendants will undergo a period of bondage before they become the great and
mighty nation.
·
Abram is destined to have a
multitude of descendants who will be as numerous as the dust of the earth and
the stars of heaven.
·
Eliezar, who is descendant
of Abram is rejected as being the seed of promise.
·
Adonai makes a
covenant with Abram to confirm the promise of
Genesis 12:1-3.
·
The main emphasis of the
covenant with Abram embodies the main emphasis of the promise to
Abram—physical descendants and land.