GENESIS LESSON 24
We will begin this lesson in Genesis 15:1 "After these things the
word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram:
I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward."
God came and spoke to Abram in this vision, because Abram had
about given up on having a family, and the promises of God coming
true. God's first statement to Abram, as it is to us today, is "fear
not." Fear is not faith. It is the opposite of faith. He told
Abram, here, (I didn't say that you could do this by yourself). God said,
I am your protector, and this thing that I will give you is not of
your own doing. It is a reward to you, because you believe me, for no
other reason.
Genesis 15:2 "And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me,
seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer
of Damascus?" Genesis 15:3 "And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast
given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."
Abram was telling God: I don't have any children for these
promises to be carried out through, what good will it do to give me
anything? It will die with me, and this servant will inherit my goods
for lack of a son to leave it to. Abram was really feeling sorry for
himself.
Genesis 15:4 "And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him,
saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out
of thine own bowels shall be thine heir."
God sees our broken hearts and encourages us. He corrected this
gloominess in Abram. He re-issued His promises to Abram.
Genesis 15:5 "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and
he said unto him, So shall thy seed be."
He had already promised Abram about the numerous seed, but now He
showed him visually the promise. Abram spiritually saw all the stars of
heaven, and truly they are innumerable.
Genesis 15:6 "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to
him for righteousness."
Isn't this an interesting statement? the Scripture above did
not say that Abram believed what God said, it says Abram believed in
the LORD. LORD is capitalized meaning Lord Jesus Christ. To be the
father of the believers in Christ, Abraham had to believe, also. I
believe the encounter of Abram with Melchisedec was recognition of
the Lord Jesus Christ. His belief in the Lord made him righteous:
Genesis 15:7 "And he said unto him, I [am] the LORD that brought
thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it."
He said to Abram here, you didn't leave Ur just to find a better
place to make a living. I brought you out so that I might give you
this land as an inheritance.
Genesis 15:8 "And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I
shall inherit it?"
Just like so many in our day, who hear God's voice and want to know
for sure that this is God, so did Abram.
Genesis 15:9 "And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three
years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years
old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon." Genesis 15:10 "And he took
unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece
one against another: but the birds divided he not."
In other words, I will make a covenant with you. The animals
being 3 years old could be symbolic of the three years of Jesus'
ministry here on the earth, or it could mean that these animals had
grown to maturity and were something of value to sacrifice. The fact
that the pigeon and turtledove were not separated could, possibly, mean
the unity that the Holy Ghost (dove) brings to believers. Most of
these animals and birds would become sacrifice for sins in later
ceremonies. A covenant of lasting value includes shed blood. It seals
the covenant.
Genesis 15:11 "And when the fowls came down upon the carcases,
Abram drove them away."
Here, the symbolism really takes over; vultures were descending on
these offerings to God. The devil descends on the Jews, and on
believers in Christ today, but the covenant with Abram still wards off
the enemy. Our faith, as Abram's faith, puts the old devil to flight
even now.
Genesis 15:12 "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell
upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him."
Darkness is an absence of the light. This darkness that fell
meant that there would be a falling away of the descendents of Abram,
and a curse would fall. Similar to what happened in the dark ages.
Faith in God was very weak at this time.
Genesis 15:13 "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy
seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not theirs, and shall
serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;" Genesis
15:14 "And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and
afterward shall they come out with great substance."
God was telling Abram, here, what God's foreknowledge told Him
about the descendents of Abram in Egypt. They would be servants of the
Pharaoh for 400 years (40, time of testing, x 10, world government).
God tolds Abram, but there would come a day when He would punish Egypt
for mistreating His people, and they would spoil the Egyptians, and bring
out great wealth. We will learn in a later lesson that 70 go into
Egypt, and nearly 3 million came out of Egypt.
Genesis 15:15 "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou
shalt be buried in a good old age."
This Scripture, above, pretty well defines what happens when we
die. There is a separation between the spirit and the body, here. He
first said you will be at peace with your ancestors. The spirit leaves
the body and goes to heaven, if you are a Christian. God told him that
his body would rest in the grave, until it is resurrected and reunited
with the spirit.
Genesis 15:16 "But in the fourth generation they shall come
hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet full."
God gave these Amorites an opportunity to repent. (They did not).
A generation, here, was 100 years.
Genesis 15:17 "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down,
and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that
passed between those pieces." Genesis 15:18 "In the same day the LORD
made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this
land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river
Euphrates:"
The Bible says that God is a consuming fire. This presence of the
smoke and fire, here, was some form of a Godly appearance to make
covenant with Abram. There had to be shed blood to seal the covenant.
Abram's part of the covenant was to believe that God would truly keep
covenant with him. Even though this land did not belong to Abram's
descendents until much later, God drew off the lines right then what
would belong to Abram's descendents. They are still fighting about
this very thing even today in Israel.
Genesis 15:19 "The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the
Kadmonites," Genesis 15:20 "And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and
the Rephaims," Genesis 15:21 "And the Amorites, and the Canaanites,
and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
There were 10 peoples mentioned here. this was God dealing against
world government. these people did not follow after God. their land
would be taken from them, and given to the descendents of Abram, when
Moses led them to the promised land.
Read chapter 16 for the next lesson.
Notes
Questions 24
1. What was God's first statement to Abram?
2. What was Abram complaining about?
3. What was the name of Abram's steward?
4. What did God show Abram to show him the number of descendents he
would have?
5. In V-6, what was counted as righteousness?
6. Why did God bring Abram out of Ur?
7. Just as we do, Abram asked God for what?
8. What 3 things did Abram bring for sacrifice that were 3 years old?
9. What 2 other things did he bring?
10. What did Abram do with them?
11. What 2 things could the 3 years old mean?
12. Why were the turtledove and pigeon not separated?
13. A lasting covenant involves what?
14. What were the vultures symbolic of?
15. What warded off the vultures?
16. What was the darkness in V-12 symbolic of?
17. How long would Abram's descendents be afflicted?
18. What does 400 mean?
19. What would happen to the nation that persecuted them?
20. Would God's people come out empty handed?
21. What 2 things does V-15 tell us about death?
22. In V-16, how long is a generation?
23. What 2 things, in V-17, symbolized God?
24. Where were the boundaries set for Israel that day?
25. What did the Bible call God that we see here, and in the burning
bush?
26. What did the fact that there were 10 peoples that would be
overthrown mean?
Notes
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