Genesis 15
15
God Makes a Covenant With Abram
1Some time later, Abram had a vision. The Lord said to him,
“Abram, do not be afraid.
I am like a shield to you.
I am your very great reward.”
2But Abram said, “Lord and King, what can you give me? I still don’t have any children. My servant Eliezer comes from Damascus. When I die, he will get everything I own.” 3Abram continued, “You haven’t given me any children. So this servant of mine will get everything I own.”
4Then a message from the Lord came to Abram. The Lord said, “When you die, what you have will not go to this man. You will have a son of your own. He will get everything you have.” 5The Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky. Count the stars, if you can.” Then he said to him, “That’s how many children will be born into your family.”
6Abram believed the Lord. The Lord was pleased with Abram because he believed. So Abram’s faith made him right with the Lord.
7He also said to Abram, “I am the Lord. I brought you out of Ur in the land of Babylon. I will give you this land to have as your very own.”
8But Abram said, “Lord and King, how can I know I will have this land as my own?”
9So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a young cow, a goat and a ram. Each must be three years old. Bring a dove and a young pigeon along with them.”
10Abram brought all of them to the Lord. Abram cut them in two and placed the halves opposite each other. But he didn’t cut the birds in half. 11Then large birds came down to eat the dead bodies of the animals and birds. But Abram chased the large birds away.
12As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. A thick and scary darkness covered him. 13Then the Lord said to him, “You can be sure of what I am about to tell you. For 400 years, your family who comes after you will be strangers in another country. They will become slaves there and will be treated badly. 14But I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. After that, they will leave with many possessions. 15But you will die in peace. You will join the members of your family who have already died. And you will be buried when you are very old. 16Your children’s grandchildren will come back here. That’s because the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached the point where I must punish them.”
17The sun set and it became dark. Then a burning torch and a pot filled with smoking coals appeared. They passed between the pieces of the animals that had been cut in two. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I am giving this land to your family who comes after you. It reaches from the River of Egypt to the great Euphrates River. 19It includes the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20Hittites, Perizzites and Rephaites. 21The Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites also live there.”
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Genesis 15
15
The Abrahamic Covenant
1#Ge 26:24; Ps 3:3After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not fear, Abram.
I am your shield,
your exceedingly great reward.#Or your reward will be great.”
2#Ac 7:5But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3#Ge 14:14Abram said, “Since You have not given me any children, my heir is a servant born in my house.”
4#Ge 17:16Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but a son that is from your own body will be your heir.” 5#Dt 1:10; Ge 22:17; Ex 32:13He brought him outside and said, “Look up toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
6#Jas 2:23; Ps 106:31Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
7#Ge 12:1; Ne 9:7–8He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess#Or inherit. it.”
8#Lk 1:18; Jdg 6:36–40But Abram said, “Lord God, how may I know that I will possess 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.”
10#Lev 1:17; Jer 34:18–19Then Abram brought all of these to Him and cut them in two and laid each piece opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half. 11When the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12#Ge 2:21; Job 33:15As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and terror and a great darkness fell on him. 13#Gal 3:17; Ex 1:11Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will live as strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 14But I will judge the nation that they serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15#Job 5:26As for you, you will go to your fathers in peace and you will be buried at a good old age. 16#1Ki 21:26; Da 8:23In the fourth generation, your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17#Jer 34:18–19When the sun went down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot with a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18#Ge 12:7; Nu 34:5On that 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 Euphrates River— 19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Military Bible Association