A Covenant of Promise
Text: Gen. 15:1-21
Introduction
1. Illustration: In modern times we define a host of relations by contracts. These are usually for goods or services and for hard cash. The contract, formal or informal, helps to specify failure in these relationships. The Lord did not establish a contract with Israel or with the church. He created a covenant. There is a difference. Contracts are broken when one of the parties fails to keep his promise. If, let us say, a patient fails to keep an appointment with a doctor, the doctor is not obligated to call the house and inquire, "Where were you? Why didn’t you show up for your appointment?" He simply goes on to his next patient and has his appointment secretary take note of the patient who failed to keep the appointment. The patient may find it harder the next time to see the doctor. He broke an informal contract. According to the Bible, however, the Lord asks: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15) The Bible indicates the covenant is more like the ties of a parent to her child than it is a doctor’s appointment. If a child fails to show up for dinner, the parent’s obligation, unlike the doctor’s, isn’t canceled. The parent finds out where the child is and makes sure he’s cared for. One member’s failure does not destroy the relationship. A covenant puts no conditions on faithfulness. It is the unconditional commitment to love and serve.
2. In this study we will examine...
a. A vision of promise
b. A commitment of faith
c. A deal you can't refuse
3. Read Genesis 15:1-21
Proposition: When God makes a covenant with us He makes good the guarantee.
Transition: In Abram's life we see that God always takes the first step. We see this in...
I. A Vision of Verification (1-5).
A. In A Vision
1. This chapter is actually a continuation of what happened in chapters 13 and 14.
2. It begins with, "Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
a. The events of chapters 13 and 14 lead to the dramatic climax of chp. 15.
b. In this verse God communicates to Abram by means of a vision, a word that occurs only three more time in the OT.
c. What God communicates is not so much a visual image, but rather a word from God. This is what distinguishes it from a dream (Hamilton, 418).
d. Abram was thinking about the victory he had won over the five kings and wondering what would happen if they came back for revenge.
e. However, God told him not to be afraid. He says literally "I am your shield."
f. Genesis 15:1 (NASB)
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."
g. God promised to be with him and God's power would be sufficient to protect him.
h. He was also thinking about all the stuff he had given up, and so the Lord told him literally, "I am your great reward."
i. The Lord was saying to Abram, "forget about all that stuff and be concerned with me. When we have the Lord we have enough (Horton, 123).
3. However, Abram is a lot like us; he needed some clarification. He said, “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. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir."
a. This vision got Abram to thinking about God's great promise he had made to him.
b. Abram was not doubting God's promise, but ancient documents show that if a man had no children, he could adopt a male servant to be his heir.
c. Abram thought that God could fulfill His promise through Eliezer since legal inheritance was as important as natural inheritance.
d. But this left Abram without personal satisfaction and it brought a thought to his mind. What would God give him since He had not given him a child (Horton, 123)?
e. It is clear that Abram interpreted God's reward being a child.
f. Psalm 127:3 (NLT)
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.
4. God's response to Abram tells him to expect bigger and better things because He is a big God. He says, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 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!”
a. God reassures Abram that He would fulfill His promise to Abram through a child of his own.
b. Then God took him outside and had him look at the night sky and asked him to count the stars.
c. He told him that's how many descendants he would have.
d. God's commitment to Abram is introduced with "Then the Lord said to him," and the point is emphasized by the fact that the Lord makes no reference to the servants name.
e. To God the servant is insignificant to the story (Ross, 309).
f. Scripture verifies God kept this promise in numerous ways.
g. Deuteronomy 10:22 (NLT)
When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky!
h. Galatians 3:29 (NLT)
And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
B. God Speaks to Us
1. Illustration: Promises, though they be for a time seemingly delayed, cannot be finally frustrated...the heart of God is not turned though His face be hid; and prayers are not flung back, though they be not instantly answered.
—Timothy Cruso
2. God speaks His promises to us through His Word.
a. Joshua 21:45 (NLT)
Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.
b. God speaks His promise to protect us.
c. God speaks His promise to provide for us.
d. God speaks His promise to never forsake us.
e. All of His promises come true.
3. God's promises were written down for our encouragement.
a. Romans 15:4 (NLT)
Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
b. They lift us up when we are down.
c. They keep us going when we want to quit.
d. They strengthen us when we are weak.
Transition: We also see...
II. A Commitment of Faith (6-16).
A. Abram Believed the Lord
1. The result of God's reassurance to Abram was "And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith."
a. This verse is placed here as a conclusion to the conversation between the Lord and Abram. Now God will cement Himself to Abram with a covenant.
b. This is the first time the word "believed" appears in the Bible and it will only appear two other times in Genesis (Hamilton, 423).
c. Notice that the text does not say that Abram believed God's promise, but rather that he believed God.
d. He put his faith and trust in the Lord as a God who could be counted on the keep His word.
e. The Hebrew for "believe" is related to the word "Amen," meaning "truly."
f. It is related to the word for a faithful nurse who can be trusted to take care of a child, and the word for a solid foundation that will not collapse now matter what is built on it.
g. Therefore, by believing God Abram put himself in God's hands and was determined to rest upon God's promise (Horton, 125).
h. The word righteousness carries with it the meaning of conformity to God's standard. It means a correct action and attitude towards God (Ross, 310).
2. The Lord then begins to establish a covenant with Abram saying, "Then the LORD told him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”
a. Covenants made by kings in those days began with the king identifying himself and giving a brief historical background.
b. But Abram didn't completely understand. He believed God about the son, but the promise of the land was even more impossible to him.
c. He didn't have an army big enough to conquer the land and the Canaanites would not sell it.
d. This does not mean that Abram doubted the Lord; he just wanted further assurances and confirmation from God (Horton, 127).
3. After preparing a sacrifice to ratify the covenant as the Lord directed him, 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."
a. This section makes two points clear, God would fulfill His promise about the land, but there would be a long period of slavery and suffering.
b. But for Abram to know in advance what would happen to his descendants must have been horrible, but it was still helpful to see it.
c. Abram and his descendants would know that this enslavement and ill treatment was not a threat to the promise but merely a part of God's plan (Ross, 311).
d. Abram could know that his descendants would inherit the land, but not until they were slaves in a foreign land where they would be mistreated for 400 years.
e. However, God would punish the nation that enslaved them, and they would leave not as escapees but as victors with great possessions (Horton, 127).
4. The Lord assures Abram, "After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”
a. Since Abram had his first child around the age of 100, a generation is 100 years.
b. Consequently, after 400 years Abram's descendants would come back into the Promised Land.
c. The reason for the delay was the sin of the Amorites (the most important people of the central hill country of Canaan where Abram lived at this time) was not yet complete.
d. You see Job's friends were wrong when they thought that God immediately brings judgment on sinners.
e. He is patient and long-suffering. But He is also just, and eventually the judgment will come (Horton, 127-129).
B. Faith
1. Illustration: It is the nature of faith to believe God upon His bare word...It will not be, says sense; it cannot be, says reason; it both can and will be, says faith, for I have a promise. —John Trapp
2. The promises of God begin with faith.
a. Romans 4:16 (NLT)
So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.
b. The promises are released when we believe
c. Our faith is not in the promises but in the promise giver.
d. It is something we have full assurance of because of His faithfulness.
3. Faith comes by hearing the Word.
a. Romans 10:17 (NLT)
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
b. The Word assures us of God's promises.
c. The Word reminds us of God's promises.
d. The Word helps us to hang on the God's promises.
4. Faith is the only way we can please God.
a. Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
b. We cannot please God by effort.
c. We cannot please God by knowledge.
d. We please God only when effort and knowledge are fueled by faith.
Transition: Therefore, God gives us...
III. A Deal You Can't Refuse (17-21).
A. The Lord Made a Covenant
1. This section of the chapter begins with what seems a little strange until you understand the background.
2. It says, "After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses."
a. The Hebrew always speaks of cutting a covenant, that is, in the presence of a cut sacrifice.
b. One way to accomplish this was by two people making the sacrifice.
c. They would stand at opposite ends of the sacrifice and then walk between the pieces of the sacrifice and exchange places.
d. By doing this each party would promise to do their part to keep the covenant.
e. However, in this instance, Abram was off to the side and couldn't go between the pieces of the sacrifice.
f. The flaming pot was a symbol of God doing it all himself, indicating that God would do all the work in the covenant (Horton, 129).
3. Then the text tells us, "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'"
a. The holy God made (literally cut) a unilateral covenant with Abram; its promises were absolutely sure because they did not depend on what Abram or his descendants might do.
b. God specified the boundaries of the Promised Land.
c. His clear message to Abram was that despite prospects of death and suffering (enslavement), he and his descendants would eventually receive the promises, for God had sworn an oath.
d. Nothing can separate God's people from his love or the fulfillment of his plans (NLT Study Bible).
e. Ten nations are listed, for ten is the number of completeness and indicates the whole land would be given to Abram's descendants (Horton, 129).
B. God's Faithfulness
1. Illustration: "When we look back at the faithfulness of God, we praise Him. When we look forward to Gods faithfulness, we trust Him."
2. God's promises are based on His faithfulness; not ours!
a. Romans 3:3-4 (NLT)
3 True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful?
4 Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”
b. Nothing can negate the promises of God.
c. Nothing can withhold the promises of God.
d. His promises are not based on us; they are based on Him.
3. All of God's promises are based on the truth that He cannot be unfaithful.
a. 2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT)
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
b. Are faithfulness doesn't matter.
c. He cannot be unfaithful because faithfulness is a part of God's character.
d. He doesn't know how to be unfaithful!
Conclusion
1. In this study we have seen...
a. A vision of promise
b. A commitment of faith
c. A deal you can't refuse
2. God has revealed His vision to us through His Word.
3. God's promises are released through faith.
4. Are you ready to accept a deal you can't refuse?
