The Account of God Confirming His Covenant with Abraham
Genesis 15:7-21

Lesson 33

background notes

doctrinal points

1. God’s delays are not necessarily His denials.

2. God’s promises are always as sure as His existence.

practical application
1. Let’s drive away the vultures.

questions
1. How was a covenant made in the time of Abraham?

2. What was the Abrahamic Covenant?

3. What does the covenant ceremony picture?

4. How was the Abrahamic Covenant fulfilled?

5. Is the Abrahamic Covenant valid today? What portion is yet to be fulfilled?

6. Explain the symbols used in Genesis 15:17.

answers
1. When a covenant was made between two parties, they would cut a sacrificial animal in half and pass between the pieces as they agreed to the terms of the covenant.

2. It was the covenant God made to Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation and that they would be given the land of Palestine.

3. The sacrificial work of Christ on the cross, the necessary basis of God’s covenant of salvation with us.

4. Abraham’s descendants became a nation under bondage in Egypt, but God brought them back to the promised land under Moses.

5. Yes, it is still valid. See Romans 9-11. When the nation of Israel returns to the Lord in the future, all of this land will be their possession.

6. When the sun went down and it was dark, there was a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between the two cut pieces of the animal. The smoking oven or furnace and the burning torch are symbols of God’s presence. The smoking furnace or firepot speaks of God’s judgment against sin, because God is a holy God. The burning torch speaks of God’s guidance. Whenever God makes a covenant with man, both aspects of God’s character are involved.

 

discuss / consider
1. Abraham experienced God’s delays in his life, and with good reasons. Have you experienced God’s delays in your life? Have you found out that these delays have been for your benefit?

2. Consider God’s character and promise in 2 Peter 3:9. What does this mean in your life?

challenge
Review the discussion on the cassette for the practical application, “Let’s drive away the vultures.” Identify some of the vultures in your life. How can you drive away them away?

memorize

• “Abram drove the vultures away.” Genesis 15:11

• “The Lord made a covenant with Abram...” Genesis 15:18