Genesis chapter 15 is one of the most important chapters in the Old Testament. This is where Abram is declared righteous by simply believing God, and where God “cuts a covenant” with Abram, guaranteeing the promises He has made to him.
The reason Abram’s faith is so significant is that it teaches us that the key to a relationship with God is faith and trust, not works that seek to earn God's friendship. Faith sees friendship with God as a gift, not something to be worked for and earned, but always just out of reach.
Many years later, Moses will be born, and God will use him to deliver the Hebrews from 400 years of Egyptian slavery. Moses will lead them out into the wilderness, where he will climb Mount Sinai and receive the Law of God.
The Bible presents to us Abram, a man of faith, and Moses as the Lawgiver.
The New Testament makes a strong point that Abram's faith came before the Law was given through Moses.
Therefore, the works of the Law were never meant to be the solution for sin. The Law was meant to make sin visible. God’s mercy does not come through the Law. God’s mercy comes to us when we, like Abram, humble ourselves before God and believe what He has said to us. For us specifically, God calls us to believe what He has said about Jesus and the cross. If we humble ourselves, repent of sin, and put our faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross, then we will be saved.
Ga 3:16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
I have seen many new believers start out with a Law relationship with God. In other words, they believe in Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, but then think God’s acceptance of them depends on what they do and how good they are. This creates a constant sense of failure and guilt that causes them to eventually hide from God.
God does want us to live holy lives, but not as a means of obtaining salvation. We are to live holy lives out of thankfulness for our salvation and thankfulness for the acceptance we already have in Jesus because of what He did, not because of what we did.
But so many get saved and still think they need to work in order to be accepted by God, which creates a life of guilt and misery because they know they are not perfect. The cure for this misery is to believe that Christ took all our sin and guilt when He died on the cross, and to know that God’s love for me is not based on my goodness; it is based on Jesus’ goodness and love.
He took my sin and gave me His righteousness as a free gift, because I, like Abram, simply believed what He said.
The second thing I want to point out in this chapter is the meaning of the covenant that was cut between Abram and God.
Abram believed that God would give him a son, but he asked for help, believing that God would give him the land that He promised.
Ge 15:7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
Now this sounds like Abram is slipping back into unbelief, but I don’t think that was what was happening. I think Abram was asking God to enter a binding covenant relationship with him. So, God agrees, but what He does goes far beyond what Abram was asking for.
When two parties “cut a covenant” together, they entered into a binding agreement that was punishable by death if either party broke the covenant promises.
Animals would be cut in two. The animal parts were arranged so that the blood would pool in the middle. Each party that was making covenant promises would walk between the pieces of animal in the blood as a symbol of the seriousness of the promise. Walking in the blood meant that they were promising that if they didn’t keep the promises they just made, they would be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed just like the dead animals that lay on the ground before them.
Both parties knew that breaking the promises would be punishable by death.
But something amazing happens here in this chapter: God does not require Abram to walk in the blood. God alone walks in the blood.
Ge 15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
God alone walked through the blood. This is a picture of the gospel. Instead of both God and Abram walking in the blood, promising that if either of them failed to keep promises, then they would be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed. HERE WE ONLY SEE GOD WALKING THROUGH THE BLOOD, MAKING THAT PROMISE.
God was saying that He alone would take the full responsibility of the covenant promise. If Abram and his children failed, God would take the penalty.
Abram did not fully understand this, but we do.
But how could God be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed?
If God were making a promise that if either He or Abram failed in their promise-keeping, that it would be God who would be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed, how would this be possible for God, the Divine creator of all things, to suffer and die?
The answer is that God would have to become flesh & blood. Only then could He be nailed to the cross, and be cut, bloodied, torn, and killed, and take the full responsibility for the failure of mankind!
This epic picture of God and Abram in the dark, with God alone walking in blood, is a picture of the gospel.
A picture of exactly how the “Seed of the woman” will crush the head of Satan.
WOW!!!!!!!
The reason Abram’s faith is so significant is that it teaches us that the key to a relationship with God is faith and trust, not works that seek to earn God's friendship. Faith sees friendship with God as a gift, not something to be worked for and earned, but always just out of reach.
Many years later, Moses will be born, and God will use him to deliver the Hebrews from 400 years of Egyptian slavery. Moses will lead them out into the wilderness, where he will climb Mount Sinai and receive the Law of God.
The Bible presents to us Abram, a man of faith, and Moses as the Lawgiver.
The New Testament makes a strong point that Abram's faith came before the Law was given through Moses.
Therefore, the works of the Law were never meant to be the solution for sin. The Law was meant to make sin visible. God’s mercy does not come through the Law. God’s mercy comes to us when we, like Abram, humble ourselves before God and believe what He has said to us. For us specifically, God calls us to believe what He has said about Jesus and the cross. If we humble ourselves, repent of sin, and put our faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross, then we will be saved.
Ga 3:16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
I have seen many new believers start out with a Law relationship with God. In other words, they believe in Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, but then think God’s acceptance of them depends on what they do and how good they are. This creates a constant sense of failure and guilt that causes them to eventually hide from God.
God does want us to live holy lives, but not as a means of obtaining salvation. We are to live holy lives out of thankfulness for our salvation and thankfulness for the acceptance we already have in Jesus because of what He did, not because of what we did.
But so many get saved and still think they need to work in order to be accepted by God, which creates a life of guilt and misery because they know they are not perfect. The cure for this misery is to believe that Christ took all our sin and guilt when He died on the cross, and to know that God’s love for me is not based on my goodness; it is based on Jesus’ goodness and love.
He took my sin and gave me His righteousness as a free gift, because I, like Abram, simply believed what He said.
The second thing I want to point out in this chapter is the meaning of the covenant that was cut between Abram and God.
Abram believed that God would give him a son, but he asked for help, believing that God would give him the land that He promised.
Ge 15:7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
Now this sounds like Abram is slipping back into unbelief, but I don’t think that was what was happening. I think Abram was asking God to enter a binding covenant relationship with him. So, God agrees, but what He does goes far beyond what Abram was asking for.
When two parties “cut a covenant” together, they entered into a binding agreement that was punishable by death if either party broke the covenant promises.
Animals would be cut in two. The animal parts were arranged so that the blood would pool in the middle. Each party that was making covenant promises would walk between the pieces of animal in the blood as a symbol of the seriousness of the promise. Walking in the blood meant that they were promising that if they didn’t keep the promises they just made, they would be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed just like the dead animals that lay on the ground before them.
Both parties knew that breaking the promises would be punishable by death.
But something amazing happens here in this chapter: God does not require Abram to walk in the blood. God alone walks in the blood.
Ge 15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
God alone walked through the blood. This is a picture of the gospel. Instead of both God and Abram walking in the blood, promising that if either of them failed to keep promises, then they would be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed. HERE WE ONLY SEE GOD WALKING THROUGH THE BLOOD, MAKING THAT PROMISE.
God was saying that He alone would take the full responsibility of the covenant promise. If Abram and his children failed, God would take the penalty.
Abram did not fully understand this, but we do.
But how could God be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed?
If God were making a promise that if either He or Abram failed in their promise-keeping, that it would be God who would be cut, torn, bloodied, and killed, how would this be possible for God, the Divine creator of all things, to suffer and die?
The answer is that God would have to become flesh & blood. Only then could He be nailed to the cross, and be cut, bloodied, torn, and killed, and take the full responsibility for the failure of mankind!
This epic picture of God and Abram in the dark, with God alone walking in blood, is a picture of the gospel.
A picture of exactly how the “Seed of the woman” will crush the head of Satan.
WOW!!!!!!!
Pastor Rich Laskowski
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