INTRODUCTION:

1. "After these things" (15:1) refers to the events recorded in Genesis 14. Abraham enjoyed a great victory over King Chedorlaomer and his allies. They had taken Abraham's nephew Lot captive, and Abraham successfully rescued him.
2. "After these things" also refers to the great blessing Abraham enjoyed when he was met by Melchizedek, the king of Salem (14:18-20).
3. “The word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision” (15:1). Twice we see these words, "The word of the LORD came unto Abram" (cf. 15:4).
4. “Fear not, Abram” (15:1). Perhaps Abraham was concerned that King Chedorlaomer and his allies would return with a fierce vengeance and with an overwhelming force after their defeat near Damascus.
5. Furthermore, Abraham was still a stranger and a sojourner in a foreign land, surrounded by various heathen tribes, some who were not particularly friendly.
6. Albert Barnes said these tribes "would combine against him as soon as they suspected him of being an intruder. But the LORD had stood by him and given him the victory, and now speaks to him in the language of encouragement. 'I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward.' The word I is separately expressed, and, therefore, emphatic in the original."
7. Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
   For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
   I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
   Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand. -- John Rippon
8. "Fear not." All throughout the Bible we see these words of encouragement.
9. In Genesis 21:17, we read that God heard the voice of little Ishmael crying out in the wilderness of Beersheba; "and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is."
10. In Genesis 26:24, the LORD appeared unto Isaac, and said to him, "I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake."
11. In Joshua 8:1, "the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed."
12. In Judges 6:23, the LORD said to Gideon, "Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die."
13. There are many, many similar statements in the Bible -- "fear not."
14. Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
15. On the isle of Patmos, John saw the Son of man, with a sharp twoedged sword coming out of his mouth, and when John saw him, he fell at his feet as dead. And our Lord laid his right hand upon John, and said to him, "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev. 1:13-18).
16. Another wonderful statement found in Genesis 15:1 is, "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." A shield signifies protection, and the LORD protects His children.
17. And the LORD is our reward-- our "exceeding great reward" (15:1). This is the first time we see the word "reward" in the Bible.
18. The Lord Jesus said that when He returns, "He shall reward every man according to his works" (Matthew 16:27).
19. First Corinthians 3:8 says, "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour."
20. In the final chapter of the book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus says, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12).
21. Be careful you do not lose your reward! II John 8 says, "Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward."
22. These Scriptures I have quoted all refer to our future reward at the judgment seat of Christ, but in Genesis 15:1,the LORD speaks in the present tense -- "I am (not will be) thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." God Himself is our "exceeding great reward."
23. Here in Genesis 15 we see the Abrahamic Covenant is confirmed by an oath of God (15:18).

I. THE CONFIRMATION OF THE COVENANT

1. Back in Genesis 12:2, the LORD told Abraham, "I will make of thee a great nation."
2. And then in Genesis 12:7 we read, "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land."
3. And then again in Genesis 13:16, the LORD said to Abraham, "And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."
4. But now ten years had passed and Abraham was still childless.
5. Whenever we get weary waiting on God, remember Abraham. And remember God's delays are not denials.
6. God’s delays are not denials,
   He has heard your prayer;
   He knows all about your trials,
   Knows your every care.
   
   God’s delays are not denials,
   Help is on the way,
   He is watching o’er life’s dials,
   Bringing forth that day.
   
   God’s delays are not denials,
   You will find Him true,
   Working through the darkest trials,
   What is best for you.” — (Grace E. Troy)
7. Ten years had passed and Abraham was still childless. And so here in Genesis 15:2 and 3, Abraham asked the LORD how His promises could be fulfilled when he was childless.
8. The LORD then brought Abraham outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell (count) the stars..." (15:4, 5).
9. Sir James Jeans was an English physicist, astronomer and mathematician. He said that there are more stars in space than there are grains of sand on all the seashores of all the world (cf. 22:15-18; 32:9-12).
10. The LORD gave Abraham three colorful metaphors. Abraham's seed would be as "the dust of the earth" (13:16), and "the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore" (22:17).
11. Abraham responded to God's promise by believing God (15:6).
12. Faith takes God at His Word.
13. Here we see the first mention of "righteousness" in Genesis 15:6, though the word "righteous" is found in Genesis 7:1, where the LORD said to Noah, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation."
14. "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (15:6). This verse is quoted in Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; and James 2:23.
15. Paul and James used this text in the New Testament in order to stress the fact that the way of salvation in the New Testament is the same as the way of salvation in the Old Testament.
16. Abraham "believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (15:6). "Righteous" means "right with God."
17. Are you right with God?
18. God was the object of Abraham's faith.
19. The Word of God was the ground of his faith.
20. And righteousness was the result of his faith.
21. I was reading a sermon the other day, and the preacher said that if the doctrine of justification by faith is believed and proclaimed fervently from the pulpit, then that church will stand.
22. But, he said, if this doctrine is not proclaimed, or if the doctrine is watered down, then that church will fall and eventually close down.
23. This preacher had a good point. But let me add this -- if a church is not actively soulwinning it will eventually weaken and fall.
24. "Evangelistic unction makes orthodoxy function" -- Bob Jones Sr.

II. THE FOUNDATION OF THE COVENANT

1. The basis for God's covenant with Abraham was God's character. On this foundation everything rested. Hebrews 6:13 says, "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself."
2. In Genesis 15:7, the LORD said to Abraham, "I am the LORD (Jehovah) that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it."
3. Here God is reminding Abraham that He could be trusted. The basis for God's covenant with Abraham was God's character.
4. Abraham asked the LORD how he would know that he would inherit it (15:8). Abraham wanted proof. He wanted assurance. He needed certitude, some outward and visible guarantee.
5. Abraham has been compared to the father of the demon-possessed boy, who said to Jesus in Mark 9:24, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
6. The LORD gave Abraham instructions, and Abraham carefully and obediently carried them out (Genesis 15:9-11). The idea behind all of this was that of a covenant by means of a blood sacrifice. This is developed later in the Old Testament (cf. Genesis 22:7, 8).
7. Then we come to the New Testament, and John the Baptist introduces Jesus by saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
8. The division of the animals refers to the covenant between the two parties making the covenant (15:10). In ancient days, it was the custom for sacrifices to be made by the slaying of animals, and the dividing of them, putting one piece of the animal on one side, and one piece of the animal over on the other side.
9. The prophet Jeremiah refers to this custom in Jeremiah 34:18.
10. Interestingly, the Hebrew expression, "make a covenant" (15:18) literally means, "cut a covenant."
11. Strong's Concordance says the word translated "made" in Genesis 15:18 means, "to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, kill, cut a covenant."
12. God put Abraham into a deep sleep, and the revelation came to him in a trance while he was sleeping (15:12). In this way, Abraham was not distracted by anything earthly.
13. Furthermore, this demonstrates how this covenant depended entirely upon God. Abraham was sleeping. He was a passive recipient.
14. As a passive recipient, Abraham received the covenant. God gave, and Abraham received. This is the basis of God's gracious dealings.
15. The "horror of great darkness" (15:12) that fell upon him was the fear of God. God was about to reveal to Abraham a remarkable prophecy.
16. His "seed" (at this time Abraham was still childless) would live as strangers in a foreign land (15:13). Later on, the Bible tells us this land was Egypt. The Israelites would be slaves in Egypt.
17. Abraham's descendants would "serve" the Egyptians, and they would suffer affliction for four hundred years (15:13b). This appears to be a round number.
18. Stephen said in Acts 7:6, "And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years."
19. But other accounts refer to 430 years. Exodus 12:40 says, "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years" (cf. Galatians 3:17).
20. It is not clear when the four hundred years begin. Some say with the death of Jacob but that is not certain. In any event, God revealed to Abraham that his seed would be in Egyptian bondage for 400 years.
21. Furthermore, God told Abraham that the nation (Egypt) that would afflict his seed would later be judged by God, and then afterwards his seed would "come out with great substance" (15:14).
22. This would all happen later on to his descendants. Abraham himself would die in peace; and would be buried in a good old age (15:15).
23. "But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again..." (15:16). Abraham's descendants, the Israelites, would return to the promised land, first led by Moses, and then by Joshua.
24. "For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full" (15:16b).
25. Albert Barnes said, "From this simple sentence we have much to learn. First. The Lord foreknows the moral character of people. Second. In his providence he administers the affairs of nations on the principle of moral rectitude. Third. Nations are spared until their iniquity is full. Fourth. They are then cut off in retributive justice. Fifth. The Amorite was to be the chief nation extirpated for its iniquity on the return of the seed of Abraham."
26. According to God's Word, of all the tribes that overspread the promised land, the Amorites occupied by far the largest extent of territory.
27. "And they seem to have been extinguished as a nation by the invasion of Israel, as we hear no more of them in the subsequent history of the country" (Barnes' Notes).

III. THE MAKING OF THE COVENANT

1. When the sun went down, the covenant was formally concluded (15:17).
2. The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional and eternal covenant.
3. It is a covenant based on God's grace. The original promises were given to Abraham without any conditions whatever.
4. Just like salvation is based on God's grace, without any conditions (not based on works). Just believe the Gospel (John 3:16).
5. The Abrahamic covenant was originally given in Genesis 12:1-3, and it was confirmed by subsequent reiteration and enlargement.
6. It was ratified, and solemnized, and confirmed by an oath of God (15:18).
7. In Scripture, fire is the chosen emblem of God (15:17). Hebrews 12:29 says, "For our God is a consuming fire" (cf. Deut. 4:24).
8. Therefore, the smoking furnace and the burning lamp (torch) symbolize the presence of God (15:17). God passed between the pieces. Abraham did not pass between the pieces because Abraham was in a deep sleep.
9. This emphasizes that the Abrahamic Covenant is totally unlike any human covenant. "It is divinely one-sided. God promises, God gives, God assures" (W.H. Griffith Thomas, Genesis).
10. Nothing depended on Abraham. Everything depended on God.
11. Next, the LORD revealed to Abraham the exact limits of the promised land (15:18-21). These complete boundaries have never been completely fulfilled, but they will be when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom.
12. The kingdom of Israel reached its zenith under King Solomon, but during his reign the Israelites did not completely cover the all of the territory promised by God to Abraham.
13. The "river of Egypt" (15:18) is the famous Nile River.
14. This promised area covers about 300,000 square miles of territory, and most of this land is now occupied by hostile Arabs, who claim it is theirs.
15. This dispute is behind much of the Islamic terrorist activities in these latter days. The Bible says the land belongs to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the Muslims want to destroy Israel and take over the entire Middle East.

CONCLUSION:

1. Some Bible teachers say that "the burning lamp" (torch) in Genesis 15:17 represents God, who brightens our pathway and directs our steps, but they say that the smoking furnace represents Egypt.
2. They have a point because Deuteronomy 4:20 and Jeremiah 11:4 and I Kings 8:51 all refer to Egypt as an "iron furnace."
3. But it should be remembered that it was God who put them into that terrible furnace of fire. The furnace of fire belongs to God.
4. And when sinners leave this world without Christ, it is God who puts them into His eternal furnace of fire. Matthew 13:42 says He "shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
5. Our Lord said in Matthew 25:41, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
6. It would be wise to make sure you will not be cast into that furnace of fire!