GET READY
How many times have you moved from one location to another? What is the greatest distance you have moved? What caused you to make this move? When did you make it? How did you prepare for the move? How long did it take? How long was it before you felt “at home” in the new location?
THE WORD
12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. 13Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; 14but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land.” NRSV
GET INTO THE WORD
1. Who is God talking to in this passage? What does he tell the person to do? What does he promise in return? How do you think the person felt about this at first?
2. What does Abram do? Who else is involved? Where do they start from [see Notes]? Where do they go? What do they do when they arrive? What does God promise here?
3. What does God say to Abram in chapter 15? How does Abram respond? Why is Abram afraid? How does God reply to Abram’s fear? What does God show Abram? What does he say about Abram’s descendents? How does Abram respond to this?
4. How does God identify himself next? What does he promise here? What does Abram say in response? What does God tell him to do next? Why does God direct this [see Notes]?
5. What happens to Abram next? What does God tell him? Why do you think God gives him this look at his future and the future of Israel? How does God “sign” his covenant with Abram?
GET PERSONAL
Are there times when you wonder about some of God’s promises? How does God help you to know he is good for every promise he makes?
NOTES . . .
12:1. Father’s house— a person’s identity was based on his father and his father’s property (a woman moved into her husband’s family house). God is asking a great deal of Abram – but he is also promising a great blessing.
12:2. I will— God initiated the relationship with Abram and his plan for salvation with three promises: he will make a great nation from Abram; he will bless Abram; and he will make Abram’s name great so he can be a blessing – ultimately through Christ.
12:4. Haran— an ancient city (and modern Arab village) about 280 miles east of Damascus on a major trade route between Ur (which is where Abram started) and the Mediterranean Sea.
12:6. Shechem— a city roughly 35 miles north of Jerusalem, also a trading center.
Moreh— literally “teacher” – large trees (and their shade) were often used by teachers in ancient cultures.
12:7. Altar— Abram marked significant spots in his journey with altars, which would be used by the Israelites when they conquered Canaan.
12:9. Negeb— actually “Negev” – the desert in the southern part of Israel.
15:2. Eliezer— Abram’s chief slave would become his heir if he has no male children.
15:4. Own issue— God confirms his promise that Abram will father a “great nation,” which happens in chapter 21.
15:10. Cut them in two— dividing an animal and then walking between the two halves was an ancient way of confirming or “signing” an agreement or covenant. In v. 17, God, in the form of a smoking fire and flaming torch, passes between the pieces of the animals.
15:13. Know this— God gives Abram a preview of Israel’s future (the full story is in Exodus).
Doctrine Note . . .
God’s Salvation Plan: God promises – we believe his promise – God counts our belief as righteousness. Paul puts it: Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,
[Rom 4:3, Gal 3:6].
MEMORY VERSE
And he believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness, [Gen 15:6].
LESSON 8
Exodus 3: God calls Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.
