Biblical Literature I—Old Testament—Freshman Religion
Unit 2—Abraham
Lesson 1.2 “Abram: The Call and the Covenant”
Name:
Hour:
God picked Abram to be the father of his chosen people and an ancestor of Jesus.
Background Information:
1. Genesis 11:27-32
a. Who is Abram’s father?
b. Who are Abram’s brothers and nephew?
c. What do we find out about Abram’s wife Sarai?
d. What did Terah do with Abram, Sarai,and Lot?
2. Genesis 12: 1-20
a. What does “the Lord” now do in verse 1?
b. What is the three-fold blessings that “the Lord” will bestow on Abram (see verses 23)?
1)
2)
3)
c. Why did Abram build an altar at Shechem?
d. There is a famine in the land of Canaan and so Abram takes everybody to Egypt. What
foolish thing does Abram convince Sarai to do?
How difficult it must have been for Abram to leave his homeland of Ur and live as a stranger and
foreigner in Canaan! Yet Abram obeyed, fully trusting the God of promise to be with him and
bless him. At this point in Abram’s life, he has lived for many years in Canaan, yet he is sad and
afraid because he and Sarai, who are quite old, still have no child. Let’s see how God comforts
him with his gracious promise.
3. Genesis 15:1-5
a. How did God first comfort the fearful Abram?
b. Since he and Sarai were beyond childbearing years, what did Abram think might be the
way he would have an heir?
c. What did God tell Abram he would do?
d. In fact how many descendants would Abram have?
5. Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:18-25
a. What did Abram believe and what was the result?
b. Why might it have been difficult for Abram to believe God’s promise?
c. Why does Paul say that these words were written also for us?
d. What are we told about “Jesus our Lord”?
6. Genesis 15:7-21
a. First, read the above selection from Genesis 15:7-21
b. Secondly, read the following article and then answer the questions that follow…
“God
Assures the Future For Those Who Believe”
Genesis 15:7-21
Preached by Lou Going
Whitefield Advent Christian Church - May 7, 2000
This is the meaning of this strange and mysterious event that now occurs in this prolonged vision
that Abram had of the Lord. The Lord’s encounter with Abram lasted a full day. It begins in the
evening and continues until the next evening.
What is the answer that the Lord gives to Abram’s question? He answers him by cutting a
covenant with Abram. In this the Lord says to Abram that he can be sure (know) that this
promise will be realized. Let’s look at what happened.
The Lord tells Abram to bring him certain animals. During the time of Moses we learn that each
of these animals are acceptable for sacrifice. They are suitable for sacrifice to the Lord. Abram
kills the animals and cuts them in half, arranging the halves opposite of each other. The dove
and the young pigeon are not cut in half. The text hints at the fact that once these animals had
been killed, cut in half and arranged on the ground, Abram spent a fair amount of time keeping
birds of prey away from the carcasses. It is not until the sun begins to set that the Lord once
again speaks to Abram.
Before the Word of the Lord comes to Abram he experiences a trance like state of sleep. Yet it
is not a peaceful slumber. It is accompanied by a thick and dreadful darkness, which came over
Abram. Abram has a foreboding sense of dread. The thick darkness indicated that the Lord’s
austere and holy presence was drawing near to Abram. “Then spake Solomon, Jehovah hath
said that he would dwell in the thick darkness” Kings 8:12. (See Exodus 20:21; Deuteronomy
4:11; 5:22; Psalm 18:11). Then the Lord speaks to Abram. He tells him that before his
descendants will inherit the land of promise, they too will be strangers in a strange land but
unlike Abram they will be in bondage. There they will be mistreated for fo ur hundred years.
But the Lord also tells Abram that after the 400 years He will punish their captors and Abram’s
descendants will come out of captivity with great possessions as the Lord leads them to possess
the land of Canaan.
He further promises Abram that he would live a long time and die in peace. Why will Abram’s
descendants have to wait for that long for deliverance and possession of the Land? The sin of the
people of that land would then reach full measure. The earth is the Lord’s. It all belongs to him.
He will give the land of Canaan to His people by pouring out his judgment on the present
inhabitants who refuse to worship and honor Him.
Then Abram sees a smoking oven or fire pot with a blazing torch pass through the pieces of the
slain animals. What the text then says is that on that day the Lord made (cut) a covenant with
Abram, further defining the boundaries of the land He would give to Abram’s descendants. Now
two further points must be made.
First, the two dimensional fulfillment of this promise was indeed realized. The river of Egypt is
not the Nile but the present day Wadi el-Arish, which marks the boundary between Palestine and
Egypt. It was during the reigns of David and Solomon that these boundaries were reached. It is
the three-dimensional part of the Promise that is yet to be fulfilled. Again its ultimate fulfillment
is in the promised homeland of an earth made new. But it is this 3-D part of the promise that is
nevertheless guaranteed to those who share in the saving and justifying faith of Abram.
Second, we need to grasp the astounding significance and meaning of what Abram observed.
The smoking fire pot with the blazing torch was a symbol of the Lord. It was the Lord Himself
who passed through the pieces of the slain animals. It is what is called a theophany. Often in the
Bible God’s invisible presence is revealed in the form of lightening and fire. This was the case
when Moses met Lord at Mount Sinai. He first encountered the Lord there in the bush that was
on fire but not consumed. When Isaiah received his call to be a prophet the temple of the Lord
was filled with fire and smoke. So the Lord was passing through these pieces. What did this
mean?
Often when covenants where made between two or more parties, similar particulars were
involved. Animals were slain and those making the covenant would walk through the slain
animal parts that had been arranged on the ground. In doing this they were basically
pronouncing a curse upon themselves if they did not keep to the terms of the covenant they were
promising to the other party. It was called an oath of self- malediction or judgment. In this case
only the Lord past through the pieces. He was saying to Abram, “If I do not keep my promise to
you may what happened to the animals happen to me.” The Lord was pledging Himself to
Abram and in so doing bolstering Abram’s faith in the veracity of the Word of promise.
c. How long did Abram’s encounter with the Lord last?
d. What do we know about the animals that Abram was to bring before the Lord?
e. How does Abram arrange the killed animals?
f. What did Abram have to do with the killed animals while he waits on the Lord to act?
g. What did the “thick darkness indicate..”?
h. Make a list of the things that the Lord tells Abram about his descendants…
1)
2)
3)
4)
i. For how many years will Abram’s descendants be in bondage?
j. Why will Abram’s descendants have to wait so long to be freed?
k. What does Abram see passing between the killed animals?
l. What is a “theophany”?
m. What is the “oath of self-maledication or judgment”? And what is the significance that
the Lord took such an oath?
n. Now look at the Bible text and answer…
1) For which of God’s promises did Abram seek reassurance?
2) Although God specified the lands that Abram’s descendants would inherit, he
indicated that it would be four hundred years before they occupied it. To what do
verses 13 and 14 refer?
Old Testament Core Book 1 • Lesson 1.2 • Copy Master 2