1/13 Genesis 15 - Faith in God's Promises

Genesis 15 contains some of the most important promises in the entire Bible. These are God's promises to Abraham (and ultimately to us) about the establishment of a nation of descendants who would follow God and walk with Him. And while these are promises to Abraham, we see that these are promises to anyone who will call upon God in faith. Join us for the study in Genesis 15!

GENESIS KEY CHAPTERS DISCUSSION AND THOUGHT QUESTIONS: The following discussion questions can stand alone or be used in conjunction with the Key Chapters podcast. They can be used in a Small Group, family discussion, or for personal reflection. The idea is that the person/group/family will have read the Key Chapter and then answer the questions. Perhaps there would be time to listen to the podcast as well.

1. How many years have passed since the Lord first met with Abram back in Genesis 12? How recently did Abram meet Melchizedek in Genesis 14?

2. When God promised Abram greatness, what situation did Abram point out in verse 2 & 3? At this point, Abram is 85 years old and his wife Sarai is 75 years old. Why was this a problem to Abram?

3. What was the Lord’s response to Abram’s concerns in verses 3 &4? In what ways would this be a miracle?

4. Verse 6 says that Abram believed the Lord and He (the Lord) reckoned it to Abram as righteousness. When God “reckons” a person to be righteous, what does that mean for them?

5. Did Abram have to work to become righteous? Why or why not?

6. When verse 6 says that Abram believed God, what specifically do we see him believing? How is this different than the thinking that “faith” is some kind of wispy hope?

7. The latter part of Genesis 15 records the covenant that God made with Abram. What was Abram’s role in this covenant? What was God’s role?

8. What significance is there that Abram simply fell asleep while God made this covenant with him? Who was making promises to who?

9. In this ancient culture, covenants were ratified with formal ceremonies where both parties would walk through the animal carcasses. While this is not how we formalize agreements, we need to see the importance of this event. What significance is there in Abram not walking through them?

10. This passage speaks to the eventual nation that God would establish through Abram. While most modern believers are not directly related to Abram, they are part of the kingdom that God was ultimately promising to Abram this passage. Not a Jewish kingdom, but a kingdom dedicated to the Lord, under the rule of Christ. Are you part of this kingdom?

The Key Chapters Bible Podcast is a daily, 15ish minute podcast that goes over the key chapters of the Bible, one per day, explaining how it fits into the overall message of God and how it relates to our lives now. Jump in today or start back in Genesis 1!

To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org.

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Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.