Genesis 15 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Genesis 15

WHEN:

• Abram was born in approximately 1996 B.C. and died in 1821 B.C. at 175 years old (Gen 25:7).

• The events recorded in Genesis 15 happened sometime between 1921-1896 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Abram – A man from Ur of the Chaldeans who moved to Canaan at God’s instruction. God promised to bless all the nations of the earth through him and his descendants.

WHERE:

• Genesis 15 recounts how God appeared to Abram in a vision, but we aren’t told where Abram was when the vision occurred.

OUTLINE:

• GOD PROMISES ABRAM MANY CHILDREN (15:1-7):

  • After God appeared to Abram in a vision, Abram expressed his concern with God’s promise to make him a great nation, because he and Sarai were unable to conceive children.

  • God told Abram not to worry because his descendants would be equal to the number of stars in the heavens.

  • Abram “believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”

• GOD PROMISES CANAAN TO ABRAM’S DESCENDANTS (15:8-21):

  • Abram asked God how he could be sure his children would inherit the land of Canaan.

  • God told him to take a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a pigeon and cut them in half, except for the pigeon.

  • Abram did as God instructed, and that night God caused him to fall asleep and experience a “dreadful and great darkness.”

  • Abraham was told his offspring would be strangers in another land that did not belong to them and there they would suffer for 400 years.

  • But after the 400 years, they would leave with “great possessions.”

  • God was going to delay the inheritance of Canaan by Abram’s descendants for 400+ years because the Amorites, who lived in Canaan, were not yet wicked enough for God to cast out.

  • God caused a fire pot and a flaming torch to pass through the divided animals.

  • He made a covenant with Abram to give his children the land “from the river of Egypt to the great river” (the Euphrates River).

APPLICATION:

• God’s promises aren’t always accomplished quickly, but they are always kept to the fullest degree.

• Walking in obedience to God requires patience.

• He is never rushed because He is eternal.

• It is important for us to learn that God’s timetable is the best timetable.

• Living on His schedule is exactly the right pace for our lives.