Week 2: Cutting a Covenant (Genesis 15:1–21)

The Big Idea

Abram is old, childless, and wondering whether God's promise will ever come true. God answers with an ancient covenant ceremony: animals cut in two, and a path between the pieces. After a deep sleep falls on Abram (v. 12), God alone passes through. He takes the whole weight of the promise on himself.

Before You Read

God first called Abram in Genesis 12, promising him land, offspring, and blessing for all the families of the earth. Years have gone by. Abram has followed God from Ur and Haran into Canaan, but he still has no son, and the land belongs to other peoples. In the ancient world, one way to seal a binding agreement was to cut animals in half and walk between the pieces. Jeremiah 34:18–20 describes this kind of ceremony and shows what it meant: whoever passed between the pieces was saying, in effect, "May what happened to these animals happen to me if I break my word." It was a promise made with your life on the line.

Read

Read Genesis 15:1–21 slowly, twice, once out loud. This is a long chapter with a strange scene in the middle. Let it be strange. Don't try to explain it yet; just watch.

Observe

1. How does God open the conversation in verse 1? What does he call himself?
2. What is Abram's complaint in verses 2–3? Who does he think will inherit everything?
3. What does God show Abram in verse 5, and what does he promise?
4. What does verse 6 say Abram did, and what did God do in response?
5. In verse 8, Abram asks a question. What is he asking for?
6. List the animals God tells Abram to bring. What does Abram do with them? What does he have to drive away?
7. What happens to Abram as the sun goes down (v. 12)? What does God tell him about the future of his descendants (vv. 13–16)?
8. What passes between the pieces in verse 17? Who does not pass between them? What does verse 18 call what just happened?

A Word to Notice

Karat (kah-RAHT) means to cut. In the Old Testament you don't just "make" a covenant; you cut one. Verse 18 literally says the LORD "cut a covenant" with Abram. In ordinary life the same word is used for cutting down a tree or cutting something off, so it is not a gentle word. The phrase likely carried the memory of ceremonies just like this one, where animals were cut in two and the parties walked between them. Here we see the phrase acted out instead of simply spoken. And the shock of the scene is who walks the path. Abram, it seems, is still asleep (v. 12). The smoking fire pot and flaming torch, signs of God's own presence, pass through alone. God puts himself under the knife of his own promise.

Interpret

1. Abram has heard God's promise before. Why do you think God begins this time with the words he uses in verse 1? What might Abram have been afraid of?Consider: An old man with no heir in a land full of strangers has plenty to fear. God starts by offering himself, not just a gift, as Abram's protection and reward.

2. Verse 6 is one of the most important verses in the Bible. What did Abram actually do, and what did he not do, to be "counted" righteous?Consider: Abram did not perform anything here. He trusted what God said. Paul builds on this verse in Romans 4 and Galatians 3 to show that God has always made people right with himself through faith.

3. Abram believes (v. 6), and then asks, "How am I to know?" (v. 8). Is this doubt, or something else? How does God respond to it?Consider: God does not scold Abram. He answers with a covenant. Faith can still ask for assurance, and God is willing to give it.

4. In light of Jeremiah 34:18–20, what is God saying when he alone passes between the pieces? Why might it matter that a deep sleep had fallen on Abram (v. 12)?Consider: Many interpreters see this as God staking his own life, so to speak, on the promise. Abram adds nothing to the ceremony. The covenant's security rests completely on the God who made it.

5. Cross-reference: Read Hebrews 6:13–18. How does that passage describe God's promise to Abraham, and why does it say this should encourage us?Consider: Hebrews says God, having no one greater to swear by, swore by himself. His promise and his oath are two things that cannot change, and they are meant to steady everyone who runs to him for refuge.

Apply: Let the Text Read You

• Abram brought his honest disappointment to God (vv. 2–3). What disappointment are you carrying that you haven't said out loud to God yet?
• God answered Abram's "How am I to know?" without rebuke. Does it surprise you that God makes room for that kind of question? How does that affect the way you pray?
• Abram had to drive birds of prey off the sacrifice, then a deep sleep and a dreadful darkness fell on him. Have you been in a long, dark stretch while waiting on God? What does it mean to you that God did his greatest work in this passage while Abram could do nothing?
• What would it look like this week to rest in a promise you cannot keep for yourself?

Pray

Faithful God, you walked between the pieces while Abram slept. You staked your own name on your promise. When I am tired, afraid, and still waiting, help me believe you as Abram did, and rest in what you alone can do. Amen.

For Groups (optional)

• Discussion starter: In our culture, how do people make a promise "official"? A handshake, a signature, a witness? How does Genesis 15 compare?
• Read Jeremiah 34:18–20 aloud together before you discuss Interpret question 4. Let the weight of it sink in.
• Some people in your group may be in a season of waiting. Give space for honesty, and resist quick fixes.

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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.