Limitless Word

Genesis 15

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Part of Abraham📖 Genesis introduction

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1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” ✦ 2But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ✦ 3Abram also said, “Since You have given me no son, one who has been born in my house is my heir.” ✦ 4Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ✦ 5And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ✦ 6Then he believed in the Lord; and He credited it to him as righteousness. ✦ 7And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” ✦ 8But he said, “Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?” ✦ 9So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ✦ 10Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. ✦ 11And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. ✦ 12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. ✦ 13Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. ✦ 14But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. ✦ 15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ✦ 16Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.” ✦ 17Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which passed between these pieces. ✦ 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: ✦ 19the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, ✦ 20the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, ✦ 21the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

In this chapter

Person / place Abraham

Where this chapter connects

Ps 105 ·7Rom 4 ·6Gen 12 ·6Gen 24 ·5Luke 1 ·4Heb 11 ·4Exod 23 ·4Lev 1 ·4

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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