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Genesis Chapter 15 "The Covenant Made, The Seed and The Land." This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location Genesis 15:1 "After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." "These things" spoken of here are the battle with the Babylonians, and the meeting with Christ, Melchizedek the Priest of the Most High God, and the offering of Abrams tithe to him. So this is at a later time that this vision came to Abram. Remember in Ephesians 6:10-20, God is telling us that in the preparation for the spiritual battle that is coming upon our generation in these last days, we are also to wear the shield of God. Each part of that protection is given, and those who have the spiritual eyes to see, are putting that armor on. In Ezekiel 44 we are told that the reward and inheritance of the elect, the saved, in the Millennium Age and beyond, is God. We become joint heirs with Christ, and reign with Him in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We will be with Him through eternity. "I am" is the sacred name of God. He is our shield and defense. Genesis 15:2 "And Abram said, "Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?" Abram is tithing to God, yet, Abram asks God, how can you give me an inheritance when I don't even have a child to pass the inheritance on to. Remember, God has already promised him children many years prior. Abram is saying, I hear you Lord, and I believe you, but where is my child? Genesis 15:3 "And Abram said, "Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir." This "heir" spoken of here, of an heir being one born in the household is in strict accordance with law 191 of the "Code of Khammurabi", the King of Babylon. This "Code of Khammurabi" [Amraphel] was dug up in Susa {Iraq] in 1901 A.D., by M. J. de Morgan; and was written, according to the latest dating process, in 2139 B.C. These tablets are now stored in the British Museum in London. The discovery of this code overthrew two main pillars used by the higher critics, [the Kenites who distort the truth]. The first pillar was that a legal system of moral law did not exist [was unknown] prior to the time of Moses; and the second pillar was that a legal code was impossible to exist before the Jewish Kings. So we see the finding of this "Code of Amraphel" [Khammurabi] did all sorts of damage to their false teaching and ideas. Abram knew what the purpose of the "heir" was, it was to extend the wealth of a person to the next generation, and down through his bloodline. God had promised Abram that the Messiah would come through his seed, his offspring. Genesis 15:4 "And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, "This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir." This is a total commitment by God that Abram would have a son. Genesis 15:5 "And He brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them:" and He said unto unto him, "So shall thy seed be." We see here an unconditional promise from God to Abram, and this promise is NOT fulfilled in the Jews. It is numbered in the entire "Israel", all of the tribes, and as we will see in the next chapter. The many nations apply also to God's promises made to Hagar, and her son Ishmael, also a son of Abram. Ishmael also hade twelve sons, which were also of Abraham's seed, and today they form the Arab nations of the world. This seed of Abram is traceable, however, most Christians of today desire to remain ignorant to their true inheritance. Genesis 15:6 "And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness." Abram believed the Lord. Do you? By that I mean, do you believe these promises are historically events that have and are coming to pass. If you do not believe this Word, and think His Word did not come to pass then you are saying that God simply doesn't keep his Word, and cannot be trusted. You then believe the Kenite's lies and traditions. When we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, He becomes our shield, and in control of our lives; just as He has control over all events concerning Abram and all promises, and that is "belief". Abram believed that God would do exactly as He said He would do, and this faith in God was imputed to Abram as righteousness. Abram believed that the promised Messiah would come through his seed. Genesis 15:7 "And He said unto him, "I am the Lord That brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." Genesis 15:8 "And he said, "Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" Abram is asking for proof of the promise of inheritance. Genesis 15:9 "And He said unto him, "Take Me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon." All of these animals are animals of sacrifices. This was a sacrifice, and some commentators are drawn to the fact that these animals were each three years old, and that is the length of time of Jesus Christ's ministry on earth, three years. Genesis 15:10 "And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not." Abram cleaned the animals and divided them, only he did not cut up the birds. Genesis 15:11 "And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away." These animal sacrifices were laid out on the altar, and the vultures came down on the sacrifice. God gave the order to sacrifice to Him, and Abram protected God's property. Our sacrifice to God today is our love to Him, and to His Word. If you see the vultures moving in to destroy that sacrifice, do you fight to drive them away. When God gives you an understanding of part of His Word, do you allow some false prophet, some man of the cloth pushing traditions of men, to discredit the precious seed of understanding given by the Spirit of God. It is high time we protect our sacrifice to God, and that property must come first in our lives. Abram was a winner because he was chosen by God, because of his faith, and he set a good pattern for our lives. Genesis 15:12 "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him." The Hebrew word used for "sleep" is better translated "trance". This trance that Abram was put in is to show us that Abram had no part in the Covenant that took place, for that Covenant was unconditional by God to Abram. God was the only contracting party, and it all comes from God. Genesis 15:13 "And He said unto Abram, "Know of a surety that thy see shall be a stranger in a land that is not their, (and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them) four hundred years;" This 430 years is the time of the Israelite captivity in Egypt. This prophecy to Abram is ancient history to our generation. Genesis 15:14 "And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Remember the plagues placed on the Pharaoh and the Egyptians at the end of the captivity? That is this judgment in the vision to Abram. It will seem bad to the Israelites while the are in captivity, however, they will be well off in the end and far richer than when they went to Egypt. This is all part of God's plan. Genesis 15:15 "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age." God promised Abram a long life. Genesis 15:16 "But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." The Israelite nations will deal the punishment on the Amorites for their sins. these Amorites are a mixture with the fallen angels, the Nephilim, and also the Kenites. In these latter days the Book of Amos, in the second chapter addresses the transgressions that they will bring upon both houses, the House of Israel [the Christian nations], and the House of Judah [the Jews]. These Amorites are the blood descendants of the Nephilim, of the Canaanite nations, and they will cause much rebellion against God, and be dealt with by the sword of Israel. Genesis 15:17 "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces." In the term; "passed between those pieces", is in direct reference to Abram's sacrifice, and their acceptance by God. God is the consuming fire that is the "smoking furnace", but the "lamp" is the promise of the "deliverer" [Moses] that would come. That deliverer is in the type of Christ, and he will bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Jesus Christ is the ultimate deliverer between man and God for all times, and the fire on this altar of Abram sealed the Covenant. Genesis 15:18 "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates:" The part of the Covenant that deals with land that God is giving to Abram and descendants of Abram covers from the Nile River to the Euphrates River; and this ultimate possession will be completed in the Millennium age. Ezekiel forty through forty eight gives the details of this land distribution. Genesis 15:19 "The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites," Genesis 15:20 "And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Pephaims," Genesis 15:21 "And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." Remember from Chapter four that the "Kenites" were the descendants of "Cain", whose father was Satan. The rest of all these ten nations are all mixed and inbred from the Nephilim, the offspring of the fallen angels. These ten nation are the complete listing at Abrams time, and include all of Satan's forces and children on the earth. Their joining came together in their mixed marriages with fallen angels. When God speaks and gives us direction, that is law. The Law's of God are his covenant, and the covenant spoken by God four thousand years ago, is as firm today as it was then. When Christ went to the cross at Calvary, He became the New Covenant to his people, and by our repentance for our sins, and accepting Christ's finished work on the cross by faith, we then have nothing to worry about, and especially with these satanic people, or any nation. Jesus Christ gave us the power over all of Satan's realm, including the Kenites, and their one world system. They are taking control today through their four hidden dynasties, and those dynasties simply do not have any power over the force God has given in the protection of His own. That Covenant and power is extended to you and I today.
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