The One Year Chronological Study Bible - Flipbook - Page 28
JANUARY 5
•
page 24
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the
goods he had recovered.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back
my people who were captured. But you may keep
for yourself all the goods you have recovered.”
22 Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator
of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take so much
as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the
one who made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept only
what my young warriors have already eaten, and
I request that you give a fair share of the goods to
my allies—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.”
D A I LY D I S C O V E R Y
• What does the tower of Babel
story reveal about human
nature? How does God judge
those involved, and why is this
judgment fitting?
Day 5 •
• How does Abram respond to
God’s call, and how does his
response challenge all believers
to follow the Lord?
• When Abram and Lot separate,
how does Lot choose where
he will live? Where else in the
biblical story so far have people
made decisions based only on
what they saw?
JANUARY 5
The God who revealed himself to Abram is also the God of the Israelites, the people descended from Abram.
Critical moments in Abram’s life would instruct them and build their faith. In fact, the Israelites’ identity
and purpose are bound to God’s promises to Abram. God keeps the promises that He makes, including His
promise to liberate His people from slavery in Egypt (Genesis 15:13-14).
God makes a covenant (a binding agreement based on God’s character and promises) with Abram,
promising innumerable descendants who would make a great nation and live in the land that God gives
them (Genesis 15). God later reaffirms His promises to Abram by giving him a new name and a physical
mark (circumcision) that would perpetually serve as a sign of the covenant (Genesis 17). This repeated
covenant with Abram establishes the identity of God’s people: They would enjoy a special relationship
with God and have a unique role in His redemption of the world.
DIVIDED
KINGDOM
KINGDOM
EXODUS
PATRIARCH
PATRIARCH
CREATION
JUDGES
Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for
I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what
good are all your blessings when I don’t even
have a son? Since you’ve given me no children,
Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household,
will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no
descendants of my own, so one of my servants
will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant
will not be your heir, for you will have a son of
your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord
took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up
into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s
how many descendants you will have!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord
counted him as righteous because of his faith.
7 Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who
brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give
you this land as your possession.”
1
8 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how
can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”
9 The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-yearold heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a threeyear-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So Abram presented all these to him and killed
them. Then he cut each animal down the middle
and laid the halves side by side; he did not,
however, cut the birds in half. 11 Some vultures
swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram
chased them away.
12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a
deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down
over him. 13Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can
be sure that your descendants will be strangers
in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as
slaves for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the nation
that enslaves them, and in the end they will come
away with great wealth. 15 (As for you, you will die
in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) 16After
four generations your descendants will return
here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do
not yet warrant their destruction.”
CONQUEST
The Lord’s Covenant with Abram •
GENESIS 15:1-21
