Genesis 15:7-21; Psalm 15

Genesis 15:7-21
The remainder of this chapter concludes what is called the "Abrahamic Covenant," or God's solemn promise of the Promised Land to Abraham and his descendants. In v. 8, Abraham asks for assurance from the Lord. God asked him to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, and 2 birds. The heifer, goat, and ram were to be cut in half, placing the halves opposite one another. This was an ancient custom to seal a covenant. The two parties would walk between the halves, symbolizing what would happen to them if they broke the covenant! However, this covenant was not sealed that way. God caused a deep sleep to come upon Abraham so that the promise was made solely on God's part. The promise did not depend on Abraham at all. The promise would not come without troubles, but it would indeed come. Abraham's descendants would suffer as slaves in Egypt for 400 years before the promise would be fulfilled. The smoking oven and the burning torch which passed between the pieces of the animals symbolized God's solemn promise that could not be broken. vv. 17-21

This is a beautiful picture of God's promise of salvation. It's a solemn promise that cannot be broken to anyone who will believe and trust Jesus! Perhaps the best-known promise in the whole Bible is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

Psalm 15 gives us some goals to live up to as a Christian. It is NOT a list of good deeds to earn salvation. We know from other scripture that our salvation cannot be earned or bought, but must be received as a gift. This list shows us how our lives should look because we're believers.

• We "walk uprightly" which means we have good, honest character. v. 2
• We practice good works. v. 2
• We do not gossip. v. 3
• We do no evil or wrong to our neighbor. v. 3
• We don't plan revenge on others. v. 3
• We love what God loves and despise what God despises. v. 4
• We don't lend money at unfairly high interest (usury). v. 5
• We don't take bribes. v. 5

Of course, we can't be perfect on this side of heaven, but we should live in a way that honors our Lord. When we fail, we confess our sin, accept God's forgiveness, learn from our failures, and go on for the Lord!