Genesis 15: God's Covenant with Abram

God told Abram not to be afraid, for He was his shield and great reward. When Abram asked about having no child, God promised him a son and showed him the stars, saying his offspring would be as many. Abram believed the Lord, and God counted it to him as righteousness. God confirmed His covenant with a solemn ceremony and promised the land to Abram's descendants.

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Read Genesis 15

World English Bible · 21 verses

¹ After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
² Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³ Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴ Behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵ Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶ He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁷ He said to Abram, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁸ He said, “Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁹ He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁰ He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹¹ The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹² When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹³ He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁴ I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth;This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁵ but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁶ In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁷ It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁸ In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org

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Genesis 15 · Preschool

As Many as the Stars

Name Date

Color the night sky and Abram's tent. Try to count the stars! God promised Abram a family that big.

Can you find these in the picture? Circle each one!

Bible Verse

Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”

Genesis 15:5 (WEB)

Prayer

Thank You, God, for making me!

Take It Home

Read the verse aloud. Go outside at night if you can and look at the stars together. Say: God keeps His promises!

Open Grade 4 on its own page

Genesis 15 · Grade 4

Faith Counted as Righteousness

Name Date

Read and Think

Genesis 15 begins with God's comfort: Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. God Himself is Abram's protection and his greatest treasure. Abram honestly shares his worry: he still has no son.

God brings Abram outside and points to the night sky: count the stars, if you are able to count them. Then He said, So your offspring will be. Abram cannot see how this will happen, but he believes God. Verse 6 says the Lord counted his faith as righteousness. Abram was made right with God by trusting God's promise, not by being perfect. In the New Testament, Paul uses this verse to explain salvation by faith (Romans 4).

God then confirms His promise with a covenant. Jeremiah 34:18 describes people who made a covenant by passing between the parts of a calf cut in two. Abram falls into a deep sleep, and only God, shown as a smoking fire pot and a blazing torch, passes between the pieces. God takes the whole promise on Himself.

Show What You Know

What did God say to calm Abram's fear?
What did God use to show Abram how many offspring he would have?
How was Abram made right with God?
Why is it important that only God passed between the pieces?

Word Bank Fill-In

Use the word bank to fill in each blank.

GodAbramstarspromise

honestly shares his worry: he still has no son.
God brings Abram outside and points to the night sky: count the , if you are able to count them.
Abram cannot see how this will happen, but he believes .
God then confirms His with a covenant.

Think About It

Abram told God honestly about his worry. What worries can you bring to God in prayer?
Romans 4 says we are made right with God through faith, just like Abram. What does it mean to trust Jesus?

Memory Verse

“He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.”

Genesis 15:6 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

How can you keep believing God while you wait for something?
When do you find it hard to be honest with God?

Open Grade 5 on its own page

Genesis 15 · Grade 5

The Covenant Between the Pieces

Name Date

Read and Think

After his victory, Abram still had no heir. God speaks: Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. God offers Himself. Abram responds honestly, asking how the promise can come true when his servant Eliezer is still his heir.

God promises a son from Abram's own body. Then He shows Abram the stars: so shall your offspring be. Genesis 15:6 is one of the most important verses in the Bible: Abram believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness. Paul quotes it in Romans 4 and Galatians 3 to show that people in every age are justified by faith, not by works.

Abram then asks how he can know he will possess the land. God instructs him to bring animals, cut them in half, and arrange the pieces. Jeremiah 34:18 describes people who made a covenant by passing between the parts of a calf cut in two. But only God, appearing as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, passes through. God also foretells that Abram's descendants will be afflicted in a foreign land for four hundred years, and that God will judge that nation and bring them out with great possessions. Exodus fulfills this.

Show What You Know

How does God answer Abram's fears?
Why is Genesis 15:6 so important?
What does Jeremiah 34:18 describe about walking between the pieces?
Why does only God pass between the pieces?
What future event did God predict, and where is it fulfilled?

Word Bank Fill-In

Use the word bank to fill in each blank.

starspromiseGodAbram

After his victory, still had no heir.
offers Himself.
Abram responds honestly, asking how the can come true when his servant Eliezer is still his heir.
Then He shows Abram the : so shall your offspring be.

Think About It

God called Himself Abram's great reward. Why is knowing God better than any gift He gives?
Faith is trusting God's promise even when you can't see how it will happen. Where do you need that kind of faith right now?

Memory Verse

“He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.”

Genesis 15:6 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

How can you keep believing God while you wait for something?
When do you find it hard to be honest with God?
How can you rest in God as your shield today?

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Genesis 15: God's Covenant with Abram

Read Genesis 15

Worksheets

As Many as the Stars

Prayer

Take It Home

So Many Stars

Trace the Words

Match the Pictures

Mini Maze

Draw It

Prayer

Take It Home

God's Star Promise

Trace the Words

Match the Pictures

Put the Story in Order

Prayer

Take It Home

As Many as the Stars

Read the Story

Show What You Know

Word Search

Prayer

Take It Home

Abram Believed

Read the Story

Answer the Questions

Story Order

Prayer

Take It Home

Faith Counted as Righteousness

Read and Think

Show What You Know

Word Bank Fill-In

Think About It

Copy It

Prayer

Take It Home

The Covenant Between the Pieces

Read and Think

Show What You Know

Word Bank Fill-In

Think About It

Copy It

Prayer

Take It Home

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