Covenant Care for the Fearful (Genesis 15)
Group Guides | Sharing the gospel, sharing our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8)
By way of introduction: When we are fearful, why is it that someone just telling us to “not fear” doesn’t seem to work sometimes?
Read Genesis 15
We saw on Sunday that the word of the Lord came to Abram, with the first “Fear not” that is heard in the Bible. Why does this word come to Abram?
2. Genesis 15:6 is quoted in the New Testament in Romans 4:9, 22; Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23. What is Genesis 15:6 saying, and why is it quoted in those New Testament contexts do you think?
3. Although Abram believed the Lord, he still wants something to confirm the Lord’s promise (verse 8), and the Lord made/cut a covenant with Abram (verse 18). What stands out to you in the words and symbols of this covenant?
4. It is the Lord alone who passes through these cut pieces, symbolised by the smoke and fire, as we see his presence present in that moment (the dreadful and great darkness). How does this episode point to Jesus, knowing the context of passages like Jeremiah 34:17–22 and how covenants like this operate?
5. This covenant involves the plan of suffering for Abram’s family.
a. discuss what that means for Abram’s family
b. what does this teach us about the Lord?
6. When we have our own fears for the future...
a. why do we need to know that we are counted as righteous, to face all fears?
b. how does the word of Lord comfort us?
c. what covenant symbols do we look to as a church, that help us “to know” (Abram’s request) that God fulfills his covenant promises? How do these strengthen our faith?
Pray for our church, that we would believe the Lord at his word, and remember his promises to us in the sacraments.