The Covenant God Wants to Make With You (Genesis 15)

Abraham is usually remembered for the sacrifice of Isaac, or for Sarah's story. But there is a covenant Abraham lived through that rarely gets talked about: the one in Genesis 15. A vivid, even bloody, text, but one that reveals a God who wants to bind himself personally to you. Even today, God is holding out a contract ready to sign. He is only waiting for your signature.

Article outline

1. Do you still believe God's promises?
2. Don't try to help God: wait for his promise
3. Drive off the scavengers trying to steal your covenant
4. God passes through the middle: a covenant sealed in fire
5. It's never too late for a new covenant

1. Do you still believe God's promises?

God comes to Abraham in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your reward will be very great." And Abraham, this great man of faith, answers with something surprising: "Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless?" Abraham is 90 years old. He is already thinking about the end. He no longer truly believes God can still act in his life.

This happens to you too. You read the Bible, you say amen to the songs, amen to the pastor, hallelujah to everything that moves. But do you actually believe God's promises? Do you tell yourself, "If God said it, then it will happen, word for word"?

Abraham had lost so much faith that he had drawn up a plan B: adopting Eliezer of Damascus, his servant, as his heir. He was trying to do God's job for him. And God answers him: "This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir."

Here is one practical thing that can help you. Write the promise God gave you on a sticky note. Put it on your fridge, on your desk, on your doorposts if you want. Keep reminding yourself of what God said. Because when the promise is delayed, your memory fades and your faith sags.

2. Don't try to help God: wait for his promise

Abraham wanted to help God. So did Sarah: she sent Hagar, her servant, into her husband's arms. From that relationship, Ishmael was born, who would become the father of a people locked in conflict with the people of Israel to this day. When you try to give God a hand, you always end up birthing an Ishmael. You complicate what was meant to be blessed.

"Don't help the Lord: he doesn't need help. Let him work, simply believe, and you will see the glory of God." God almost never acts the way we imagine. He is full of surprises. And he is never in a hurry: eternity is his horizon. You're living in this one day. He's already living in eternity.

Abraham will have to make himself believe. The text says: "Abram believed Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness." At some point, believing becomes a choice. You decide to trust, even when nothing seems to be moving. You wait in silence, in faith, for God's promises.

3. Drive off the scavengers trying to steal your covenant

God tells Abraham to prepare the covenant sacrifice: a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon. Abraham divides the animals and lays each half opposite the other. And then something very telling happens: "The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away."

The moment you decide to move forward with the Lord, the scavengers show up. You decide, for the first time, to come to the Wednesday night service: suddenly there's a problem with the car, or a homeowners' association meeting lands right at 6 p.m. You want to pray, serve at church, take one more step with God: something comes to block it, something comes to steal your blessing.

You have to drive these birds away. They aren't in a hurry either. They wait until you're about to enter into covenant with God, then swoop down on what you're ready to live out with him. This is real spiritual warfare. The enemy doesn't attack people who do nothing. He attacks those who rise up: the leaders, the elders, the preachers, those who pray, those who carry life projects with God.

Without prayer, you've already lost the battle. That's not prophecy, that's math. The Bible tells you to pray without ceasing. If you don't fight on your knees, you won't drive the birds away.

4. God passes through the middle: a covenant sealed in fire

As the sun sets, a horror and great darkness fall on Abram. Some translations speak of dread. Then, once night has come, "a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces." That flame is God passing through. He is the one sealing the covenant.

In the covenants of that era, both parties would walk between the divided animals, symbolically saying: "May I become like these animals if I break this covenant." Here, Abram is asleep. God alone passes through. God alone commits himself. A one-sided covenant, carried entirely by him. A striking picture of grace.

Today, you no longer need to bring goats and turtledoves. The blood of Jesus sealed the new covenant once for all. But you are still called to let yourself be opened up, to present yourself to God as a living sacrifice, so that God can pass through the inside of you.

Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces all the way to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. Nothing runs deeper, more hidden, more intimate than the soul and spirit. God wants to go that far. Not to shame you, but to restore you, to change your life abundantly.

The covenant also comes with boundaries: "From the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates." The boundaries God gives you in his word aren't there to frustrate you. They're there to protect you, to keep you set apart from sin and close to the Lord. We often focus on the boundaries more than on the immense freedom that exists in Jesus Christ.

5. It's never too late for a new covenant

Abraham is 99 years old when God comes to renew the covenant in Genesis 17: "I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." 99 years old. And God changes his name: Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah. A new identity, a new mission.

Maybe you're living in regret. "I lost so many years. I was on fire for God, then I let go of his hand, I went out into the world." Or: "I got saved late, I wasted 30 years." The enemy loves to drag you back into your past to keep you from moving forward.

Look at Paul: he watched the coats of those who stoned Stephen. He dragged Christians before the governors. When God revealed himself to him, he didn't stay paralyzed by shame. He said to himself, "Now I want to do twice as much to make up for what I lost." The Bible says God restores the years the locusts have eaten.

Josiah was 8 years old when he became king. At 16, he began restoring the temple and bringing out the word of God. God uses a 16-year-old, a 99-year-old man, a 90-year-old woman, a newly retired 60-year-old. Your age is not an excuse. Neither is your past.

When your identity changes, your mission changes. You are no longer a stranger: you are called a son or daughter of the Most High. Stop living in regret. Stop dwelling on the lost years. Think about what God wants to do today, this year, this season. God does not remember your mistakes. He wants to do something new in your life.

Key takeaways

• God wants to make a covenant with you. He is already holding the contract; he's waiting for your signature.
• Write down the promises God has given you and keep reminding yourself of them, or you'll eventually stop believing them.
• Don't try to help God keep his promises. Every "Ishmael" complicates what was meant to be blessed.
• The moment you decide to move forward with God, the scavengers show up. Drive them off through prayer and perseverance.
• In Genesis 15, God alone passes between the animals: the covenant rests entirely on his commitment, not on your performance.
• The boundaries God sets in his word aren't prison bars, they're protective walls. True freedom is found in Jesus Christ.
• At 99, God renews the covenant with Abraham and changes his identity. It's never too late: God restores the years the locusts have eaten.

Personal application

• Which promise from God have you stopped believing, simply because it's taking a long time to come true?
• Where are you trying to "help God" in your own way, at the risk of producing an Ishmael?
• What are the birds trying to steal your covenant right now: distractions, obstacles, discouragement? How will you drive them away this week?
• Are you ready to present yourself to God as a living sacrifice, to let him pass through the deepest part of your soul and spirit?
• Is there a chapter of your past (a sin, a season you gave up, a wasted stretch of time) that you're still letting the enemy use against you?

Scriptures cited

• Genesis 15 · God's covenant with Abraham
• Genesis 17 · the covenant renewed at age 99
• Genesis 16 · Sarah, Hagar, and the birth of Ishmael
• Hebrews 4:12 · the word of God, a two-edged sword
• Hebrews 9 · the new covenant sealed by the blood of Christ
• Romans 12:1 · a living sacrifice
• Joel 2:25 · the years the locusts have eaten
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 · pray without ceasing
• John 16:33 · in the world you have trouble, but take courage
• 2 Kings 22 · Josiah, king at 8, restorer at 16

FAQ

Why does God ask Abraham for a bloody sacrifice?

In the Old Testament, a solemn covenant was sealed with blood: both parties would walk between animals cut in two, as if to say "may I become like this if I break this contract." Here, one detail changes everything: Abram is asleep, only God passes between the pieces. The covenant rests entirely on God's commitment, not on human performance. It foreshadows the new covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus, where he alone accomplished everything at the cross.

What do the birds of prey swooping down on the sacrifice mean?

They represent everything that comes to oppose your commitment to God right at the moment you decide to move forward: sudden distractions, practical obstacles, discouragement, spiritual attacks. Abraham doesn't let them stay: "he drove them away." Don't let them settle in either. Drive them off through prayer, perseverance, and refusing to give in to the excuses that show up right when you wanted to take one more step toward God.

Can God still use me after everything I've done or messed up?

Yes. Abraham is 99 when God renews the covenant and changes his name. Paul persecuted the church before God revealed himself to him. Josiah was 8. The common thread: God looks ahead, not behind. He restores the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). Stop living in regret. Ask him today to renew his covenant with you and entrust you with a new mission.