Genesis: The Abrahamic Covenant Then
What Was It?
As we press on further into our study of Genesis, we will find a fascinating character coming into play who will eventually be referred to as Abraham. We see how God created the world from the beginning and how mankind brought sin into that creation by choosing to rebel against God. This choice to rebel against our Lord and do what we viewed as right in our own hearts is what led God to start over by using a worldwide flood. And now that God has erased all of the rebellion in the world, we see a very important man who God will use in a mighty way to enter the scene. But why is this man so important? To answer this as broadly as I can, it’s because Abraham is the father of Israel, God’s chosen people. As John Piper puts it, “In completely sovereign grace God comes to this undeserving idolater(Abraham) and says, with life-creating authority, "I am going to bless you, and through you bring blessing to the whole world." And with that begins the history of the people of Israel.” This man is so vital to the plan that God has for His people not just in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament as well. In other words, the covenant God made with Abraham is not just important for those who were before Christ to know about, but it should be known by those who are Christians today as well. This is why we will be taking this week to look at what the Abrahamic covenant meant then and what it means to us now in two separate posts. With that in mind, let’s dive in.
What It Meant
To start, we’re going to see what this covenant that God made with Abraham meant at the very time it was given. And in order to do that, we must see where Abraham comes into the story. At the end of Genesis 11, we see the lineage of families being listed as the descendants of Noah’s sons, and here is the first time we see Abraham(Abram at the time) mentioned. Then in chapter 12, we really see what God’s plan is for Abraham and God’s people. Genesis 12:1-3 states, “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you into a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Right away, it is clear what God’s intentions are with Abraham. The nation of Israel will come forth from this man that God has chosen which is why God has picked out land for Abraham, descendants for Abraham, and even blessings for those that bless Abraham. This is a fantastic covenant for such a random guy! But why did God pick Abraham? This is a question that many may be asking that I think has a simple answer. Because He could. Notice how nowhere in this covenant does God say He will bless Abraham with descendants, land, and multiple blessings because of anything he did. The sole reason God is using Abraham is because God chose him. Period. This covenant does not rely on Abraham, but rather on God’s righteousness.
This is what makes this covenant so beautiful. It reveals to the world a crucial point that we have already seen thus far in the story. That point is, that no man can get in the way of what God wants to accomplish. From the fall of mankind to the universal flood, to now the future nation of Israel, God does not depend on mankind to fulfill their promises, God tells mankind that He will fulfill His through them. And He always does. Furthermore, we see another area where God’s covenant between Himself and Abraham takes place. This second covenant isn’t really a second covenant per se, but is an extension of the first one and is listed all throughout chapter 17. God reiterates that He will make Abraham into a great nation and that many of his descendants will possess the land that Abraham currently possessed and even many kings would come from his lineage. The difference in this covenant, however, is the sign that God commands His people to have if they are of the people of God. This sign is found in Genesis 17:10 “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.” For God’s people to be set apart, God commanded that every male that was born was to be circumcised to show they belonged to God.
Why This Matters
Now thus far in the story, we see that God has established a covenant with Abraham early on in Genesis that showed how God was going to use Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel, and now we see a continuation of this covenant with God saying that circumcision is what will mark the men of this chosen people. So what does this all mean? What does this covenant reveal to those who were Israelites back in the Old Testament days? Essentially what this reveals is simply that God is sovereign. We’ve already seen how God doesn’t let mankind get in the way of accomplishing what He wants to accomplish and we continue to see that through this covenant. God knows that mankind is sinful and incapable of perfect righteousness like He is, so He makes a way for His great grace to be revealed through the means of a covenant, even though He knows mankind can’t hold up their end of the bargain. The more mankind fails, the more mercy we see from God, and the more mercy we see from God, the more we realize that we are totally dependent on Him and Him alone for sanctification and salvation. This is what the whole Pentateuch has to teach us and what the new covenant shows us as well under Christ in the New Testament that we will break down in our next post. For now, though, I hope and pray that as you read through the Old Testament and the covenants God makes with His people, you won’t bypass them simply because they are inapplicable to you anymore. The very foundation of these covenants shows us not just why we needed a new covenant, by how rich in mercy and grace our Lord really is for giving us one.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Piper, J. (2023, November 8). The Covenant of Abraham. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-covenant-of-abraham
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