God's Covenant with Abram
There have been volumes written on the Abrahamic Covenant. It is truly one of the pivotal passages in the entire Word of God. (Genesis 12:1-3) Of course, I will just scratch the surface of all of its meaning in this short post, but it is well worth our time to examine it.
First of all, it is an eternal covenant, since it has no time limits mentioned in it. The covenant was not just made with Abram, but with his son and grandson, so that it is obvious it was made with the descendants of Abraham. God promised to bless Abram and His descendants, to make them a great nation. I do not think there is any doubt that the Hebrew people and the nation of Israel have been extremely blessed by God, even though they have gone through much persecution, too. God's hand has been upon them since He instituted this covenant.
Next we see what God required of Abram. He called on Abram to leave his country, his relatives, and his father's house to go to a land that He would show him. In other words, he was called to leave all that he knew to go to an unknown destination. That was an example of immediate, costly, radical obedience. That is the kind of obedience that pleases God and that God blesses.
Finally, God promised to make a great name for Abram, to bring forth a great nation from his descendants, so that it could be a blessing. He promised to bless those who blessed this people, and to curse anyone who cursed them. Then, the most magnificent promise was to bless all of the families of the earth through him and his descendants. Of course, we can see all of the great Jewish people who have been a blessing to the world through science, medicine, and education. However, the ultimate blessing was sending Jesus into the world as a descendant of David and Abraham. Truly, the whole earth was delivered a blessing through His life and teachings, but especially through His sacrificial death that atoned for the sins of the whole world.
If that was not enough, God is still poised to continue to bless Israel and to use them at the end of time on this earth. Many of them are not believers now, but there will come a time when they will turn to Jesus as their Messiah, as they should have done 2000 years ago. God will use them to bring the history of this fallen world to a close.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 13-15.
First of all, it is an eternal covenant, since it has no time limits mentioned in it. The covenant was not just made with Abram, but with his son and grandson, so that it is obvious it was made with the descendants of Abraham. God promised to bless Abram and His descendants, to make them a great nation. I do not think there is any doubt that the Hebrew people and the nation of Israel have been extremely blessed by God, even though they have gone through much persecution, too. God's hand has been upon them since He instituted this covenant.
Next we see what God required of Abram. He called on Abram to leave his country, his relatives, and his father's house to go to a land that He would show him. In other words, he was called to leave all that he knew to go to an unknown destination. That was an example of immediate, costly, radical obedience. That is the kind of obedience that pleases God and that God blesses.
Finally, God promised to make a great name for Abram, to bring forth a great nation from his descendants, so that it could be a blessing. He promised to bless those who blessed this people, and to curse anyone who cursed them. Then, the most magnificent promise was to bless all of the families of the earth through him and his descendants. Of course, we can see all of the great Jewish people who have been a blessing to the world through science, medicine, and education. However, the ultimate blessing was sending Jesus into the world as a descendant of David and Abraham. Truly, the whole earth was delivered a blessing through His life and teachings, but especially through His sacrificial death that atoned for the sins of the whole world.
If that was not enough, God is still poised to continue to bless Israel and to use them at the end of time on this earth. Many of them are not believers now, but there will come a time when they will turn to Jesus as their Messiah, as they should have done 2000 years ago. God will use them to bring the history of this fallen world to a close.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 13-15.