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God’s Covenant with Abraham
Genesis 15:7-21 ESV
And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 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.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Covenant vs. Contract
Contract is an agreement between two parties. Covenant is a promise of one party to another.
Unconditional and Conditional Covenants
Unconditional is a promise not dependent on action. Conditional is a promise dependent on an action.
7 Major Bible Covenants
Adamic – conditional Noahic – unconditional Abrahamic – unconditional, received by faith Mosaic – conditional Palestinian – conditional Davidic – unconditional New – unconditional, received by faith
The Blood Covenant
The strictest and most binding covenant. Involved the shedding of animal blood. Gods were called upon as witnesses and petitioned to kill if a person broke a promise. This type of covenant was seen as family members making promises to each other.
Why God initiated the Blood Covenant
To assure Abraham and give him peace. To reveal His nature: God is truth. – Hebrews 6:13-20 To reveal His nature: God is love.
Why the Blood Covenant
Hebrews 6:13-20 ESV
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Does the Abrahamic covenant foreshadow the New?
Both speak of present and future promise. Both are initiated by God. Both involve the shedding of blood. Both depend on the truth and love characteristics of God. Both provide assurance for the fulfillment of future promises. Both are received by faith.
So What?
God can absolutely be trusted because he is truth and love. We are God’s children and have access to Fatherly blessings. There is no reason not to act in faith. Selfless living is the result and proof of true faith.