Covenants 7

The Covenants of God
Part 7 The Abrahamic Covenant
Part 1—The Promise Prior to The Covenant
Readings: Gen 12:1-8

Introductory Thoughts

1. We are going to spend a lot of time on the Abrahamic Covenant, for several reasons.

(1) Abraham is one of the great heroes and characters of the faith.
(2) The Bible has a lot of information about Abraham.
(3) The Abrahamic Covenant was the precursor to the New Covenant; the Abrahamic Covenant was the Covenant of Promise, and we who are believers in Christ are one with faithful Abraham.
(4) So, God’s dealings with Abraham are a significant part of God’s self-revelation throughout history.
(5) The Abrahamic Covenant: a Covenant of Grace
(a) The first covenant, with Noah was a covenant of grace as well, but this was an individual covenant with an individual man, though the benefits would flow to a multitude.
(b) The covenant with Noah was about earthly benefits and responsibilities. The Covenant with Abraham has earthly aspects, but its essence is primarily spiritual.
(6) An unconditional Covenant—there are no conditions; if you are in the Covenant, you are in the Covenant.
(7) Part of the New Covenant revelation
(a) This covenant with Abraham is the Covenant that begins the chain of covenants and events that lead to Calvary and the New Covenant.
(b) The Abrahamic Covenant is the promise, the New Covenant is the fulfillment.
(8) The Abrahamic Covenant and the Law of Moses—
(a) The Old Covenant (Moses) is a covenant of a completely different type.
(b) Nothing in the Law can contradict the Abrahamic.
(c) The Law is NOT a way of salvation: it does not supersede the Abrahamic Covenant.
(d) The Law is a covenant brought in to help.
(9) Three Aspects to the Covenant
(a) Earthly Kingdoms for the Natural Seed, all who come from Abram.
(i) We see that in the Arabic nations, who are all descended from this one man.
(b) An Earthly Land for the Special Natural Seed, Israel
(i) This was partially fulfilled during the ancient kingdom of Israel, but has never been completely fulfilled.
(ii) There is an argument among theologians as to whether or not there is still a land promise, or if the land promise has been “spiritualized” into spiritual promises realized in the church.
(iii) I believe this land promise is yet to be fulfilled.
(10) A heavenly land and kingdom for the Unique Seed, that is, Christ, and the Spiritual Seed, Christ’s People
(11) In looking at the Abramic Covenant, we must break it up into parts, as it covers an amazing amount of scripture.

(a) The Abrahamic Covenant, Part 1—The Promise Prior to The Covenant: Gen 12:1-3
(b) The Abrahamic Covenant, Part 2—The Salvation of Abram: Gen 15:1-6
(c) The Abrahamic Covenant, Part 3—God Cuts the Covenant: Gen 15:7-20

The name of the man—at this point, until much later in the story, his name is Abram, pronounced ab-rawm’.



1. The Call of Abram— Gen 12:1 "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:”

a. Who was Abram, and from whom and where did he come?

(1) Ten generations from Shem
(2) A citizen of Ur, a pagan idol-worshipper.

b. The Earlier False Start and halfway trip— Gen 12:1

(1) God had called him from Ur, and they only went as far as Haran—Gen 11:31

(a) God had called Abram to leave country, kindred, and his father’s house. Abram tried to bring all the above with him.
(b) “Terah took…” We don’t know what conversations Abram had with his father, or how his father got involved. Terah was not called—Abram was.
(c) They got halfway to Canaan, and stopped.

(2) He stayed in Haran until his father died, and his brother, Nahor, stayed in Haran when Abram left.

c. The Call—God called Abram out—Gen 12:1 "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:"

(1) Leave your country
(2) Leave your family
(3) Leave your father’s house
(4) Go into a land far away.
(5) Put this in modern terms.

(a) A city dweller in late mid life.
(b) A businessman, perhaps, not a country boy at all.
(c) The Call:

(i) Sell the BMW, the condo, and the yacht.
(ii) Give your notice down at the office
(iii) Cash in the 401K and the mutual funds.
(iv) Leave your kin and friends behind (except for your wife and servants).
(v) Depart for parts unknown; I will show you on the way.

d. What this call meant to a man of Abram’s day.
(1) It was more like going to another galaxy than to another country.
(2) It meant going, with a very small bad of relatives and servants, into a dangerous and unknown area.
(3) It meant leaving all support, family, financial, and otherwise, far behind.
(4) It meant a city man (Abram), used to being in one place, used to having the conveniences of city life, adopting the Bedouin lifestyle.

e. Why did God Call Abram?

(1) Not of works—Rom 4:1-3 "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
(2) Not because he was anything special in UR—we have no indications of that.
(3) Not because of youth.
(4) Not because of natural character—we see several character flaws in Abram the man.
(5) The Call was because of Grace—Rom 4:16



2. The Promises to Abram

a. The First Promise—2 And I will make of thee a great nation,

(1) This man was going to be the father of a nation.
(a) Not as Washington, the military and political father of America.
(b) But literally, the physical father of the Nation of Israel.
(2) Note, God did not say he would help Abram conquer a nation, or any such thing. God said, “…I will make of thee a great nation…”

b. The Second Promise—”…and I will bless thee,

(1) To Bless – Barak—“To bless in the OT means, ‘to endue with power for success, prosperity, decundity, longevity, etc.’ it is frequently contrasted with qalal, ‘to curse.’” [1]

(2) Truly God did bless Abram in every way.

c. The Third Promise— ”…and make thy name great;”

(1) How greatly this was fulfilled!
(2) Abram is revered by three of the world’s major religions. Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike look to Abram as a patriarch.

d. The Fourth Promise— “…and thou shalt be a blessing:”

(1) He was a blessing to his neighbors
(2) He was a blessing to his family
(3) His example of faith is a blessing to all who believe in Christ

e. The Fifth Promise— 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:

(1) A key promise—to oppose Abram is to oppose God.
(2) To curse Abram’s people is to invite the curse of God.

(a) True Christians
(b) Jews
(c) Israel

f. The Sixth Promise— and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

(1) The promise of the Messiah
(2) There will be people saved from every nation, kindred, and tongue—Rev 5:9-10, 7:9-14

3. Abram’s Obedience—12:4-6

a. Consider the obstacles to this obedience

(1) Distance— and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
(2) Danger
(3) Abram’s Age— Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
(4) There is the family to consider—5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and
(5) Great possessions at risk—all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land…”

b. In spite of all the obstacles, Abram obeyed!

4. Abram’s Encounter With God: 12:7-8

a. The Encounter With God—12:7

(1) God could have spoken, but He appeared to Abram.
(2) This is a theopany, an appearance of God.
(3) By the revelation given to us in the New Testament, we know that this was a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son—John 1:18 "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
(4) This was not a full manifestation of the Glory of God, because no man (still in the flesh) can behold that Glory

b. Abram’s Other encounters with God

(1) God spoke to him many times
(2) Gen 15:1—God appeared in a vision
(3) Gen 15:17—the furnace and the lamp.
(4) Gen 17:1—when Abram was 99.
(5) Gen 18—the three men visit.
(6) The Angel of the Lord on Mt. Moriah

5. The Confirmation of the Promise of Land—12:7

a. The Promise of Land—12:7

(1) This is an unconditional promise
(2) There is no time limit set

b. The Continuing Worship—12:8

c. Questions

(1) Has the land promise been fulfilled?

(a) No. At no time has Israel possessed the land promised to them.

(2) Has the land promise been abrogated?

(a) No—the Abrahamic Covenant is not conditional, and there are no scriptures which say that God has abrogated the land promise.

(3) Has the land promise been spiritualized?

(a) There is a spiritual dimension to the Abrahamic Covenant, but there is no Biblical teaching that the land promise has been fulfilled non-literally in a “spiritual” way.

d. Unusual observations

(1) God is the initiator, God is the prime actor, in everything we see here. Abram is the recipient of God’s Grace, not the cause of it.
(2) God has much yet to reveal to Abram.
(3) Abram was not yet converted (see Gen 15:6).

(a) The fact that Abram was a worshipper of God did not mean that he was saved.
(b) The fact that Abram had seen God did not mean he was saved.
(c) The fact that Abram had sacrificed did not mean he was saved.



Applications

1. God has only begun to work in Abram’s life—and he is already a senior citizen. Even making allowances for his longer lifespan, he is at midlife.

2. Abram has answered the call, has had God appear to him, and he is not yet saved!

3. This should be an encouragement for the senior citizen—God might just have some things for you to accomplish yet.

4. This should be a lesson for the religious but lost. Unless you have been to Calvary for the cleansing power, you are not God’s child.
[1] TWOT, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1980, page 132.