6.3 Context of the Covenant Given to Abraham
March 2008
The Covenant was given to Abraham seven times: Genesis 12:2,3; 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-19; 21:12; 22:17,18. These events are discussed below with a brief word as to the context of their being given.
1. Abram is called to go “to a land that I will shew thee” (Genesis 12:1). Associated with this call is the first giving of the covenant. Abram’s response was very practical. He wasted no time. He packed up his caravan and set out for Canaan. “They went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came” (Genesis 12:4).
2 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).
2. Arriving at Shechem (Genesis 12:6) he sets up camp in a grove of large oaks (“plain of Moreh”). Abram was passing through, a wanderer. The land was occupied by the Canaanites.
“And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him” (Genesis 12:7).
Abram may not have been welcomed by the Canaanites. God gave him the first promise of land here to encourage him. He moved on to Bethel, pitched his tent, and built another altar (Genesis 12:8). How long he stayed at these places, we do not know. We do know that he kept going south.
A famine arose and he went to Egypt. This was his first test with his beautiful wife.
3. After his first experience in Egypt, Lot separated from him (Genesis 13:1-12). Abram was now separated from all his relatives, except for Sarai, his wife. Without children he may have been lonely, and was still living in a tent. The Lord covenanted with him again to give him all the land he could see and descendants that could not be counted.
14 “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee” (Genesis 13:14-17).
He moved to the plain of Mamre and soon made friends. Mamre, Aner, and Eschol were Amorites and had some knowledge of God. He lived among them for fifteen years.
“Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD” (Genesis 13:18).
4. Abram rescues Lot from the kings of the east, and pays tithe to Melchizedek (Genesis 14). Abram was successful as a military chief, but that was not God’s plan for him. God states “I am thy shield.” He did not need weapons of warfare. The covenant was given again. Abram was impatient as he still had no children, and he offered his trusted servant, Eliezer, as his heir. God plainly told him that it would be his natural son.
1 “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 “And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 “And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 “And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 “And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:1-6).
A ratification ceremony was carried out. More was given on the covenant.
13 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 “But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:13-16).
After the 400+ years before Abraham’s descendants would inherit the land! The promises were rich and the future looked wonderful. But 400 years? Abram was getting desperate.
“In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18).
5. Ishmael is born. It seemed that God needed help. Abram and Sarai arranged for Abram to have a child by their maid, Hagar. With her pregnancy Hagar tried to usurp the place and authority of Sarai. There was trouble between Sarai and Hagar. After four more years for Abram to learn faith, he was given the covenant again and his name was changed to Abraham.
1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 “And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9 “And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee ...” (Genesis 17:1-10).
Circumcision was given as a token of the covenant. As typical with Abraham, he acted immediately. All the males of Abraham’s house were circumcised the selfsame day!
10 “... Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 “And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 “He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant” (Genesis 17:10-13).
Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah and a son was promised.
15 “And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her” (Genesis 17:15-16).
6. Sodom is destroyed. He still lived in the plain of Mamre. Abraham saw three dusty travelers and urged them to come in for refreshments. Their conversation was astounding! They simply declared that in nine months Sarah would have a son! But it was impossible! They were too old. Their answer was immediate and just as astounding! “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
Standing up to leave, one of the men made an off-hand comment “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” After a few comments about Sodom, they turned to leave. Abraham had determined Who was the Lord, and he quickly arose and stood in his path. In desperate faith he negotiated with God to save Sodom if there were ten righteous to be found there.
That story is now history. Sodom was destroyed, but Lot and his two daughters were saved. Abraham again journeyed south and again said of Sarah, “she is my sister.” God intervened to protect Abraham and Sarah.
It was soon after this that Isaac was born. Trouble with Hagar and Ishmael got worse, and they were cast out. Abraham was reassured that the covenant would be fulfilled in Isaac. Ishmael was given promises too.
“And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Genesis 21:12).
7. Abram is told to sacrifice Isaac. When Isaac was about seventeen years old, God spoke to Abraham. By this time Abraham knew the voice of God, and he answered, “here I am.” God told him to take his son “thine only son, whom thou lovest” and sacrifice him on Mt. Moriah. God was fully aware of what Isaac meant to Abraham. Through Isaac the covenant would be fulfilled.
There was no question, it was God who spoke. After a heart-breaking struggle, Abraham arises very early and sets out with Isaac, a pack animal, and two servants. When they arrive at Mt. Moriah, Isaac learns his fate. He willingly complies and waits for the knife. But god intervenes and stops the procedure, and provides a ram for the burnt offering. The covenant is now repeated by a voice out of heaven:
17 “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:17-18).
His life of service and obedience to God is coming to a close. Sarah dies and is buried in the cave of Machpelah. In his final covenant action, Abraham gets Rebekah for Isaac for a wife.