The Everlasting Covenant - 6.0 Abraham & Covenant

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6.0 Abraham, Chosen for Covenant
by Hubert F. Sturges, www.everlastingcovenant.com, February 15, 2010

Topics:
The Call of Abraham
Covenant Given to Abraham (First)
Promise of Land (Second)
After the Battle (Third)
Covenant Ceremony (Fourth)
The Covenant with Hagar
In Detail, Circumcision (Fifth)

Abraham, initially called Abram, is called the “father of many nations and the friend of God.” He was specially chosen by God to receive His covenant. Abraham was not perfect, and as a consequence he was tested by God more severely than just about any other man. That he came through victorious is the reason that Abraham is a towering figure in the purpose of God.

      “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came” (Genesis 12:5).

The Call of Abram

Sin, apostasy and idolatry were soon widespread after the Flood. The knowledge and worship of God were best preserved in the family line of Shem. From Eber, the fourth generation from Noah, the tribe began to be called “Hebrews.” When Judah became a separate kingdom 1000 years later they were called “Jews.”

In the ninth generation from Noah, Terah, with his family, left Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan. He arrived at Haran, on the banks of the Euphrates and settled there (Genesis 11:31).

The Covenant Given to Abram

After Terah died, God called again, choosing Abram (his given name) to move to another land. With this command, God renewed to Abram His special covenant (1,2):

“... get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee”
“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:
“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 12:1-3).

Abraham was given the covenant seven times (3). He was promised a son and eventually would become a great nation. He would be blessed and be a blessing to “all families of the earth.” In these blessings, God was preparing a people to bring the Messiah - Redeemer to earth. And it was in the Messiah that all families of the earth would be blessed (Galatians 3:16).

Now Abram was 75 years old. He had just one wife, the beautiful Sarai, who was barren. To a person in the middle east, to this day, that is a crushing situation. Among the heathen it was the custom to take other wives to raise up sons in the family. But the record is that Noah had just one wife, and Abram had up to this time just one wife. Considering that polygamy was common before the flood (Genesis 6:2) this was an indication of their knowledge of God and His law.

But How would God make of him a great nation? And how would all families of the earth be blessed through him if he had no son? (Galatians 3:16). Abram didn’t ask questions, he just exercised faith in God by obeying His command to leave Haran and go “to a land that I will shew thee.”


The Covenant is Given the Second Time to Abram

Abram’s life was eventful. Because of famine, he went into Egypt. His faith failed when he said that Sarai was his sister. God had to intervene to prevent an unfortunate situation and to preserve the purity of the blood line of the promised Messiah (Genesis 12:10-20). Abram became wealthy. Both he and Lot has such extensive herds that “the land was not able to bare them.” They separated and Lot went toward Sodom (4). God spoke again to Abram:

“For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
“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.
“Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee” (Genesis 13:15-17).

This was now a promise of land, specifically the land of Canaan. It was to belong to his descendants “for ever.” His descendants were now to be “as the dust of the earth.” Abram did not own any land in Canaan, and Sarai was still barren. He had to take this promise by faith.

It was God’s intent that Israel occupy the land forever. The blessings and curses given in Deuteronomy show that blessings depend upon a people’s commitment to God. These blessings were forfeited when Israel rejected her Messiah. The promise has not been forgotten, and will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again.

“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:20).


Covenant Presented the Third Time

Those were dangerous times. People simply took whatever they wanted by force. Four kings from the east made war on five local kings in Canaan. The Canaanite kings were put into servitude for 12 years. Then they rebelled and were again attacked by the same kings from the east. Again the Canaanite kings lost the battle, and Sodom was sacked and prisoners taken; including Lot and his family.

There are times when peaceful men will fight. Abraham mustered an army of 318 trained servants and joined with his friends Aner, Eschol, and Mamre and pursued the Babylonians. By strategy and surprise they routed the Babylonian army in a night attack, rescued all the prisoners, and recovered the loot (5). They chased the Babylonians all the way to Damascus, and beat them so severely that the Babylonians did not attempt another such attack against Israel for 1000 years!

But God was not pleased, and did not desire that Abram become a military man. He spoke again the third time:

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).

God would be his shield. Abram need not trust in arms. Abram suggested that Eliezer be his heir, fulfill the purpose of God and receive the covenant. Again, God insisted that Abram’s heir would be his natural child and that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. Abram believed God, and his faith was counted to him as righteousness.


The Covenant Presented the Fourth Time, and Ratified

Even as Abram believed the promise of God, he still needed reassurance that the promises would be fulfilled. On God’s direction a ratification ceremony was carried out. Animals were taken and divided in half. At sundown Abram fell into a deep sleep, “and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him” (Genesis 15:12).

There is a peculiar significance in these words that is not explained here. A number of verses tell us that God is light and is the source of light.

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

There are also verses that associate sin and evil with darkness and the absence of God. “An horror of great darkness” indicates that Abram looked into an eternity of darkness without life and without God. This was a portrayal of the great darkness that Jesus looked into when on the Cross he cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

Then God, as a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between the pieces completing the ceremony. Following a recognized custom of the people, God had pledged Himself to fulfill His Covenant with Abram, though it would be 400 years before his descendants would posses the land. The long wait was a disappointment to Abram (6). However, it shows the longsuffering of a God who would give more time for the Amorites to repent (Genesis 15:16).

God repeated His promise of land:

“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).

The Covenant with Hagar

Abram had now been in Canaan about eight years. The promises of God were not forgotten, but there was no evidence yet that they would be fulfilled. Sarai was still barren. According to the custom of the land, Sarai and Abram arranged between themselves that the maid, Hagar, would become a wife and hopefully bear a son for Abram. Superficially, it looked like an excellent idea. They would be “doing God’s will” and furthering the fulfillment of the Covenant. The child would be fully a son of Abraham and Hagar would technically have little control over his future.

Shortly Hagar became pregnant. She became proud and was not willing to be a “secondary wife.” There was trouble with Sarai. Sarai put the problem on her husband Abram. Abram with infinite tact and a sharp sense of priorities, answered, “Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.” Sarai then “dealt hardly with her, and she fled from her face” (Genesis 16:6). Hagar fled into the wilderness in desperation where an angel advised her to return to Abram and Sarai. In the infinite patience and goodness of God, Hagar was also given a covenant:

10 “And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 “And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
20 “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 16:10-12; 17:20).

God gave Hagar rich blessings for her coming son. He too would have many descendants. God Himself named him Ishmael. But he would not be the special son of the covenant promised to Abram and he would have a stormy future. Yet we see in this that Ishmael, too, had a special place in the plan of God. Within the year, Hagar had presented Abram with a son (7).


Fifth Presentation, in Greatest Detail

Thirteen years later, God again appeared to Abram (8). God called upon Abram to “walk before me and be thou perfect.” This may have been a reference and a warning to Abram not to repeat the mistake of mistrust as he did with Hagar. But God is patient and He presented the covenant to Abram in even greater detail:

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 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. Genesis 17:1-8 (KJV)

19 “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
21 “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. Genesis 17:19-21 (KJV)

God again promised that Abram would have a multitude of descendants. Abram believed Him and he fell on his face in worship. God went on to emphasize that Abram would be father of many nations. To symbolize this, He changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning “father of a great multitude.” Not only would he be father of a great multitude but also be the father of nations, and kings (9). The covenant again included the land where he lived, and the covenant promise, “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.”

Abram had made a mistake with Hagar. Possibly because of that, God added circumcision as a token of the covenant. One must note that circumcision was NOT the covenant, but only the token of the covenant (10). This is discussed in Article #7.3, Circumcision.

God also changed the name of Sarai to Sarah. God also promised that Sarah, at ninety years of age, would have a son. Abraham silently laughed, and offered, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!”

But God firmly announced that Sarah would bear a son within the year, and his name was to be “Isaac.” He and only he would be the covenant son.

(Continued in Article #6.2)