Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries |
8 points concerning the Abrahamic Covenant.Deacon Rick Bettez.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
We know a Covenant to be a deal or agreement, and in the Hebrew it points to an element of something between two parties.
There is a relational element that lies at the basis of any covenant… a bonding or lasting agreement – something cemented by a faithful relationship.
The Abrahamic Covenant is not the first Covenant in the Bible – we would have to go back to Noah to see God’s first covenant – GEN 9:9-17.
In GEN 9:9-17 God promises to never flood the earth in such a destructive fashion again. He said the rainbow that appeared was the sign of this solemn pledge.
A Covenant involves something from both parties.
God promised to bless Abraham and in return Abraham would live in faith and serve God as a messenger and as a channel which God could use to spread His word
throughout the land, as well as to bring forth the Lord Jesus Christ down the line of Abraham’s offspring.
Archaeologist C. Leonard Woolley made discoveries there back in the early 1920’s that point to Abraham and his relatives – it was an advanced society that had school systems and thriving businesses.
Environment and family have no control over your destiny,
If you allow God to do His work in your life.
He will put a wall of fire around you and when the time is right, use you to glorify Him in the Angelic Conflict!
Gen 12 :1-3 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing;”
And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Faith is what God looked upon within the soul of Abram – a man who had just enough faith to trust in God and not fall back upon the world system.
God comes thru for His man… we fall down we get up!
Every plan of God written in the Bible – EXCEPT for our Lord Jesus Christ who completed the most perfect plan…
has failure, free will, and fear weaved all through it.
In the study of Abraham there are 5 geographical locations that point to the areas of growth and testing for Abraham.
Ur was a city of glamour and human advantage and human knowledge – Abraham learned separation from worldly viewpoint as well as separating from those that hold you back.
Haran was 600 miles north of Ur – Abraham stayed with his father there and it was a place with idols and no doctrine –
representing the dried up spiritual life.
Canaan was his next stop and there it represented blessing. Because he gained wealth and had a great victory there he was able to grow spiritually.
The Negev – the southern wilderness area of Judah – means dry or parched – Abraham journeyed there and gave his wife over to the Pharoah… it represents neglect of doctrine.
Egypt represents the world; this became a place of rejecting doctrine for Abraham.
Abram was hoping for Ismael to be the chosen one and his faith had probably faded over the years – but God is faithful even when we are faithless!
Circumcision is a ritual of confirmation and it establishes this unconditional covenant – it’s a sign much like
the rainbow we saw in the covenant with Noah.
There are 8 points I want to leave you with concerning the Abrahamic Covenant.
1) The covenant is defined as an unconditional agreement between God as the first party and Abraham as the second party – the Jewish race was brought to life and blessed by
God through Abraham, by God in eternity past.
2) The original declaration of the covenant is given in
GEN 12:1-3.
3) The land portion of the agreement (Palestinian Covenant) is given in GEN 13:14-16 and is yet to be fulfilled.
4) The covenant was confirmed to Isaac, GEN 26:3-4. This is still the source of great turmoil in the middle east.
5) The covenant was confirmed to Abraham’s grandson Jacob,
GEN 35:12.
6) The covenant was confirmed at the time of the Exodus and this was the time that the formation of the Jewish nation
was historically established, EXO 6:2-8.
7) The mechanics of the Abrahamic Covenant demanded super-natural actions beyond the realm of man, and God supplied Ultra-supergrace sexual prosperity for both Abraham and Sarah in GEN 17:1-7 (ROM 4:13-18).
8) Circumcision is the ritual of confirmation and acknowledgment that this is an unconditional covenant GEN 17:9-14 (ROM 4:13-18).