The Covenant With Abraham (Gen 12-22) Wednesday Evening 10SEP14

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1 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT: 1 - The different covenants in the Bible are our framework for understanding what God is doing and why o Without it, we re just looking at pieces of God s plan, not the bigger picture - Let s review what we ve seen about the covenants so far (and realize that they re progressive they build on top of one another): o The Promise in the Garden (Gen 3:15)... Is why God started over with Seth after Cain s sin Is why God started over with Noah after the Sethites sin o The Covenant with Noah (Gen 9:1-17)... Is why God started over with Abraham after the Flood - Today, we come to the Covenant with Abraham the single most important covenant to understanding the Bible! 2 o How will God bring forth that son from Eve who will defeat Satan (Gen 3:15) and bless people from all over the world with salvation? o Why are (1) the people of Israel and (2) the land of Israel so important to God? o Why does God bother to rescue Israel from Egypt and lead them to the promised land? o Why does God bother to make David King over Israel, and make a covenant with him that his kingdom and throne will never pass away? - Basically, the covenant with Abraham is really important! o It s also very misunderstood mostly because people: 3 1 All footnotes in this sermon are primarily for my (Pastor Robbins ) benefit. I want to be able to follow my own train of thought years from now when (or if?) I ever look at this again. I hope they re a blessing to you, too, if you want to look at them. But, they re really meant for me. That means I ll be using big words, theological terms, and making remarks on how great (or stupid) some commentator is. I ll be making reference to commentaries, reference books, and sometimes obscure texts that you really might not want to ever bother reading. Don t be frightened! These notes are for me, not for you! That being said, feel free to read these footnotes to your heart s content! 2 For example, J. Dwight Pentecost wrote that the Abrahamic Covenant must be considered as the basis of the entire covenant program... [t]he eternal aspects of this covenant, which guarantee Israel a permanent national existence, perpetual title to the land of promise, and the certainty of material and spiritual blessing through Christ, and guarantee Gentile nations a share in these blessings, determine the whole eschatological program of the Word of God. This covenant becomes the seed from which are brought forth the later covenants made with Israel, (Things to Come [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1965], 70, 71). 3 I will not interact with the amillennial position on the Abrahamic Covenant in this sermon. I plan to do a bit 1

2 (1) don t pay attention to the very specific promises God makes, and (2) don t take God at His word He means what He says - Today, all we re going to do is march through Scripture together and see what God promised to Abraham and there are a lot of promises: o (1) to Abraham personally o (2) to Abraham s children the people of Israel o (3) to all the non-jews in the world (e.g. all the rest of humanity) 1. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT: - To understand this covenant, you really need to read all of Gen o We don t have time to do that here o We also don t have time to go verse by verse, or even section by section, through those chapters o The best we can do is read important excerpts from these chapters that show us what this covenant is all about - In the years after the horrible failure at Babel after the flood: o Read Gen 12:1-8 (esp. vv.1-3) - After Abraham and Lot part ways: o Read Gen 13: God reassures Abraham after many years without the son who was promised to him: o Abraham asks for reassurance about a son and the nation (Gen 15:1-3) God reassures (Gen 15:4-6) o Abraham asks for reassurance about the land his children will inherit (Gen 15:7-8) God pledges to keep His word no matter what (Gen 15:9-11, 17-21) 4 - God gave a sign to help the Israelites remember His promises: o Gen 17:1-10 of that in the next sermon or two in this series I m not quite sure when. I have done a fair amount of reading in this area, and am looking forward to addressing some of the concerns. On the other hand, this is a sermon for lay people, not eschatology nerds. Most of the interaction will be in the footnotes, not the body of the sermons. 4 I will probably return to the significance of this covenant ratification in a later sermon in this series. I have decided to not focus on it here, due to space limitations. C.F. Keil observes, [f]or although a covenant always establishes a reciprocal relation between two individuals, yet in that covenant which God concluded with a man, the man did not stand on an equality with God, but God established the relation of fellowship by His promise and His gracious condescension to the man, who was at first purely a recipient, and was only qualified and bound to fulfil the obligations consequent upon the covenant by the reception of gifts of grace, (Commentary on the Old Testament, 10 vols. [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996], 1:139). 2

3 - Let s look at the different promises made throughout these chapters and what they mean o Time is short, so we ll basically just read the Scripture and let it speak for itself o I ll insert a few comments as we go along, but Scripture will do a lot of the talking tonight: 2. PERSONAL PROMISES TO ABRAHAM: Gen 12:2a; 18:18a Father of a great nation Gen 12:2b; 17:6a; 22:17a Personal blessings Gen 12:2c His name will be great Gen 17:3-6 He will be the father of many other nations a. Abraham Will Be the Father of a Great Nation (Israel): - Genesis 12:2: 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: - Genesis 18:17-18 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? b. Abraham Will Be Blessed Personally: - Genesis 12:2b 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. - Genesis 17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. c. Abraham s Name Will be Great: - Genesis 12:2c 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

4 d. Abraham Will Be the Spiritual Father of Many Nations: - Genesis 17:3-6 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 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. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. - Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. - Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 3. NATIONAL PROMISES TO ABRAHAM S CHILDREN: Gen 13:16; 15:5; 17:2b; 22:17 Gen 13:14-15; 15:7-8, 18-21; 17:7-8, 19 Gen 15:4 Israel will consist of Abraham s physical descendants Israel will be as numerous as the sand and the stars Israel will possess the land, as an ethnic people, forever Gen 15:13-16 The promises won t begin to be realized until the Exodus Gen 22:17c; 26:3-4 Israel will have political dominion over everybody a. Israelites are Abraham s Physical Descendants: - Genesis 15:4 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. b. Israel Will be as Numerous as the Sand and the Stars: - Genesis 13:16 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. 4

5 - Genesis 15:5 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. - Genesis 17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. - Genesis 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; c. Israel Will Possess the Land Forever: - Genesis 13:14-15 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: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. - Genesis 15:7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. - Genesis 17:7-8 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. 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 17:19 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. d. These Promises Won t Begin to Happen Until After The Exodus: - Genesis 15:13-16 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; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers 5

6 in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. e. Israel Will Dominate Everybody: - Genesis 22:17 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. - Genesis 26:3-4 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. 4. PROMISES TO ALL NON-JEWS: Gen 12:2d, 3c; 17:4-6, 16; 18:18b; 22:18 Gentiles will have Abraham as their spiritual father through Christ s work Gen 12:3a He will bless those who bless Israel Gen 12:3b He will curse those who curse Israel a. Gentiles Will Have Abraham as Their Spiritual Father Through Faith in Christ: - Genesis 12:2-3 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 18:17-18 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? - Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 6

7 - Galatians 3:7-9 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. 5. CONCLUSION: - All I want us to see is the promises God makes in the Abrahamic Covenant: o God will bless Abraham and He did o God will preserve a people from Abraham (Israel) who will inherit a specific land (Israel) forever and He will keep His promise! o God will bless people from all over the world through Abraham and He is doing it - by Christ the son of Abraham (Mt 1:1) - If you can do two simple things, you ll understand the big picture of the Bible better than 75% of the Christians you know! Here they are: o (1) Understand the specific promises God has made o (2) Believe that God will keep His word and do it - This will become important as we go through the rest of the series and we begin to see how the Covenant with Abraham is the key to understanding everything God has been doing! o EX: The Abrahamic Covenant is like that corner piece of a puzzle it makes everything fit into place 7