Covenant - with Abraham
Abraham to Father Many Nations
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:1-8
This is now the 3rd message in this series on covenants*. We started with what some would call the Covenant of Works (which God made with Adam, because he had to do some kind of work).
Then we had the one which some would call the Covenant of the Rainbow (made with Noah and his 3 sons). It was a promise which was marked with a sign from above - a rainbow.
Circumcision
This time we will move on with the next covenant made by God with Man. This one, some people would call as the Covenant of Circumcision. The act of circumcision itself has nothing to do with the covenant (pledge or agreement), rather this act (like the rainbow) was a sign or a token of this covenant.
Abram
After 18 generations since Adam (and 9 after Noah) came Abram (meaning high/exalted father).
God's first "call" on Abram came when he was 75 years old. But it wasn't until he was 99, when he made this "agreement" with God and sealed it with the covenant act.
Abraham
At his advanced age, God promised him that he will be the father of many. In fact God changed his name accordingly to Abraham, which literally means father of a multitude.
Humor
Abraham's wife at that time was 90 years old and they were childless. Here we can see how humorous God can be. And Abraham's wife did laugh as she saw how funny all this seemed to be.
But God is God and there is nothing impossible for Him. We can laugh, we can pout, but He will still come to town, meaning it doesn't matter, God's plan will still prevail.
Isaac
Eventually Abraham had a total of 8 sons with 3 different women (his wife, his wife's handmaid and with a third after his wife passed). All his sons became the fathers of their own tribes.
Isaac was Abraham's only son with his wife and to him, God repledged this covenant (Genesis 26:3) confirming the oath that He first made to his father Abraham.
Jacob
Appearing in a dream, God also repledged this same covenant with Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13).
Jacob would later be renamed Israel and be the father of several sons who became the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Thus fulfilling the covenant with Abraham that was made generations earlier.
"On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:18-21
"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
When Jesus was being tested by religious leaders in his day, as they did to Him quite often, he replied that God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living -- God of the spiritually alive.
This we have touched on earlier with the covenant with Adam when after the fall, he became spiritually dead. We all are. But God is the God of the living -- the spiritually living. How do we become spiritually alive, this we have discussed in the long series on being reborn in spirit. For anyone who would want to learn about this, the link to that series can be found at the end of this message.
Moses
God appearing to Moses, also introduced Himself to him, as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He also made a covenant with Moses, this we will discuss next in this continuing series.
*Covenants Series
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:1-8
This is now the 3rd message in this series on covenants*. We started with what some would call the Covenant of Works (which God made with Adam, because he had to do some kind of work).
Then we had the one which some would call the Covenant of the Rainbow (made with Noah and his 3 sons). It was a promise which was marked with a sign from above - a rainbow.
Circumcision
This time we will move on with the next covenant made by God with Man. This one, some people would call as the Covenant of Circumcision. The act of circumcision itself has nothing to do with the covenant (pledge or agreement), rather this act (like the rainbow) was a sign or a token of this covenant.
Abram
After 18 generations since Adam (and 9 after Noah) came Abram (meaning high/exalted father).
God's first "call" on Abram came when he was 75 years old. But it wasn't until he was 99, when he made this "agreement" with God and sealed it with the covenant act.
Abraham
At his advanced age, God promised him that he will be the father of many. In fact God changed his name accordingly to Abraham, which literally means father of a multitude.
Humor
Abraham's wife at that time was 90 years old and they were childless. Here we can see how humorous God can be. And Abraham's wife did laugh as she saw how funny all this seemed to be.
But God is God and there is nothing impossible for Him. We can laugh, we can pout, but He will still come to town, meaning it doesn't matter, God's plan will still prevail.
Isaac
Eventually Abraham had a total of 8 sons with 3 different women (his wife, his wife's handmaid and with a third after his wife passed). All his sons became the fathers of their own tribes.
Isaac was Abraham's only son with his wife and to him, God repledged this covenant (Genesis 26:3) confirming the oath that He first made to his father Abraham.
Jacob
Appearing in a dream, God also repledged this same covenant with Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13).
Jacob would later be renamed Israel and be the father of several sons who became the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Thus fulfilling the covenant with Abraham that was made generations earlier.
"On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:18-21
"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
When Jesus was being tested by religious leaders in his day, as they did to Him quite often, he replied that God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living -- God of the spiritually alive.
This we have touched on earlier with the covenant with Adam when after the fall, he became spiritually dead. We all are. But God is the God of the living -- the spiritually living. How do we become spiritually alive, this we have discussed in the long series on being reborn in spirit. For anyone who would want to learn about this, the link to that series can be found at the end of this message.
Moses
God appearing to Moses, also introduced Himself to him, as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He also made a covenant with Moses, this we will discuss next in this continuing series.
God of creation, there at the start, before the beginning of time
*Covenants Series
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