Abrahamic Covenant

Abrahamic Covenant

The Bible has about 1189 chapters full of stories about faith, hope, disasters, promises, love, etc. Each one has an unbelievable lesson, but some stories are more well-known than others, as some characters. Some of the most popular Bible stories involve a covenant. In his book Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Ronald Youngblood says, “a covenant, in the biblical sense, implies much more than a contract or simple agreement. A contract always has an end date, while a covenant is a permanent arrangement.” [1] This is why these specific stories are so well known and loved by people worldwide.

One of the most famous characters in the Bible, other than Jesus, is Abraham. It’s possible that even non-Christians know the story of Abraham and how he is known for being the “Father of Nations.” The Abrahamic Covenant could be summarized in that God takes the initiative with Abraham, calls him into a relationship with Himself, and makes some promises to Abraham. He promises that Abraham will be a great nation, that he will be given a land, a place to live, and that all of the nations will be blessed through Him. That is the Abrahamic Covenant put into simple words, but there’s so much more to break down than those simple sentences. Youngblood says, “By making a covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless His descendants and to make the His special people.”[2]

The Abrahamic Covenant could be divided into different sections:

· God makes a promise to Abraham.

· Abraham, in return, had to remain faithful to God and serve as an instrument through which God’s blessings could flow to the rest of the world.

The Bible says, “…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.” (Gen. 12:1–3, KJV).

· God’s covenant with Abraham was made.

The Bible says, “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…” (Gn. 15:18, KJV).

· God’s covenant is confirmed.

The Bible says, “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” (Gn. 17:2, KJV). The confirmation of the covenant guaranteed that Abraham’s descendants were going to be immeasurable and would receive the Promised Land. The story ends with a sign, circumcision.

The Abrahamic Covenant could also be known as one “covenant of promise” because he promises to bless Abraham’s descendants because of his faith. Youngblood says, “the covenants of promise are God’s guarantee the He will provide salvation in spite of people’s inability to keep their side of the agreement because of sin.”[3] It can be said that all of the covenants of promise could be considered one covenant of grace, which was fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

[1] Ronald Youngblood, F.F. Bruce, and R.K.Harrison, Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, New and Enhanced Edition (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2014) p.275, Kindle

[2] Youngblood, Nelson’s Illustrated, Kindle p. 274

[3] Youngblood, Nelson’s Illustrated, Kindle p. 275