Covenants: Abraham

Intro:

What is the most elaborate ceremony that you have ever witnessed or been apart of?

Changing of the Guard at the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

*Ceremonies signify that something important has happened

Who is Abram (Abraham)? (Gen. 12:1-9)

What details do we learn about Abraham in verses 1-9?

What are the promises God makes to Abraham in these verses?

Is there anything special about Abraham that would cause God to seek him out over anyone else?

In fact, if you were to look at the promises made to Abraham and then look at Abraham, you may even wonder, “Is this the right guy?” What we know about him really makes Abraham seem like an unlikely candidate for who God would use in order carry out His promises.

Comparing Abraham to those before, what do you notice?

Similarities between Abram, Noah, and Adam.

A man with 3 sons to carry out God’s mission in creation

Similarities between the promises to Abram and Adam (Gen. 1:28, Gen. 12:2-3)

God’s blessing in multiplying His people

The failure of Adam and Noah

Adam: failed to keep the covenant relationship with the LORD in his disobedience

Result: His line through Cain went on in corruption and violence; the depravity of Lamech as the chief example

Noah: failed to keep the covenant relationship in His sin of drunkenness after the flood subsided

Result: Corruption continued on earth and peaked here at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4)

Genesis 11:4 CSB

4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”

These supposed “new people” through Noah have again descended into self-reliance and no consideration of the God who created them.

Abraham as the New Adam

God will now use Abraham to continue His promise of blessing given to Adam at the creation. It is now through Abraham and his descendants that God will bless the whole earth.

So in Genesis 12, God makes these promises to Abraham, and then in Genesis 15 God enshrines the promises within an official covenant.

The Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 15)

This particular passage is really cool because we get a glimpse of what a traditional “covenant ceremony” would have looked like during this time. Let’s read what happens here and then discuss.

*Read Gen. 15*

Before we get into the ceremony, lets camp out on Gen. 15:6 for a few minutes

Genesis 15:6 CSB

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

What stands out to you in this verse?

Are there any other passages in the Bible that come to mind when you read this verse?

Rom. 4:1-8, 4:16-18; Eph. 2:4-9

Romans 4:1–8 CSB

1 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. 4 Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness. 6 Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.

Romans 4:16–18 CSB

16 This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants—not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations— in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. 18 He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.

Ephesians 2:4–9 CSB

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

The Covenant Ceremony

Summarize what happens in this ceremony.

What stands out to you in this chapter?

What questions do these verses give you?

Passing through the pieces:

The ceremony of covenant making involves an oath in which the covenant partners bring the curse of death upon themselves if they are not faithful to the covenant relationship and promises. Walking between the animals cut in half is a way of saying, “May I become like these dead animals if I do not keep my promise(s) and my oath.”

-Gentry and Wellum, God’s Kingdom through Covenants, pg. 110.

If this is what passing between the pieces means, what do you notice in verse 17? What does this symbolize and why is it important?

Smoking Fire Pot and Burning Torch: Many scholars point out that fire and smoke symbolize God’s presence. We’ll see later in Scripture:

God appears as a burning bush (Ex. 3:2)

God leads Israel in the wilderness as a cloud and pillar of fire (Ex. 13:21)

God’s presence on the top of Mt. Sinai covers the mountaintop in smoke and fire (Ex. 19:18; Ex. 20:18)

Implications of this promise:

What do you learn about God’s character in the promises solidified in this ceremony?

How does God’s covenant promises impact people globally? Where else in Scripture do we see the fulfillment of this promise (Matt. 28:19-20; Rev. 7:9-10)?

Do any convictions come out of the implications of God’s promise to bless “all the peoples on the earth” through the descendants of Abraham? How does this promise influence your own evangelism or personal ministry?