Section 7 - Part 4: God's Covenant Confirmed

Genesis 11:31 (NASB95) Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 15

12 Now when the sun was going down,

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 15

17 It came about when the sun had set,

The Covenant is Confirmed

The big question Abram asked of God: “How will Abram know God will follow through?”

God confirmed in three ways:

God told him what would happen to his descendants, and how He would protect them.

God completed the covenant initiation.

God details what He will provide His descendants.

The Covenant Reiterated

Genesis 22:17 (NASB95) indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Genesis 26:4 (NASB95) “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

Exodus 32:13 (NASB95) “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”

The Covenant will be Fulfilled

God’s promises will always be fulfilled:

Numbers 23:19 (NASB95) “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Joshua 21:45 (NASB95) Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

Isaiah 55:11 (NASB95) So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB95) For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

2 Peter 3:9 (NASB95) The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

The Covenant Fulfilled and Recognized

Fulfillment of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 1:10 (NASB95) ‘The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number.

Deuteronomy 10:22 (NASB95) “Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Deuteronomy 26:5 (NASB95) “You shall answer and say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation.

Deuteronomy 28:62 (NASB95) “Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the Lord your God.

Recognition of the Covenant

Stephen uses this covenant and Abraham as a source validating his trust in Jesus

Acts 7:6 (NASB95) “But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

Acts 7:17 (NASB95) “But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

Paul uses Abraham and God’s covenant to support faith crediting righteousness for New Covenant believers

Romans 4:3 (NASB95) For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 4:16–25 (NASB95) For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

Author of Hebrews uses Abraham and the Covenant to demonstrate faith is the substance and evidence

Hebrews 11:1–19 (NASB95) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

Application:

Know His Promises: Don’t Assume what you want is what He has Promised

Proverbs 3:5–6 (NASB95) Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Psalm 119:11 (NASB95) Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Psalm 119:105 (NASB95) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NASB95) All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Hold Fast to the Hope we Have in His Promise:

Hebrews 10:23 (NASB95) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

Isaiah 40:31 (NASB95) Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

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