Covenant of Abraham - quick sermon

• What do you think about when you see the Bible
• Yes it is a collection of writers that have written 66 books, 39 in the OT and 27 in the NT
• The OT is comprised of
•             the torah (the Law) - the first five books
•             The prophets
•             The wisdom writings - such as Psalms or Proverbs
• In the NT we have the
•             The 4 gospels - the story of Jesus life
•             The acts of the Apostles - the only unfinished book - unfinished because    we are still writing it today with our lives lived out in faith
•             The epistles - Paul, John, Peter and others
• But what I really see is God’s love for his greatest creation - humans
•             The only creature’s that are created in His own image
•             I see it as the story of God’s interaction
• I see the Bible as a Love letter from God

• As I said we view this Love letter in two parts - we sometimes consider the OT as the book of the first covenant and the NT as the New covenant - written as Jesus story - God come in the flesh to change the old standard and replace it with the New
•             The new being the greatest gift - in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus            and all that represents       
• There is a sense that Old ways have been replaced by the new ways
•             The new broke free of the rules that bound us to an old way of        understanding God
• and what is the purpose for it all
•             all this communication between God and us
•                         some would see it as a means for being right with God so that in                             the end we would united with God
•                                     That God deem us right with Him - declare us righteous      
• The first way was the way of the Law and the second way was through God’s grace in/by Jesus

• Let’s consider for a moment our OT reading for today
•             It is the story of the covenant that is made with Abram
• and it has some remarkable messages for us

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, and said “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

2But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. 13Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; 14but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

Old Testament passage to me has three very important messages:

1. We have the definition of what God is calling us to - Righteousness

            “And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness”

1. Abram (Abraham) story start in the evening with a vision - then went all day with sacrifice and warding off the birds from air - then falling into the deep sleep at night again

            Abram waited on the Lord

1. Then “When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.”

            This was to symbolize the joining who was responsible for the Covenant - it is        God only can grant mercy