Understanding the Abrahamic Covenant is key to understanding God’s redemptive plan in the Bible.
12 Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).
Additional aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant are found in Genesis 15 and 17.
From the book of Genesis we learn:
Abraham (2166-1991 B.C.)* was called out and designated by God as the first Jew. The Lord made an unconditional covenant (The obligations would be fulfilled by God.) with Abraham. Abraham and Sarah had a son named Isaac (2065-1885 B.C.). And, Isaac and Rebecca had twin sons named Esau and Jacob (2005-1855 B.C.). God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Genesis 32:28-30).
The God of the Bible is a promise-keeping God. He will uphold this covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant contains land, descendants, and blessing.
The land promise is forever (Genesis 13:14, 15). Abraham’s descendants will be great in number (Genesis 13:16). All the earth will be blessed through Abraham’s descendants, and especially through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, by means of the lineage of Abraham (see Genesis 3:15; John 4:22; Galatians 3:8, 29).
Israel is special to God, His chosen people.
6 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).
Our Bible is a Jewish book, and our Savior is Jewish. Our Judeo-Christian values are derived from Jewish roots. God will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse Israel.
Currently, Israel is under attack physically, spiritually, and politically. On this day, thousands of Christians are praying for the protection of Israel. Let’s join our voices in these prayers and receive God’s blessing.
*Dates listed are approximate life spans utilizing sources of scholarly knowledge. Following Abraham, some dates from various trustworthy sources differ by a year or more.
Bible verses are taken from The New American Standard Bible, 1995.
Pastor Cecil Price
May 19, 2024