The Covenant(s) with Abra(ha)m

This week we’ll continue our walk through the highlights of the Old Testament with “The Covenant(s) with Abra(ha)m” 

Genesis 15 and 17 involve two occasions in which God makes concrete, via visions and signs, his promises to Abram, and both of them involve God’s encouragement to trust his promises given as a part of his “call” (Genesis 12). 

In chapter 15, Abram (not yet Abraham) comes to God in his doubt. He’s childless, without land of his own, and concerned that his estate (which was significant) would pass to a servant in his household.

God responds with one of the great covenant moments in all of Scripture: in a vision, he “cuts” a covenant with Abram and passes through the severed halves of the animals himself, thereby making himself “liable” to the curses of the covenant. In effect, this says to Abram, “If I fail to make good on my promises to you, may what happened to these animals happen to me.” This, of course, includes the promise to grow a great nation from whom all would be blessed, which is, at the end of the day, a promise about Jesus. 

In chapter 17, God goes a step further, giving Abram a new name (Abraham), and a physical sign (rather than a vision) of his commitment to his promises in circumcision. “My covenant in your flesh,” he says, “is to be an everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:13). 

In both cases what was promised to Abram is made more explicit and more concrete—more sure. This is important because these promises are, both theologically and historically, the ground of salvation: they’re the “soil” from which the flower of Christ emerges who will take away the sin of the world.

And, most critically, they are promises of which God himself is the guarantor.

Scripture to consider:

• Gen. 15 & 17

  
  

Question for your kids

• I wonder: have you ever felt unsure about the things God says? Has what are some signs God has given us when we feel this way? (Hint: the Sacraments! Esp. baptism—“remember your baptism!”—and the Eucharist)

Peace,

Danny+