USG Part 3: Abraham & Covenant
Humanity destroyed all the “goodness” of perfection with a single choice. It was a deliberate betrayal. Adam and Eve subjected themselves to the deception of the ancient serpent and they actually believed that God could not be trusted. Though the tragedy of this is still very much a part of our present experience through the sufferings, the pain, the decay, and the spiritual oppression that the Devil afflicts us with; there was a primordial promise some theologians call the “porto-evangel” that promises a way out from this curse that banned humanity from Eden. This term Proto-evangel is just a big word for the first appearance of God’s plan for redemption.
This redemption is seen through the promise of the seed of the woman crushing the head of the seed of the serpent. As we touched on before, this seed is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth who was born of the virgin Mary. She would conceive “Emmanuel” through the Holy Spirit and not the seed of any man. The Biblical narrative traces the storyline of the promised child starting with Eve’s third son Seth and continuing through Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It will be clarified further through the blessing to the tribe of Judah and the promise to King David, which culminates in Jesus at the Cross. After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the father sends the Holy Spirit in order that the Church might partner in the Great Commission as we await Jesus’ Return, the New Jerusalem, and ultimately the restoration of all things. As the story continues, God’s plan comes into focus and into view. At each critical junction, the Lord provides greater clarity for his plan. God has selected a family, Israel, to carry his promises forward and to serve as the vehicle of redemption for the whole earth.
Abraham: God’s Plan Unveiled
Abraham’s family originates in Ur of the Chaldees. His father, Terah, initiates a move to Canaan along with Abram and Lot, Abram’s nephew (his father Haran died in Ur). Of course, we will learn later that though this is the human perspective because YHWH will take credit for this move when he says, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans” (Gen 15:7). At any rate, Terah chooses to settle in Haran rather than complete the journey to Canaan.
Terah took Abram … Lot … and Sarai … and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. (Gen 11:31)
Here is where the great scandal of God’s unrelenting love and commitment takes shape; the longing of the Creator to restore it all back to how He designed it. His method can be observed through the relationship He initiated with Abram. In fact, we can see that the Biblical authors emphasize this particular relationship over the greatness of creation and the depravity of mankind. In his book Encountering the book of Genesis, Bill Arnold states, “It is a fascinating fact that Genesis devotes only two chapters to the creation of the world, one to the fall of Adam and Eve from sinless Paradise, but over thirteen chapters to the account of Abram (71).” In this account we become enchanted by the pursuit of the Creator and His covenant with mankind.
Abram was married to Sarai ever since he lived in Ur and she happens to be barren. This was terrible in the ancient world since children typically were the caregivers when the parents grew old. As you know, God will later promise to open this womb, but since it will take a long time and they were getting quite old, Sarai will offer Hagar to Abraham to remedy their lack of children, which was customary in their time. In their laws, they either used a slave girl or a prostitute to provide a son.
The diverse civilizations of the Ancient Near East (ANE) had many common threads that unified them. Though they were much less connected than we are in this globalized world, they still influenced one another in their religious and cultural practices. This is evident in the epic Mesopotamian tales of creation and the flood, the commonalities in the cuneiform/language, and their shared religious icons. Now, concerning Abram and his experience with YHWH, we can observe a vivid expression of God’s relevance; He chose to use a method that Abram would understand to establish a relationship that was not previously there. This method was a cultural practice that was common in the ANE called a suzerain covenant.
After the death of the Patriarch Terah, God initiates a divine call to Abram, which will become central to the bible due to the covenant that was cut. The main point of this covenant was the promise of land, people, and presence. This is central to the plan for redemption.
Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:1-3)
Historical Background of “Covenant”
The suzerain covenants were granted by independent and powerful overlords to dependent and weaker vassals, guaranteeing them certain benefits including protection. In return the vassal was obligated to keep specific stipulations certifying loyalty to the suzerain alone. The covenant law paralleled the so called suzerainty covenants of the ancient world, especially those of the Hittites.
The Hittites are therefore precursors to the biblical concept of covenant, which they called išḫiul. Although it may seem romantic to think that this idea of bérit, or covenant, was of heavenly origin, the truth is actually much richer: God is relevant. The ANE used this concept of legal practice to such an extent that Abram would have been relatively acquainted with it. Both the Hittite išḫiul and biblical bérit were legal arrangements among two parties that would forge a new loyalty while establishing clear roles in this new relationship. Thus, at the very core, these covenants provided an opportunity for a vassal to be invited into a relationship that had not previously existed.
In the case of God and humanity, the natural relationship that came about by creation has been devastated by human rebellion against God and by God’s destroying the world. A fresh relationship therefore needed to be established through God’s covenant. The story of God’s covenant with Abraham begins to unfold in Genesis 12:1-9. We observe that this first encounter that Abram had with YHWH was of epic proportions. God initiates a relationship with Abram by declaring an unconditional promise of giving him land and making a great nation out of him.
Our great patriarch confidently responds to a promise from a God he had never encountered before. It is here that we can draw contrast between the audacity of the Babylonians who built their tower to make a name for themselves, and the humility of Abram who was granted a great name without the aggression of pursuing it. He was chosen not because he is powerful or a great warrior, but he comes to him because of his FAITH. He was crazy enough to believe a God who was not popular, and follow him to a land that he did not know. The Lord was searching for a heart who would believe/trust him contrary to Adam and Eve who did not believe him.
Having established an unconditional promise through this covenant, God ensures that any greatness that Abraham might attain cannot be credited to human effort —Abraham’s greatness will be a witness of God’s power to protect and fulfill his promise. This is not to say that one must be passive in order to experience blessing, rather it is a statement of the truth that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Consider for a moment how difficult this decision would have been for Abram to leave behind his father’s house and to journey into a foreign land – not knowing where he would go or what he would do there. God had given him a promise in Genesis 12:2 saying “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Trusting in God’s promise, Abram set out in obedience to God. The introduction of the promise began with the divine imperative of leaving Haran and initiating the life of a sojourner. No ritual is depicted in Genesis 12 to evidence the ceremonial similarity with suzerain covenants; for this we turn to Genesis 15.
Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 15
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces (Gen 15:17).
The ceremony is quite a colorful ordeal. Most striking of it all is how the creator God subjects himself to be reduced with the bloodied animals if he doesn’t keep his end of the deal. Some argue that God cursed himself if he ever retracted his promise to Abraham. Whether or not God subjected himself to a curse is a theological argument that is simply irrelevant to the main point of the text, which is that God made a one-sided deal with Abraham— a specific plot of land, innumerable offspring, and a promise that blessing would flow from him to all the nations. God cutting a covenant with Abram was clearly intended to establish an official ratification of the unconditional promise.
He said to him, “Bring me a heifer… a female goat … a ram … a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half… On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates (Gen 15:9-18)
Abram’s quest is not without mystery. As they sojourned awaiting the promise, they tried to determine how the promise would fulfill and began to take matters into their own hands. Yet, even in their delineation from God’s ultimate plan, the unconditional promise was maintained to the point that the blessing extended to Hagar and Ishmael.
Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 17
In Genesis 15, we observed how God agreed to this covenant with Abram; but in Genesis 17, after Abraham’s act of unbelief, God showed beyond doubt that he will be faithful to this promise. Genesis 17 thus introduces the third theophany in which Abram and Sarah receive similar but different names. These new names were given by God to affirm what He committed to bring about in their future. The suzerain giving new names to the vassal was a common covenantal practice in the establishment of a new relationship.
This Abrahamic covenantal theophany however introduces the first requirements for Abraham as a sign of agreement wit the unconditional promise. That is, not only is God making a promise, but now something is required in order to receive the promise: circumcision. From this time on, “circumcision” and “covenant” became synonymous in Jewish tradition.
Behold, my covenant is with you… I will give to you and to your offspring after you…all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”… “As for you, you shall keep my covenant… Every male among you shall be circumcised… it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you… So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Gen 17:4-14).
Circumcision is an interesting requirement being that this is supposed to be a sign that differentiates those who are taking part in the Abrahamic covenant from the rest of the world. Yet, history reveals to us that circumcision was a common practice in the ANE. This again speaks of God’s desire to reveal Himself in the relevance of what we experience and know. God gave new meaning to a common social custom. This outward sign becomes the concrete way that identifies participants of the covenant, until Jesus ushers in the superior circumcision of heart. But we will get to that later.
“Abram is dependent on the Lord to achieve the promises; he only has the divine word to rely on. Abram is the passive recipient of the divine will. His status in the arrangement between the two parties is illustrated when the covenant is formally ratified (15:8–15). Abram is a witness to the covenant ceremony, not a participant (15:17); only the Lord (symbolized by the firepot) passes through the animal parts. Circumcision (17:11–13) and the offering of Isaac (22:16–18) are not covenant prerequisites for Abram to enter into covenant; rather these are obedient steps of faith, which assume an existing commitment already made by God (12:1–3; 15:6, 18; cf. Jas 2:20–24).”
K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26 (vol. 1B; The New American Commentary; Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 104–106.
Conclusion
According to Hebrews 11, Abraham is still awaiting the fulfillment of the promise that YHWH gave to him. That his decendenets would posess the Land, etc.. He lived as nomad, though he was wealthy enough to build a great city for himself and his servants, he refused to do so. No, he was believing and waiting for the city whose builder and maker is YHWH.
Abraham received a promise for the land of Canaan and for descendants as numerous as the stars. The letter to the Hebrews tells us that though they never received the promise, he didn’t waver. Though he greeted the promise at a distance in purchasing a small plot of land for burial and giving birth to Isaac, the fullness of the promise simply did not arrive in Abraham’s lifetime. Yet, he went to his grave peacefully, which means that he came to the end of his life with a sense of contentment and fulfillment. We can now see that God has indeed been faithful to the covenant and continues to reveal His faithfulness through the life of every saint who embarks on the journey of faith.
When one considers the gravity of offense that distrust and disobedience caused against the Almighty One, it is difficult to make sense of His scandalous pursuit of humanity. Yet, this is what we can observe in the story of covenant. It was utterly God’s initiation to create a way to restore all things. There was no covenant prior to the Noahic covenant due to the fact that covenants are arrangements made between two parties that were not in relationship. It causes one to reflect on the goal of justification and sanctification, which in many ways reflects our participation in the New Covenant. The goal of being made holy is not the act of looking or acting different than others. The goal of being transformed has everything to do with restoring what was lost in Eden: fellowship with God – a delightful exchange of love.
Peering into the life of Abraham and the quest he embarked on highlights much about the way we ought to live our lives. We ought to walk in his footsteps and not waver at the promise of a kingdom yet to come. In the darkness of this side, where evil and affliction prevail, we must see ourselves as citizens of the Holy City whose builder and maker is God. This produces an outcry of prayer and works of justice that pries at heaven’s gates, longing for the return of Messiah; longing for the restoration of all things. Oh to regain that ceaseless exchange of delight between creation and Creator, the hope of our glory. Oh for the day when all nations will worship YHWH exclusively for His marvelous deeds and merciful love. That is the hope that I’m willing to sojourn for.
