Wednesday: Covenant Stages
Gen: 12:1-2
In those two verses the first stage of God’s covenant promise to Abram (there are three) is revealed. God approached Abram, gave him a command, and then made him a promise. The approach expresses God’s gracious election of Abram to be the first major figure of His special covenant of grace. The command involves the test of total trust in God (Heb: 11:8). The promise (Gen: 12:1-3, Genesis 12:7), though made specifically to Abram’s descendants, ultimately includes a promise to the whole human race (Gen: 12:3, Gal: 3:6-9).
The second stage of God’s covenant with Abram appears in Genesis 15:7-18. In what verses do we find some of the same steps that appeared in the first stage?
The approach of God to man? Verses?
The call to human obedience? Verses?
The divine promise? Verses?
Image © Rolf Jansson at Goodsalt.com
In the solemn ritual of stage two, the Lord appeared to Abram and passed between the carefully arranged pieces of animals. Each of the three animals was slaughtered and divided and the two halves placed one against the other, with a space between. The birds were killed but not divided. Those entering into the covenant were to walk between the divided pieces, symbolically vowing perpetual obedience to the provisions thus solemnly agreed upon.
Describe what took place during the third and final stage of divine covenant making with Abraham. (See Gen: 17:1-14.)
The meaning of the name Abraham underscores God’s desire and design to save all peoples. The “many nations” would include both Jews and Gentiles. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that the true descendants of Abraham are those who have the faith of Abraham and who trust in the merits of the promised Messiah. (See Gal: 3:7, Galatians 3:29.) Thus, as far back as Abraham, the Lord’s intention was to save as many human beings as He could, whatever nations they lived in. No doubt, it’s no different today.
| Read Revelation 14:6-7, the first angel’s message. What parallels can you find between what the angel is saying and what happened in the Abrahamic covenant? In what ways are the issues the same? |
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One of the TV marketing companies used to run an advertisement selling various electrical goods. Their ads were quite popular as they were a bit different and the presenter had a bit of personality. And at the end of every advertisement the presenter would announce, "But there is more. Every purchaser will receive a free set of steak knives"; and the ad would go on to demonstrate how sharp these knives were. I, never purchased the goods from the firm that was doing the advertisement so I never received a set of steak knives, but I heard from others that the steak knives were the best part of the deal. The company passed into history but the expression, "But there is more! has entered the local language and you only need to mention it, to bring a smile to all those who remember the ad.
I had a similar reaction when I read the verses for this morning's lesson. I quoted this scripture earlier this week, before I had read ahead in the lesson. I want to draw attention to the very last bit of vs 2"
The "but there is more" moment in this quote is, "And you shall be a blessing!"
How often do we think about what we believe, the lifestyle we have adopted, and the covenant we have accepted as a blessing to others. It is not just a free addendum at the end of a sales pitch, it is the main agenda.
Why does the word obedience grate on my nerves? The Word of the LORD is full of the words obey and obedience, so I need to understand what they mean.
To me the word obey has negative connotations because it is usually connected with "or else bad things will happen to me". To me it means someone else is forcing me to do something I don't want to do, it is the opposite of choice and freewill.
And yet the LORD uses the O-word frequently even in connection with Abraham the great example of righteousness by faith. See texts below.
How did Princess Diana walk through a minefield without getting blown up? She followed the path laid out for her which had been cleared of mines.
This is what the LORD means when He says obey my Words, walk in my Way and you will be safe and happy.
It is still my choice to follow in His footsteps or not.
Obedience = Walk in the Way of the LORD!
Gen 26:5; Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Gen 18:19 For I have chosen him (Abraham), so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”
Micah 6:8. Now, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Shirley- Eph 6:1-2; Col 3:20 etc the Lord said children ought to obey their parents. When the Lord said these words it was for a reason. I can still hear my mother voice ringing in my head as well as the bible verses in my mind. As a teenager those words never meant anything to me because many teenagers know best and know everything. If and only if I had both listen to my mother and obey the person who had no high school/secondary school education as well as the bible, I might have been better today. The Lord always knows what is best for us.
I very much agree with you. I think obedience in the case of Abraham is more about trust - to act knowing that God is worth believing in. Also the lesson talks about God giving Abraham a command, but I think it was more of an offer. Abraham could have decided he didn't want it, but he knew enough to accept it and trust God. Though he certainly wasn't perfect, as we see from different passages in Genesis.
Do those who obey the traffic laws grate on your nerves when you are out on the road? Obedience to God means to be holy, harmless and blameless. Our reaction to the command to "obey" depends upon our knowledge of God and of ourselves.
Also, the call to obey serves notice that opposing ideas exist, and one of those is in rebellion against the Sovereign and His government, and in the end this rebellion will be put down for good. So the command to obey is revealing the way to Life.
Concerning the commandments to obey, the Psalmist writes: "The Law of the LORD is perfect...moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward."(Ps 19:7,11). Think of obedience as being similar to boarding the ark and being saved from the flood. How many wished they had entered the ark once the rain started falling?!
Hi Robert,
I don't have a problem with Obey & Obedience when I understand what it really means.
the word "obedience" is used 24 times in the NKJV...the word " walk" is used 338 times in NKJV...the word "faith" is used 391 times in the NKJV...the word "law" is used 600 times in the NKJV...maybe we are confused about our "walk" because we are trying to live a life of "obedience" rather than a life of "faith" to the "law".
Yes, Mark, and the words "heart" and "love" are used for a total 1223 times in MKJV. Love is used more times in the Book of the Covenant - Deuteronomy than any other book in the Bible except Psalms, Hosea, John, 1John.
This is what obey/obedience means - to love the LORD, to allow Him to create in us a new heart, to be transformed into His image. He says "I am the LORD who sanctifies you"
Deut 6:5-6. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart!
The spirit of bondage is engendered by seeking to live in accordance with legal religion, through striving to fulfill the claims of the law in our own strength. There is hope for us only as we come under the Abrahamic covenant, which is the covenant of grace by faith in Christ Jesus. The gospel preached to Abraham, through which he had hope, was the same gospel that is preached to us today, through which we have hope. Abraham looked unto Jesus, who is also the Author and the Finisher of our faith.—Ellen G. White Comments, in The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1077
Yes, Mark, absolutely our characters are not changed through our own power but by the LORD.
What wonderful promises He has given us - that we may partake of the divine nature - these verses are the gospel, what it really means to be saved.
2Pe 1:2-4 MKJV Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, (3) according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue, (4) through which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
I'm glad to know I'm not alone. That reaction may be due to the emphasis placed on obedience in our history (obey all 10 Commandments.) I like how William Earnhardt showed the Hebrew word is more often translated "listen" which is more relational. "Obey" seeks the minimum, love seeks far more.
In a Guideposts article by Elizabeth Sherrill, "The Secret of Sixty Years [of marriage]," I found this idea that makes the word obedience much more palatable to me: "In 1965 I went on a weekend silent retreat at a monastery overlooking the Hudson River. We were to silence our voices, the monk leading the retreat told us, in order to hear God’s. 'The Latin word for hearing,' he said, 'is audire. It’s the root of our English word obedience. To obey God means to hear him.' Obey…this word [in my marriage vows]I’d resisted so long? And rightly, I’m sure, if obey means the imposition of one person’s will on another. But suppose there was an older, deeper, truer meaning. Suppose 'love, honor and hear' were, in fact, the best promises any bride could make to her husband.
"That weekend I began to grasp how hard it is to hear—really hear! Whether it’s God’s voice we’re listening for or another human being’s, how our own fears, assumptions and expectations get in the way!"
We need to get prepared. The world is in pain! "As a woman about to give birth." Jesus has not come yet because christians need more of the Holy Spirit! Which part of God's covenant are we missing? May God have mercy and place in us a new heart, so we can fulfill our part of the covenant and hurry Jesus return! We are all too busy trying to survive!
For God so love the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish...
John 3:16-17.
Covenant: 3 Stages
'The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that the true descendants of Abraham are those who have the faith of Abraham and who trust in the merits of the promised Messiah. Galatians 3:7,29.)'
I met a woman at work yesterday and as I was witnessing to her about Jesus and his love for her, she asked me- will Jesus love her seeing she is a Jewish woman and he husband is a catholic? I said to her, Jesus loves all despite the color of our skin, whether male or female, rich or poor, the educated or ignorant. The word 'whosoever believes in him' includes any and all nations who believes. The vilest sinners.
As Abraham, so the Lord had spoken to many, many in our times with this three stage covenant. I knew he did to me and I am still seeing the fulfilment of the promise.
Something caught my attention as I ready through yesterday’s lesson and its bible references. The name-change, which God introduced, came after He established His relationship with those He selected.
Abram and Jacob had interacted with their God by faith for a while, were found worthy after demonstrating their desire to do His Will, and so found their names changed in relation to what the Father’s plan was to benefit mankind through them. Faith expressed in action is mankind’s only means to maintain the relationship with our heavenly Father.
It is God who initiates all his relationships; responding by faith to engage in the offered God/man relationship secured for Abram, Jacob and their offspring the Father's promises as their faith-based relationship was confirmed and manifested by God’s Covenants.
Our God is also God of precision-timing and purpose; He never makes ‘mistakes’, ever, though He has regrets! Every choice He makes is based on His Omniscience; only He knows the full extend of His work on behalf of humankind’s Redemption.
I noticed that Gen.17:4-5KJV is expressed in the affirmative, declaring: ”As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a ‘father’ of many (a multitude) of nations. Neither shall thy name any more be Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham (father of a great multitude); for a father of many nations have I made thee.
At that moment, God declared His decision to Abram; He stated as a promise to do that which He declared He will do.
As I see it, God saw in Abraham His willing vessel and continued with His Plan to rescue humanity. Unfortunately, the Israelites religious leadership's exclusive focus of their nation being born from Abraham’s 'physical seed’ became an obstacle to their willingness to accept Christ Jesus’ Gospel of the faith-based, spiritual kingdom of God which includes people from all nations; and so they deemed it prudent to reject Him as their Messiah and God, because He refused to be the king of the physcial nation of Israel and accused Him of blasphemy.
Gal.2:16KJV speaks to by who’s faith we are justified: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ, even we [Paul and the Apostles being the seed of Abraham] have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
I think that the believers in Christ’s saving message are of *Christ’s faith*, the meaning of ‘faith’ being synonymous with that which He taught was the Will of His Father; this *Faith* depicting His and the Father’s Will as being one.
Yes, Abraham’s faith was counted to him as Righteousness before the Law was given and was a pure faith; and so is ours as we wait for God's spirtual promises to become manifest. But his seed was placed under God’s written Law. Christ Jesus condensed the essence/purpose of this Law to: ‘loving your Father with all your being and doing His will instead of your own – Mark12:29-31KJV.
Why does God choose Abram at this time? Why does He call Abram out of his homeland and away from family and friends? Is it God's way to impose His will on just anyone, or is God selective in whom He calls? What do we learn from James 4:8 and Jer 29:13? We might conclude that of all men, Abram alone was seeking God while others were turning from Him, because God seeks to draw all to Himself that He might save them(Acts 17:26-28).
14 years after Ishmael was born, God comes again to confirm His covenant with Abraham, revealing that Ishmael is not the son of promise. In this God is defining the true meaning of faith which does not presume, but leads one to trust in and wait upon the Lord to “bring it to pass”(Ps 37:5). Circumcision was a reminder of Abram's unbelief and presumption. Without this transgression, it would have never become a statute.
Consider the hierarchy established here by God, that the man, not the woman(who had first suggested the act of presumption) was made accountable for the transgression.
What is the connection between the everlasting covenant and the first angel's message of Rev 14:6,7? Obedience to the government of God has been the “whole matter”(Eccl 12:13) since the fall, and the everlasting covenant keeps this before all who accept it. The final message to the world will bring this issue to the forefront one last time. Perfect obedience is the result of having been “saved by grace through faith”.