New Union Baptist Church
Epic Part Four: Seeing The Big Picture Through God's Covenant With Abraham
Locations & Times
New Union Baptist Church
4060 Double S Rd, Dayton, TN 37321, USA
Sunday 8:30 AM
God is a loving God who keeps His promise to Abraham through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Genesis 12 God calls Abram to follow Him and live by faith
In Genesis 15 God makes a covenant with Abraham that he would have a son, and that through that son he would be the father to many nations.
In Genesis 16 Abram takes matters into his own hands. He and Sarai agree that he will sleep with Sarai’s handmade to have a child. She gets pregnant and Ishmael is born.
In Genesis 17 God calls Abram to pursue holiness and seals the covenant with the sign of circumcision in Abraham’s family from this point forward.
In Genesis 18 The Lord comes to Abraham and says that within a year Sarah will bear him a child, and Sarah laughs…
In Genesis 21 God keeps his promise and Isaac is born to Sarah
In Genesis 22 God tests the faith of Abraham by calling him to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering.
We must note that account of Abraham from Genesis 12-22 is bookended with God calling Abraham to act on his faith in both situations… Through Abraham’s obedience we see the truth of James 1:3–4 (ESV)
“3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
God’s testing has a purpose, and, like Butch Majors pointed out in our preaching class last Sunday night from these verses in James, that purpose is to strengthen and mature our faith.
In Genesis 12 God calls Abram to follow Him and live by faith
In Genesis 15 God makes a covenant with Abraham that he would have a son, and that through that son he would be the father to many nations.
In Genesis 16 Abram takes matters into his own hands. He and Sarai agree that he will sleep with Sarai’s handmade to have a child. She gets pregnant and Ishmael is born.
In Genesis 17 God calls Abram to pursue holiness and seals the covenant with the sign of circumcision in Abraham’s family from this point forward.
In Genesis 18 The Lord comes to Abraham and says that within a year Sarah will bear him a child, and Sarah laughs…
In Genesis 21 God keeps his promise and Isaac is born to Sarah
In Genesis 22 God tests the faith of Abraham by calling him to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering.
We must note that account of Abraham from Genesis 12-22 is bookended with God calling Abraham to act on his faith in both situations… Through Abraham’s obedience we see the truth of James 1:3–4 (ESV)
“3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
God’s testing has a purpose, and, like Butch Majors pointed out in our preaching class last Sunday night from these verses in James, that purpose is to strengthen and mature our faith.
The Big Picture: Covenant- God Makes A Covenant With Abraham
So far in scripture we have seen God make covenants, but we have not discussed them at length. There is an implied covenant with Adam. God makes a covenant with Noah in Genesis 8-9. Now we find God making a covenant with Abraham.
Throughout the rest of the Bible, the covenant that God makes with Abraham will be referenced, all the way through the New Testament. Through Jesus the NT teaches us that God has made a “New Covenant” through His blood. It’s is important that we make sure we understanding what covenant means:
"A covenant is “a solemn agreement between two or more parties, made binding by some sort of oath. What is mutually agreed upon is usually the future conduct of one or both of the parties concerned."Gary A. Herion, “Covenant,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 288.
Let’s look again at the covenant God made with Noah: God renewed his covenant with the whole earth, promising to never again destroy the earth again and giving the command for humanity and the earth to be fruitful and multiply.
With Abraham, God limits his covenant to the nation/ people that will come as a result of the promised birth of a son—Isaac. In each of the covenants there is a mediator, meaning that God is making a covenant with the individual on behalf of a larger group. With Noah, it was the world. With Abraham it is with all of those who like him have faith, and ultimately, those who through Christ are saved by their faith and the grace of God.
There are three provisions or promises in His covenant with Abraham.
First, God promises a land that is flowing with milk and honey. This is reminiscent of the garden of Eden.
Second, God promises a great nation, this is the guarantee of many offspring and descendants who become the nation of Israel, reminiscent of God’s command to be fruitful and multiply.
Third, God promises Abraham a blessing. “Not only will Abraham be blessed, but he would be a blessing. Through Abraham and the nation that comes forth from him, God will extend His blessing to all the families on the earth. He will be the mediator of blessing to the entire human family.” (Colson Center)
So far in scripture we have seen God make covenants, but we have not discussed them at length. There is an implied covenant with Adam. God makes a covenant with Noah in Genesis 8-9. Now we find God making a covenant with Abraham.
Throughout the rest of the Bible, the covenant that God makes with Abraham will be referenced, all the way through the New Testament. Through Jesus the NT teaches us that God has made a “New Covenant” through His blood. It’s is important that we make sure we understanding what covenant means:
"A covenant is “a solemn agreement between two or more parties, made binding by some sort of oath. What is mutually agreed upon is usually the future conduct of one or both of the parties concerned."Gary A. Herion, “Covenant,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 288.
Let’s look again at the covenant God made with Noah: God renewed his covenant with the whole earth, promising to never again destroy the earth again and giving the command for humanity and the earth to be fruitful and multiply.
With Abraham, God limits his covenant to the nation/ people that will come as a result of the promised birth of a son—Isaac. In each of the covenants there is a mediator, meaning that God is making a covenant with the individual on behalf of a larger group. With Noah, it was the world. With Abraham it is with all of those who like him have faith, and ultimately, those who through Christ are saved by their faith and the grace of God.
There are three provisions or promises in His covenant with Abraham.
First, God promises a land that is flowing with milk and honey. This is reminiscent of the garden of Eden.
Second, God promises a great nation, this is the guarantee of many offspring and descendants who become the nation of Israel, reminiscent of God’s command to be fruitful and multiply.
Third, God promises Abraham a blessing. “Not only will Abraham be blessed, but he would be a blessing. Through Abraham and the nation that comes forth from him, God will extend His blessing to all the families on the earth. He will be the mediator of blessing to the entire human family.” (Colson Center)
The blessing is not material wealth or even food for the needy, the blessing that God gives to the earth through Abraham is the blessing of salvation through Jesus Christ- life instead of death. When you hear someone tell you that you have been blessed to be a blessing, unless they are talking about you have been saved to share the Gospel with others, they have missed the point. God hasn’t given us money so we can give others money, because that promise is pointless for the poor. God has given us salvation through Christ, so that we could be like Jesus called us to be: “Fishers of men.” There are plenty of commands and examples that God gives us in Scripture for caring for the needy… But, if we miss this point.. if we miss that through His covenant with Abraham, God is setting the stage for the greatest blessing of all in Jesus Christ, we will miss the rest of the Bible. This is why Paul writes in Romans 4:13–25 (ESV)
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham is carried through to Isaac, Jacob, Israel, and then to all those who are heirs by faith in Christ to the same promise.
Psalm 105:8–11 (ESV) says that,
“8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
Through His covenant with Abraham God renews his covenant with creation and is undoing the effects of sin ultimately through Christ. Abraham is God’s response to the continued effect of sin. Abraham in many ways can be seen as the response to Babel. There is again a land to rule and subdue like in Genesis 1 and 2. There is the promise that Abraham will be fruitful and multiply to produce a great nation. It involves the blessing of life that was lost through the sin of Adam; that is now regained through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Ultimately, God’s covenant with Abraham points us to Jesus. The land, the nation, and the blessing are the undoing of sin. God is restoring what was lost in the garden of Eden. Through Christ we recover what was lost, we recover life, and experience an unbroken and eternal relationship with God through His never stopping, never giving up, un-breaking, always and forever love.
The story of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac points us to Christ. Isaac was a promised baby boy, and like it says in the Jesus Story Book Bible: “one day, God would send another baby, a baby promised to a girl who didn’t have a husband. But this baby would bring laughter to the whole world. This baby would be everyone’s dream come true.” And regarding the sacrifice of Isaac it says it this way: “Many years later, another Son would climb another hill, carrying wood on his back. Like Isaac, he would trust his Father and do what his Father asked. He wouldn’t struggle or run away. Who was he? God’s Son, his only Son—the Son he loved. The Lamb of God.”
The truth of God’s love for us is meant to be overwhelming.
I pray that unfolding plan of salvation through Christ leave us wanting to know more of God’s Word today.
I hope that the faithfulness of God will lead us to trust Him more and that the testing of our faith will produce steadfastness, and that steadfastness will have its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Psalm 105:8–11 (ESV) says that,
“8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
Through His covenant with Abraham God renews his covenant with creation and is undoing the effects of sin ultimately through Christ. Abraham is God’s response to the continued effect of sin. Abraham in many ways can be seen as the response to Babel. There is again a land to rule and subdue like in Genesis 1 and 2. There is the promise that Abraham will be fruitful and multiply to produce a great nation. It involves the blessing of life that was lost through the sin of Adam; that is now regained through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Ultimately, God’s covenant with Abraham points us to Jesus. The land, the nation, and the blessing are the undoing of sin. God is restoring what was lost in the garden of Eden. Through Christ we recover what was lost, we recover life, and experience an unbroken and eternal relationship with God through His never stopping, never giving up, un-breaking, always and forever love.
The story of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac points us to Christ. Isaac was a promised baby boy, and like it says in the Jesus Story Book Bible: “one day, God would send another baby, a baby promised to a girl who didn’t have a husband. But this baby would bring laughter to the whole world. This baby would be everyone’s dream come true.” And regarding the sacrifice of Isaac it says it this way: “Many years later, another Son would climb another hill, carrying wood on his back. Like Isaac, he would trust his Father and do what his Father asked. He wouldn’t struggle or run away. Who was he? God’s Son, his only Son—the Son he loved. The Lamb of God.”
The truth of God’s love for us is meant to be overwhelming.
I pray that unfolding plan of salvation through Christ leave us wanting to know more of God’s Word today.
I hope that the faithfulness of God will lead us to trust Him more and that the testing of our faith will produce steadfastness, and that steadfastness will have its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.