2) The Covenant with Abraham
The Call of Abraham and the Context of Nations
After the dispersement of nations at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, which symbolizes human pride and disobedience, Genesis 12 introduces a new beginning with God’s call to Abraham.
God Chooses Abraham
The covenant with Abraham, often explored in Genesis 12, 15, and 17, can be characterized as a royal grant, specifically focusing on land, progeny, and blessings. This type of covenant shares similarities with ancient Near Eastern practices where a sovereign grants specific privileges or territories to a loyal subject, often for the subject’s lifetime or to be inherited by his descendants.
The Covenant with Abraham becomes the foundation on which the rest of the covenants of the Bible will benefit all people. Abraham becomes the eternal father to all who recognize and follow God, placing their trust in His promises. As a believer today, you are part of a legacy of faith, joining countless others who trust that God is true to His word and His character. The Apostle Paul emphasized to the Gentiles that, despite not being Jewish by birth or conversion, they share the same faith as Abraham, our spiritual father. The covenant with Abraham represents the first covenant between the “father” of the chosen people and God, and subsequently all who choose to follow the God of Israel.
We can read about the covenant in Genesis 12, 15, and 17. Each of these chapters adds layers to the understanding of God's promises to Abraham and highlights different aspects of the covenant:
Now the LORD said to Abram, “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.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. (Genesis 12:1-9, ESV Bible)
Genesis 12:1-3 introduces God's initial call to Abram. God commands Abram to leave his homeland and his father's house for a land that God will show him. The promises include making Abram into a great nation, blessing him, making his name great, and blessing those who bless him while cursing those who curse him. Most importantly, through Abram, "all families of the earth shall be blessed." The blessing to all families of the earth is significant, especially after the story of the Tower of Babel, where humanity was not only scattered from each other but seemingly separated from God as well. This passage sets Abram apart as a central figure through whom God intends to enact a broad, universal plan of blessing and redemption to all people. The directive to leave his home emphasizes faith and obedience as pivotal themes in Abram's relationship with God.
In Genesis 15, God reassures Abram about His promises:
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, 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. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 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, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:1-21, ESV Bible)
In Genesis 15, God promises Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. To confirm this promise, God instructs Abraham to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a young pigeon. Abraham divides these animals in half, placing each half opposite the other, but he does not divide the birds. This arrangement was typical of ancient Near Eastern covenant rituals, often called "cutting a covenant," where parties of the agreement would pass between the pieces of sacrificed animals, signifying their commitment to the covenantal terms under threat of suffering the same fate as the animals if they broke the covenant.
In this dramatic scene, only God, represented by a smoking firepot and a blazing torch, passes between the animal halves. This act underscores that the covenant is fundamentally unilateral—God alone commits to fulfilling the promises regardless of Abraham's actions. This is a royal grant. The royal grant is primarily unilateral, meaning that the benefactor (in this case, God) makes promises based solely on his authority and decision without requiring the recipient (Abraham) to fulfill conditions to receive the initial promise. In reality, Abraham still “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham listened to God, believed His promises, and acted on his faith with conviction. In addition, God also promises Abraham a son through Sarah and extends the blessings to the yet-to-be-born Isaac, refining the line through which the covenantal promises will be realized.
Genesis 17 revisits and expands the covenant:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. 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.” (Genesis 17:1-14, ESV Bible)
God changes Abram's name to Abraham, signifying his new role as "the father of many nations." This chapter introduces the covenant of circumcision as a perpetual sign of the covenant between God and Abraham's descendants. Abraham and his descendants have one primary responsibility in maintaining the covenant: practicing circumcision as its sign.
The most tangible aspect of the Abrahamic covenant as a royal grant is the promise of land. In Genesis 15:18-21, God promises Abraham, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates." This promise delineates a specific geographical area that Abraham’s descendants would inherit. The granting of land is a typical feature of royal grants, where a king would assure territory to a vassal as a reward for loyalty or service.
In the covenant with Abraham, God promises that He will: Make Abraham a great nation, Bless Abraham, Make Abraham’s name great, Make Abraham a blessing to others, Bless the ones who will bless Abraham, Curse the ones who will curse Abraham, Cause all the families of the earth to be blessed through Abraham.
Like other royal grants, the covenant with Abraham is noted for its perpetual and unconditional nature. God commits to making Abraham the father of a great nation, increasing his descendants, and blessing them. This commitment is solely dependent on God’s graciousness and not conditioned by Abraham’s compliance with stipulations, which aligns with the nature of royal grants being essentially gracious acts by a sovereign. In other words, God chose to bless Abraham solely by His grace; Abraham did nothing to earn or deserve this blessing. While God's blessing to Abraham was based on grace, Abraham was still required to be obedient to God. His faith was demonstrated through his actions and obedience.
The covenant with Abraham was not unconditional on Abraham’s part. Abraham was required to leave his home in Ur and travel to the land God was going to show him. God continually tested Abraham’s allegiance and loyalty to Him. One example of Abraham's obedience is when God asked him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.:
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:15-18, ESV Bible)
Abraham is promised that he will be a "father of many nations" (Genesis 17:4) and that kings will come from him (Genesis 17:6). This aspect of the covenant elevates Abraham’s status, much like a royal grant that elevates the status of a vassal to a position of honor and authority. Additionally, God promises that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3), indicating that the blessings bestowed on Abraham will have universal implications, further highlighting the grandeur and broad scope typical of royal grants.
The Bible implies the covenant with Abraham when reading about Abraham’s son, Isaac. We see promises of land, descendants, and blessings in the covenant with Abraham. When reading about Isaac, these same promises to Abraham are reiterated and alluded to, indicating the continuation of the covenant. We see that the passing of the covenant was based on Abraham’s faithful obedience. For example, in Genesis 26:3-5, we read:
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Genesis 26:3-5, ESV Bible)
Abraham believed God. He trusted God would do what He said He would do. Abraham responds to God with faith and faithfulness, allegiance and loyalty. Biblical faith always results in the believer responding in allegiance and loyalty. Here is what the apostle James says about the faith of Abraham:
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:21-24, ESV Bible)
The “works” James describes here is not the same “works” mentioned by Paul in epistles such as Galatians or Romans. Paul speaks of works as identity markers for Jewishness. In other words, being Jewish. The “works” James mentions is action motivated by the relationship with God. It is a works that is motivates a believer to move in accordance with their allegiance and loyalty to God. Having faith that God will do what He says He will do is one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is the believer living a life of faithfulness to God, through allegiance and loyalty, and acting out their faith in God’s promises.
The covenant with Jacob is in Genesis 28 and Genesis 35. This covenant is a continuation of the covenant with Abraham. In Genesis 28:13-15, we see God appear to Jacob in a dream at Bethel and reaffirm the covenant previously made with Abraham and Isaac:
And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:13-15, ESV Bible)
In Genesis 35:11-12, Jacob returns to Bethel, and God appears to him again and reaffirms the covenant:
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” (Genesis 35:11-12, ESV Bible)
The covenant with Abraham was passed to Isaac, to Jacob and to all the children of Israel. It has no expiration date. Paul points out that even though God made later covenants with Israel, a later covenant does not set aside an early covenant:
To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. (Galatians 3:15-17, ESV Bible)
A later covenant does not annul an earlier covenant! This is especially important to understand. This is why the law of Moses and the Covenant made at Mount Sinai has not been cancelled (as commonly taught in some churches). It is also important to understand the beneficiaries of the covenants. Some Christian teaching has proposed that the covenants are in force, but the Jewish people are no longer beneficiaries. Instead, God has replaced them with the followers of Jesus. Consider the dangers of this line of thinking. If God replaces Israel, then he doesn’t even agree to keep His own part of the covenant. So it implies that He is a liar. And if God would break the covenant and replace Israel, then what would keep Him from doing the same with the followers of Jesus? Even if we see Israel as breaching the contract, so to speak, the ides of covenant faithfulness loses all meaning if one of the parties to the covenant can be kicked out and replaced with someone else. Gentiles and followers of Jesus benefit from the covenants God made with Israel. They do not however replace the Jewish people as the primary beneficiaries of the covenants. We serve a God who remains faithful to His word and to the people He makes promises to, Israel.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the covenant with Abraham exemplifies a royal grant in its provision of land, the perpetuity of the promises, and the unconditionality of God’s blessings. It establishes a foundational narrative that influences the rest of the biblical story, illustrating the themes of divine fidelity, chosenness, and intended blessing for all humanity.