God’s Covenant with Abraham

Since so much of bible prophecy as I understand it from scripture hinges on God’s unconditional covenant with Abraham, I thought it was important to research that covenant and its implications as taught in scripture. So many people today have embraced “replacement theology,” the teaching that the church has replaced Israel; and I really don’t see how they can do that in light of scripture. Paul makes a powerful argument in Romans 9-11 that God has only set Israel aside for a time and fully intends to restore her to a position of blessing according to His covenant with Abraham. Old Testament scripture is full of prophecies regarding God’s preservation of a remnant of the nation of Israel that will one day enjoy a place of prominence among the nations when God establishes His kingdom on earth. Most important to the child of God today, God is a covenant-keeper; He embodies truth and cannot lie. If He is not faithful to keep His covenant with Israel, why should He be trusted to keep His promises to the church?

I have not done a study on this subject per se except as encountered in my verse by verse study through the scriptures. I will begin with what scripture tells us about God’s covenant with Abraham and His commitment to His word, followed up with a look at the Old Testament prophecies and closing with the study in Romans. I’m just a couple of posts ahead on this blog, so this will be a work in progress and may require some clarifications or backtracks etc. along the way.

We first encounter “Abram” in Genesis 11 as part of a listing of Shem’s descendants. We are told that Terah, Abram’s father, decides to uproot his family and take them out of Ur of the Chaldees. They got as far as Haran, and stayed there until Terah died. It would seem that Terah was aware of God’s proposal to his son according to the following verse.

Genesis 15:7 “And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.”

After his father’s death, Abram sets out for Canaan with his family.

Genesis 12:1–5 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.”

I am only going to focus on the narrative as it relates to the God’s covenant with Abram. At this point the LORD has promised to make Abram, who was childless, the father of a great nation that would be greatly blessed and would prove to be a blessing to all people on earth. He also promised to bless those that blessed Abram’s family and curse those that cursed them. At this point the covenant is conditional; it is based upon Abram taking His family to Canaan as God had told him to do. The narrative is clear in stating that Abram obeyed God’s command.