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Covenant People II
- David Brown
- Apr 26, 2009
- Series: Covenant People
Passage: Genesis 12:1-8
Covenant People 2
What does it mean to be “Covenant People”?
We leaned last week that a “Covenant” is a binding legal agreement between two or more parties for the purpose of mutual benefit. Ancient peoples made “blood covenants” with each other gaining the benefits of food, help, safety, support and partnership from one another.
We discovered that God made a ‘blood covenant” with Abraham.
James 2:23 says that when God called Abram to follow him and made him promises that “Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
Abraham was God’s friend…God’s Covenant partner!
He is set forth as an example of faith and friendship with God to the New Testament believer…and helps us understand being Covenant People!
Genesis 12:1-8
Abraham began calling on his Covenant Partner…God!
God made many promises to Abraham. (48, 7 or 8 here)
Remember a Covenant is for a purpose… mutual benefit.
Like all legitimate relationships, a covenant partnership must be a two way relationship…a win/win relationship.
Abraham was to receive relationship and blessing from God…and He and his Seed (family) were to be blessed with covenant blessings.
God was to receive a family who would be his Covenant People and who would produce Jesus, the Savior of the World!
All the families of the earth would be blessed!
Abraham’s Blessing
Abraham experienced three great blessings in life.
Righteousness (right standing with God)
Abundance (Gen. 13:2 Abraham was very rich..)
Health (or strength) (Through believing God’s promise he and Sarah received healing/strength to conceive and bear Isaac in their old age. After Sarah’s death, at age 140 Abraham married Keturah and had six more sons.)
We see God promising these same kinds of blessings to Abraham’s descendants…God’s Covenant People in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 28:1-13
Notice that God promised blessings to his Covenant People and that they were to bless him with their obedience, service and special relationship. It was a Win/Win situation…a 2 Way street relationship!
But if they broke the Covenant, curses were pronounced upon them as in all ancient blood covenants.
Deuteronomy 28:15-19
Curses of sickness, poverty, starvation, fear, marriage and family troubles, defeat in battle, death, unanswered prayer and separation from God would be allowed upon them if they did not keep covenant with God.
The New Covenant
If the New Covenant is better…it should include blessings too. The New Covenant extends Abraham’s blessing to Believers in Jesus!
Galatians 3:6-9
Notice that…We are children of Abraham.
(Abraham had two sets of Children of Promise…Descendants as the sand of the sea…and as the stars of the sky…terrestrial and celestial…natural and spiritual children!)
Also notice that…We are blessed with Abraham.
Galatians 3:13-14
Galatians 3:16 (and we are IN Christ.)
Galatians 3:29
“Heirs” = to have in your possession!
We have in our possession…the promise of Abraham’s blessing!
What did God promise?
“I will bless you…and you shall be a blessing!”
Genesis 12:2
We’re blessed with righteousness, abundance, health and we are empowered to be a blessing to God…and like Abraham… to all the families of the earth…
Abraham Produced the Savior.
We present the Savior!