The Life of Abraham: The Covenant between God and Abraham (XIII)

Genesis 17:1-14

In the previous chapter we read about Hagar, who fled away from the tent of Sarai. In the desert of Shur the Lord spoke to her and told her to return and subject herself to her mistress. Since the return of Hagar and the birth of Ishmael, thirteen years have passed by. We should keep this in mind, because when we read these well known histories in God’s Word, then we so often forget that many years had passed since the Lord had spoken to the forefathers. How true it is for God’s children that they must live by faith, and not by beholding.

This is not pleasant to experience for the flesh, but it is the way of growing in faith. We can take the example out of daily life of a child who is fed by its mother and a child that is weaned. After the weaning there are greater intervals between the feedings for the child. So also it is often in spiritual life. A child of God who is only a short time on the way seeks continual communion with the Lord. When he may receive more assurance of faith, then there can be the quiet trusting in the Lord without craving for satisfaction of his feelings: “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Thirteen years had passed by since Ishmael was born, and we do not read of one special revelation of the Lord in those years. Is this because of God’s displeasure with his marriage with Hagar? We cannot give an answer to this, but it is possible! The Lord punishes the sin of His people on this side of the grave. But now the Lord appeared again to Abram as the unchangeable God of the covenant. We do not know how the Lord appeared to Abram, for we only read in v.22b, “And God went up from Abram.” God made Himself known to Abram as: “I am the Almighty God.” The Lord used the Hebrew name “El-Shaddai,” which means “God Almighty.” This the Lord revealed first, before He came with His requirements. Abram had to know that for an almighty God nothing is too wonderful. Even the age of Abram and Sarai was no hindrance for the Lord.

“Walk before Me and be thou perfect.”

What we find here is different from Genesis 15, where we hear only of the promises which the Lord would do. Here we have an addition, the other side of the covenant, regarding that which the Lord required of Abram: “Walk before Me and be thou perfect.” We know of Enoch and Noah, who walked with God. They lived in close communion with the Lord day by day. By nature this is not the case with us: we walk in darkness and sin. How sad it is when we do not feel this, because we do not know our misery. Still for everybody it is applicable that the Lord has a right to our life, because He is our Creator.

When the Lord gave this rule of life to Abram, then the Lord knew very well that man cannot walk before Him and be perfect. It is the experience of the Church through all ages that they have only a small beginning of the obedience which the Lord requires of them, although it is their desire to live holily before Him. But God is almighty and makes the unwilling willing and the disobedient obedient to Him. Did the Lord not write the gospel above His law? “I am the Lord thy God.”

What does it mean to walk before God? We may not explain this literally, that we must walk in such a path that the Lord can see us. Of course not! The meaning is: to act, to speak, to think in consciousness that God is omnipresent. How necessary for all of us to realize what our conduct really is before the Lord. This must be a warning for us, a terrifying thought when we are going our own ways in the world. Then we are not walking before the Lord, but according to the will of the devil. Everything is known to the Lord; His eyes go all over the world. He knows our sitting, standing, and going.

The Lord requires more of His servant: “Be thou perfect.” We hear so often: “Nobody is perfect.” This is used very often to cover up a shortcoming in our life. But it is true: nobody is perfect, especially in relation to our religious duties. At best it is: “God something and the world something.” We like to compromise: Christ and Belial. We do not want to give ourselves unconditionally to the Lord. To be perfect before God means also to be perfect for our neighbor. Then we do not want to look more than we really are. To be upright in the inner room, to lay our heart before the Lord and not to be like Adam, who tried to cover up his sin in self love, but “I confess to Thee, O God, all my sin.” Perfect means to lead an upright life before God and man. Who dares to say this? Every day the prayer is necessary: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” It is impossible for man to fulfill these requirements in his own strength, for even the saints have only a small beginning of obedience. To have this, we must be renewed after the image of Christ. The Lord’s requirement is as it is recorded in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Rev. Kersten wrote about good works, which is closely related with this: “Good works are a necessity; those delivered by Christ must perform them. Not, however, to merit heaven thereby. That has been accomplished by Christ, and by Him alone.”

As grounds for salvation, good works do not count. In the justification of a sinner before God, they are of no value whatever. But in sanctification they are indispensable. Faith without works is therefore dead (James 2:17,26). Faith works by love (Gal. 5:6). The Lord exhorts His people in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Today there is much emphasis that we should perform good works. This is according to God’s Word, because without sanctification we cannot appear before God. At the same time we have to speak a word of caution. Many ask to do good works, but they forget to say that we cannot do it in our own strength! The Bible teaches us that Christ is made unto wisdom, justification, sanctification and complete deliverance. From the moment of regeneration there is a desire to live holily before the Lord. Still, many times God’s people try in legalistic sanctification to do good works without Christ and do something themselves for the Lord and for themselves. He is legalistic who seeks in his own strength to keep the law of God.

True sanctification is the work of God in His people, which renews them and makes them active in faith. We are not under the law, but under grace. Thus the work of grace excludes the natural power of man. As we said before, even God’s children are caught, far too often, in the snares of the devil. Then they do not take refuge in Christ to be sanctified in Him. The consequence is that their souls are often in darkness.

“And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”

Upon the great requirements of the Lord to walk before Him and to be perfect follows a divine word of grace: “And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” The Lord had already made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15, but here it is renewed. It is God’s covenant; He is the Almighty God, willing and able to fulfill His promises. The covenant of grace is the execution of the covenant of redemption from eternity, which is made with Christ as the Head of the covenant. In essence, the covenant of grace and the covenant of redemption are one. There are two covenants related with the eternal state of men, but Arminius spoke of three. He made a real difference between the covenant of grace and the covenant of redemption, which has the consequence that the natural seed of Abram are also thought to be in the covenant of grace. This can be refuted when we think only of Ishmael, for the Lord said: “But My covenant I will make with Isaac.” No, it is only with the spiritual seed of Abram, to them only, that the benefits of the covenant are given. In the moment of His pleasure the Lord passes their soul, which is lying in the open field in their uncleanness and calls them: “In thy blood, live.” But also: “Yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou became Mine” (Ezekiel 16:8).

The making of the covenant and the receiving of the promises of the covenant can be so contested. In our feeling it can be that nothing is left and then the thought arises, “Has the Lord forgotten to be merciful? Have His promises an end from generation to generation?” Therefore the renewal of the covenant is so necessary for them, as it happened with Abram. This can happen under the preaching or under the administration of the sacraments, when the Lord gives an eye to behold the Mediator and gives a little assurance of His true love and faithfulness: “Though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Habakkuk 2:3).

When this was spoken to Abram, then he fell on his face to honor the Lord. God gave a new assurance that there was a covenant between Him and Abram. Man often forgets what he has promised, but the Lord will fulfill all His promises, although there are moments it seems so impossible. The promise was that Abram would become a father of many nations and also kings would be born in those generations. These words have been literally fulfilled: not only Israel became a strong nation, great in number, but also the nations which came forth from Ishmael, Esau, and the sons of Keturah, who are all the offspring of Abram. Think also of King David and his descendants. Especially we think of the promise that in Abram all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Out of Abram the Messiah was born, who is the Savior of all believers. In the spiritual sense Abram is the father of all the faithful from different nations, as Paul says in Romans 4:16, 17. This the Lord confirms.

As a pledge to assure Abram that it would happen, the Lord changed his name from Abram to Abraham. The Lord showed him in his new name that he would become the father of many nations. Abram means: “My father is exalted”; the name Abraham: “Father of a multitude.” The Lord changed the name of Abram, which is a confirmation of the covenant. This was necessary for the father of the faithful, but this is also important for all God’s people. Why? It is that they may receive the comfort from the things the Lord has given to them. So often there is doubt in their heart, and things can be so much covered that they lose all hope. It seems that God’s providence is in opposition to God’s promise. At God’s time the Lord gives light over His own work. Then they can say: “Thy will be done.”

“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call”

The covenant is not only made with Abraham, as we will call him from now on, but it will continue in the following generations, when his descendants walk according to God’s institutions. God is not only the God of Abraham, but also of his seed and of the following generations. This is mentioned by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost: “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). The Lord also includes the spiritual seed of Abraham in the covenant of grace. We can call this the continuation of the covenant.

Finally, the Lord added to it the promise of Canaan as an everlasting inheritance: “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” This word “everlasting” does not have the same meaning in English as it has in Hebrew, where it means extending beyond the reach of the eye, or a very long time, but not endless, as we see it. A good example is the wish spoken to King David and many other kings. We read in 1 Kings 1:31b: “Let my lord king David live for ever.” Several other such wishes are found in the Bible, which mean that the king may have a very long life.

The covenant of grace will be everlasting, from generation to generation, but Israel would not stay for ever in the promised land if they forsook the Lord, as is revealed in their history. As a punishment for their disobedience they went into exile. At the end of this temporal promise the Lord repeats: “And I will be thy God.” The main thing is to maintain the bond with God by walking in His institutions. Then the temporal and spiritual blessings will be maintained. When we have the Lord, then we have everything, much more than the world can ever offer us. How foolish it is to forsake the Lord!

To these promises was yet bound another duty, namely, the circumcision of all males in Abraham’s house, even his slaves. When a boy was eight days old, then this religious ceremony was to take place. One who willfully withdrew himself from this divine institution would lose his life as a covenant breaker. Next time, D.V., we will try to write a little more about this institution of the Lord under the Old Testament and what we now have under the New Testament.

Questions For:

The Life of Abraham XII.

1. The Lord required of Abram: “Walk before Me.” Try to find a few other places in the Bible where the same is expressed.

2. Mention all the promises and requirements of the Lord in the making of the covenant of grace.

3. Oriental people believe that a change of name is very important. Why is this? Give a few examples out of God’s Word of people whose names were changed.

4. Try to name the different nations which have come forth from Abraham.

5. Mention the sacraments of the Old Testament and the New Testament. When were they instituted? Why did the sacraments change in the New Testament?

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