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The Calling of Abraham (5)

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The Calling of Abraham (5)

7 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

Rev. J.B. Zippro, Grand Rapids, MI

When the Lord drew Abram, this drawing was accompanied with promises so that the heart of Abram was made willing by the Lord and encouraged to go. Command and promises go together in God’s Word. So it is in common life; if a father wants his child to do something, he adds promises to it in order to encourage him to do the things he wants. So the Lord spoke after his command to leave everything behind: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee” (Genesis 12:2a). The Lord revealed Himself not only as the living God but also as a God of promises.

The Lord revealed Himself in this manner in the Old Testament as is evident already in Paradise. What did the Lord say to Adam and Eve immediately after the fall? Our children learn in catechism class that the first promise was made in Genesis 3:15 where the Lord said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This is the promise of all promises, or as we also call it, the mother of all promises. So it is here. “I will,” that is the revelation by God of the Covenant of Grace. How wonderful this was, that the Lord revealed Himself immediately after the fall, when our first parents had broken the Covenant of Works. They no longer wished to obey the Lord. They broke the Covenant of Works from their side, but the Lord did not break it from His side. The Lord still requires us to obey His commandments and follow Him when we hear His voice. He still upholds the Covenant of Works, which man broke from his side. This was Adam in his lost state. This was the first lost state.

In his well-known book, titled Human Nature in Its Fourfold State, Thomas Boston first describes the State of Paradise. There man was blessed with knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. This was a wonderful state without sin, but then through the disobedience of Adam and Eve by listening to the voice of Satan and by breaking the Covenant of Works, we have plunged ourselves into the second state. In this we revealed our desire to no longer serve the Lord. The Lord, however, is so merciful that even after our breaking the Covenant of Works, He offers another covenant. That covenant was not made at that exact moment, but this was a covenant which He had made from all eternity. This was the Covenant of Grace or Redemption which He made with His dear Son, the Mediator, and in His Son, all the elect. This is what we call the essence and the substance of the Covenant of Grace. The Lord reveals this covenant in this world, at His time.

There are different periods or administrations of the Covenant of Grace. We have learned this also in the catechism class. The first period of the administration of this covenant is from Adam to Abraham; the second period is from Abraham until Moses. Here in the life of Abram we have the beginning of the second period or administration of the Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Grace, or as it is sometimes called the Covenant of Life, is opened here with all of its treasure for a sinner.

What a wonder it would be also if, in our personal lives, we may enter and be partakers of that Covenant of Grace. That is not merely the result of baptism as so many think today. What is necessary, and how does that take place? In the inward calling we become a sinner before God. First there is a conviction of sin, until it pleases the Lord to shed His love abroad in the heart of such a sinner. Rev. Hellenbroek says in his Specimen of Divine Truths that the Lord will call the sinner and come to him with His promises and His goodness. Then the humbled sinner, who has been instructed by the Lord, who has been convicted by the law, and who has confessed his sin, may experience that wonderful moment when the gospel message is blessed to his heart. When the Covenant of Grace is opened for such a sinner, there may already be some of that faith that clings to the Lord and His promises.

The Lord’s promise is given here to Abram, “I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing.” If you count all the promises in verses 2 and 3 of Genesis 12, we see that there are actually seven promises in total. What a fullness this is for a sinner who has not deserved one of the least of His blessings but who has only deserved the curse of the law. Oh, Abram was a cursed man by nature, but the Lord made him a blessed person. “I will bless thee, I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing.” It is so great when the Lord says, “I will bless thee.” Bless thee with not only temporal blessings such as cattle, house, and fertility but above all the eternal blessing, which is a life with God; that is stated when the Lord says, “I will be with thee.” That blessing is everything. Oh, what is man without it? Without that blessing we are still cursed sinners on the way to eternal destruction.

Oh, my dear reader, take it to heart. Compare your life to that of Abram. Compare your heart to the heart of Abram. Are you still serving the world? Are you still serving idols? Are you satisfied with temporal blessings only? It is true that we need the Lord for temporal blessings, and He can also provide them in a life in His service, but that is not enough. It is not enough only to hear that we shall be a blessing and to have the blessing of children. Of course it is a blessing to have a family and your own home and to be able to provide for them, but how this pales before our need of an eternal blessing. What a wonder it is when our eyes may be opened and we can acknowledge the Lord for all His blessings but at the same time to cling to Him and to beg for that eternal blessing. To say, “Lord, without Thee my life is empty. I can have all that my heart desires, but what am I without Thee?”

Here in Abram we see such a blessed person. The Lord says, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee” (Genesis 12:3a). It is also a special promise. We see this fulfilled even in worldly people such as Pharaoh. Pharaoh entreated Abram well for Sarai’s sake. He entreated Abram well for her sake, and he had sheep, oxen, he-asses, men servants, and maid servants. But there follows, “The Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues. I will curse him that curseth thee.” It was Abrams guilt that he went to Egypt and said things that were not true, but even in these circumstances the Lord took care of him. Oh, what a blessed man Abram was.

— To be continued —

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