The Calling of Abraham (25)

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

The prediction of that covenant

When the Lord finally appears unto Abram, He tells him that in the fourth generation the people shall be led out hither and the Lord will come to rescue His people. After that the covenant was then established, “when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.”

It was common in the making of covenants that the parties went “between the pieces.” This also had a deep meaning. It was a visible preaching of what would happen if anyone would break the covenant. Everyone who did not keep the covenant was to be torn in pieces. The parties promised one another, as it were, “If I do not keep my promise, I am worthy to be cut in pieces.” So they did with covenant-making. However, in Genesis 15 we do not read that Abram went between the pieces, only that the Lord went “through that smoking furnace and that burning lamp.” That was a token, or sign, of the presence of the Lord. Only God went between the pieces, which means that only God established His covenant, a one-sided covenant because the Lord knew that Abram could never keep that promise or covenant. It is an eternal wonder that the Lord says, as it were, “If I do not keep My promises, then I will be cut in pieces.” Of course, that cannot happen, but it shows the preciousness and faithfulness of the promises and the covenant. The Lord is a God of promise and of the covenant, in which He promises to be faithful to His Church.

In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates.” Today, Israel can stake their claim to the land upon this promise—even “from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates,” which is an area much greater than the area which they occupy today.

This covenant also has a spiritual meaning as we can read in the explanation of Matthew Henry. The spiritual meaning speaks of an eternal covenant which was revealed in Scripture, the one and only eternal covenant between God and all His elect in Christ. We cannot explain this as only a temporal covenant with the promise of a lamb for Israel, but it is all fulfilled in Christ. In Christ, it is not only Israel but all nations, as the Lord spake unto Abram, “in thy seed all nations will be blessed.” The Church will be gathered from the four corners of the earth. The elect are not only from among the Jews, but they are also called from among the Gentiles.

The fulfillment of this covenant

The Lord would fulfill the promise of this covenant and give it to Abrams seed, but Abram never saw the fulfillment of it. The Lord knew this when the covenant was established because we read in verse 15, “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.” Abram himself had never seen the fulfillment of the covenant. He was a sojourner in the land of promise. He pitched his tent and offered sacrifices there, and he went from place to place but never saw the fulfillment. He lived there, but it was not his own land.

Let me give an example: immigrants who go to a new country are allowed to work or become residents; however, as long as they do not become citizens, they remain strangers in a strange land. So it was with Abram who received all those promises from the Lord, but he could not have one square inch of it to call his own. He could not say, “This is my land.” He could only say that the Lord had promised it to his seed.

The Lord knew that Abram was a man of a day and that he would not see the fulfillment of the promise but that He had something else in store for him just as He had for Moses. Moses never entered the promised land; God took him up to Mount Nebo where he showed him the entire land, but then he was privileged to go to the eternal Canaan, the heavenly fatherland.

Oh, how blessed are they who are prepared and are included in that eternal covenant and who have the experience of those promises, who also know something of the way in which the Lord fulfills His promises as He did for Abram. First Abram was humbled, a great deep sleep fell upon him, and a horror of great darkness fell upon him. That is the way the Lord instructs His people. In the first conviction they pass through a great horror where they see their sin and their guilt. They become sinners before God. Salvation becomes impossible from their side until it pleases the Lord to reveal that way in their lives. That way is only in the Mediator of the covenant, Jesus Christ. Then, what was impossible becomes possible. When the children of Israel were sighing and groaning under the slavery of the Egyptians, it seemed as though the Covenant of Grace would never be fulfilled. What would ever become of those promises? In Exodus 2, we can read how uncomfortable it had become for the people of Israel when they were sighing and groaning under the burden of service. “Then the Lord remembered His covenant when He heard the crying and groaning of His people.” Then He remembered his covenant with Abraham and what He had promised.

This is also true spiritually when a sinner groans and sighs and says, “Oh, Lord, is there still a way of redemption whereby such a wretch as I am can be delivered?” We can also read this in Leviticus 26:40-42, “If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers which they trespassed against Me, and that also they have walked contrary unto Me; and that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they accept the punishment of their iniquity: then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land.”

“Then will I remember ...” How different this is with so many in churches today where they speak of themselves as covenant children of a covenant God, etc. However, you never hear something of what God’s Word says here, “They then accept the punishment of their iniquity.” The Lord says, “Then ... then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.”

— To be continued —

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen