Literally, a contract. In the Bible, an agreement between God and his people, in which God makes promises to his people and, usually, requires certain conduct from them. In the Old Testament, God made agreements with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. |  |
Image: Pixabay The story of Abraham and his descendants is found in the book of Genesis. We first meet him in Genesis chapter 11, although at this stage his name is Abram. There is very little detail about him apart from the fact that he was a shepherd and came from Ur in Mesopotamia - modern day Iraq - after which he and his family moved, with his father Terah, to Haran.
Abram and his family journeyed from Ur in modern-day Iraq to Israel via Syria
This was a polytheistic age, an age when people believed in and worshipped many gods. Yet within this atmosphere, Abram answers the call of God and it is because of this that he accepts and realises the reality of there being only one true God.
Abraham was the first person to recognise and worship the one God. And so, monotheism was born.
At the beginning of Genesis chapter 12, God asked Abram to leave his home and country and he makes Abram three promises: the promise of a relationship with God, numerous descendants and land (Genesis 12: 1-3).
Abraham was the first person to recognise and worship the one God. And so, monotheism was born.
At the beginning of Genesis chapter 12, God asked Abram to leave his home and country and he makes Abram three promises: the promise of a relationship with God, numerous descendants and land (Genesis 12: 1-3).
"I will make you a great nation
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you will be a blessing
I will bless those who bless you,
And whoever curses you I will curse;
And all the peoples of the earth
Will be blessed through you"
Abraham and his family Image: Wikipedia The only problem is that both Abram and his wife, Sarai (later called Sarah) are old people and childless. They will have to leave their homeland and they don't even know who this God is! They seem to be an almost impossible set of promises for God to keep. But the amazing fact about Abram is that he does what he is asked. Abram has to place his trust in this nameless God. Consequently, Abram has gone down in history as a man of tremendous faith. As a result of his obedience, God changes his name to Abraham, meaning father of the people, and they solemnly promise each other that God will give them a land, many descendents and special care. Abraham for his part promises that he will be obedient to God, worship him and circumcise his offspring as a sign of the covenant (a practice carried out by Jews to this day)
The important thing to learn here is the uniqueness of the Covenant relationship between God and Abraham. For the first time, we see the beginning of a 2-way relationship: God is doing something for Abraham, and Abraham is doing something for God. The blessings of God are passed on from one generation to another.
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