The Significance of the Abrahamic Covenant for Israel - Research Paper Example

? The Significance of the Abrahamic Covenant for Israel and Its Impact on My Life The Abrahamic Covenant refers tothe covenant, treaty or agreement that God made with Abraham about the latter’s becoming the father of a great nation – which is later known as Israel. The covenant is also about two other things: Abraham’s owning the land whose geographical limits are defined by God, and his receiving God’s blessings for all his future descendants. Thus, the covenant is actually about Abraham’s seed for his future generations, the land they would own and the blessings that God would bestow upon them (Leigh; Carson 44). Although the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, one of its aspects is in fact conditional – the Land aspect (Leigh). Nevertheless, whether unconditional or not, all three aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant bear a great significance to the nation and people of Israel and to my life as well. The Abrahamic Covenant is in fact stated in five major passages in the Old Testament Bible (Raddish 42). The first is in Genesis 12:1-3, 7, where God first showed favor to Abraham. This is followed by Genesis 13:14-17, where God expanded his promises to Abraham concerning his descendants and the land they will own in the future. The third passage is Genesis 15:1-21, where there is a formal binding of the covenant between God and Abraham. In the fourth passage, Genesis 17:1-14, the covenant was reaffirmed. Finally, in Genesis 22:16-18, the covenant was restated by God with finality, after Abraham has proven himself worthy by attempting to sacrifice his own son Isaac for God at Mt. Moriah. (42) It is a fact that there are three elements in the Abrahamic Covenant – the seed of Abraham, the universal blessings of God, and the land that Abraham’s descendants will own. In the course of time, these three elements of the Abrahamic Covenant eventually led to the formation of many other covenants through which two of the three elements – the seed of Abraham and the universal blessings of God on Abraham’s generations – were fulfilled. (Carson 44-46) One of the fulfilled elements of the Abrahamic Covenant is the Seed of Abraham or the birth of his multiple descendants, which God Himself helped to fulfill through a repeated renewal of the covenant with Abraham’s son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and, through Jacob, with Joseph (Leigh). With Abraham, God promised, “But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year” (Gn. 17:21). This particular promise God fulfilled when He tells Isaac, “Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you [and] I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Gn. 26:3-4). After Isaac has passed away, God renewed the covenant with Jacob when He tells the latter, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring [and] I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land” (Gn. 28:13-15). What Jacob may have perhaps did not anticipate or did not clearly understand was that when God said, “I will bring you back to this land,” He meant that the descendants of Jacob will first be enslaved in Egypt before they were to return to Israel. Nevertheless, with only his faith to guide him, Jacob repeated this to his son Joseph when he tells him, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land and there he blessed me and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers” (Gn. 48:3-4). The events that followed this included the famine in Israel which forced Joseph’s brothers to flee to Egypt, the slavery that the Israelites experienced under the Egyptian pharaoh, and their eventual deliverance through Moses. However, the ultimate success of the Seed aspect of the covenant comes before the exodus. This is stated in the Book of Exodus: “The Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them” (Ex. 1:7). Thus, perhaps through the multiplication of the Israelites in number, their identity as a nation strengthened and the exodus eventually happened. Thus, the fulfillment of the Seed aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant through the increase of the Israelite population was significant to Israel in that this particular event perhaps marked the beginning of a national consciousness and an assurance that, through their huge numbers, the people of Israel will never be erased from earth. Nevertheless, little did the Israelites know that only through their exodus, the second aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant – the Universal Blessing aspect – would be fulfilled. Because of the exodus, the Israelites were able to eventually settle in Israel, where eventually kingdoms were established. Nearly a thousand years passed when God renewed the Abrahamic Covenant through one of the direct descendants of Abraham and a king himself – David (Carson 45). The so-called Davidic Covenant is actually an extension of the first element of the Abrahamic Covenant – the universal blessings of God – where God Himself promised Abraham that “All peoples on earth will be blessed through [him]” (Gn. 12:3), and that “through [Abraham’s] offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Gn. 22:18). Nearly a millennium later, God tells David, through the prophet Nathan, “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom” (2 Sm. 7:12). Perhaps unknown to David during his time, this “kingdom” that God mentioned to him was more like the universal kingdom that the Savior will eventually establish in Israel. God further reiterates the eternal nature of this kingdom when He tells David, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Sm. 7:16). Little did David know when God renewed the covenant with him that this kingdom that God mentioned was universal in nature and that David’s line of descendants would eventually “continue and be established in the eternal throne of [the Savior] Jesus Christ” (Carson 45). Thus, Jesus Christ is the ultimate goal of the second aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. In fact, the fulfillment of the Universal Blessing aspect of the covenant was echoed by the Apostle Paul who confirms this by saying, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed…meaning one person, who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). Paul, therefore believed that the Seed aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant was primarily and ultimately for the purpose of Jesus Christ, and only secondarily for the many descendants of Abraham. Thus, the ultimate fulfillment of the first, as well as the second, element of the Abrahamic Covenant was through Jesus Christ. In fact, the prophets of the Old Testament have prophesied this fulfillment. According to Ezekiel, God said, “I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel [and that] there will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms” (Ez. 37:22). Furthermore, the prophet Ezekiel echoes this aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant when he says that the Son of David will establish “[God’s] sanctuary among them [people of Israel] forever” (Ez. 37:26). Moreover, the prophet Jeremiah says, “In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety [through] The LORD Our Righteous Savior” (Jer. 33:16). The Apostle Paul further confirmed this when he proclaimed the Gospel through Jesus Christ as he said, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Paul further stated the universality of the Gospel when he said, “God…announced the Gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you” (Gal. 3:8). Thus, in affirming Jesus’ universal role, Paul at the same time echoes the universality of the fatherhood of Abraham in Genesis 12:3: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through [Abraham].” These prophecies of the Old Testament prophets and the confirmation of the Apostle Paul of the role of Jesus Christ to the world all speak of one thing: Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Universal Blessing aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. How then is this fulfillment significant to Israel? Through Jesus Christ and his suffering, death and resurrection, Israel was saved – spiritually, that is. Moreover, the fact that the second aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant has universal significance somehow raises Israel’s status in the international world. Israel therefore, through Jesus Christ, has established her place in the world as the birthplace of Christianity, which somehow comprises a huge number of followers all over the world. Currently, there are more than two billion Christians in the world, which makes up around 33% of the world’s population. (Robinson) Nevertheless, the Universal Blessing aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant does not focus on anything physical like this world but is, as previously mentioned, rather “personal and spiritual” (Leigh). The kingdom that God mentioned to David and that Jesus Christ sought to establish is, after all, not the earthly kingdom of people in this world but one which is spiritual, as Jesus Himself said, “My kingdom is not of this world [and] is from another place” (Jn. 18:36). This means only one thing – that eventually the fulfillment of the Universal Blessing aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant is not Jesus Christ per se but the establishment of Jesus Christ’s spiritual kingdom. The spiritual nature of Christ’s kingdom is somehow explained by Paul in the First Book of Corinthians when he said “that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:50). The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews further reiterates the spirituality of the kingdom: “Instead, [the Israelites] were longing for a better country – a heavenly one [and] therefore God…has prepared a city for them” (Heb. 11:16). This means that it is the Israelites themselves who have asked God for this heavenly kingdom of Jesus Christ. What then is the significance of this heavenly kingdom to Israel? Perhaps it is a message of hope in the continuing territorial conflicts between Israel and Palestine. The message could mean that the conflict will eventually be resolved in God’s own time for after all, the lands that the Israelites and Palestinians are fighting for are actually only the earthly kingdom. Perhaps just like the Israelites in Egypt during Moses’ time, both the Israelites and Palestinians will eventually find their place on earth and later on, in heaven. The issue on territorial conflicts eventually brings us to the third and last aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant, which is the Land Aspect. So far, this is the only unfulfilled aspect of the covenant. Even though God has promised Abraham, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Gn. 12:7), and, “Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies” (Gn. 22:17), the territorial conflicts of Israel has spanned almost two millennia and have not reached an agreeable conclusion until now. This is because of the violation of the covenant itself. Although the nature of the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, the Land aspect of the covenant is somehow dependent on one condition – complete obedience to God, as stipulated in God’s covenant with Moses, or the Mosaic Covenant. God speaking to Moses in the Book of Exodus states, “Do not bow down before [your enemies’] gods or worship them or follow their practices [and] worship the LORD your God and his blessing will be your food and water” (Ex. 23:24-25). As God tells Moses this before the Israelites have reached the Promised Land, it simply means that this rule of obedience that God has set as a condition is in fact prerequisite to the attainment of the land. However, the Israelites have clearly violated firstly when they made a golden calf for them to worship. The conditional nature of the Land aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant then is echoed in the words of God Himself: “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book [and] when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin” (Ex. 32:33-34). The conditions are repeated in the Book of Deuteronomy when Moses said to the disobedient Israelites, “For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws…but if your heart turns away and you are not obedient…you will certainly be destroyed [and that] you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess” (Deut. 30:16-18). Furthermore, Joshua upon his death advises the Israelites, “If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God…the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you” (Josh. 23:16). These passages alone shows the conditionality of the Land aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant, and these passages alone also explains why the Israelites have not fully possessed in peace the land that God has prepared for them, and thus why this particular aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant has not been fulfilled until now. The history of Israel through the millennia that followed the time of Moses has been replete with acts of disobedience to the law that God has set with Moses (Leigh). These acts of disobedience have all been subjected to punishment as stated by the prophets of the Old Testament. The prophet Nehemiah said, “Our kings, our leaders and our ancestors did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands” (Neh. 9:34). The prophet Hosea said, “As at Adam, they [the Israelites] have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there” (Hos. 6:7). Moreover, the prophet Daniel said: “All Israel has transgressed your [God’s] law and turned away, refusing to obey you [and] therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses…have been poured out on us [Israelites], because we have sinned against you [God].” (Dan. 9:11) The reason for the punishment of Israel and the reason for the fact that the Land aspect of Abrahamic Covenant is therefore clear – the Israelites have been disobedient to the law and conditions set by God. Even until now, after millennia of disobedience, conflicts and punishment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are yet to settle territorial borders with the intervention of U.S. President Barrack Obama, amidst several instances of failure of Israeli-Palestinian talks (Epatko). The Land aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant may have long been forgotten by many Israelites, but its significance to the Israeli nation is certainly a call for obedience, not just to the laws of the state but more importantly to the laws that God Himself set forth millennia ago. Obedience to this law is the key to resolving the territorial conflicts that has plagued Israel for so long. If one were to ask me how my life was affected by the Abrahamic Covenant, I would say that the covenant mainly taught me three things. The first aspect, the Seed Aspect, taught me God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises, even after allowing His people to be held in Egypt in bondage for around 400 years. I myself had so many unanswered prayers as well as many failures in life despite the fact that I prayed for the fulfillment of these things. Nevertheless, the first aspect of the covenant has taught me that, through patience, God will soon grant all these prayers in His own way. Moreover, the second aspect of the covenant, the Universal Blessings aspect, has somehow taught me God’s justice and the universality of His love. I was sometimes thinking that God would favor one person over the other but eventually the covenant has made me believe that God indeed bestows favor on us all in almost equal ways. The problem somehow lies in the fact that humans tend to see the injustice first. Lastly, the third aspect of the covenant, the Land aspect, has somehow taught me that without obedience one cannot advance or succeed in life. The lesson on obedience that Israel faces is somehow the same thing that I am facing right now. I have to be honest with myself on what things in my life must be changed so that I can live my life better. If I decide to be completely obedient to my doctor, to my wife, to my country and to the laws of God, I believe nothing can go wrong. Top of Form Bottom of Form Works Cited 1 Corinthians. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. 2 Corinthians. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. 2 Samuel. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Carson, Ken. “Week 7: The Abrahamic Covenant.” 2008. Grace Institute for Biblical Leadership. 21 Aug 2011. Daniel. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Deuteronomy. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Epatko, Larisa. “On Mideast Talks, U.S. Moves to ‘Main Course.’” 2009. PBS News Hour. 21 Aug 2011. Exodus. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Ezekiel. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Galatians. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Genesis. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Hebrews. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Hosea. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. John. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Joshua. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Leigh, Ronald W. “Ancient Israel and the Abrahamic Covenant.” 2011. RonLeigh.com. 20 Aug 2011. Nehemiah. NIV Holy Bible. Textbook Ed., Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1980. Raddish, Rondell Mark. “The Relevance of the Abrahamic Covenant to Israel and the People of God based on its Form and Function as Viewed from the Old Testament.” 21 Aug 2011. Robinson, B. A. “Religions of the World: Number of Adherents; names of houses of worship; names of leaders; rates of growth.” 2009. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 21 Aug 2011. Read More