Outside of Jesus of Nazareth, Abraham is the most foundational human being written about in the Holy Bible.  In that the Bible was written to, for and about Israel, and in that he is the father of the Israelites, and in that he is called “the father of the faithful” (God’s true church which “lives by faith”), Abraham is the hub around which God’s family revolves both biologically and spiritually.  Because of these factors, Truth seekers need to know what He said about this extraordinary man.  The Lord’s premier statement about him is found in Genesis 17:4-7 where we find the Almighty saying to him: “As for Me, My covenant is with you, for you will be a father of many nations.  Because of this your name will no longer be Abram, but rather Abraham, for I have made you a father of many peoples.  I will make you very fruitful.  Nations will come from you and kings will come out of you.  I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an eternal covenant.  I will be a God to you and to your descendants after you.”  Note several things about this statement: 1) it concerns a covenant (contract) that was made solely on God’s initiative; 2) the covenant is eternal; 3) Abraham would be the father of many people and nations; 4) kings (national leaders) would be among his descendants; 5) the covenant would involve all of Abraham’s descendants.

In Hebrews 6:13-20 we find it written that this covenant was an EVERLASTING contract in that God swore with an OATH using Himself as surety.  In that it is impossible for Him to LIE, then the covenant is UNCHANGEABLE.  In that the covenant was eternal and unchangeable, IT MUST EXIST TODAY.  In Genesis 17 we are told that the covenant not only concerned uncountable massess of people, but also a considerable swath of real estate.  Because of Abraham’s obedience, God promises his biological descendants all of the land between the Euphrates River and the Nile River.  Overshadowing all of this, God’s covenant included the fact that He would: “… be a God unto you and to your seed after you in (throughout) their generations.”  The covenant would be in force as long as an Israelite existed.

We find then that the covenant God made with Abraham(Gen. 17:4-8), was then established in Isaac (Gen. 26:1-5) and ratified and confirmed to Jacob (Gen. 35:10-12).  And as we will see, it was later ratified in Joseph’s two sons, resulting in the founding of the two greatest nations in world history.

Special attention must be called to the fact that the Abrahamic Covenant was UNCONDITIONAL, meaning that it would be in effect regardless of what Abraham’s descendants did or did not do.  THE COVENANT STOOD ON ABRAHAM’S OBEDIENCE AND THE WORD OF GOD.

Abraham was promised an incredible number of descendants.  Symbolically, the number is represented by three known entities: the dust of the earth (Gen. 13:16), the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5) and the sand of the sea (Gen. 22:17), none of which can be numbered by man.  We are told that God knows the number of the stars and has NAMED EVERY ONE OF THEM.  We are also told that He has numbered the hairs of the heads of His people.

God later changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen. 35:10), meaning “power with God.”  From that time on his descendants who would inherit the promises God made to Abraham would be known as Israel.  Jacob had 12 sons; each was the head of his respective family (Gen. 35:22-26).  These families developed into the 12-tribed nation known as Israel.  Jacob, thereafter known as Israel, loved Joseph more than he loved his other children (Gen. 37:3).  Among the Israelites the eldest son held the most valued position within the family.  He received both the BIRTHRIGHT and the BLESSING of the firstborn (1 Chron. 5:1).  Rueben, Israel’s firstborn son, sinned against his father (Gen. 35:22), thereby disqualifying him from receiving the birthright and the blessing.  This left Israel the opportunity to award both of them to Joseph, the firstborn of Rachel.  This meant that, upon the death of the patriarch Israel, Joseph would become the head of the 12-tribed nation known as the “House of Israel.”

Later, as Israel (Jacob) was preparing to die, he gathered his 12 sons around him and prophesied over them, telling them what kind of people their descendants would become.  Lastly, Joseph brought his two sons–Manasseh the firstborn and Ephraim–before Israel for him to prophesy over them.  Israel prophesied that Ephraim would become a great company    (commonwealth) of people and that Manasseh would become a great nation (Gen. 48:13-20).  As history reveals, the descendants of Ephraim became the greatest commonwealth ever to exist on earth while Manasseh’s descendants became the greatest nation ever to exist on earth.  Upon pronouncing the future status of the two boys, their grandfather proclaimed: “And let my name (Israel) be on them.”  From that time on the name “Israel” would refer primarily to the descendants of those two boys.  An interesting aspect of this situation is that, by separating Joseph’s two sons relative to their divergent futures, Israel created another tribe.  Manasseh became the 13th tribe of Israel, a number that would become significant in the distant future.

Much of the history of the 13 tribes of Israel can be passed over at this point in that it is so well known by church people.  Therefore we will fast-forward past the nation’s deliverance from Egyptian slavery and focus on the time of their congregating at the foot of Mount Sinai (also called Mt. Horeb).

At Mt. Sinai God gave the descendants of Abraham, now called Israel, a code of Laws, statutes, judgments, commandments and ordinances, the latter of which ceased with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ (formerly known as “the Word”–Jn. 1:1-4,14).  The Kingdom of God in embryo, called Israel anciently and Christianity currently (not to be confused with Catholicism/Protestantism), was to be governed by these Laws, statutes, judgments and commandments (Exo. chapters 19-40).  Scripturally, that kingdom is referred to as the kingdom of heaven.  One must obey the Laws, etc. that govern the kingdom of heaven in order to inherit the Kingdom of God that Jesus will establish upon His return.  Jesus prayed to God, acknowledging that the Kingdom of God, which was then and is now in heaven, would one day come to earth (Mat. 6:10).  Note that Jesus referred to the kingdom of heaven as being on earth (Mat. 4:17; 5:10,19,20).  He would establish that kingdom on the Day of Pentecost approximately two years later.  Unless one is a member in good standing in the kingdom of heaven now, one cannot be a member of the future Kingdom of God for eternity.  As the Apostle Peter tells us, being in the kingdom of heaven does not guarantee salvation (1 Pet. 4:18).  As he said, only the righteous within God’s church will be saved, and they just barely.  Read All That Glitters.  Key word–Glitters.

Among the Israelites the Law, commandments, statutes, etc. established on Mt. Sinai covered every aspect of both national and personal life.  The social, financial, spiritual, agricultural and dietic rules of holy life were all addressed in God’s instructions.  According to the Words of the Lord, the keeping of these instructions would result in happiness, prosperity and success, along with freedom from sickness, failure, etc.  As the psalmist noted: “The Law of the Lord is perfect” (19:7).  From this point on all references to the governing statements of God will be summed up in two expressions: “the Law” and “the commandments.”

Some 400 years after God made His unconditional covenant with Abraham concerning his descendants, we find Him making a different kind of covenant with those descendants themselves.  At Mt. Sinai the people proclaimed en masse that whatever God said, they would do (Exo. 24:7).  This meant that this NATIONAL COVENANT was conditional, unlike the Abrahamic Covenant which was unconditional.  God’s National Covenant proclaimed at Mt. Sinai was made conditional upon the keeping of the Law, which He condensed into the Ten Commandments, along with the other statutes, etc.

The National Covenant centered around physical blessings and curses.  IF the Israelites kept God’s Law/commandments they would be blessed in everything they did wherever they did them–in the city, in the field, among their cattle.  They were assured victory over their enemies, health and prosperity.  However, if they did not keep His Law, the opposite would be true.  The National Covenant is summarized in clear, detailed language in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

But that was not all.  God promised Israel that if they persisted in breaking His Law He would punish them “seven times over.”  Biblically, a “time” sometimes refers to a year of days–360 days equals 360 years.  Such is the case in this instance.  Notice that God said “seven times,” meaning seven times 360 years–2520 years.  If Israel refused to obey their God He would banish them from their inherited homeland (the Promised/Holy Land) for 2520 years and scatter them throughout the heathen (Gentile) world like sheep without a shepherd (Lev. 26:28-46) where they would lose their true identity and their Israelite characteristics (the Law, their language and other social traits).  Over time they would become like the heathen among whom they lived.  They would eventually become known as Gentiles both to the world and to themselves.     L.J.