Covenant Procedure

When we view the covenant God made with Abraham, we learn many things concerning the way God made covenant that differed from the way mortals made covenant. Covenant making was so much a part of people's lives it was way of relating with one another in individual contacts as well as a city with another city. Areas were forming into nations and covenant making was the basis of government. At the closing of this historical period, Abraham comes on the scene. The life of Abraham is a wonderful study of God in action with man. While Abraham was the only man approached to cut covenant with God, we learn much of not only covenant making but of God ways with us. God’s way of using time is not our way.

God's covenant with Abraham was over a period of about 40 years. From the time that God approached Abraham with covenant language until the covenant was anchored into this realm and God could use it for His purpose, was at least 40 years and could have been more. This shows the patience of God in achieving His purpose. God is looking at the goal and we mortals are looking at the circumstances of the process! Abraham became impatient after 11 years had passed and when Sarah gave up hope and suggested Hagar give him a son, Abraham felt he could help God with this solution. When Abraham was 86, Ishmael was born.

This passage shows us that God really doesn't need our idea of helping. He is quite capable of doing exactly what He says and will do so…in His own way and time. We often have to meet the consequences of our “helping” and realize our actions have set them in motion. When God sent judgment against Israel for transgression against God’s Law, He used descendants of Ishmael. Assyria and Babylon were used by God to destroy and punish the tribes of Israel. Now modern Israel and America are finding those same descendants as a threatening cloud of judgment.

Thirteen years after Ishmael was born, God came to Abraham and deepened the covenant. God reaffirms His covenant promise to him and He continues the covenant procedure that was started 24 years before. The exchange of names was a common part of the making of covenant. Genesis 17:1-7 (NLT) 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” 3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! 7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

God became the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (These men were at the end of God’s dealing with a “family line”. When Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, God began His dealing with His “nation”. When Jesus came and cut a New Covenant, God began His dealing with His Church.) To Abram, God added the breath sound of His Holy Name YHWH by adding the Hebrew H changing his name to Abraham. The meaning also changed from “exalted father” to “a father of many”. In verse 15, God adds the same sound to Sarai’s name making it Sarah. This changed the meaning of her name to “princess”.
God also brought in the necessary “sign” of covenant procedure. Genesis 17:9-14 (New Living Translation) 9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”
Circumcision was a sign of this covenant and also the first shedding of blood by a participant in the blood covenant. In the usual order of covenant between two mortals, a cut (usually in the wrist area) drew blood that was used in the signing of the covenant treaty. In some way, a man’s mark (signature) in his own blood was given to the covenant partner as a testament of covenant while the clearly visible scar was the sign of covenant. In later years when a written language was common, the entire declaration of purpose was written out and a copy was given to each of the partners signed by the other in his own blood. A covenant was not a treaty, or a contract or a promise. It was a pledge unto death and continued on for as many generations as was declared but never less than three. We see God has set the time period. Psalm 105:8-10 He remembers his covenant forever, the word He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.

Abraham’s understanding of covenant made the changes that God demanded very important to him. He realized his covenant was with a holy, majestic, and eternal God. His reverent response to God’s covenant demand was immediate. He was also learning that while God’s method or way of cutting covenant was His Own, God expected Abraham to heed the covenant response with careful obedience. This response to God’s covenants is also an important lesson for us and we will be going into this in future lessons.