The Abrahamic Age
(From the Call of Abram to the Giving of the Law — Genesis 12:1 – Exodus 19:7)
Two covenants between God and Abram are distinguished in the book of Genesis. One is a conditional covenant and the other is everlasting. Each of these covenants carry a seven-point agreement. They are outlined in chapters 12 and 17 as follows:
“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee:
- And I will make of thee a great nation,
- And I will bless thee,
- And make thy name great;
- And thou shalt be a blessing:
- And I will bless them that bless thee,
- And curse him that curseth thee:
- And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him” (Genesis 12:1-4).
Our attention is immediately called to the past tense used in the opening of the above passage “The Lord had said.” The Holy Spirit explains His reason for this is Acts 7:2: “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran.” Genesis 11:31 reveals the fact that “Abram went forth from Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan,” but he “Came unto Haran, and dwelt there.” Thus we see that God’s call as recorded in Genesis 12:1 was before Abram went into Haran. Therefore, his stopover in Haran was not according to the directive will of God. He was called to Canaan, not Haran, and the blessings of God were withheld until he came to the appointed place.
Abram in Haran was in the same relationship to God as the present-day Christian, who accepts free salvation at the cross of Calvary, is washed in the precious blood, robed in God’s infinite righteousness, given the blessed hope of glory, and then stops short of complete surrender to God’s revealed will. Full fellowship with God and unlimited blessings from God awaited Abram in the land Canaan, but we have no record of God meeting with him in Haran. In like manner, we believers of this present dispensation are unable to “Prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” until we present our “Bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,” which is our “reasonable service” (Romans 12:1-2).
It is easy to see that this covenant between God and Abram was conditional. That is, the blessing was offered on condition that Abram would obey and meet the requirements of God. This he refused to do until after the death of his aged father in Haran (Genesis 11:31-32). Death broke the cord that seemed to be holding Abram out of the land of promise. He took Lot with him, which was not according to the letter of God’s instructions; however, God met him when he reached Canaan and then dealt with him later concerning Lot.
The account of God’s first fellowship with Abram after he had called him is recorded in Genesis 12, verses 4 to 9. Two things stand out in this passage: “The Canaanite was then in the land” and “The Lord appeared unto Abram” (verses 6-7). The Canaanite was the arch-enemy of God’s people. Imagine how Abram must have felt when he arrived in the land and found it infested with enemies. But such is the Christian’s warfare. However, he had nothing to worry about after “The Lord appeared” unto him—”if God be for us who can be against us?”
Bethel—the House Of God
I love this part of the story because it pictures Abram, God’s called-out man, in communion with the Lord around the altar in Bethel. Bethel means “House of God.” It seems that Abram was in the very center of the Lord’s will while his tent was pitched at Bethel. There he called upon the name of the Lord.
Just as God had tested Adam in the garden, just as He tested Adam’s descendants immediately before the flood, just as He tested Noah after the flood was over, so He must test Abram in the dispensation of Promise. This is God’s method of developing His saint, or His company of saints. As we are tried and triumph, we grow in the Lord and in His work. If we are tried and fail under the strain, it is our fault, because God has promised that, according to His own faithfulness, He will “not suffer” one of His own “to be tempted” above that he is able; “but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,” that the yielded child of God “may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Abram’s first test in the land of Canaan is recorded in Genesis 12:10: “And there was a famine in the land.” His failure is recorded in the same verse, “And Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there.” Even though the pastures began to dry up and food and water began to be scarce for both man and beast, there was no good reason for Abram to get excited and leave the place whereunto God had called him. The Lord had already manifested His presence with Abram in the “Enemy-infested” and “Famine-stricken” land of promise, and Abram had no right to believe that God would forsake him. Anyone can stand when there is no test, but God said, “Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13). It was the weak flesh that caused Abram to accept the green fields of Egypt in place of the promise of God; he walked by sight and not by faith.
The Holy Spirit often uses Egypt as a type of the world. The green fields of Egypt were to Abram what the broad and alluring ways of the world are to the Christian. The church of this age doesn’t always walk where God wants us to walk. We are a great deal like Abram—it is hard for us to stay put. We all need more of the spirit of Job who faced his trial by God’s grace saying, “Even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
As soon as Abram slipped away into Egypt for help, he found himself going deeper and deeper into sin and leading his good wife into sin with him. He was away from the altar and away from the house of God. This meant that he no longer enjoyed the leadership of the Lord, so he had to trust in his own wisdom; hence, his lies and schemes. We should read with profit the record of Abram’s failure and God’s grace (Genesis 12:10 to 13:4). The next two chapters deal with Lot. After Abram was brought back to Bethel, the house of God, he was separated from Lot, whom he had brought along from Ur of the Chaldees against God’s instructions.
The Promised Son, Isaac,
who was born unto Abram and Sarah did not come until Abram, through testing, was brought to the place of believing God (Genesis 15:1 to 21:8). With the coming of Isaac, the type of Christ, came the everlasting covenant, referred to in the opening paragraph of this lesson. Like the conditional covenant of Genesis 12:1-4, it has seven distinct points. It does not do away with the covenant of the twelfth chapter, but includes it, according to unconditional promise. The outline of the everlasting covenant between God and Abram is as follows:
- “I will make my covenant between me and thee, and
- I will multiply thee exceedingly, and
- I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and
- I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee, and
- I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee for an everlasting covenant, and
- I will give unto thee, and thy seed after thee, the land, for an everlasting possession, and
- I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:2-8)
With the coming in of this covenant, Abram’s name was changed to Abraham. “Abram” means exalted father. “Abraham” means father of a multitude. The everlasting covenant confirms Abraham as the father of many nations, hence the change of his name.
The promised son, Isaac, came at God’s “Set time” (Genesis 21:2). It was definitely understood between God and Abraham that the Abrahamic covenant was to be confirmed, or established, with Isaac and not Ishmael (Genesis 17:20-22). The covenant was confirmed to Isaac according to Genesis 26:1-5, and later the same covenant was confirmed unto Isaac’s son, Jacob, according to Genesis 28:12-15. These promises unto the fathers were confirmed again by Jesus Christ while He was here in the flesh as a “Minister of the circumcision” (Romans 15:8). They will be realized when the Lord Jesus, the “Good Shepherd” of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, returns as the “Chief Shepherd” to reign on the throne of David (John 10:14-15; Hebrews 13:20 and 1 Peter 5:4). This will bring to full realization God’s perfect purpose through the everlasting covenant concerning the seed (Genesis 17:7), the nation (Genesis 12:2), the land (Genesis 17:8), the king (Genesis 49:10), and the city (2 Samuel 5:7-9).
The Twelve Tribes
descended from Abram through Isaac and Jacob. They were first known as Hebrews, later as Israelites, and still later as Jews. The name “Hebrew” may have come from one of Abram’s forefathers, whose name was “Eber” (Genesis 11:14 with 10:21). The first time the word is used by the Holy Spirit is recorded in Genesis 14:13 where Abram is called the “Hebrew.” Joseph is also spoken of as a Hebrew in Genesis 39:14 and 41:12. The children of Israel were referred to as Hebrews again and again; see Exodus 1:15-19, Deuteronomy 15:12, Jeremiah 34:9, Jonah 1:9. Paul, also declared himself to be an “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). The name “Israelite” came from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel (Genesis 35:10). And the name “Jew” refers, in the strict sense, to the children of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. When the kingdom divided, these two tribes were joined together and the everlasting covenant was confirmed unto Judah (Genesis 49:9-10). This is why the Holy Spirit refers to Christ as “The Lion of the tribe of Judah” in connection with the opening of the seven seals in Revelation 5:5.
Thus, we see that all Jews are Hebrews and Israelites, but all Hebrews and Israelites are not Jews. All Israelites were Hebrews, but all Hebrews were not Israelites. Only the Hebrews who are Israelites and Jews are in line for the covenant blessings through the everlasting covenant. The Gentiles who come into the kingdom blessings will rejoice “With His people” (Romans 15:8-10).
Israel in Egypt
Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob (Genesis 37:3) was sold by his brethren and carried into Egypt. After his faithfulness under severe testing in the courts of Pharaoh, he was made the prime minister of all Egypt, and was next in power and authority to the king himself. Under his inspired leadership Egypt stored up much food supply and was well prepared for the great famine which God sent following the seven years of plenty. The terrible famine throughout Egypt and surrounding countries brought many peoples to Egypt to buy corn and other supplies. It was at this time that Joseph’s brethren were forced to humble themselves before the one they had sold as a slave and recognize him as their king. Joseph took a very humble attitude toward his wicked brethren, because he realized that God had a hand in the treatment he had received from them. Notice the language of Genesis 45:1-5.
As long as Joseph lived, the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt prospered. They “Increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). But when a king arose who “knew not Joseph,” it was a different story. The Egyptians afflicted them with burdens, killed their baby boys, and made it impossible for the nation to survive in Egypt. God delivered them from this terrible bondage by his servant Moses through whom He later gave them the law covenant. Exodus 19:1-8 carries the record of the closing of the dispensation of Promise and the acceptance of the law covenant on the part of Israel. Read God’s proposition to them in verses 1 to 7, and note their expression of willingness and confidence in verse 8: “And all the people answered together, and said, all that the Lord hath spoken we will do.”
As I understand it, the dispensation of promise closed and the dispensation of law opened with verse 8.
