Unlocking Abraham, Pt. 2: The Covenant of Circumcision: Promises

See here for Part 1: Unlocking Abraham, Pt. 1: The Covenant of Redemption

In the last (first) post in this series, I posted 11 theses (along with Scripture proofs and brief comments) concerning the Gospel of the Covenant of Redemption revealed to Abraham. These theses were as follows:

1.) God’s promises to Abraham are based in mercy, not merit.

2.) The Covenant of Redemption, made in Christ’s blood and the only way of salvation, was revealed to Abraham.

3.) In Genesis 12, the Gospel Covenant, the Covenant of Redemption, is revealed to Abraham.

4.) These Redemption-Covenant promises are later confirmed.

5.) Any and all redemptive, justifying blessings that believers receive ultimately find their source in Christ, who has secured them in the Covenant of Redemption.

6.) Gentile believers are rightly called Abraham’s children because they are counted in Christ, the promised Seed of blessing to the nations.

7.) The way of salvation – inclusion in the Covenant of Redemption confirmed in Christ and revealed to Abraham – is by faith alone, and not by physical descent.

8.) The promises discussed above – the Gospel Covenant of Redemption – were given to Abraham 25 years before the institution of circumcision. There was no external sign, nor seal, attached to the Covenant of Redemption.

9.) The blessings of the Covenant of Redemption in Christ are spiritual in nature, and the recipients of them are those who are included in Christ & Abraham by faith alone.

10.) Since the promises discussed above comprise the gospel in an early, general form, the heirs of blessing are guaranteed to receive all the promises of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood. There is no partial or temporary interest in the Gospel Covenant of Grace – the Covenant of Redemption in Christ. It is all of grace, and all of faith.

11.) The promise of a blessed seed was given uniquely to Abraham. It is not said that all believers will be made fathers of a nation, or given a seed through which all nations will be blessed. Thus, our blessings are derived from Abraham. Just as a man leaves his inheritance to his children, so we receive Abraham’s inheritance, and he is our father. The promises discussed above are to Abraham and his seed. We have seen that this seed is Christ, and all believers in Him by faith.

I would now like to continue in the same style, transitioning into the Covenant of Circumcision made with Abraham. For it is my belief that while the Covenant of Redemption was certainly revealed to Abraham, it was shrouded within and intermixed with the promises of a wholly different, yet subservient covenant – the Covenant of Circumcision. Only by using the shining light of the New Testament as our guide can we fully understand God’s covenant dealings with Abraham.

12.) Abraham was promised a great number of natural descendants, some of which would be considered a special nation.

Genesis 12:2

²And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Genesis 13:16

¹⁶And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

Genesis 15:2-5

²And Abram said, “Jehovah God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?”

³And Abram said, “Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.”

⁴And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.”

⁵And he brought him forth abroad, and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them:” and he said unto him, “So shall thy seed be.”

Genesis 17:2-6

²And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

³And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

⁴As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

⁵Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

⁶And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

13.) Abraham was promised the physical land of Canaan as an inheritance for his physical descendants.

Genesis 12:1, 6-7

¹Now Jehovah 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: […]

⁶And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

 ⁷And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him.

Genesis 13:12a, 14-17

¹²Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan. […]

¹⁴And Jehovah said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

¹⁵For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

¹⁶And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

¹⁷Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.“

Genesis 15:7, 18-21

⁷And he said unto him, “I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” […]

¹⁸In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

 ¹⁹The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

 ²⁰And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

 ²¹And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Genesis 17:8

⁸And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Acts 7:4-5

⁴Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

⁵And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

Dispensationalists are quick to point out that the land promise is “for ever” (Gen 13:15) and “for an everlasting possession” (Gen 17:8). To this objection there are two answers, but first let it be said that we do not intend to make God a liar by claiming that He didn’t actually mean what He promised to Abraham. Rather, we are seeking to understand His intended meaning, to grasp the extent of these great promises to Abraham.

First, then, these terms are sometimes used in a hyperbolic (exaggerated) sense, as we often use them in English. For scriptural examples compare Numbers 25:13, where the Levitic priesthood is called an “everlasting priesthood,” with Hebrews 7:11-12, which speak of the necessity of its being replaced by a better, unchangeable priesthood (Heb 7:24). Also consider Psalm 24:7, 9, in which the temple gates are called “everlasting doors.” The land, priesthood, and gates all lasted for the full and complete length of time that God intended – until the end of their age, and the historical institution of the New Covenant of which they were types. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

Second, the promises of physical descendants and land blessings which we are here examining function as types of spiritual blessings. Earthly blessings, given to an earthly seed, are a type, representing spiritual blessings, given to a spiritual seed. The two kinds of seed & blessings (and therefore two covenants, cf. Gal 4) cannot be confused without resulting in further confusion regarding the nature of the Covenant of Redemption. This typological dimension to God’s covenantal dealings with Abraham will be examined more closely later.

14. In Genesis 15, God solemnly assures Abraham that He will ensure that the promises of descendants and land are fulfilled.

Genesis 15:8-18

⁸And he said, “Jehovah God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

⁹And he said unto him, “Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

¹¹And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

¹²And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

¹³And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

¹⁴And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

¹⁵And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

¹⁶But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

¹⁷And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

¹⁸In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Some have interpreted this passage to mean that the covenant described here, promising physical descendants to Abraham along with the land of Canaan as their inheritance, is unconditional. That is, God is promising to provide these blessings to Abraham and his seed regardless of any condition on their part. We will soon see that this cannot be the case, as circumcision is added in the development of this national covenant in Genesis 17. But again, we are getting ahead of ourselves. For now, let it suffice to say that God is not making an unconditional covenant, but rather He is assuring Abraham that, by hook or by crook, God will make absolutely sure that all conditions are right for the blessings to be received by Abraham’s seed. If this means that they will fulfill certain conditions (and we will soon see that it does), then so be it: God has promised that it shall happen, and history does not argue with the promises of God.

This takes us back to Thesis #1:God’s promises to Abraham are based in mercy, not merit. Ultimately, this national covenant (indeed, all of history) is subservient to the eternal plan of redemption, revealed to Abraham in the gospel confirmed in Christ. Let it be repeated that in Genesis 15:6 we see that Abraham was justified through belief alone. Therefore, as we continue, and we see conditions added to this national covenant, it should be readily apparent that this cannot be the Gospel Covenant of Redemption. Here I must resist the temptation to elaborate further, and instead take a look at what Stephen calls the “covenant of circumcision” (Acts 7:8).

~To be continued, Lord willing.~

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