The promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law.
In our study of the Sabbath we will need to understand two covenants. They are the covenant with Abraham, also called the everlasting covenant, and the covenant with Israel at Sinai and the new covenant. True, God made a covenant with Noah and every living thing and also with David, but these covenants do not bear directly on our study of the Sabbath.
The covenant God made with Abraham is of great interest to our study for here are the roots of what will be called the new or everlasting covenant. On numerous occasions Jesus referred to Abraham and said that Abraham saw His day.1 Abraham is the proto-type for the righteousness presented in the new covenant.2 Therefore, we should expect to find many seeds of truth here that will later grow into a more developed theology of salvation.
God initiates the relationship
God found Abraham3 in Ur and said to him,
Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:2, 3).
Here we see several things of importance: First, Abraham was asked to go into a country he had never seen. To obey God at this juncture was an expression of complete faith and trust.
Second, Abraham was given a three-fold personal promise that God would make him a great nation, would bless him and make his name great with the result that Abraham would be a blessing.
Third, God would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse those who cursed him.
Fourth,—and here is a key truth—“in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Abraham obeyed these commands. When he reached Canaan, he was soon confronted with a famine in the land so he went down to Egypt for survival. While in Egypt, God used Pharaoh to teach Abraham a needed lesson on integrity and then sent him back to Canaan with additional possessions given to him by Pharaoh.
Abraham then marshaled the men of his household and rescued Lot from the warring kings of the area and received the blessing of the King of Salem.
Doubtless Abraham was fearful that these warring kings would come against him.
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great (Gen. 15:1).
What a blessing this must have been to Abraham. God was his shield to protect him from the warring kings of the area. God again spoke of Abraham’s reward being very great. Perhaps thinking of the great multitude of descendents God has promised, Abraham reflected on the fact that he had no heir. Therefore, Abraham suggested to God that because he was childless, Eliezer, his servant, should be considered his heir. However, God would not entertain this idea.
This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your body, he shall be your heir. And he took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:4–6).
Here is an important point that was taught over and over again in God’s dealing with Abraham. God is looking for complete faith (belief and trust) and when Abraham expressed this faith, God counted it as righteousness. Abraham would face other “faith-tests” as God sought to strengthen their relationship.
The burning oven and flaming torch
After this incident, God asked Abraham to prepare an offering of a three year old heifer, a three year old goat, a three year old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon. He cut the larger animals in half and laid them opposite each other. Immediately the birds of prey came and tried to steal the fresh meat. The day wore on as Abraham was busy driving the pesky vultures away.
Then as the sun was going down, a deep sleep came upon Abraham, and a terrifying darkness fell upon him. God then spoke to him giving him a prophecy of things to come.
It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:17, 18).
What did the “smoking oven (or furnace)” and “flaming torch” represent? There is some evidence to believe that the “smoking oven” represents God the Father4 and the “flaming torch” represents God the Son.5 This would mean that both the Father and the Son were present confirming the covenant with Abraham.
During this confirmation event, Abraham did nothing. In fact, the way the story reads, it appears that Abraham was asleep. The active partners were God the Father and God the Son represented by the smoking furnace and burning torch. It should also be noted that there is no mention of blood in this confirmation event. When we get to the New Testament these facts will become important.
Helping God
Knowing that Eliezer could not be counted as an heir and Sarah’s6 childbearing years had come to an end,7 Abraham listened to Sarah’s attempt to “work things out” and took Hagar as a wife and to this relationship was born Ishmael. However, this attempt to assist God only brought sorrow, frustration and bitterness to the situation. God’s purpose, however, was not to be thwarted by Abraham’s taking things into his own hands.
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly…As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God (Gen. 17:1–8).
Here we see that God made several covenant promises to Abraham: (1) His descendants would be multiplied exceedingly. (2) He would be a father of many nations. (3) Kings would come from Abraham. (4) God would give Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. This covenant is also called “an everlasting covenant”.
Abraham was commanded to: (1) walk before God with integrity, (2) change his name from Abram to Abraham—a symbol of Abraham’s belief in God’s covenant promise that he would be father of a multitude. The only real requirement on the part of Abraham was to believe God.
The sign of God’s covenant with Abraham was circumcision. But note well that this sign was given after God had previously counted Abraham righteous based solely on his faith.
God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you (Gen. 17:9– 11).
Giving up on personal ability to perform
Following this we have one of the most insightful episodes recorded about the life of Abraham;
Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” (Gen. 17:15–18).
This section of Scripture has been variously interpreted and we will come back to it in later chapters for further development. However, at this point, may I suggest that Abraham expressed no faith that he and Sarah could have a son. The fact that he said, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” indicates that he was still hoping that this contrived arrangement might fulfill God’s promise. When Abraham fell on his face and laughed, could it be that his laugh was focused on the ridiculous impossibility of his and Sarah’s ability to fulfill God’s promise?
Sarah’s faith was no better. While listening behind the tent door,
Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Gen. 18:12).
To this God said, “Is anything to difficult for the LORD?” and promised that Sarah would have a child at this time next year. When confronted with her laugh of unbelief, she denied that she had laughed, but God said, “No, but you did laugh.”
If we are to take this whole incident as it reads, we must, it seems to me, recognize that both Abraham and Sarah had absolutely no faith that they could have a child. Underline this point in your thinking for it is vitally important for later understandings.
Regardless of Abraham’s and Sarah’s lack of faith in their ability to produce a child, God’s promise was fulfilled and then there was true “laughter” in their home.8
God will provide for Himself the lamb
God was not through testing Abraham’s faith. When he was about one hundred and fifteen years old the supreme test came when he was commanded to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering. Genesis 22 is one of the most gospel-centered “predictive events”9 of the Old Testament. Here we see Abraham offering up his son, his only son, whom he loved. The mountain upon which Abraham was to do this was not just any mountain, but “the mountain I will show you”. This was Mt. Moriah, where the temple was later built. Christians know it as Mt. Calvary. Climbing the mountain, the “beloved son”, perfectly obedient to his father’s will carried the “wood” needed for the sacrifice. Abraham, out of inspired faith said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” Isaac was “obedient to the point of death”—there is no mention of the young man trying to overpower his aged father. The aged Abraham now does not try to circumvent the clear command of God with human devisings. At last he has unwavering faith in God’s promise and command. So great was Abraham’s faith that he considered the Lord could raise Isaac from the dead so that God’s promise would reach fulfillment.10
Yes, and God did provide the offering. With joy Abraham took the ram and offered it up in the place of his son. More than that, Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD Will Provide.” In the time of Moses, there was a saying, “In the mount of the LORD, it will be provided”. Now, some four thousand years after Abraham, we sing, “Jehovah-Jirah, my Provider!” No wonder Jesus could say of Abraham that “he rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”11
Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Gen. 22:15–18).
Abraham’s obedience
What was the nature of Abraham’s obedience? Abraham obeyed and left Ur to follow God’s directions to an unknown country. He walked throughout the land as God asked him to do.12 Abraham obeyed the sign of the covenant and circumcised the males in his household. In his life we see a decrease of faith in his own abilities to fulfill God’s promise and an increase of faith in trusting not only God’s promise, but God’s ability to fulfill His own promise. He did not pass all the tests of integrity13 or faith14 but he learned to be obedient to the specific commands of God as he received them. He learned it was better to wait on God’s timing than to try to “work things out” on his own. In a word, Abraham believed God and his faith was counted as righteousness.
Some have quoted Genesis 26:5 as evidence that Abraham kept the Sabbath.
I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws (Gen. 26:4,5).
This interpretation, however, cannot stand the biblical test. Sometimes what is not mentioned is as important as what is mentioned. In the story of Abraham or all of Genesis for that matter, the word “law” or “Sabbath” does not appear even once. The plural form, “laws”, appears but once and that occurrence is in the text above. Neither “Sabbath” nor “Sabbaths” is mentioned in Genesis. Further, if one looks at the context of Genesis 26:5 it will be seen that it is almost identical to Genesis 22:16.
Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Gen. 22:15–18).
It is “because you have done this thing”—the offering of Isaac, not the keeping of a Sabbath—that caused God to swear by an oath the promised blessing.
It is clear that Abraham’s obedience was an obedience of faith to the specific commands of God given to him and not to any Ten Commandment law. There are numerous New Testament texts which show that Abraham’s promises and blessings were not based on law or law keeping but only on faith. Therefore to argue that Genesis 26:4,5 implies that Abraham kept the Sabbath is in direct contradiction to the clear statements of Scripture. Consider the following:
For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith (Rom. 4:13).
For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (Rom. 4:16).
For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise (Gal. 3:18).
We must conclude, then, that the nature of Abraham’s obedience centered on the specific commands and promises that God gave to him. Further, his obedience is not seen as following a given set of rules, rather it is an obedience of faith—trusting God.
Chapter Summary
- God initiated the relationship with Abraham.
- God’s covenant blessings were not based on anything that Abraham had previously done.
- In the Abrahamic Covenant God’s blessings included:
- A promise to multiply Abraham’s descendants.
- Make him a father of many nations.
- Have kings of people come from him.
- Give to Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.
- A promise that all the families of the earth would be blessed in Abraham’s descendants.
- God would be Abraham’s shield and very great reward.
- The Abrahamic Covenant is also called the Everlasting Covenant.
- The sign of the Abrahamic Covenant was circumcision.
- The sign of circumcision was given after Abraham had been declared righteous—based solely on his faith.
- Abraham did not actively participate in the confirmation of the covenant.
- There is some evidence to believe that the smoking oven and flaming torch represented God the Father and God the Son who were present at the confirmation of the covenant with Abraham.
- While Abraham expressed faith in God’s promise, he and Sarah had no faith that they could fulfill God’s promise.
- When Abraham and Sarah attempted to “help God” fulfill His own promise it caused untold harm to themselves and others.
- God’s tests to Abraham were always “faith tests”.
- Abraham’s obedience centered in his faith obedience to the specific commands that God gave him.
- There is no evidence that Abraham kept the Sabbath.
Endnotes
- Jn. 8:56.
- Rom. 4:9–25; Gal. 3:14–18; Heb. 6:13–20.
- Abraham’s name was really “Abram” before his name was changed by God as recorded in Gen. 17:5. I have used Abraham throughout to avoid confusion as does the New Testament.
- Ex. 19:18; 20:18.
- Isa. 62:1; Many New Testament verses describe Christ as the “Light”. See Sam Pestes, The Stone Cutter’s Bride, for more support for this view. CDs of this study are available from LAM Publications, LLC, Glendale, AZ, or may be obtained directly from Sam Pestes at s.pestes@shaw.ca.
- I have used “Sarah” even though her name at the time was “Sarai” to avoid confusion.
- Sarah was about seventy-five years old at this time.
- Isaac means “laughter”.
- I do not subscribe to the allegorical method of interpretation unless there is a “green light” to do so in the Scripture itself. This “green light” is found in Hebrews 11:19 where the writer calls Isaac a “type”. In context the “type” represents Christ. To this consider the words of Jesus that “Abraham rejoiced to see My day.” Jn. 8:56.
- Heb. 11:17–19.
- Jn. 8:56.
- Gen. 13:17.
- Gen. 12:13.
- Gen. 17:17,18.
- 3. The Abrahamic Covenant - March 27, 2025
- 2. The Seventh-day in Genesis - March 14, 2025
- Wrath (But Not For Us) - March 13, 2025