Abrahamic Covenant

The story of Abraham and Sarah reminds us of the greatness of God's power, the authenticity of our human weakness and our propensity for sin.

We can be someone who God has spoken to directly and yet still have a strong temptation to turn our back on God and try things our own way. Consider the fact that God had promised Abraham (then he was still called Abram) that he would be a father to the nations. Genesis 15:6 tells us "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." So there was no factor of distrust involved. Yet Abraham accepted his wife's cockamamie idea for him to sleep with Hagar and bear a son. I can think of at least one reason why Abraham didn't buck against this idea much (can someone say "lust"?). Perhaps there were others. Regardless, God overlooked their impatience and still kept His promise.

Another great example of Sarah's sin in the face of the Lord is found in Chapter 18. It's so slight, that it can often be overlooked. In this passage, two angels and the Lord Himself visit Abraham and Sarah. The Lord tells them that Sarah is about to become pregnant. In response, Sarah lets out a sarcastic question and laughs in the face of the Lord Almighty (almost the same response Abraham has in Gen 17:17-18). To add insult to injury, she then lies to him about laughing.

One can make the argument that Sarah may not have known it was the Lord. Regardless, the text makes no mention of God's wrath being poured upon Sarah for her sin. God's mercy and grace just flows through the whole conversation and encounter. It's great to know that God has grace to offer us even in the midst of a serious situation like the one found in Genesis 18.

The other point that jumps out at me in this story is the greatness of God's power found within the Abrahamic Covenant. In the description of the covenant, God explains His role within the covenant:

...I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God. Genesis:17:5-8 NIV

God's doing all the hard work. And here's Abraham's role:

Every male among you shall be circumcised.

While temporarily uncomfortable, this responsibility is relatively easy to fulfill.

Isn't it interesting that from the beginning, God tells us that it is He alone who does the wonders and it is He alone who has the power. We, as men and women, are merely the ones who reflect in our lives the promise that He's made to us.

Our jobs? Submit ourselves to God so He can work His magnificent power in and through us and simply be a reminder to the world that the power and glory is not ours, but His alone.