Trinity Baptist Church

Waiting for Christmas

God’s Covenant with Abraham

Luke 1:67-80

 

We’ve been trying to learn what it must have been like for the Jews to be waiting on Christmas to come.  In particular they were waiting for the coming of Messiah. 

 

From prophecy, they knew that once He came, He would establish a Kingdom and the land God had promised to them would finally be in their possession. They were waiting for Him to come and show the mercy of God, bring forgiveness of sins and all of that.

 

We get a little look into the mindset of those who knew the prophecies of God in

 

Luke 2:38

 

They were looking for redemption to come. 

 

Then all of a sudden, there was this common, ordinary garden-variety priest who gets a visit from an angel out of the presence of God named Gabriel to tell him that not only is the Messiah coming but that he will have a son who will prepared the way for the Messiah.

 

That priest was named Zacharias. And we find his story in Luke 1.  We began looking at the song he sings to God in response to the birth of his son and the soon-coming birth of Christ. 

 

 

Now, last week, I made much over the fact that Zacharias knew what was going on, but in fairness to the story, that wasn’t true initially. 

 

In fact, at first, Zacharias didn't believe it.  So God miraculously made him deaf and mute. And for nine months he wasn't able to hear or say anything.

 

But notice verse 64

 

He had been pent up for nine months with this desire to praise God for this incredible birth and finally when his mouth was opened he praises God.

 

And from verses 67-80 we have recorded there his praise to God. And his song has for its theme the faithfulness of God, and it includes three verses.  Each one deals with a specific covenant that God established with His people.  

 

The first one, we looked at last week.  It was the covenant God made with David to establish a kingdom through his descendant that would last forever.  It would provide salvation and deliverance from their enemies.

 

Now the only way that promise could be kept was through the Messiah.  Solomon met some of the initial requirements in that he built a temple, but it didn’t last.  It was destroyed by the Babylonians. 

 

But one day, Messiah would come and He would fulfill that promise, and Zacharias understands that is happening even as he holds his baby boy in his arms. 

 

 

But the covenant with David wasn’t the only thing.  Zacharias also recognized there was a connection to a covenant God made with Abraham. 

 

Now the Abrahamic covenant is one of those essentials if you will ever hope to understand and interpret your Bible correctly. 

 

Notice what Zacharias says in

 

Luke 1:72-75.

 

Now remember, we have the Davidic covenant in place.  It will provide deliverance from enemies and set up a kingdom with Messiah on the throne. That was its intent.

 

What about the covenant with Abraham?  What did God intend to provide through it? 

 

According to verse 72, the intent of the Abrahamic Covenant was to “perform the mercy promised to our fathers”.

 

What does that mean?  It helps to first identify who “our fathers” were.  The fathers to the Jews were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

 

Second, it helps to remember the details of where that covenant was established.  That’s verses 72b-75

 

And when you put it all together, you are left with something like this: 

 

 

 

God's holy covenants grant that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies by the fulfillment of God’s promise to David, can now go ahead and serve God without fear because of His promise to Abraham.

 

Notice how that works.  Any Jew that had served or did serve God, always served with fear.  The Jews always lived in fear of maintaining his own existence against all of the aggressive hostilities that surround his life.

 

But once Davidic promise is fulfilled and the Messiah reigns, fear is gone and we will serve Him, verse 75 says, As God established with Abraham, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

 

So you can see that the Davidic Covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant were connected. The Davidic Covenant brought the rule of Messiah in Israel. And the rule of Messiah brought the blessing that the Abrahamic Covenant promised.

 

What I want to do is just briefly review the covenant and what it said, and then we’ll take a look at how it impacts us today. 

 

Notice verse 72

 

It was a covenant to show mercy. The idea is that God was compassionate, God was merciful toward undeserving people and He made a covenant. Now this mercy was, first of all, to Abraham and then repeated to Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and then extended to the nation of Israel and then extended through Israel to the world.

 

So this stream of mercy begins with one man, and eventually will be offered to the whole world. In fact, that's why we're here today.  Every born-again believer in the house is under the same mercy stream that Abraham was under. 

 

And it all began with a covenant made with one man named Abram who later had his name changed to Abraham once he received the covenant of God.

 

Now at the time the promise was given, there was no such thing as a Jew. There was no such nation as Israel; that all came afterward.  To help us understand the essence of the Abrahamic Covenant let's go back to Genesis chapter 12.

 

The first 11 chapters of Genesis kind of rush by us.  There is the creation, the fall, the flood and all that.  But when we get to Genesis 12, everything slows down.  And here's where redemptive history really starts. It starts with a man named Abram.

 

Verses 1

 

I think it safe to assume that Abram had some kind of connection to the true God. We don't know all about how that can be defined but we do know that Abram knew of the true God. And so God came to Abram and says, “I want you to go to a place where I'm going to send you. And then in verse 2 He tells him why.

 

Verses 2-3

 

 

 

This is an absolute promise. God's not asking Abram to agree to anything. He just shows up one day and announces His intentions to make a great nation out of him. 

 

Now that was a problem because we discover back in chapter 11, verse 30 that Sarai was barren.  That means she and Abram had no children.  It’s kind of hard to build a nation if you don't have a single descendent. 

 

So this is a pretty monumental promise and it's going to involve a conception miracle.

 

In fact, it came to pass.  There are several primary results of this covenant and without exception God has honored it. 

 

God said, "I'm going to make you a great nation," and indeed that came to pass, obviously, the Jewish people are and have been a great nation.

 

"I will bless you," God says I'm going to bless you, I'm going to bless that nation and, "I'm going to make your name great."

 

History records for us the truth of all that.  You can safely say today that the Jews in pretty much any category you want to identify have earned a great name. They are a quite unusual strain of homosapiens.

 

And their land has been and continues to be the focal point of human history.

 

"And you will be a blessing and not only a blessing but in you...the end of verse 3...all the families of the earth will be blessed."

 

This is quite a thing. God said there is going to come out of you an entire nation and that nation is going to be a great nation. This nation is going to be a blessed nation. This nation is going to have a great reputation. This nation is going to be a blessing to others. In fact, through this nation all the families of the earth are going to be blessed.

 

So all of salvation’s promises will root back to Israel and this promise made to Abraham. 

 

But if you study the history of Israel, you discover not everything is a bed of roses.  There were times of blessing and greatness and being a blessing to others. 

 

But the idea that all the families in the earth have been blessed through them isn’t true.  In fact, sometimes others were blessed in spite of them. 

 

They have known God’s protection, and yet they have known more attacks and oppression than any other people. 

 

So even though there is strong evidence that God has kept His covenant, they haven't really enjoyed the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise.

 

In fact, if you and I sat down with Zacharias on the day he was singing this song and said, “Hey, Zach, how you guys doing on the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise? Would you say that your nation is a great nation?

That God is blessing you and making your name great? And you're a blessing and all the families of the earth are blessed through you?”

 

He's say no. They were hoping. But at that very moment they were under Roman oppression. 

Life was hard and difficult. 

 

And that is what caused such excitement as he sang.  The forerunner to the Messiah has been born and the Davidic Covenant’s fulfillment was happening and that means the Abrahamic Covenant’s fulfillment must be on the horizon.

 

Now that covenant is referred to or reiterated eight times in the book of Genesis. You will find it in 

chapter 12, 13, 15, 17, 22, 26, 28 and 35. We're not going to look at all of those, but I do want you to turn to

 

Genesis 15:18a

 

Let’s stop there for a moment and gather out thoughts.  He announced the terms of the covenant in chapter 12 but the covenant is actually entered into and confirmed here at chapter 15. 

 

In chapter 12 we find the blessing, making the name great and all that, but here, He adds another component and this one is very practical. 

 

Here he spells out the specific land borders of the nation of Israel. 

 

Verses 18-21

 

God says in the end it's all going to be your land, you're going to get all that land stretching all the way from the border of Egypt north and sweeping through that fertile crescent.  I'm going to give you that land.

 

Now remember, in the time of Zacharias they're sitting in Jerusalem and not really experiencing much of the benefit because the Romans are ruling the whole land. And before the Romans, it was the Greeks. And before that it was the Medo-Persians, and before that it was the Babylonians.

 

And Zacharias had never seen anything that looked remotely like the fulfillment of this. Neither has any Jew today. In fact, you can't imagine all the Arab countries, Iraq, Iran and all the rest of them, marching over to Jerusalem and saying, “We were  just reading Genesis 15 and we'd like to turn your land over to you.” That's not going to happen.

 

But that's the covenant God made with Abraham. 

 

And old Zacharias sits there in the midst of the Roman occupation, oppressed by these hateful Romans and their idols. They don't have the freedom and the blessing that is there’s through the Abrahamic Covenant.

 

But then his eyes shift over to that little baby of his, and he remembers the Messiah is coming and he understands what's happening.

 

And maybe he had Genesis 17 in mind as he began to sing. 

 

When you come to chapter 17, Abram was 99 years old.  The Lord came to Abram and said to him,

 

Verses1-6

 

And that’s true!  In fact, that’s why there is so much animosity and friction in the Middle East.  Everybody there can trace their family tree back to Abraham.  We don’t have time to develop it all, but every Arab traces back to Abraham through one of his two sons.  They are either a descendent of Isaac or a descendent of Ishmael. 

 

So while Israel feels that the rights to the land is theirs because they're the sons of Abraham, so does the whole Arab world because they can trace their lineage back to Abraham and that's why you have this horrific conflict. It's clear in the Scripture that God chose Isaac to be the line and not Ishmael. But they're unwilling to accept that. And so they all go back to Abraham.

 

Then notice verses 7-8

 

Now that's very important because now, all of a sudden, we've gone beyond the land, we've gone beyond temporal blessing, we've gone beyond peace in the land, not having a conqueror there or an occupying nation. We've gone into something that is eternal here and these are the saving terms of this covenant. In fact, it's an everlasting covenant to be God to you.

 

And what God is saying is, in the end what I want is your hearts.  I want to be your God. It’s not just about the land and the blessing and all that.  It is about relationship between you and Me. 

And it’s not just you and Me, but your descendants after you. And I'll give to you and your descendants after you all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, but don’t miss this:  I will be your God.  God is talking eternal relationship with Him.

 

So God comes to Abraham in chapter 12 and says, “Here’s the deal:  Abraham, you’re going to father a great nation with a great reputation and experience great blessing. In fact, through you all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed.  And not just that;  I’m going to extend that relationship to your descendents and I'm going to give you a  homeland and I’ll define exactly what the land is and we will enjoy and eternal relationship together with each other.   

 

And even though Zacharias or any other Jew had ever seen or experienced anything like that, they believed the promise fo God to Abraham, and they were anxiously awaiting the fulfillment of that prophecy. 

 

And one of these days, it will come to pass during the Millennial Reign of Christ on the earth.  In fact, they'll even be a great blessing to the whole world during the time of the Tribulation because when the 144,000 Jews are saved, they become the greatest force for evangelism the world has ever known and in a few years so many people are saved, according to that chapter, chapter 7, they can't even be counted.

 

Then they're called to do what they were called to do in the first place, be witnesses to the true and living God and proclaim the message of salvation.

They'll do it with a force and a power, the likes of which has never been seen previously. They'll do that during the time of the Tribulation. Then in the Kingdom, they'll continue to do that with people who are born during the millennial era and who are brought to the knowledge of the Messiah.

 

But that’s not all I want you to see about the covenant. 

 

Turn to Genesis 22 for a moment.

 

While you’re turning there, let me bring you up to date.  Abraham and Sarah had a child.  It was such an incredible miracle that Sarah couldn't stop laughing so she named him laughter, Isaac. And the child grew and, of course, was the apple of his father's eye and all of that.

 

God came to Abraham in chapter 22 of Genesis, says,

 

Verses 1-2

 

Now, put yourself in Abraham’s sandals for a moment.  He’s standing there scratching his head and saying, “We had a conception miracle, we went through all of this stuff, I've got a son, supposed to have a great nation, now I'm going to go up there and kill my son? Jews don't believe in murder, it's forbidden. Certainly we don't believe in killing our children. How can this be?

 

And yet, according to verse 3 and it is corroborated in Hebrews, he was willing to do it. He believed God knew what He was saying and never questioned God's Word.

Hebrews 12 tells us that he believed that God could raise the dead. I don't think he was going up the hill chewing his nails and wringing his hands and stroking his beard. I don't think he was going up the hill fretting and fuming and fussing.

 

I think he was going up the hill waiting to see a resurrection miracle because he understood the promise of God.  He understood that if God was going to ask him to take a life, God was going to have to give it back.

 

That's how strong his faith was. And when he lifted the knife to plunge it into the chest of his beloved son, he was anticipating a great resurrection miracle to occur.

 

Verses 12-14

 

That's a great statement, isn't it? The Lord will provide.

 

Then watch what happens in verses 15-18

 

Once again there comes the confirmation of the covenant. 

 

So, Genesis then lays out this covenant. There is a lot of other stuff we could look at in regard to it, but let me just focus our attention for a few moments on what this means to us. 

 

First of all, as Christians, in a spiritual sense we are the descendents of Abraham, and therefore, rightful heirs to the covenant promises.  In other words,

 

 

1. The Covenant Is With Us  

 

God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:4, "Behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations." While that is true in a physical and political sense as we talked about a moment ago, it is also true in a spiritual sense. 

 

God’s promise was that out of every kindred, tongue and people there would be those who enjoy the blessings of sonship even though physically unrelated to Abraham.

 

That's no doubt what God meant in Genesis 12:3 when he said to Abraham, "By you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

 

From the very beginning, God had in mind that Jesus Christ would be the descendant of Abraham and that everyone who trusts in Christ would become an heir of Abraham's promise.

 

That’s what Paul had in mind when he penned Galatians 3:29, "If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise."

 

Or as Romans 4:16–17 says, "The promise is according to grace in order to be guaranteed to all Abraham's descendants, not only to [the Jews] but also to [Gentiles] who share the faith of Abraham, who is father of us all, as it is written, 'I have made you the father of many nations.'"

 

 

 

 

So when God said to Abraham 4,000 years ago, "Behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations," he opened the way for anyone of us, no matter what nation we belong to, to become a child of Abraham and an heir of God's promises.

 All we have to do is share the faith of Abraham—that is, bank our hope on God's promises, so much so that if obedience requires it, we could give up our dearest possession like Abraham gave up Isaac.

 

We don't become heirs of Abraham's promises by working for God but by being confident that God works for us. "Abraham grew strong in his faith, giving glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised" (Romans 4:20). That's why Abraham could obey God even when obedience looked like a dead-end street. He trusted God to do the impossible.

 

Those who hope in Jesus Christ and follow him in the obedience of faith are the descendants of Abraham and heirs of his covenant promises. That's the first thing I want you to take away this morning from God's covenant with Abraham.

 

The second thing is that

 

2. The Covenant is Bigger than We Could Ever Imagine 

 

Genesis 17:7

 

The heart of the Abrahamic covenant is that God will be God to us. He will be our God. The longer you meditate on that deceptively simple truth, the more spectacular it becomes.

That is why the coming of the Messiah was so important.  For the very first time in human history, God lived among us.  The very name Immanuel was a constant reminder of that. 

 

I don’t think Zacharias could get his mind around that thought that the God of the Universe would come down to earth and spend time with us.

 

But the covenant promise isn’t limited to the earthly ministry of Jesus.  If so, just a few select Jews got in on it.  But remember, it’s for all of us. 

 

So how does that happen?  Like this:  Beyond the first coming of Christ and 33 years on the earth lies all the blessings that were afforded through His covenant with Abraham. 

 

In fact, Paul says in Romans 4:13, "The promise to Abraham and his descendants [is] that they should inherit the world."

 

In 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 he says, "All things are yours whether . . . the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's."

 

When Jesus was approached by the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection, he said (in Matthew 22:31–32), "As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead but of the living."

 

The Sadducees had not stopped to ponder or muse over the meaning of "I am the God of Abraham." They didn't realize how spectacular it is for the creator of the universe to say to a human being, "I will be God to you . . . I will be your God ."

 

So Jesus tells them: When God is your God, you cannot die. "He is not the God of the dead but of the living." The Sadducees were utterly naïve to think that death could end the fellowship between God and those to whom he had said, "I am your God!"

 

It is a spectacular promise that ought to fill your minds all through this Christmas season!.  God is with us and nothing will ever sever that relationship. And that relationship will never end!

 

And that’s where the third thing comes in. 

 

Not only is the covenant with us and bigger than we could ever imagine, but

 

3.  It Will Never End

 

And that is guaranteed by the 2^nd coming of Jesus. 

 

Think about what that means:  First, those who are saved are the spiritual descendents of Abraham and heirs of the covenant promises. That covenant brings not just salvation and deliverance from our enemies, but all the blessings that God can afford including eternal life with Him as our God and we as His people. 

 

And God guarantees it by promising to send Jesus Christ to come and get us so we can live together as the family fo God for all eternity. 

 

That means I don’t have to be discouraged.  I don’t have to throw my hands up in despair. 

 

Jesus came a first time just like God promised He would.  He made good on the promise.  And He’s coming again just like He promised and when He does, every part of the covenant that is limited to this earthly existence will be opened to its fullest expression as God and His people live and dwell together as He designed. 

 

No wonder Zacharias sang to the Lord!  He was convinced that when God makes a covenant He honors it.  He did it with David; He did it with Abraham; and He’ll do it with you. 

 

His covenant with you is found in Romans 10

 

Verses 9 – 10 and 13