A COVENANT IDENTIFIES THE OFFSPRING 9 Some two millenniums after passing sentence on Satan, Jehovah commanded the patriarch Abraham to leave his home in Ur in Mesopotamia and go to the land of Canaan. (Acts 7:2, 3) Jehovah said to him: “Go out from your land and away from your relatives and from the house of your father to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will become a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who calls down evil on you, and all the families of the ground will certainly be blessed by means of you.” (Gen. 12:1-3) This is the earliest recorded account of the Abrahamic covenant—the covenant that Jehovah God made with Abraham. Exactly when it was that Jehovah first made the covenant with Abraham is not known. However, it went into effect in 1943 B.C.E., when 75-year-old Abraham left Haran and crossed the Euphrates River. 10 Jehovah restated his promise to Abraham a number of times, adding further details. (Gen. 13:15-17; 17:1-8, 16) And when Abraham demonstrated unshakable faith in God’s promises by showing willingness to offer up his only son, Jehovah reinforced the covenant with an unconditional promise. (Read Genesis 22:15-18; Hebrews 11:17, 18.) After the Abrahamic covenant went into effect, Jehovah gradually revealed important details about the offspring of the woman. The offspring would descend from Abraham, would be many in number, would have a kingly function, would destroy all enemies, and would be a blessing for many others. 11 While the Abrahamic covenant had a literal fulfillment for the descendants of Abraham when they inherited the Promised Land, the Scriptures show that the terms of that covenant also have a spiritual fulfillment. (Gal. 4:22-25) In this greater fulfillment, as the apostle Paul explained under inspiration, the primary part of the offspring of Abraham is Christ and the secondary part refers to the 144,000 spirit-anointed Christians. (Gal. 3:16, 29; Rev. 5:9, 10; 14:1, 4) The woman producing the offspring is none other than “the Jerusalem above”—the heavenly part of God’s organization, made up of loyal spirit creatures. (Gal. 4:26, 31) As the Abrahamic covenant promised, the offspring of the woman would bring blessings to mankind. 12 The Abrahamic covenant points to the King and to his corulers in God’s Kingdom, and it forms the legal foundation of the Kingdom of the heavens. (Heb. 6:13-18) How long will this covenant stay in effect? It is “an everlasting covenant,” states Genesis 17:7. It remains in effect until the Messianic Kingdom destroys God’s enemies and all the families of the earth have been blessed. (1 Cor. 15:23-26) In fact, those who will then live on earth will benefit in an everlasting way. God’s covenant with Abraham shows that Jehovah is determined to fulfill his purpose that righteous humans “fill the earth”!—Gen. 1:28. [Study Questions] 89. What is the Abrahamic covenant, and when did it go into effect? 10. (a) How did Abraham demonstrate unshakable faith in God’s promises? (b) What details did Jehovah gradually reveal about the offspring of the woman? 11, 12. How do the Scriptures show that the Abrahamic covenant has a greater fulfillment, and what does that mean for us?
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 06:44:51 +0000
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