Contours of Old Testament Theology

12. The Promissory Covenant with Abraham

12. THE PROMISSORY COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM m the history of God's covenants the second in the sequence is the covenant made with Abraham and Sarah, the ancestors of the people of God, Israel. This covenant looms large in the period of biblical Judaism, beginning with the Second Temple, that is, the postexilic era of reconstruction. Moreover, it is very important for understanding the early Christianity that emerged out of Judaism. At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke it appears in the Benedictus, spoken by the father of John the Baptist: Thus [God] has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered bis boly covenant, the oatb tbat be swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued jrom the bands oj our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. —Luke 1:72-75 An Everlasting Covenant Like the Noachic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant is designated as an "everlast­ ing covenant" (bent 'olam), a covenant in perpetuity. This covenant has perpetual validity and can never be abrogated precisely because it is based solely on God's firm commitment—God's faithfulness (hesed) or "steadfast love." Therefore it is a covenant of sola gratia, grace alone. Later we shall study another covenant, the Mosaic, that is also a covenant of grace but is conditional in character (chapter 17). The Mosaic covenant emphasizes the call to human decision and the fateful results of the exercise of human freedom. By contrast, the Abrahamic covenant is unilateral in the sense that it is based on God's loyalty, which endows the relationship with constancy and durability, not on the people's response, which is subject to human weakness and sin. This covenant is sealed by God's solemn oath (as stated in the Benedictus), an oath based on God's holiness or essential being. The unilateral character of this covenant is stressed in Genesis 17, a passage from Priestly tradition. According to this crucial text, God—here known as El Shaddai, "God Almighty"—takes the initiative to enter into covenant relationship with Abraham and Sarah and their descendants. The language is very theocentric. God resolves to "establish [set up] my [Gocfs] covenant" as an "everlasting cove­ nant," which will stand in perpetuity because it is grounded in God's holy will. Circumcision is not a condition but a sign of membership in the covenant com­ munity, and is binding only on males. Other members of the family—women and children—are obviously included. Individuals may fail to "keep the covenant" by 98 The Promissory Covenant with Abraham 99 not submitting to this rite of admission, but God's covenant with the community represented by the family of Abraham and Sarah stands forever. In delineating this special covenant between God and people (Genesis 17), Priestly theologians have built on an older tradition found in Gen. 15:7-21, where the word "covenant" (berit) appears for the first time in the ancestral history. This curious episode, apparently from Old Epic tradition associated with the southern place Mamre, near Hebron, defies understanding. Abraham is portrayed as secur­ ing some animals and birds and then cutting them in two. At sunset a deep sleep falls on him; while in this trancelike state, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch (symbolizing God's participation) pass through the bloody corridor between the pieces. The passage is so archaic that its ancient meaning has almost completely eroded away. Notice, however, that in this eerie covenant-making rite, during which God made a pledge under solemn oath, the patriarch was in a passive state, asleep. The covenant was made unilaterally by God,- Abram was a passive recipient. A Covenant ofPromise This strange account in Gen. 15:7-21 also indicates that the Abrahamic covenant was promissory. This covenant is characterized by the giving of promises, not the imposition of obligations. Notice the context. The account belongs to the history of the promise that begins in Genesis 12 with God's command to Abram to leave his home country and to go toward a horizon that God would open before him. To the ancestor of Israel three promises are given. First, God will make of him a great "nation." The use of the term "nation" (goy, as in 18:18) rather than the fundamental term "peo­ ple" (am), apparently reflects the nationalism of the early monarchy, when this tra­ dition was given written form.1 Second, God promises...