Bear with me as I try to understand this Covenant thing better. It would be easier to say we are all grafted onto the same tree and are all of the same family and all have the same deal, but there seems to be two (three counting Ishmael’s seed) parts to the Covenant.
These verses seem to describe the Gentile (gowyum) relationship, abundant affluent, rich, adored and blessed:
Quote:(Genesis 12:2) - “I will make of you a great, mighty, powerful, and abundant, even affluent nation of people I will kneel down and adore you . ” “I will nurture and magnify through your name. You shall exist as the voice of excellence, as the vow which promotes prosperity and peace, as the oath which blesses.” (Genesis 12:3) - “...and I will recede from, slight, trifle with, and him who curses you.” “And through you all the families and classes of people of the earth shall be adored and blessed’” (Genesis 17:3-4) - “Then ‘Abram fell in His presence, and God spoke to him, saying: ‘Here I Am, look at Me. I have a Covenant Relationship with you. And you shall be a father of exceedingly rich Gentiles.” (Genesis 17:5) - “No longer shall your name be called ‘Abram, but your proper and personal name shall be ‘Abraham. For I have given you the designation of father of the exceedingly rich Gentiles.” (Genesis 17:6) - “I will make you exceedingly fruitful. And I will entrust you to the Gentiles and there will be kingdoms produced because of you.”
Then the verses that describe Abraham’s seed/offspring (zera) relationship, land, blessed and joyous relationship, eternal and everlasting:
Quote:(Genesis 12:7) - “Then Yahuweh appeared to ‘Abram. He said your seed I give this land. So he built an altar there to Yahuweh who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 15:7) - “Then He affirmed to him, ‘I am Yahuweh who for the purpose of a blessed and joyous relationship asked you to come out of ‘Ur of the Kasdym to give you this land as an inheritance.’” (Genesis 15:13) – “Yahuweh said to ‘Abram, ‘Know and be known. Be aware of and acknowledge that your seed will exist as aliens in a land which isn’t theirs, reduced to servitude there, and they will be afflicted for four-hundred years.” (Genesis 15:14) - “But that Gentile nation which will reduce them to servitude, I will judge. And afterward, they shall come out with important possessions.” (Genesis 15:16) - “And they shall return home here in the fourth generation because indeed the iniquity, perversity, and depravity of the ‘Amoriy is not yet finished or complete.” (Genesis 17:7) - “I will stand up and establish My Covenant Relationship between Me and you, and between Me and your offspring after you in their dwelling places and generations , for an eternal and everlasting Covenant Relationship, existing yesterday, today, and tomorrow on behalf of and according to God and your offspring after you.”
And there is this verse which doesn’t seem to make sense as Abraham’s seed doesn’t seem to be as numerous as the stars:
Quote:(Genesis 15:5) - “And He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the heavens and count the number of stars if you are able to grasp the quantity.’ He promised, ‘This will be your seed.’”
Does this make any sense? The verses
are addressed to gowyum and zera respectively so there seems to be a separation.
All comments welcome!
