Who was Abraham and why did God choose to bless him along with his descendants? Was it because he was a particularly holy and righteous man? What was the nature of God’s promise, and what did Abraham need to do in order to make it happen? Also, how does the covenant ritual described in Genesis 15 ultimately point us to Golgotha? Shane Rosenthal discusses these issues with Mike Brown, co-author of Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored.
Show Quote:
The Abrahamic covenant was in no way annulled by the Sinai covenant. The law of Moses revealed that all of us need a savior. It was like a tutor for children who was only necessary for a certain time. As long as that covenant remained in place, God’s promise to Abraham was limited to the people of Israel in the land of Canaan. But the greater fulfillment of that promise couldn’t come until Christ fulfilled the Mosaic promises and inaugurated the new covenant. This is why Paul says in Galatians that we’re really going backwards when we try to re-institute things such as circumcision or dietary laws. Those things were only appropriate during the time of the old covenant, but now that Christ has come, they are no longer in effect (Gal. 3:25).
Mike Brown
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