This week, we continue our trek through the major biblical covenants as we meet Abraham. Something that, in my mind, particularly distinguishes God’s covenant with Abraham is that Abraham’s whole life was all about reiterated covenant. What I mean by this is that on at least 6 separate occasions, God makes (just the first time) and restates or further expounds upon His covenant with Abraham. Check out Gen. 12:1-7, 13:14-18, 15, 17:1-14, 18:18-19, 22:15-18 for all of this covenanting.
Some things that have jumped out at me as I’ve been reading, studying, pondering, and meditating are as follows.
- How can this covenant be guarunteed but also condiontional, based upon Abraham’s actions?
- What does it mean for God to “be God” to Abraham (and us)?
- What can we learn from Abraham’s not really seeing the promises fulfilled?
- What can we learn from Abraham’s covenant-seared life?
- What does it mean for God to choose and call out a people?
I sincerely doubt that we’ll get to all or even most of these topics. I hope that as you read, or at least browse, through Abraham’s life (Gen. 11-25), you can think through some of these things as well to help our time together this Sunday.
My notes can be seen here.
It means that God regards children as members of the covenant community. Because this has never been eradicated in the New Testament children still belong to the covenant community. Baptism, like circumcision was, is the initiation rite into the covenant community. Therefore, what God’s covenant with Abe means is that children should be baptized…preferably dunked.
By: Kyle Borg on September 13, 2008
at 7:09 pm
Kyle,
Should all children be baptized or only the boys? Since only males were circumcised, does the same follow through with baptism?
Thanks for your comments on the blog. They always cause some interesting thought and discussion. I’ll follow up later in the week on your comment under the Mosaic covenant.
By: Mikel Berger on September 14, 2008
at 3:40 pm
No the same doesn’t follow through as with circumcision. It’s not that circumcision and baptism correspond on a 1:1 ratio, just like the Passover and the Lord’s Supper is not a 1:1 ratio. Both circumcision and Passover are “models” for the NT sacraments. We must consider the nature of the covenant. The covenant which was originally established in the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 and was iterated to Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, and 17) is the same covenant we are now partakers of (c.f. Galatians 3:14). But the nature of the covenant is not static, as redemptive history progresses so does the covenant; the covenant is always expanding never retracting. This is the reason why women receive the initiatory rite of baptism along with the men. At one time they were not included, but because the promise of the covenant is always enlarged and “bigger” so now we find in the pattern of the NT women are partakers of the sign as well, for in God there is neither male or female. So as much as we say baptism is the NT circumcision, it is not identical with circumcision, but both circumcision and baptism do mean the same thing, the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:11, 12). Hope that clarifies.
Grace.
By: Kyle Borg on September 15, 2008
at 5:37 pm