Abraham's Covenant

Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim a connection to Abraham. They also all claim that through Abraham a special connection to God was established, giving them certain "favor" in the eyes of God. That connection is described in scriptures as "The Covenant." The story below is from the book of Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.

Abram (who came to be known as Abraham) and his wife Sarai (who came to be known as Sarah) were in desire of having a child. Abram was nearing 100 and Sarai 80. It was assumed that Sarah was barren. Abram was distressed about this and God spoke to him, “’Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:5-6. Sarah was distressed about being barren and suggested to Abram that he should lie with Hagar, her maidservant, in order to have an heir. He did so, and Hagar became pregnant.

Sarai became jealous and began to mistreat Hagar. Hagar became distressed and left. An angel of God found her in the desert. The angel said to her, “’Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel added, ‘I will increase your descendants that they will become too numerous to count.’ The angel of the Lord also said to her: ‘You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, For the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all of his brothers.’” Genesis 16:10-12

God came to Abraham again and said to him regarding Sarah “’ I will bless her and will surely you give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’ Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’ And Abraham said to God, ‘If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!’ Then God said ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.’” Genesis 17:16-21

That is the beginning of the Israelites and Ishmaelites. The Israelites are the descendants of Isaac, and the Ishmaelites descendants of Ishmael. The Muslim faith was developed from the Ishmaelites. Abraham is grandfather to both, yet they have different mothers. The Christian religion developed much later, but shares the scriptures of Judaism.

In the New Testament it is written: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4:18-25. It is clear that all three religions trace their “covenant” with God back to Abraham.

Throughout the Old Testament, starting in the Garden of Eden, as explained in the video clip with Eric Ishimaru; https://worldclass.regis.edu/AngelUploads/Content/SP_XIN_BH_RC220B_XP72_... humans repeatedly wandered away from God. God was continually having to search the earth for men whose hearts were still faithful.

After the original sin was committed in Eden, and then the murder of Abel, by his brother Cain, God called upon Noah to be the human that would preserve humanity while God wiped the earth clean with the flood. God also had a covenant with Noah. “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth."Genesis 9:1.“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ‘I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you –the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’” Genesis 9:8-11.

Each covenant, or promise that God made had to do with a promise of prolific populating. In the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, which is shared by the Jewish religion, the promises made by God had to do with being the father or mother of “great nations.” It is interesting that while God blessed Ishmael as a father to twelve rulers, he explicitly separated the blessing from that which he gave Isaac. God also warned Abraham that his descendants would suffer and become enslaved by other nations, but ultimately promised proliferation, punishment to Israel’s enemies, and even outlined specific lands that were theirs to inhabit and rule. It is no wonder that there is today conflict in the Middle East over sacred and promised lands between the two cultures.

One way to interpret events as they have occurred would be to recognize that God has always needed to have a people who are devoted and faithful to him. If people lose contact with God and the commandments altogether, than God has tended to punish people, mainly by destroying populations. Jesus is a figure that entered the picture ages after these ancient covenants and serves the purpose of “standing in” for all the humans God would probably have liked to destroy, but couldn’t because God has made these covenants with humans. By making covenants with Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, God basically put into law that humans could no longer be “extinguished” such as in the flood. It is the job of humans now to learn to be humane, and to follow the example of Jesus Christ’s life of love and sacrifice in order to stay connected to God, rather than out of his protection and favor.