Heb. 6:13 speaks of the promise God made to Abraham. The writer then quotes that promise in v14, using the “version” in Gen. 22:15-18. We say “version” only because there are several times that God re-stated the covenant. He did not use the same exact words because the LORD emphasized different aspects at different times. Let’s look briefly at those 5 times God spoke of the covenant with Abraham.
·
Gen. 12:1-3: This was the first statement,
apparently given to Abraham while he was still in Ur of the Chaldees. It promised a great nation, a great name, and
a blessing on the nations. There are no
conditions stated. Abram had to decide
if he trusted God’s promise or not, a decision that would be seen in his
departure for Canaan. That emphasizes
the fact that the “condition” was faith, and faith is the absence of
works.
o Here’s
one thought about conditions. Since this
includes a promise of the salvation provided through the Messiah, if Abraham
had to earn this promise then our salvation would not only be conditional on the
work of Christ; it would be conditional on the work of Abraham.
·
Gen. 13:14-17: This version was given after
Abraham and Lot split over the issue of the land. Abraham was at Bethel, in Israel’s center, from
where you can see a long way in all directions.
The emphasis is on the land and descendants. The building of altars was part of worship; Abram
is giving thanks to God, not earning a right to the promise.
·
Gen. 15:5-21: This records the actual making of
the covenant between God and Abram. On
the matter of “conditions,” it could not be clearer. Abram does nothing but provide the animals
the LORD asks for. Abram is asleep when
the LORD makes the covenant. It comes
after Abram’s expression of faith (v5-6), which we reiterate, is not a work on
Abram’s part but a receiving of God’s word.
The faith was in response to the promise of a son from Abram’s body,
thus relating to descendants as well as to the Savior. There is also an emphasis on the land, which
Abram’s descendants would vacate for 400 years.
The LORD even defines the borders of the land.
·
Gen. 17:7-8: This version comes after the
attempt to satisfy God’s promise through Hagar.
In 17:1 God tells Abram to “walk before Me and be blameless.” But in no way does He link this to the
covenant. What is linked to the covenant
is the name change to Abraham, “father of a multitude.” The name change is God’s doing, and is a
reiteration of the promise already given.
Thus, there are no conditions.
·
Gen. 22:15-18: This is what was quoted in
Hebrews 6, and to some it sounds like there is a condition. It comes after Abraham’s obedience with Isaac
on Mt. Moriah. But therein is the key to
understanding that this is not Abraham’s meeting of a condition. It is Abraham’s faith. The question is how Abraham entered into the
covenant with God. It was by faith. In the New Testament we see this in the Rom.
4 and James 2 passages on “justification.”
James uses this story to illustrate the fact that faith will always
produce works. The LORD had waited for a
long time to see this in Abraham. And
Abraham had gone through several situations where he did not trust God (Hagar,
lying about Sarah in Egypt and Gerar).
But here, God specifically “tested” Abraham (22:1) as to his faith! As the NT says, the issue was still the “son;”
and Abraham believed that if he took the life of Isaac in obedience to God that
God would raise him from the dead (Heb.
11:17-19; cf. also Rom. 4:20-21).
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