ABRAHAM’S COVENANT
Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16
2nd Sunday in Lent

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this 2nd Sunday in Lent is from the book of Genesis, chapter 17, particularly these words, “God said to Abraham “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” This is our text.

In the name of Jesus. (Amen.) God comes to Abraham and says, “I’ll make a deal with you!” Here are the rules: (1) You walk before me and be blameless and (2) I will greatly increase your numbers.” Simply put God just said, “You be my people and I will be your God.” The promise to Abraham basically had three parts to it — Property / Prosperity / and progeny: or, Land / Wealth/ and kids.

How well did they do? Well, Abraham did pretty good as far as human beings go. When God told him to pack up all his belongings in the land of Ur, rent a U-haul, and head down the interstate until God told him to stop — He didn’t ask where, and he didn’t ask why, he just did it! And when his Nephew Lot chose the green, lush pastureland around Sodom and Gomorrah and left Abraham with the wild wilderness and desert area, he didn’t complain. He was fair in all his dealings with his neighbors and he was recognized by all as a very good man. But was he “blameless” before God? Did he keep God’s law perfectly? No! Abraham was a sinner just like all people. Even Moses writing about the Father of his nation tells about the incident in Egypt. Instead of trusting in God for their protection, Abraham and Sarah tried to protect themselves by lying to the Egyptians telling them that Sarah is Abraham’s sister, not his wife. He was afraid that because his wife was so beautiful, the Egyptians would kill him and take her for their wife. Pharaoh did take Sarah to his own home, planning to make her one of his wives — But God broke up that plan real quick. The details are in Genesis, chapter 12. Abraham had doubted God and lied. And then there was Hagar. Even though he had his wife’s permission, his relationship with Hagar, which produced Ishmael, was still an adulterous relationship. Ishmael was never regarded as a legitimate son and heir! The Bible is clear, “He who offends in one point of the law is guilty of the whole Law.” No! Abraham was not perfect. Like all human beings since Adam, like you and like me, he was, by his very nature, a sinner. He deserved, not God’s grace, love, and mercy, but rather God’s wrath and judgment.

So what does God do? With Abraham’s sin and shortcomings, God could wash his hands of the whole mess and just find someone else to bless. Abraham hasn’t earned God’s blessings, so God is free to withhold those blessings and give them to someone else. Abraham did not deserve it — Abraham should not get it! BUT…….(and here is a Biblical Truth that is important) God cannot, and will not, withhold from Abraham what was promised to him. Why? Because GOD is FAITHFUL. God cannot break his promises. Even if Abraham is unfaithful — God has to remain faithful, because that is what he is. That is exactly what Paul was telling Timothy when he wrote, “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13)

So even though Abraham does not deserve God’s gifts and favor, God renews his promise to Abraham again. “You shall be the father of many nations and kings shall come from you.” This even called for a name change – no longer would he be called Abram, but from now on he would be called “Abraham”, because God had made him the father of a multitude of nations.

And how does Abraham acknowledge this great gift and covenant of God? The verses after our text for today say, “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?’” A year later than this Sarah will laugh at this same promise when it is given again, but this time it is Abraham who laughs. It’s almost as if he is saying, “Thank you God, This would really be great, but it won’t happen. It can’t happen! It’s impossible. I’m 100 years old and Sarah is 90. A couple who should be planning their 75th wedding anniversary, instead planning on how to decorate the nursery?? A year later Sarah even says that it has ceased with her the ways of women – it is physically, humanly, impossible for Abraham and Sarah to become parents!

Not only did Abraham not earn God’s blessings. Not only did he not deserve God’s blessings. But there is absolutely no way that he can cooperate with God in making this covenant complete by his human power. There will be no God’s part and Abraham’s part. There will be no sinner’s prayer. There will be no decision for God. There will be no receiving Jesus in his heart. By human ability – It can’t happen!

That’s where God’s grace comes in. God’s underserved blessing comes not only to Abraham, but to you and me as well. Remember your confirmation classes. Why does God have to save us? Why does the Holy Spirit have to create saving faith in us? Because there is no way that we can save ourselves. Every one of us is by nature, spiritually blind, spiritually dead, and an enemy of God. That’s why Luther said in his explanation of the 3rd Article, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in my Lord Jesus Christ or come to him.” I cannot do it!

But then God steps in and does the impossible. As Paul said in the Epistle lesson for today, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And, “While we were enemies of God we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son.”

Just as Sarah’s aged, unfruitful womb bears a son by God’s grace through faith, so also our sinful hearts are made righteous before God. The good works we did not do, Christ did for us. The death we deserved, Christ died for us. The eternal life in heaven with God which we were totally undeserving, Christ gave to us through his life, death, and resurrection, by grace.

God said to Abraham, “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring.” It wasn’t a “We will establish” but an “I will establish.” Likewise, our relationship with God, is not in any way our doing – but is totally and completely created and established by God by His Grace, through the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. And it becomes our own, by God’s grace, through faith in our baptism where God claims us as his own, and in the Body and Blood of Christ given to us in/with/and under the Bread and Wine of Holy Communion, for the forgiveness of our sins. There is no other salvation. We are saved by God’s grace alone! To God alone be the glory, now and always. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.