Was God's Love
For Father Abraham
Without Conditions?

No it wasn't.

Even Father Abraham...one of God's most esteemed and rewarded prophets...had to abide by contractual conditions...a covenant...to enjoy the benefits of his position in God's eyes.

Abraham was so faithful to his covenant with God that...as God promised...he is a central religious figure...the father figure of religious nations...Judaism...Islam...and Christianity.

But as noted on other pages...Aristotle points out that there is such a great disparity between the greatness of God and humans...that makes a relationship between them impossible.

But...all things are possible with God...and he solves the problem by relating to humans in covenants...which is a contract...a religious one...binding on all parties to it...including God.

If you are not familiar with the identical formal elements of contracts and covenants...you might want to take a moment and take a quick break from this Father Abraham page and visit the covenants page .

Then use your browser's back button to return to the story of Abraham and Sarah.

I'll wait right here.

The basic element in any contract or covenant is that each party wants something they value from the other party. So as we look at the story of Father Abraham and his wife Sarah...we can see Abraham negotiating for the best terms possible!

In a preliminary discussion...God taps Abraham by appearing to him in a vision (Gn 15:1ff)...where he promises him to be his shield and to reward him greatly.

But Father Abraham wants a benefit put into any agreement with God...and he succeeds in getting his terms met.

He asks God "What good will all your gifts be if I keep on being childless?" He points out that his only heir would be his servant Eliezer.

And Father Abraham presses God further by pointing out...specifically...to God that he has granted him no children.

God immediately agrees to Abraham's negotiation. He takes Abraham outside and says that his descendants will be his own issue...and he tells him to count the stars to see how many descendants he shall have.

Then God names the vast lands over which Abraham and his descendants shall have dominion.

Abraham agreed to the promised benefits and accepted them. And God was pleased with his faith.

Those are the benefits to Father Abraham...Sarah and their descendants.

But...contracts and covenants have to work both ways. So...

God wants to be Abraham's God and the God of all his descendants.

Sounds like a very good deal. And it must have seemed so to Father Abraham because he doesn't negotiate any further.

But contracts and covenants put boundaries around the behavior of the participants in a covenant.

And boundaries are limits on behavior that either...

• require certain behaviors
• or prohibit certain behaviors

Here are the terms...the conditions...for enjoying God's generosity...

God says (Gn 17:10)..."This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep.

Every male among you must be circumcised. Thus my covenant with you shall be in your flesh as an everlasting pact."

And so all the males...including the 99 year old Abraham...were circumcised on that very day.

One might imagine God's amusement...and the women trying to suppress their smiles...as they watched all those men hopping around going..."Ooh...ouch...ow that hurt...what did you say we get for this?

But...there you have it...the covenant of the flesh with Father Abraham.

But contracts and covenants have penalty clauses. So...

God has mellowed since the days of the covenant with Adam and Eve and later in the covenant with Noah .

He promised Adam and Eve misery and death for their default. By the time of Noah...God was so disgusted that he wanted to destroy all of creation.

But the penalty clause in the covenant with Father Abraham is individual. God says (Gn 17:14)...

"If a male is uncircumcised...if the flesh of his foreskin has not been cut away...such a one shall be cut off from his people...he has broken my covenant".

• A mutual exchange of desired benefits
• the boundaries or limitations or terms under which those benefits will be given
• A penalty clause for violating the specified terms

As you consider the fact that God relates to humans...even the exalted Father Abraham...in the ancient form of a contract...a religious covenant...you may have questions about how this relates to boundaries in ministry.

If so...

then just fill out the form below and we'll get back to you with a timely reply.

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