The Covenant
The Holy Scriptures do not record man’s search for God, but instead they record God’s search for man. In particular, the Scriptures contain the covenants which God has made with the children of men so that they might know Him and thereby choose to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. The covenant with Abraham for example, was one of the first. God promised Abraham, an elderly man with no sons, that he would receive a promised land [Genesis 12:4-7 and Genesis 15:18-19], be made a great nation [Genesis 15:1-7], and that “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” [Genesis 12:2-3].
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This same covenant was passed on to Abraham’s rightful heir, Isaac, for God told Abraham, “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac… for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” [Genesis 17:21 and Genesis 21:12]. From Isaac, the covenant was passed onto his youngest son, Jacob, whose name would be changed to Israel, as well as unto Jacob’s twelve sons, who would become the tribes of Israel. “And God Almighty bless thee [Jacob], and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.” [Genesis 28:3-4].
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The promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was not merely a land of inheritance but more importantly it was that all the families of the earth might be blessed through them and their seed. For through their seed would come the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord unto the salvation and eternal life of all men who will repent and covenant with Him in the waters of baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for a remission of their sins.
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Nevertheless, how might the children of men believe without first receiving a witness of the truth of the Son of God? Thus the Lord God Almighty chose the people of Israel to witness of Him and to be His glory. “Ye [Israel] are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you; therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.” [Isaiah 43:10-12].
Scriptures to Consider
Genesis 12:1-7 (KJV)
12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
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12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 12:6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
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Genesis 17:21 (KJV)
17:1 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
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Genesis 21:12 (KJV)
21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
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Genesis 28:3-4, 13-15 (KJV)
28:3 And God Almighty bless thee [Jacob], and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 28:4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
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28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it [the earth], and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
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Isaiah 43:10-12 (KJV)
43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Saviour. 43:12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
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