A lot of times, we hear that a covenant is a sacred promise between us and God. In ancient times, such as those recorded in the Bible, covenants were also an important part of people’s interactions with each other. In order for people to be safe and stay alive, people needed to be able to trust each other, and covenants were a way to secure that trust.
So when God spoke to Noah, Abraham, or Moses about covenants, He was inviting them to enter into a relationship of trust with Him. One of the best-known examples of a covenant in the Old Testament is the one God made with Abraham and Sarah
Genesis 13:16
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Genesis 15:2-6
2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 17:15-19
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him
We often call this the Abrahamic covenant, although in the Old Testament it was known simply as “the covenant.” You will see that the Old Testament is fundamentally the story of people who saw themselves as the inheritors of this covenant—the covenant people.
God’s covenant with Abraham promised wonderful blessings: an inheritance of land, a large posterity, access to priesthood ordinances, and a name that would be honored for generations to come. But the focus of this covenant was not just on the blessings Abraham and his family would receive but also on the blessing they would be to the rest of God’s children.
That was thousands of years ago, but this covenant has been restored in our day. And it is currently being fulfilled in the lives of God’s people. In fact, the fulfillment of the covenant is building momentum in the latter days as God’s work progresses, blessing families throughout the world. And anyone who, like Abraham, wants to be a greater follower of righteousness, anyone who seeks the Lord earnestly, can be a part of it.
You are a child of the covenant. You made a covenant with God when you were baptized.
Galatians 3:27 says the following:
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise
You renew that covenant every time you partake of the sacrament. And you make sacred covenants in the temple. Together, these covenants make you a participant in the Abrahamic covenant, the fulness of which is found in temple ordinances. As President Russell M. Nelson taught, “Ultimately, in the holy temple, we may become joint heirs to the blessings of an eternal family, as once promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their posterity
Think also about God’s promise to you of eternal families and eternal increase
Think also about the celestial destiny of the earth itself—an inheritance promised to the “meek” who “wait upon the Lord
Think also about what you can do—as a covenant follower of Jesus Christ—to be a blessing to the families around you.
Click the Picture below to see our video
No comments:
Post a Comment