Why Does God Make Covenants and Give Signs?

A Sign that God Wants a Relationship with Us

If you have a Bible nearby, please turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Over the past several weeks, we’ve been looking at the life of Abram, and how God’s dealings with Abram gives us a sign or picture of how God deals with us today. If you’re using one of our church Bibles, you can find our text on page 11. This morning I’ll be reading from Genesis 17, verses one through 14. But before I read from God’s Word, please pray with me:

[Pray and Read Text]

A Covenant of Grace

The way that God reveals himself to mankind – the way that he relates to his people – it’s actually quite astonishing when you think about it. The fact that God planned out who you and I would be – that He shaped and sustained the world intentionally to make sure that you, personally, would exist – it’s incredible. In addition to this, though, he’s given us senses and rational minds that can perceive how the world displays his engineering genius. He gives us minds that can grasp the realness of his being. We can see his eternal power and divine nature through what has been made.

But even more than that, in the Bible we see that God has spoken to us. And when he’s spoken, it hasn’t just been a single, “Hello down there!” – which would be cool, but it wouldn’t tell us what God thinks of us. We wouldn’t know, from that encounter, whether or not there’s hope for us. But God says much more than just, “Hello.” God gives words from heaven to enter into a close, enduring relationship with his people – a special type of binding commitment, which the Bible refers to as a covenant.

Chapter 7 of the Westminster Confession of Faith summarizes the teaching of the Bible on this point, by saying this: “The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their creator, yet they could never have any fruition of him as their blessedness and reward, [except] by some voluntary condescension on God’s part, which he has been pleased to express by way of covenant.” In other words, as fallen creatures we would never be able to raise ourselves up to receive blessings from God. The only way we can have him and his benefits is if God brings himself low, down to our level. And in the Bible – especially here in Abram’s life – we see that God has done this, by establishing a special relationship with his people called a covenant.

It’s possible that you’ve noticed that the Bible talks a lot about God making promises, and establishing covenants. He lays down expectations and promises with Adam – before and after the fall. And God explicitly talks about setting up a covenant with Noah, with Abraham here, with Moses and the nation of Israel, at Sinai, and with king David. And then, finally, in Christ all the other covenants are brought to fulfillment and full expression. Understanding the idea of covenant is valuable for understanding the ongoing way that God relates to his people.

Of course, covenants mentioned in the Bible had differences, outwardly, in the signs or rituals that were used to express or administer the covenant. But all the promises that God made in these covenants pointed His people to look forward to the same thing – to Christ. These covenants were all part of unfolding and revealing the same plan, for how God would bless his people. And because of this, many theologians have considered the covenants as all being part of the same overarching covenant. If you read about the topic of covenant in theology books, this special relationship which shows God’s free kindness to his people – it’s usually referred to as the covenant of grace.

And here in Abram’s life, God has gradually been shedding more and more light on what this special relationship between him and Abram is supposed to look like. Early on, in Genesis 12, God explained what his commitments to Abram were. He promised that he would make Abram’s offspring numerous, and to give him a great land, and that through Abram all nations would be blessed. God then demonstrated his ongoing commitment to Abram in chapters 13 and 14, in preserving and protecting Abram. And then a couple weeks ago, in Genesis 15, God singlehandedly confirmed the certainty of his commitment to Abram with an oath. That’s what he was doing when he passed between the two rows of torn animals at the end of the chapter. And Genesis 15, verse 18, explains, “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram…” He further formalized the promises he had already made to Abram. And even despite Abram and Sarai’s mistakes that we looked at last week, in Genesis 16, our text today confirms that God is still determined to have an ongoing covenant relationship with Abram and his offspring. In Chapter 17, here, we see the clearest expression yet of this covenant of grace – this special relationship that God has entered into with Abram.

So as we work through our text, there are three characteristics I want to point out about this gracious covenant that we read about in Genesis 17. Three characteristics: first, God’s grace calls us to faith. Second, God’s grace changes our identity. And third, God’s grace is communicated through a sign.

God’s Grace Calls Us to Faith

So first, God’s grace calls us to faith. Look with me at verse 1. God tells Abram, “I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Verse 3: “Then Abram fell on his face.”

In these verses, God isn’t making a different covenant than the one he made in Genesis 15, but he’s laying out, in its clearest form so far, the terms of his covenant with Abram. And he follows a pattern that’s similar to the way that covenants or treaties were set up in ancient times between a Great King and a lesser king. Normally, the Greater King would initiate the covenant – like God is doing here. And the Greater King would start identifying himself, according to his authority and greatness. Which is what God does when he says, “I am God Almighty” – El Shaddai.

And then God explains the responsibilities of both parties in the covenant. Abram’s responsibility is mentioned at the end of verse 1. The LORD tells him, “Walk before me and be blameless.” And then in verse 2, God spells out his responsibilities – he says what he’ll do in the covenant. Unfortunately, the ESV translates verse 2 in a way that can be confusing – but here in the Hebrew text, God isn’t telling Abram, “walk blamelessly so that I may make my covenant. But instead he’s explaining, “Abram you, walk blamelessly – that’s your responsibility. And I will make my covenant and multiply you greatly – that’s my responsibility.”

So it’s worth pointing out here – for the first time, God is mentioning a condition that Abram needs to meet in the covenant. It’s indicated here that in order for Abram to receive the blessings promised in the covenant, Abram’s responsibility is to, “Walk before [God], and be blameless.” We need to understand, God isn’t giving Abram a new responsibility that he didn’t already have. Simply by being a creature, made by God, Abram owed God his absolute respect and obedience. But now, there is a condition laid out here, explicitly, that in the covenant, Abram needs to be right with God.

But Abram has already shown that he, by his own actions, in himself – he isn’t blameless. He can’t make himself right and clean in God’s eyes, simply by striving for moral self-improvement. His thoughts aren’t blameless, his desires aren’t blameless, his words and decisions aren’t blameless.

So how can Abram meet the condition? What does it look like for Abram to walk blamelessly before God? Well, Abram is reminded, even in this passage, that the most important part of that responsibility, is that he needs to rely on God Almighty – El Shaddai – to do and supply what he himself is incapable of. In commenting on this passage, John Calvin says, “In making the covenant, God stipulates for obedience, on the part of his servant. Yet He does not in vain prefix the declaration that that he is ‘the almighty God,’ and is furnished with power to help his own people…” In other words, by commanding blameworthiness, God isn’t telling Abram to rely on his own obedience, but is instead encouraging Abram to further rely on His Almighty Power. Calvin goes on to comment here that “there is no other method of living piously and justly than that of depending on God.”

So Abram’s blamelessness comes from relying on God’s grace – God’s supply – God’s provision. It’s not an accident that before God told Abram to walk blamelessly (in Chapter 17, here), he declared Abram to be blameless by faith in Genesis 15:6 – Abram “believed the LORD, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” That’s the only way for selfish, corrupt people like me, like you, and like Abram to be counted as right with God. Blamelessness before God – righteousness in his sight – it comes through faith in the LORD – ultimately, through faith in Jesus Christ.

And as Scripture unfolds, this is further confirmed because we see that the ultimate issue that disqualifies someone from receiving the blessings of the covenant is faithlessness – refusal to take God at His Word. Being included in the covenant outwardly never automatically caused anyone to be the recipient of God’s special blessings. Whoever would wish to receive the blessings that have been promised must believe. One of the clearest examples of this is pointed out for us in Hebrews 3:19. The generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt under Moses – even though they were Abram’s descendants, and were outwardly part of God’s covenant, they were “unable to enter [the promised Land] because of unbelief.”

When God gives Abram his covenant, and the promises associated with it, the goal isn’t to make Abram less dependent on God. God isn’t suggesting that Abram needs to trust him less – but God gives us his promises so we would trust him more. That’s at the root of what it means to walk before God, and to be blameless.

Now, we can also affirm that God wants his people to pursue moral uprightness in their thoughts, words, and deeds. Though God allows us to meet the condition of his covenant by his grace – even though he counts us as righteous through faith in Christ – his great mercy shouldn’t make us less eager to love God and live in his ways, but more eager.  Walking in faith isn’t an enemy of obedience. But having faith like this will motivate and produce obedience.

But our imperfect attempts at obedience aren’t what our confidence before God is grounded on. Instead, by faith, our confidence ultimately rests on the sufficiency of God. Because when God declares himself to be “God Almighty” to Abram, just think about the implicit promise he’s making. He’s confirming that he’s infinitely able to meet all of Abram’s needs – that he’s able to make up for all of Abram’s deficiencies.

This was a reassurance that Abram probably needed to hear. For one thing, about 13 years had passed since Abram had been involved in that morally problematic plan – to have a son, Ishmael, with his wife’s maidservant Hagar. And as far as we can tell, there had been silence from the Lord all that time. Perhaps Abram was wondering if he had committed some sort of unpardonable sin, by taking Hagar as a second wife. In that long season of silence, it’s possible that Abram was starting to wonder if God’s promises were still on their way.

But God again calls Abram to faith here, by insisting, I am God Almighty. I am the God who can clean you of your sins and backslidings. I am the God who can bring universes from nothing, and who can bring children from barren women. I am the God who is enough for you, and who can uphold you when you struggle to believe. I am God Almighty – that’s what the Lord says.

And this is maybe a reassurance that you need to hear this morning, as well. You may be struggling with an overwhelming sense of your ongoing dirtiness and wrongness before God. It may be hard to believe that He would look at you, and see you as blameless in his sight. But the LORD has confirmed in His Word, and in real events of human history, that He’s God’s Almighty. And as he approaches us in his Almighty Power, it isn’t to crush us or condemn us – but he covenants with us. He uses his power to give promises, and to confirm those promises, to call us into faith. In his Almighty strength, He’s able to overcome your guilt, your shame, and all your sins. He has sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to bear the penalty of sin on behalf of his people, so that everyone who believes would be counted as blameless and righteous in God’s eyes. Being qualified to receive God’s blessings – it doesn’t come from us. But Colossians 1:12 affirms that God himself is the one who qualifies us “…to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” It’s a gift of God’s grace.

And this underscores the gracious nature of God’s covenant. Herman Bavinck says, “The covenant of grace is pure grace, and nothing else, and excludes all works. It gives what it demands, and fulfills what it prescribes. The Gospel is sheer good tidings, not demand but promise, not duty but gift” (1). It’s as though God is standing outside a concert hall, calling people to come enjoy the world’s greatest musical performance. But as you approach the concert hall, you realize that you don’t meet the condition for entering the Hall. You don’t have a ticket. But before you can turn away, God stops you and says, “Where are you going?” And you say, “I don’t have a ticket! And I don’t have the money that’s needed to buy it. I can’t qualify myself to get in.” But God replies by saying, “I am God Almighty. I can take care of it. I can supply you with everything you need” – and he supplies the ticket – he meets the condition on your behalf, in Christ. That’s the arrangement that God is inviting us into, in spelling out the terms of his covenant.

God’s Grace Changes Our Identity

But God’s grace does something else as well. God’s grace changes our identity. Look with me in verse 4: God tells Abram, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”

I haven’t mentioned this before, but in Hebrew, the name Abram meant “exalted father.” It’s quite a respectable name, isn’t it? And in light of God’s promises, it’s a fitting name. God has promised to give Abram offspring and to bless him – so being called Abram, “exalted father” probably makes sense to us.

But it’s hard to say if Abram would have felt honored by having such a great name. After all, it wasn’t until he was 86 years old that his first – and at this point his only – son was born to him through his wife’s maidservant. That isn’t quite the formula you’d expect for living up to the name “exalted father.” So for Abram, he may have felt like his name was something like false advertising – that there was a bitter irony in his name, because the description didn’t seem true.

So in verse 5, when God says, “No longer shall your name be Abram,” it’s possible that Abram anticipated that his name was going to be changed to something a little less flashy – something that, in his mind, sounded a bit more realistic. Rather than “exalted father,” maybe he would simply be called “father,” or “The one who desires children.”

But instead God says, “your name shall be called Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” The name Abraham means, “Father of a multitude.” So God isn’t downgrading Abram’s name here – he’s actually intensifying and enlarging Abram’s name from “exalted father” to “father of a multitude.” In God’s eyes, the problem isn’t that Abram hasn’t been living up to his name – but the problem is that Abram’s name doesn’t line up with the full reality of Abram’s blessedness in the covenant.

Not only will Abram have numerous offspring, who become a great nation, but in verse 6, God expands the promise: “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” But the richest of blessings that Abram receives comes in verse 7: “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant (and this is what the covenant is for) to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” God promises himself. Similarly at the end of verse 8, God promises Abraham and his offspring, “I will be their God.”

Being in a covenant with God doesn’t just provide us with the very specific, limited list of blessings (like offspring and a land) – but it gives us the blessings-giver. It fundamentally changes the way we relate to God, and the way we relate to his world. If you’re trusting in the covenant promises of God – your importance is not defined by your earthly titles, accomplishments, or circumstances. Instead, God himself crowns you with imperishable significance and glory. The name above all names – the name of Jesus Christ, who has received all authority in heaven and earth – his name – the name of Christian – is placed on you. You become his, and he becomes yours, and adorns you with his benefits. In Christ, we who were once cursed under sin and death receive blessing. We who were once his enemies are summoned to become his adopted children and heirs. We who were once dead are given His Spirit, and new life. God’s grace profoundly changes our identity.

God’s Grace Is Communicated through a Sign

But there’s one more characteristic of God’s grace that gets attention in the text. God’s grace is communicated through a sign.

In verses 9 through 14, God explains that there’s something he wants Abraham to do, to pass on the remembrance of this special covenant relationship. God declares that Abraham, and his descendants after him throughout their generations, should practice circumcision. We see this at the end of verse 10. God says, “Every male among you shall be circumcised” An auxiliary piece of skin that is unique to males shall be cut off – that’s the command. And why does God command this?

Verse 11: “You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” God is associating a specific, ongoing sign with his covenant. He wants a visible confirmation of his covenant grace to be passed down from parents to their children. As Abraham, and Abraham’s children reflect on their circumcision, God wants them to remember the special relationship he is calling them into.

Circumcision may seem like an unusual sign – a strange way for God to confirm the ongoing relationship he has with his people, in the covenant. But in the physical act of circumcision – in the cutting off of human flesh – there’s some pretty significant symbolism to it. For one thing, it points to the need for our sin to be cut away. Outward circumcision is intended to draw attention to our need for an inward circumcision of the heart – a cutting off of our corruption, as several parts of Scripture indicate: Deuteronomy 10:16, Deuteronomy 30, verse 6, Jeremiah 4:4, and others.

But in a real way, the sign of circumcision especially points to and prefigures the death of Jesus. From Abraham’s own biological fruitfulness – from his own progeny, a son was coming who would be cut off – his blood would be spilled. That’s how God would free his people from the curse of sin, and bring them righteousness and blessing. So in Romans 4:11 (later in the Bible), we’re told that “Abraham received circumcision as a sign and seal of the righteousness he had by faith.” It was a sign of the righteousness granted in Christ, the Righteous One, and it was a seal – a confirmation – that through faith in Him, Abraham had a right relationship with God.

And take note of this – this sign wasn’t just for Abraham. It wasn’t a sign of Abraham’s faith. The sign wasn’t just given to Abram’s family to mark them as ethnically distinct.  But God wanted to confirm the reality that he has initiated a special relationship, to be God to Abram and his descendants. And God wants this to be visibly remembered and confirmed for generations – and that’s why God gives this sign for Abram to pass on. In fact, God is so concerned about the passing on of his covenant, and the sign he has given, in verse 14 he warns, “Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

God indicates that there’s an ongoing seriousness here, for his people to pass on a sign of the covenant to their offspring. The special promises and assurances given to Abram are supposed to be passed down to his children, like a family heirloom, so that they would call upon God as their God, by faith.

And there’s a connection between the covenant made with Abraham, here in Genesis 17, and the covenant between God and His Church today. Several passages in the New Testament confirm that the covenant of grace made with Abraham is the same in substance as the new covenant in Christ. The promise of blessing, through Christ, is at the heart of both. Luke 1:72 points out that God sent His Son, Jesus, to us, not to do something totally new – but “to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham…” Similarly, in Galatians 3:14 we’re told that “in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham… [comes] to the [nations].” Christ isn’t setting up a totally new covenant, in substance. But he’s carrying out the promises of the covenant of grace, and he’s administering it with even greater clarity, and greater expansiveness, with new signs.

And the new sign instituted by Christ for his people, that is given to confirm God’s promises to us, that are received by faith – that new sign is baptism.  This is why a Bible-believing Presbyterian and Reformed church like ours baptize both adult converts and believers, as well as their children. Because we believe that God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham sets a binding precedent for the way God wants children of Abraham like us, by faith, should pass on this sign of the covenant to our children.

I understand that there are several of you here who might not believe that baptizing the children of believers is correct. And I want to point out, you don’t need to agree on this point in order to be welcomed and engaged in our church. My goal here isn’t to bring frustration. But I’ve simply wanted to lay out what I’m convinced is a Biblical explanation for where baptism came from, why it’s significant, and how we believe it should be administered, in view of how God sets up his covenants.

It’s important for me to be clear on this, though, we don’t understand baptism the same way that Roman Catholics do.  I’m not saying that we baptize the children of believers because we think that the act of water baptism saves them, or because we think that baptism places or produces grace in people. That way of thinking is a mistake. The benefits and the promises of God that are visibly shown and confirmed in baptism must be received by faith. Otherwise, children will only be associated with God’s covenant people outwardly, instead of inwardly and savingly. This was true for Abraham and his descendants. The same is true today.

We don’t believe that the sign of baptism, itself, saves – but it points us and our children to the God who has promised to save – to the God who calls for our faith. Those of us who are Christian parents already understand that we should be teaching our kids to trust in God’s promises, and to pray to him as their God. And by giving us a sign of the covenant, God himself wants to confirm to us and our kids that we have warrant to do so. And this means, then, that baptism isn’t, first and foremost, a signal about ourselves that we’re giving to God. But baptism is a sign that God gives to us, about his promises, to be received through faith.

In Acts, Chapter 2, at the end of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, He says the people need to respond by repenting, and being baptized, and they will receive the Holy Spirit. This is the first time on record, in the Bible, that the apostles call people to Christian baptism. So this is significant. And Peter then explains, “For the promise is for you, and for your children after you, and for all who are far off.” He refers here to the promise made to Abraham, and Peter reiterates – just as God does in Genesis 17 – that the promise is for you, and for your children after you (as well as for the nations – those who are far off). Peter’s talking about a covenantal relationship with God here. And the sign of the covenant is baptism. (Even people who practice believer’s baptism only affirm this).

But who should get this sign? Nowhere in the New Testament does God caution us against baptizing the children of believers. Instead, Peter explains in this precedent-setting sermon that the promise is for you and your children after you, like it was for Abraham. Doesn’t it make sense, then, that the sign also should be for you and your children? The children of believers are not outsiders to the promises – but they are present here in the visible Church of Christ, a part of our fellowship, heirs to the covenants of promise, and they have hope, and they know about the God they can call to. Baptism confirms to us and our children that God has opened the door for us to receive His promises by faith.

And the symbolism of baptism is rich. Like circumcision, it points to our need for sin to be taken away – in this case, washed away. And the symbolism of baptism likewise points us to Christ and his benefits – particularly to the pouring out of the Spirit of Christ. Now that Christ has come, circumcision is put aside – the church no longer uses a bloody sign – because Christ’s body has been broken, and his blood shed, once for all. There is no more blood to be shed. Circumcision has been fulfilled in Christ. But the promise still remains – that Christ is pouring out his Spirit to each of his people, to bring them all into blessedness, through faith.

And so in baptism, God is continuing to tell His people, “Take notice of my promises! They’re reliable! You can place your full weight upon them, and they will not break.” The promises of God don’t teach us to be complacent, but they teach us to lean on God completely, with confidence – and with commitment to the God who has so perfectly pledged his commitment to us. For those of you who have been baptized – whether in your youth or as an adult – consider, that in your baptism, God confirming that you can have him to be your God. You have a God who has brought himself low, to pledge himself to you, in this covenant. You have an Almighty God who has made a way for you to be washed of your sins, and brought into a right relationship with him, through faith in Christ. You have a God who confirms with a visible sign that Christ and all richness is poured out to you, for your everlasting blessedness.

Do you see God’s grace? By entering into a covenant with us – and making solemn promises, and giving visible signs, God is bending over backwards to us to prove his trustworthiness and goodness. So let’s give thanks that we have a God like this – a God who cares for us in our humanness, and who is faithful, even when we are fickle.

Let’s pray:

1 (Magnalia Dei, Kampen, 1931, 261; Eng. tr., Our Reasonable Faith, Grand Rapids, 1956, 278).