Genesis 15

The story that runs through the bible has some very strong themes that are rooted in the covenant God made with Abram. Previously we've focused in on the idea that the covenant was about the outpouring of God's blessing on Abram and and on all people through Abram. We always need to keep that aspect of the covenant central in our understanding of the biblical story. There are two other aspects of the covenant that are reinforced in chapter 15 that are also key.

Firstly the covenant relates to a people. God promised Abram offspring as numerous as the stars. Although it is completely biblical to believe that God relates to each of us as individuals it is really important to keep in mind that this covenant is about God's relationship with Abram's offspring. From this point the bible's main theme is God intimacy with a people. Reading the New Testament without that understanding can mean we miss the heart of God's redemption story.

I think sometimes we get disappointed with God because our expectations revolve around an understanding of relationship with God that is very individualistic and personally intimate. So much emphasis is placed on God being like a daddy that we only expect God to meet us in those very personal ways. If he doesn't we get really disappointed and discouraged. What exactly does a 'personal' relationship with God mean? I wonder how a stronger concept of being part of the people of God might change those expectations and help us to see new and different ways of experiencing him. Please don't misunderstand me here, I passionately believe that an individual's conviction and experience of God's love towards them is one of the most transforming and central experiences of Christian conversion. Nothing is more beautiful than the assurance of God's love towards me. What I am seeking for is a richer and deeper understanding of a relationship that the bible devotes itself to - God and His people.

The second part of the covenant detailed in this chapter is God's promise to give Abram the land of Canaan. This picks up a theme that is building in my reading of Genesis. The theme of a 'place' of blessing. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve enjoyed the blessing of God. It was a 'place', a physical location. When Adam sinned he left that place, the land of blessing. Now God is promising a new 'place' for Abram's family, a 'place' destined to be a home for God's people. A 'place' of abundant blessing. God didn't offer Abram a celestial home far, far way from the rotten and sinful earth. No, instead he pointed to the restoration of a small piece of this planet and committed to the establishment of a new place of blessing. Perhaps just a signpost of a much greater redemption. A hope that one day all the earth would be blessed through Abram. God's commitment is not the destruction of the physical earth but its renewal.

So the 3 themes that substantiate this covenant are God's people (Abram's descendants), in God's place (the promised land), enjoying God's blessing. These are the elements that Graeme Goldsworthy constantly addresses in his books - he is well worth a read for getting to grips with the the overarching story of the bible.

In the next blog I'll return to chapter 15 to consider how God will uphold justice in the establishment of His Kingdom. Perhaps one of the toughest questions we grapple with having just left a century marked by some of the most evil despotic regimes. I think we are a generation that is extremely sceptical of notions of Kingdom and Empire.