Catechism – Week 8 – Abraham

What is a Covenant and Why Did God Make One with Abraham?

Please view this animated explanation of covenant for age appropriate students:

Genesis 12:1-3 – Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ (ESV)

What is a covenant?
A covenant is a permanently bound relationship.

Why did God make a covenant with Abraham?
Because sin (see week 7) broke our relationships, God needed to restore his relationship, which he could only do by making a covenant with a person.

Illustration for older students: Whenever people do business (like buying or selling) or are employed, everyone involved is using a contract. They have come to a deal (such as the price of an object or how much a person makes) that they all agree upon. When it’s no longer beneficial for one party, they have the power to stop it. A covenant is different, because even when it is no longer beneficial for one party, they still have to keep their end (this is what marriage is). This covenant that God is making with Abraham will not benefit him, but he fulfills his end every time.

What did God promise him?
God promised to bless him and his offspring (see v. 7 and chapter 17) so that Abraham can be a blessing to all the other people. Abraham is part of God’s plan to restore God’s image on people.

This was eventually fulfilled not by Abraham but a descendent far in the future, named Jesus.

Scripture Memory Verse:

Genesis 12:3b – ‘…in you (Abraham) all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ (ESV)

What is a covenant and why did God make one with Abraham?
A covenant is a permanently bound relationship, which God made with Abraham in his plan to restore his relationship with people that sin damaged.

Adults and older students are encouraged to receive a fuller explanation from Dr. Tim Tennent (President of Asbury Theological Seminary) by clicking this link.