What is the Abrahamic covenant according to this lesson?
The Abrahamic covenant is God's promise in Genesis 12 to Abraham, chosen from Ur, that He would make of him a great nation, give him a geographical area of land, and one day come to be king and government over that nation. Through Abraham's descendants, Israel, God would bring redemption to all humanity.
Les explains that the Abrahamic covenant begins in Genesis 12, where God does something totally different after the first 2,000 years of human history. Out of the one race of Adam, He picks one man, Abraham, from Ur of the Chaldeans. Les points out Abraham was originally a Syrian, though he became the father of the Jewish people. God promises Abraham that from him He will bring a nation of people totally different from any other race, and that nation will be the vehicle through which God communicates and brings the whole plan of redemption to the whole human race through Israel. Les summarizes the covenant promises as: 'I will make of you a great nation,' 'I will put you in a geographical area of land,' and 'one day I will come and be your king and be your government.' He notes this covenant was given around 2000 B.C., and about 500 years later God called Moses and gave the law as He prepared the nation for the Messiah.
More Questions
What does God do in Genesis 12 according to this lesson?
In Genesis 12, God does something totally different: out of the one race of Adam, He picks one man (Abraham).
Why did Les spend so much time on the Abrahamic covenant from Genesis 12?
Les deliberately spent time on the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12 and will keep returning to it because the Bible keeps referring back to that covenant throughout Scripture, including in Genesis 17:2.