The Abrahamic covenant contains three promises: a nation of people, a geographical land, and a government — with God Himself coming as King, Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior.
Les Feldick teaches that the Abrahamic covenant is basically three promises, within which all the other covenants are involved. First, God promised to make a great nation from Abraham — Israel. Second, He promised to place that nation in a geographical area of land, the promised land. Third, because a people in a land must have a government, God promised to come and be their King, Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior.
Genesis 12:1-3 — The foundational record of the covenant, containing the promise of a great nation and of blessing to all families of the earth.
Genesis 15:18 — The covenant ceremony in which God formally gave Abraham's seed the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates.
God's covenant with Abraham begins in Genesis 12, when the LORD called Abram out of his country and promised, 'I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing' (Genesis 12:2). To this nation promise God immediately joined a land promise: 'Unto thy seed will I give this land' (Genesis 12:7). The land promise was repeated and enlarged — 'For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever' (Genesis 13:15) — and formally confirmed in the covenant ceremony of Genesis 15:18: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.' The covenant also includes the promise of an everlasting relationship: 'I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee' (Genesis 17:7), with the land given 'for an everlasting possession' (Genesis 17:8). In Exodus 6:8 God reiterates the oath: 'And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.' The prophetic scriptures add the government promise. Isaiah 9:6-7 declares that 'the government shall be upon his shoulder' and that of the increase of His government 'there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom.' The New Testament recalls the whole covenant as the holy oath sworn to Abraham (Luke 1:72-73).
Les Feldick teaches that the Abrahamic covenant, first given in Genesis 12, is 'basically three promises,' and within those three promises all the other covenants are involved (Clip 1). The first promise was a nation of people: God pulled Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans to bring about 'a nation of people totally different than any other race of people on earth' — the nation of Israel (Clip 4). The second promise was a geographical area of land: 'you cannot have a nation of people unless they have land to live in,' so God promised them a piece of the earth's surface, which is why Scripture calls it the promised land (Clips 2, 3). The third promise was government: 'when you get people in a land, you're going to have to have a government.' Les says that ultimately God Himself would come and be their King and their Messiah, and also their Redeemer and Savior — 'there had to be a solution to the sin problem' (Clips 1, 7). Les emphasizes that the government promise was 'implicit, and yet it's dormant' when the covenant was first given, being progressively revealed through Scripture (Clip 5). He connects the land promise to the oath God swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, reiterated to Israel at the time of the Exodus (Clip 6). He also explains that the Jews of Jesus' day wanted the King and the Kingdom promised in the covenant but rejected the suffering Savior aspect of it, because dealing with the sin problem 'got too close to home' (Clip 7).
Les consistently presents the covenant as three promises that build on one another. First, God promised Abraham a nation of people — the nation of Israel. Second, that nation had to have a geographical area to live in, so God promised them the land, 'the promised land as we understand it in Scripture, or today again the nation of Israel' (Clip 1). Third, a people in a land need a government, so God promised to come and be their government, 'epitomized in the King, the Messiah' (Clips 2, 3). Les notes that this three-fold structure appears throughout Scripture, from Genesis through Acts (Clip 1).
According to Les Feldick, the third promise of the covenant is that God would one day come and 'set up the government in the person of the King' (Clip 7). He ties this to the prophecy of Isaiah, where 'their government would be epitomized in the King, the Messiah' (Clip 3). Les is careful to add that the King 'would also have to be their Redeemer. There had to be a solution to the sin problem' (Clip 7). He explains that the Jews of Jesus' day wanted the King and the Kingdom but refused to deal with the sin problem, which is why they rejected Him (Clip 7).
Les Feldick points out that the land promise of the Abrahamic covenant was sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that all through the Bible 'everything is based upon that promise that God gave to those three gentlemen' (Clip 6). He shows this in the Exodus account, where God says, 'I will bring you into the land concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob... for a heritage' (Exodus 6:8, as cited in Clip 6). Les emphasizes that the LORD can and will keep this promise because He is 'the Lord, He's the Creator, He's the Sovereign God' (Clip 6).
Separating a Peculiar Nation from Idolatry
Les teaches that within the Abrahamic covenant God pulled a separate little nation out of the idolatrous mainstream of humanity — that nation being Israel.
Three Basic Covenant Promises
Les explicitly lists the covenant's three promises: a nation of people, a geographical land, and God coming as King, Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior.
Nation, Land, Government Progression
Les explains why each promise requires the next: a nation needs land, and a people in a land need a government — the third part of the covenant.
The Covenant in a Nutshell
Les ties Luke 1:72-73's oath to Abraham to the three promises: the nation, the promised land, and the King and Messiah who would be their government.
Israel as the Vehicle of Redemption
Les teaches that Abraham's promised nation was to be totally different from every other race and the vehicle through which God would bring redemption to the whole human race.
Progressive Revelation of the Covenant
Les teaches that the covenant is a progressive revelation, with the government promise implicit and dormant when first given.
The Land Sworn to the Patriarchs
Les connects the covenant's land promise to the oath God swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to God's power as sovereign Creator to fulfill it.
King, Kingdom, and Suffering Savior
Les teaches that the covenant's government promise requires a King who is also Redeemer, and that the Jews of Jesus' day rejected the sin-solving aspect.
Genesis 12:2-3: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The foundational promise that Abraham would become a great nation — the first promise of the covenant.
Genesis 12:7: And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
The land promise is immediately attached to the covenant.
Genesis 13:15: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
God promises the land to Abraham and his seed forever.
Genesis 15:18: In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
The covenant ceremony in which God deeded the land to Abraham's descendants.
Genesis 17:7-8: And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Confirms both the people and the land as an everlasting covenant.
Isaiah 9:6-7: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
The prophetic promise that the government would rest on the Messiah's shoulder — the third promise Les identifies.
Luke 1:72-73: To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
The New Testament remembers the Abrahamic covenant as a holy oath sworn to Abraham.
Exodus 6:8: And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
God reiterates the land promise to the Exodus generation, sworn to the patriarchs.
According to Les Feldick, the Abrahamic covenant contains three basic promises: God would make Abraham into a great nation of people (Israel); He would place that nation in a geographical area of land called the promised land; and He would come and be their government in the person of the King, the Messiah, who would also be their Redeemer and Savior (Clips 1, 2).
Yes. Les Feldick teaches that the second promise of the covenant was a geographical area of land — 'a piece of this old earth's surface' — which is why Scripture calls it the promised land (Clips 2, 3). God swore this land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and reiterated it to Israel at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 6:8; Clip 6).
The third promise of the covenant was government: a people in a land must have a government. Les Feldick teaches that God would come and be their government, 'epitomized in the King, the Messiah' (Clip 3). This King also had to be their Redeemer, because 'there had to be a solution to the sin problem' (Clip 7).
Watch the Teaching: The True Meaning of Israel as a "Peculiar People"