The Abrahamic Covenant is God's threefold promise to Abraham — to make his descendants a great nation, place them in a geographical land, and one day come Himself to be their King and government.
The covenant begins in Genesis 12 when God calls Abram out of his homeland and promises, "I will make of thee a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). Les Feldick sums it up as three promises: a nation of people, a specific area of land, and a government — with all the other covenants involved within those three. He also notes that through Israel, God plans to bring redemption to the whole human race.
Genesis 12:1-3 — The covenant begins with God's call of Abram and His promise to make him a great nation.
Genesis 12:7 — God promises to give the land to Abram's seed — the land element of the covenant.
Genesis 15:18 — The LORD makes the covenant with Abram and defines the land promised to his descendants.
Exodus 6:8 — God reiterates the land promise He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Luke 1:72-73 — Zacharias identifies the 'holy covenant' and 'oath' sworn to Abraham.
Isaiah 9:6 — The coming government of the Messiah — the third promise of the covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant begins in Genesis 12, where "the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee" (Genesis 12:1). God then declares, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great" (Genesis 12:2). When Abram arrives in the land, the LORD appears and says, "Unto thy seed will I give this land" (Genesis 12:7). In Genesis 15:18 the LORD makes an unconditional covenant with Abram: "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Centuries later, God tells Moses, "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" (Exodus 6:8). The covenant also looks toward a future government. Isaiah 9:6 promises, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder." In Luke 1:72-73, Zacharias speaks of God's mercy as the fulfillment of "the oath which he sware to our father Abraham."
Les Feldick teaches that the Abrahamic Covenant, made with "one man, Abraham" in Genesis 12, is fundamentally three promises, and "within those three promises all the other covenants are involved" [Clip 3]. The first promise is a nation of people — "the nation of Israel," a people "totally different than any other race of people on earth." The second is a geographical area of land — "the promised land as we understand it in Scripture" — because "you cannot have a nation of people unless they have land to live in" [Clips 1-3]. The third is government: since people in a land must have a government, "He would come and be their King and their Messiah, and of course also their Redeemer, their Savior" [Clips 2, 3]. Les repeatedly summarizes the covenant the same way: "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" [Clip 1]. He describes the covenant as a "progressive revelation," with the government element "implicit, and yet it's dormant" in Genesis 12 [Clip 4]. He also connects the covenant to Luke 1:72-73 — "the oath which He swore to our father Abraham" — and to Isaiah 7 or 9, where the coming government is "epitomized in the King, the Messiah" [Clip 5]. He highlights that Israel is "the vehicle through which God is now going to communicate and bring about the whole plan of redemption to the whole human race through Israel" [Clip 1], that God swore the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as "a heritage" because "He's the Lord, He's the Creator, He's the Sovereign God" [Clip 6], and that the promised land remains "the sore spot of the whole Middle East" today [Clip 7].
Les Feldick teaches that the Abrahamic covenant "was basically three promises" [Clip 3]. First, God promised Abraham that "out of him would come a nation of people, the nation of Israel" [Clips 1, 3]. Second, God promised to put that nation "in their own geographical area of land, the promised land" [Clips 2, 3]. Third, because "when you have people in a geographical area, they have to have a government," God promised that "He would come and be their King and their Messiah, and of course also their Redeemer, their Savior" [Clips 2, 3, 5].
Les Feldick explains the logic this way: "You cannot have a nation of people unless they have land to live in," and "you put people within a geographical area, what do they have to have? They've got to have government" [Clip 2]. That is the third part of the covenant — one day "He would come and be their government," "epitomized in the King, the Messiah" [Clip 5]. Les adds that the coming King is also "their Redeemer, their Savior. It had to be a salvation as well" [Clip 3].
According to Les Feldick, Abraham's descendants were to be "a nation of people totally different than any other race of people on earth" and "the vehicle through which God is now going to communicate and bring about the whole plan of redemption to the whole human race through Israel" [Clip 1]. The covenant also includes a salvation element, since the coming King is Israel's Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior [Clip 3].
In Genesis 12:7 God tells Abram, "Unto thy seed will I give this land." In Genesis 15:18 the LORD makes the covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Later, in Exodus 6:8, God says to Israel, "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."
Les Feldick teaches that the third promise of the covenant — the government — points to "the King, the Messiah" [Clip 5]. God promised that "at some future day He would come and be their government, as it's spoken of in Isaiah chapter 7, I think, 7 or 9" [Clip 5]. In Luke 1:72-73, Zacharias connects the coming mercy to "the oath which he sware to our father Abraham" [Clip 5]. Les also identifies the coming King as "their Redeemer, their Savior" [Clip 3].
Les Feldick notes that in the Abrahamic covenant God provides Israel with "a piece of land, a part of this old earth's topography" (Genesis 15), and he calls that land "the sore spot of the whole Middle East tonight" [Clip 7]. "That's why it's so appropriate that we're studying this covenant in light of the prophetic aspect as well as the here and the now" [Clip 7].
Abraham Called Out of His Homeland
Les points out that in Genesis 12 it is God speaking all the way through, telling Abraham to leave his father's house and homeland for a land God would show him — the beginning of the covenant.
The Covenant Defined: Nation, Land, King
Les explicitly defines the Abrahamic covenant from Genesis 12: a great nation, a geographical land, and God coming as King and government — with Israel as the vehicle of redemption for the whole human race.
Why the Covenant Requires Land and Government
Les explains that a nation requires a geographical area and that people in a land require government — the logic of the three promises.
Three Promises, All Covenants Involved
Les names the three promises (nation, land, government) and adds that the coming King is also Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior, and that within these three all other covenants are involved.
A Progressive Revelation
Les teaches the covenant is progressively revealed, with the government promise implicit and dormant.
The Oath to Abraham in Luke 1 and Isaiah 9
Les connects Luke 1:72-73 (the oath to Abraham) with the promise of a nation, the promised land, and the coming government epitomized in the King, the Messiah.
The Land Promise Confirmed to Moses
Les ties the Abrahamic covenant to Exodus 6:8, where God swears to give the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because He is the sovereign Lord.
The Land: A Nation Placed in a Geographical Area
Les shows Israel as a nation come out of Egypt several million strong and points to Genesis 15 for the land promise, calling this the sore spot of the Middle East.
Genesis 12:1: Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
God's call to Abram launches the covenant.
Genesis 12:2: 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:
The nation promise that begins the Abrahamic 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 given to Abram's seed.
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 formal covenant-making with the boundaries of the promised land.
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's later confirmation of the land sworn to the patriarchs.
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,
Zacharias links the coming mercy to the covenant oath to Abraham.
Isaiah 9:6: 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.
The government promise of the covenant is placed on the coming Messiah.
The Abrahamic covenant is God's threefold promise to Abraham in Genesis 12: (1) a nation of people from Abraham — the nation of Israel; (2) a geographical area of land — the promised land; and (3) a government — God Himself coming to be their King, Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior.
It begins in Genesis 12, when God tells Abram to leave his country and his father's house and go to a land God will show him. God speaks all the way through the covenant-making; Abram has not said a word yet [Clip 0].
Les Feldick explains that a nation cannot exist without land, and people in a land require government. So the covenant must include a place to live and a King — and God Himself promises to be that King and government [Clips 2, 3].
Les teaches that the promised government is epitomized in "the King, the Messiah" — Jesus — who is also Israel's Redeemer and Savior. The Old Testament promise of the government on the Messiah's shoulder is connected to the oath to Abraham [Clips 3, 5].
Yes — Les Feldick points out that the land God promised to Abraham (Genesis 15) is "the sore spot of the whole Middle East tonight," and he connects the covenant to both prophecy and current events [Clip 7].
Watch the Teaching: Why the New Testament Starts With Abraham — Matthew 1:1 Explained