Father Abram

Sunday school (Adult Bible Fellowship) on Sunday morning was about Abram and the Abrahamic Covenant.  I was really struck by the fact that God made this an unconditional covenant.  That means that God didn't put any qualifications on it.  God simply said, "I'm going to bless the whole world through your family."

It's almost as if Abram couldn't even stop God from doing it.  In most of God's other covenants with people there are conditions that God lays down before the people will receive God's blessing.  Sometimes there are punishments listed for failing to live up to their end of the bargain.

It made me wonder why God did not do any of that in Abram's case.  Abram certainly sinned and made some mistakes along the way.  But the mistakes that he made were not serious enough to threaten God's work.

Did God simply know this in advance?  Maybe God just decided that this project was too important to let Abram fail.  Or maybe He just knew that Abram didn't need the threat in order to be faithful.

Whatever God's reasonings, it seems clear that Abram was the sort of person who would remain faithful without the threats.  Wow.  Think about that for a minute.  Abram was willing to leave his home and follow God's direction with little evidence and little knowledge of God.  Scripture does not indicate that Abram was a simpleton.  Abram reasoned out the situation and decided to trust God, over and over.

If only I could be so faithful.