Covenant of Obedience


  1. Message: God made a covenant with Abraham and that covenant included both sides keeping their word in that covenant.
  2. Command: Obey the covenant
  3. Promise: God promised Abraham he would make many nations out of him through his wife, Sarah.
  4. Warning: Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking it.
  5. Application: Reading about this covenant made me think of all the promises in the bible that we as Christians like to hold claim to. Every one of those promises includes an act of obedience. In this case, this was the second time God promised Abraham he was going to make nations out of him. The first time Abraham and Sarah couldn’t see it happening in the proper time and they doubted it could happen through them so they took it into their own hands when Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her servant and Abraham did. At this point in scripture, Ishmael was now 13 years old and Sarah had still not become pregnant when God came to him a second time to make this promise. I’m sure it had to have seemed hopeless at this point. I relate to this as I sit here thinking about certain promises I have been waiting for for years and I think about all of the times I have tried to take things into my own hands to make it work. All God has ever asked of me during this time is for my obedience. He has not held me responsible for making these promises happen. Just my obedience. Even if it takes years. Even if it seems like it will never happen. I think as Christians we often get mixed up with the fact that salvation is free and cost us nothing to obtain it, but once we accept his gift of salvation we enter a covenant with God which requires our obedience. Today I am asking God to show me the areas of my life where I am not walking in obedience. I’m not talking about mistakes or areas where we fall short. I’m talking specifically about things I am completely ignoring whether intentional or unintentional. I want my covenant with Jesus to be marked with faithful obedience. Not perfection. Just obedience and the willingness to continue striving through areas that aren’t in full obedience.

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