Genesis--the covenants

Grace and peace to all of you! If you're keeping up with the daily readings, you'll notice that we've moved from what's usually called the "primeval history" (Genesis 1-11) to the "ancestral history" (Genesis 12-50) of the Israelite people.

Here are some notes adapted from a resource I'm using to help organize my own thoughts about this material which is so familiar, yet so strange.

We're deep into Priestly material here, and according to the Priestly view, each period of history begins with a covenant--the new age of the earth and humanity by the covenant with Noah, and the age of Israel's ancestors by this covenant with Abraham. Just like the covenant with Noah, the covenant with Abraham is established by God as an everlasting covenant, and is accompanied by a covenant sign. (With Noah, it was the rainbow. For Abraham, it is circumcision.) These are symbols of God's promise of blessing and security.

And so it's these gifts, these blessings, that Abraham wants to share with his son, Ishmael. The book asks us, "Who is your Ishmael?" Who is it that you want to bring into God's covenant through Jesus Christ?

I'll bet every one of you has an answer to that question. Maybe it's a child or a grandchild. Maybe it's a coworker or a friend. Maybe it's a parent. All of us know someone who's in need of the light of Christ, and a new relationship with God. Let's all pray today for these folks with whom we long to share the goodness of life with God.