The Father of Believers and the Son of God

HOLY APOSTLES COLLEGE AND SEMINARY

The Father ofBelievers and the

Son of GodKinship, Nation, and Blessing

by Vo, Mr. Van Dinh4/9/2015

Instructed by Fr. Thomas Hickey, M.Div.; Th. M.

SAS 600: Integration of Scripture in Salvation History

Introduction

There are many biblical scholars who consider the Abrahamic

period as the beginning of what could be seen as "historical figures"

in the history of salvation.1 In fact, the story of Abraham gives

more geographic details for people to refer to. The focal point of

examining this covenant, however, is not just simply looking at it to

know who, where, and when it took place. Rather, the most significant

thing is to know the theological meaning of it. The figure of Abraham

has become so influential in the Christian tradition, for indeed he

is praised as the model of all believers. The history of man turning

away from God had been radically going on since the fall of the first

parents. Therefore, the covenant with Abraham became remarkably

important for the renewal of the relationship between God and man.

Abraham, as representative of man's side, freely surrendered to God's

1 Cf. Neal Flanagan, Salvation History: An Introduction to Biblical Theology (New York:Sheed and Ward, 1964), 20.

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will. He accepted the invitation of God to be a part from God's plan

of redeeming the world.

This paper will examine carefully the Abrahamic covenant within

its context, seeing it as an anticipation of the Messianic covenant

established and fulfilled in Jesus. It will also demonstrate how the

promises that the Lord swore to Abraham as significant principles of

new covenant in Christ.

1. Describing the Abrahamic Covenant

The Adamic and Noahic covenants could be observed more likely as

single acts when God just simply conveyed to Adam and Noah his plan,

whereas the Abrahamic covenant was more like a progression. God

established this covenant differently compared with others. There are

three separate steps in this covenant. Firstly God called Abraham, then

secondly God promised to do things for him, and finally God and Abraham

swore an oath to keep the covenant. This framework of the Abrahamic

covenant then became a model for other covenant established later

with God's chosen people. The Lord YHWH always reminded the

Israelites throughout history about his promises with the same

pattern he did with Abraham.

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1.1 God called Abraham

If enough attention is paid to the verses of the beginning of

Genesis chapter 12, people would easily recognize that Abraham was a

brave man and indeed a man of strong faith. He first heard God

calling him when he was seventy five-years old man. Immediately after

that, he set out to a place which he did not know according to that

call. The author of the letter to the Hebrews stated, "it was by

faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was

the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out

without knowing where he was going."2 In fact, there must be a very

strong desire or motivation inside of Abraham that made him give up

his stability and prosperity in Ur3 to go to a place where he never

knew. The pattern of his call was quite simple: the Lord called

Abram, "[G]o forth from your land, and from your relatives, and from

your father’s house to the land which I will show you." (Gen 12:1,

2 Hebrews 11:8 (New Jerusalem Bible).

3 See Neh. 9:7 (New American Bible)."You are the LORD God who chose Abram, Who brought him from Ur of the Chaldees, who named him Abraham." Ur was one of the centers of the ancient cities in Mesopotamia. It was a significant place of the Mesopotamian civilization. Cf. Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis: The Heritage of Biblical Israel (New York: Schocken Books, 1972), 98-107.

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NAB) This is a very heavy requirement and indeed a demanding call.

The Greek word used here, εζερχομαι, literally means 'to go' or 'come

forth of', yet metaphorically it also means 'to go out of an

assembly.'4 This type of calling requires a total denouncement of

everything in order to build up a new relationship. Abraham did not

simply go out to seek for a physical land or wealth only. Rather, he

went out on a spiritual journey. He in fact had the longing to know

the one true God in a more personal sense. Therefore, he seceded

totally from the paganism in which he was formed. As the book of

Joshua mentioned, "from time immemorial, your ancestors, Terah,

father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River, and served other

gods." (Joshua 24:2, NJB) He put God as his first priority, and

anything that might prevent him from coming closer to God, even his

family, was set aside. He surrendered himself totally to God's will,

not holding anything back for himself. Because of that, God granted

him a multitude of what is good for him. In this sense, one can see

how the call of Abraham connotes in itself a special privilege, not

for the sake of God but for the sake of Abraham. It is also in this

4 Joshua Dickey, The Complete Koine-English Reference Bible: New Testament, Septuagintand Strong's Concordance (Kindle Location 430861), Kindle Edition.

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sense that later on in his life, in the Akedah story, when God called

him "Go forth" to sacrifice his only son Isaac, he recognized that

call as go forth for his own benefits.5 In fact, by the act of

sacrificing his own son, Abraham was able to participate in the

fatherhood of God by sharing his suffering of giving his only son to

the world. It was not so much about the testing of Abraham's faith,

yet it was more about the deep intimacy between himself and God, by

which he was called to share God's love to the world. This love, in

fact, contains in itself sacrifices and sufferings in giving up

everything for the beloved, even his only son.

1.2 The Promises: a Land, a Nation, and a Blessing.

As it was mentioned in the beginning of section 1.1 above, the

covenant God established with Abraham was a progression. God called

Abraham, then God offered him a "proposal" with its promises, and

then finally God established with Abraham a covenant through a

certain ritual. The content of this progression remained the same

5 Acording to Rashi, the semantics of lekh lekha, which we often translateas "Go forth," also means "for your sake, for your benefit." See JosephDov Soloveitchik, Meotzar Horav Series, ed. David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky,and Reuven Ziegler, vol. 9, Abraham's Journey: Reflections On the Life of the FoundingPatriarch (Jersey City, NJ: Published for Toras HoRav Foundation by KTAV Pub.House, ©2008), 49-58.

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through different periods. It indicated how deep the relationship

between Abraham and God was. People may see chapter 12 simply as the

promising period when the content of the covenant was stated only by

God. Abraham absolutely said or promised nothing in this period. God

made his first step proposing the deal that, "I will make of you a

great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that

you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who

curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you."

(Gen 12:2-3, NASB) Abraham indeed could have denied it if he had

wanted to because it was not yet a covenant. As Bergsma

distinguishes, "the difference between a promise and a covenant is

like the difference between an engagement ring and a wedding ring.

One symbolizes a strong hope, a firm intention; the other symbolizes

an unbreakable commitment."6 Abraham did not verbally respond,

however, his action of going toward God's direction illustrated his

desire to have a deeper relationship with God. God saw that of

Abraham and God knew what he needed. In fact, just in a short phrase

of Gen 12:2-3 we can see there are five times the word bless is used.7

It was the longing for a spiritual realm that made Abraham go forth6 John Bergsma, Bible Basics for Catholics: A New Picture of Salvation History (Illinois:Ave Maria Press, 2012), 46.

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in pursuit of his call. The phrase "I will bless you", therefore,

became a very significant statement for Abraham because only through

that kind of blessing could he have communion with the spiritual

world. In a biblical sense, this blessing from God is bound with the

benefits of a new community of people upon which God bestows his

grace. As Pope Benedict XVI reflected:

In Sacred Scripture, the blessing is primarily linkedto the gift of life that comes from God and is revealedfirst of all in fertility, in a life that ismultiplied, passing from one generation to the next.And also linked to the blessing is the experience ofthe possession of a land, a permanent place in which tolive and to develop in freedom and safety, fearing Godand building a society of people faithful to theCovenant, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."8

It was through the blessing that a new nation would be formed. It was

also by the blessing that Abraham became a great name whom later

generations would refer to as their father. Therefore, all other

parts of the promise of God were implications of the blessing that

7 These words have their root in the Hebrew verb (bàrak) means to bless. See. Keith H. Essex, "The Abrahamic Covenant," The Master's Seminary Journal 10, No. 2 (1999) 196.

8 Benedict XVI, General Audience on the Creed, (Wednesday, 23 January 2013).

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God granted to Abraham. On the account of creation, God blessed Adam

and Eve so that they could be fertile and multiply. God gave Adam the

authority to name all the animals. (See. Gen 1:28-30; 2:20, NAB) This

means man's primary vocation was to be with God, to fill the earth

with what pleased God, and to name everything on the earth according

to God's will. Adam and Eve, however, wanted to create a lineage with

their own will. They broke the covenant and disrupted the blessing

God poured upon them. Thus, by the blessing bestowed on Abraham, God

once again called humankind to participate in to his plan of forming

the world. What Adam did not fulfill by sinning against God, then,

was put onto Abraham's shoulders. A new nation walking in God's

blessing will be formed in order to fill the earth with multitude and

to glorify God's name.

1.3 Establishing the Covenant

The covenant of Abraham turned to a more 'confirmed' period when

he and the Lord actually swore by a covenant. Interestingly, the Lord

in this very situation entered into the human world, acting in a very

"cultural way." In fact, the act of making covenant, which sometimes

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is called the act of "cutting covenant"9, was a very typical

tradition of the Mediterranean people. Animals would be cut into

halves representing the two parties who would walk between those

slaughtered animals as an act of swearing their promises. Taking a

look at the scenario when the two sides, God and Abraham, came

together, one might see the entire covenant established as if it was

between two equals. Genesis chapter 15 describes:

He then said to him: I am the Lord who brought you fromUr of the Chaldeans to give you this land as apossession. “Lord God,” he asked, “how will I know thatI will possess it?” He answered him: Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. Hebrought him all these, split them in two, and placedeach half opposite the other; but the birds he did notcut up.

As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell uponAbram, and a great, dark dread descended upon him.

When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared asmoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passedbetween those pieces.

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram,saying: To your descendants I give this land, from theWadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates, theland of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the

9 Cf. Jacob Weingreen, A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew, 2nd ed. (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 1959), 304.

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Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and theJebusites. (Gen 15: 7-10; 12; 17; 18-21, NAB)

A parity treaty indeed.10 Each side took upon him the promises, as

well as the curse, saying, "may it be unto me, as unto these

slaughtered animals, if I do not maintain the stipulations of our

agreement."11 The flaming torch as a symbolic figure revealed the

Lord's presence passing between the animals. This indicated that the

Lord is faithful and will certainly keep his promises. The truthful

and all-living God cannot contradict himself by any kind of

unfaithfulness, and he himself never dies. Therefore, his promise is

certain. Abraham, nonetheless, did not pass between the animals

because "a deep sleep fell upon him." He would not be slaughtered

like these animals even if he did not keep his promise, for he did

not fulfill the rite. Again, only God alone bound himself to humanity10 Many people would argue this can also be a Royal Grant Treaty or a Suzerain Treaty. The factors of the Abrahamic covenant, however, was closerto the Parity Treaty because of its implications. For example: the history of past relation, the apperance of Divine Witnesses, the curses and blessings.

Cf. Rondell Mark Raddish, “The Relevance of the Abrahamic Covenant to Israel and the People of God Based On Its Form and Function as Viewed from the Old Testament” (master's thesis, Graduate School of Religion, Liberty University, April 1990), 11-25.

11 Steve Rodeheaver “Committing Covenant (At the Risk of Death),” The Voice: Biblical and Theological Resources for Growing Christians, last modified November 08, 2011, accessed March 28, 2015, http://www.crivoice.org/biblestudy/exodus/bbex35.html.

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by an oath. The image of a God judging justly is also portrayed in

this narrative as a loving person. He keeps the promise with

humankind and took upon himself all the curses that man possibly be

accountable to for not keeping the covenant.

2. Anticipating the Covenant Established by Jesus Christ

There came a challenging time in the journey of Abraham's faith

when God called him to sacrifice his only son as an offering, saying,

"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the

land of Moriah. There offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the

heights that I will point out to you." (Gen 22:2, NAB) Most people

refer to this narrative as a testing of Abraham's faith; however,

there must be something deeper. God really did not need to test

Abraham. He already knew his faith. This Akedah narrative,

nonetheless, was actually an anticipation of the Messianic covenant

that Abraham was invited to participate in. The text itself gives

many precise references to the narrative of the Passion of Christ:

the Son of God coming to Jerusalem on a donkey, (See. John 12:13-15,

NAB) Abraham took his son to mount Moriah also on a donkey. Beginning

with Isaac, this image of a peaceful savior riding a donkey appears

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time to time in the history of salvation. In the book of Numbers,

Balaam's talking donkey escaped three times from God's anger, and

saved him from punishment. (See. Number 22: 22-31, NAB) The prophet

Zechariah prophesized the entry of the King to Jerusalem, saying,

"Exult greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!

Behold: your king is coming to you, a just savior is he, humble, and

riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zech 9:9, NAB)

All those things were in fact pointing directly to the expected

Savior who is Christ himself, the Messiah who will come to reestablish

the kingdom of God. Bergsma saw this narrative of Akedah as a

"premonition of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. [...] the Calvary of

the Old Testament.”12 Both Abraham and Isaac were able to experience

the suffering of love. As the Father giving up the Son as a

sacrificial victim for the world, Abraham was also willing to give up

his son Isaac back to God as sacrifice. Isaac obediently let himself

be bound to be a burnt offering. He did not resist his father's will.

Likewise, the Son of God accepted his death on the cross as

fulfilling his Father's will.

12 John Bergsma, Bible Basics for Catholics: A New Picture of Salvation History (Illinois: Ave Maria Press, 2012), 54.

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Secondly, there is another significant geographical detail

concerning this narrative of binding Isaac. On Mount Moriah, God

renewed his promises to Abraham saying, "I will bless you and make

your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands

of the seashore; your descendants will take possession of the gates

of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the

earth will find blessing, because you obeyed my command." (Gen 22:16-

18) Abraham, in response to God, built an altar there. This was the

perfect renewal responding to God that affirms that man's vocation

would mainly be to worship God. It was there also a thousand years

later, King David bought the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite

and built an altar in order that God may hold back his anger and send

the plague away from his people.13 Solomon, the son of King David, on

this very location, also built the magnificent temple which was known

as the First Temple. Thus, the intention of building an altar/temple

for God as began with Abraham became a significant duty for the

Israelites. They wanted to become a nation under God's protection and

in fact a nation that keeps God's promises. Herod the Great also13 See. 2 Samuel 24: 18 (New American Bible). See also Isaac Kalimi, "Theland of Moriah, Mount Moriah, and the site of Solomon's temple in biblical historiography," Harvard Theological Review 83, no. 4 (October 1, 1990): 345-362.ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed April 4, 2015).

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rebuilt this altar, which was destroyed again when the Greeks and the

Romans dominated Palestine, as a unifying principle for Jewish

people.14 In this very temple, Jesus was offered to the Lord after

forty days being born according to Jewish tradition. He cleansed this

temple when he saw people making into a market place. (See. John 2:

13-17; Matt. 21: 12-13; Mark 11: 15-18; Luke 19: 45-47, NAB) These details

brought out the whole notion of sacred place dedicating only to God.

The Lord God had prepared, throughout the history of mankind, a

sacred place for his only begotten Son to be sacrificed.

3. The Fulfillment of The Abrahamic Covenant: A nation of believers

in Christ's name and a blessing for the world.

The Gospel of Mathew begins, interestingly, with the genealogy

of Jesus, saying, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son

of David, the son of Abraham." (Mt 1:1, NAB) The author in fact was

very aware of the "dynamic pattern"15 that started in the Old

Testament and came to its fulfillment in Christ. This way of viewing

14 Cf. Paul J. Achtemeier, Harper's Bible Dictionary (San Francisco: Harper & Row, ©1985), 1021-1029.

15 This word is used very often by Dr. Steven Smith. Cf. Steven C. Smith,The Word of the Lord: 7 Essential Principles for Catholic Scripture Study (Huntington, IN: OurSunday Visitor, 2012), 110.

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may lead readers to the sense that Jesus was the "beginning" of

Salvation History. In fact, Simeon praised the Lord when he saw Jesus

in the Temple, "my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared

in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and glory for your people Israel." (Luke 2: 30-32, NAB) He indeed saw

Jesus as the most fully developed salvation, the one bearing the

Lord's promises to mankind. Therefore, all the covenants in the Old

Testament had their meaning only because Jesus came and fulfilled

them. All the covenants in the past, including Abraham, must be

observed backward beginning with Jesus Christ. The promises of

nationhood, a 'name', and a 'blessing' reached their fulfillment in

Christ.

First, the nation of Israel as formed in the Mosaic covenant

seemed to be partially fulfilled in this promise to Abraham. The

'seed' of Abraham, the Israelites, already received a land and

officially became a nation after the desert wandering. However, they

still did not really attain the whole meaning of the promise of a

great nation both in term of number and ascendancy. In other words,

the promise of a great nation does not simply mean a nation called

Israel limited to a certain boundary with a certain number of people.15

Rather, that was the promise open to all people in the world, as

Saint Paul states, "realize then that it is those who have faith who

are children of Abraham." (Gal 3: 7 NAB) Being a descendant of

Abraham in this regard is even more significant than a physical seed.

Jesus himself once condemned the Jews when they tried to kill him;

those who are true descendants of Abraham would not do that. (John 8:

33-40)The meaning of kinship in Abraham's lineage, therefore, had to be

reconsidered. It must be illustrated in Christ by a new circumcision,

not in flesh, but in the spirit. The two dimensions of Abraham's

descendants must go together, both physically and theologically. As

Paul addressed the Jews in the synagogue, "My brothers, children of

the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-

fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent." (Acts 13:26,

NAB) This two wings of kinship are bound together by one only

principle: faith. By faith Abraham became father of a nation call

Israel. It is also by faith that he became father of believers of

Jesus Christ.

Secondly, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowd cried out,

"blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." (Mt 21:9, NBA)

This, nonetheless, did not remain long. The Blessed One was soon16

condemned by the Jews to dies, those who were shouting 'hosanna' to

him. Putting this account in light of the Pentateuch's understanding

of blessing, it would make no sense at all, because, as Kelly Johnson

stated, Jesus "is at this point homeless, childless, and riding on a

colt. Soon he will be condemned, tortured, and executed. What does

Christ as the blessed one have to do with creation or with Abram or

Jacob?"16 Both elements of blessing and curse seemed to be present in

Christ. Furthermore, it appeared also in Jesus' teaching of blessing

as something that the Jews would consider as curses, and vice versa.

For example,

Blessed are you who are poor, Blessed are you who are nowhungry,Blessed are you who are nowweeping,Blessed are you when people hateyou, and when they exclude andinsult you, and denounce your nameas evil on account of the Son ofMan.

But woe to you who are rich,But woe to you who are fillednow,Woe to you who laugh now,Woe to you when all speak wellof you,

(See. Luke 6: 20-26 NAB)

The meaning of blessing was brought to a new level in Jesus. To be

fully alive and able to participate in God's life is much greater

16 Kelly Johnson, “Blessing, Curses, and the Cross,” Ex Auditu 27 (Jan 2011), 90.

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than physical land, prosperity and honor. Therefore, if began the

understanding of blessing in Abraham's time was very basic, then in

Christ it was fulfilled. It goes beyond the physical level to meet

the spiritual realm. As Saint Paul stated, "Blessed be the God and

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with

every spiritual blessing in the heavens." (Eph 3:3, NAB) Thus, those

who are spiritually circumcised, who have faith in Christ, are also

the descendants of Abraham. They, for that reason, can be partakers

of the blessing that was promised to Abraham.

Conclusion

Abrahamic covenant promised kinship, nationhood, and blessing

for people who are Abraham's descendants. Jesus Christ, the Son of

God, came to fulfill that promise by spreading it to the whole world.

There shall be a great nation bearing the faith that Abraham

testified. They shall long for a spiritual union with God like

Abraham did. And finally, they shall go forth like their father in

faith, Abraham, did to seek God's will.

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Bibliography

1. Cullmann, Oscar. Salvation in History. 1965. Reprint, New York:Harper & Row, 1967.

2. Essex, Keith. “The Abrahamic Covenant.” The Master's SeminaryJournal 10, no. 2 (Fall, 1999), 191-212.

3. Hahn, Scott. A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God's Covenant Love inScripture. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Charis, ©1998.

4. Hahn, Scott. Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of PopeBenedict Xvi. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press, ©2009.

5. Hahn, Scott. Kinship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment ofGod's Saving Promises. The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library. NewHaven: Yale University Press, 2009.

6. Hahn, Scott. Understanding the Scriptures: A Complete Course On BibleStudy. The Didache Series. Woodridge, Ill.: Midwest TheologicalForum, ©2005.

7. Johnson, Kelley. “Blessings, Curses, and the Cross.” ExAuditu 27 (2011), 83-99.

8. Kass, Leon. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis. New York: FreePress, ©2003.

9. Leon-Dufour, Xavier. Dictionary of Biblical Theology. 2nd ed.Gaithersburg, MD: Word Among Us, ©1988.

10. Power, John. History of Salvation: Introducing the Old Testament. NewYork: Alba House, 1967.

11. Sarna, M. Nahum. Understanding Genesis. 1966. 2nd ed. New York:Schocken Books, 1972.

12. Schoeman, Roy H. Salvation Is from the Jews (John 4:22): The Role of Judaismin Salvation History from Abraham to the Second Coming. San Francisco:Ignatius Press, ©2003.

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