By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. – Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19
Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt…
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one (Mosaic) obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. – Hebrews 8:1-13
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. – John 14:15-18
In the narrative of Abraham’s story, we find types and shadows of the New Covenant. In a manner of speaking, Abraham experienced the resurrection when he took Isaac to the mountain and planned, at God’s direction, to sacrifice him. This was quite an act of faith for Abraham since God had promised that it was through Isaac that the promise of becoming a great nation was to be fulfilled. Abraham expected to receive Isaac back from the dead. He was anticipating the resurrection of Isaac.
We all know the story. God provided a Ram that got caught in a thicket that would become the subtitute sacrifice in place of Isaac.
This story is huge. Massive truth is held here that ties the Abrahamic Covenant directly to the New Covenant. There are two lines of revelation in this story.
One pictures us and our salvation. In this story, Isaac is a type of us. We are destined for death apart for God eternally due to our sin. Just when Isaac (us) is about to be killed, God provides a substitute; a ram in a thicket. That ram is a type of Christ who has become our New Covenant substitute and died in our place.
The other picture has Isaac typifying Christ, not us. In this scene, Abraham receives Isaac back from the dead. This is a picture of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. This one is the linchpin of the New Covenant.
The resurrection of Christ was required so he could send the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us to serve and love him. It is the Holy Spirit who applies all the benefits of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension to our lives and makes it more than just a nice story. He makes it our personal reality. The New Covenant brings the reality of Christ in us and the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit to appropriate all the promises of God. He is the Spirit of life.
The resurrection of Christ was also required for him to become our faithful High Priest after the order of Melchezidek; one who ever lives to make intercession for us. Wow! Think on this a minute. We have a High Priest who is fully man and fully God. He has experienced every kind of suffering we will ever experience so he can sympathize with our emotional and physical pains.We don’t go in prayer to an unfeeling God who doesn’t understand or sympathize with us. We also come to a God who is all powerful and sovereign. There is no issue that is too hard for him to deal with.
Related Posts:
Covenant: The architecture of Scripture
The first covenant in time – a covenant of works
Episode #1 The Abrahamic covenant: the promise given
Episode #2 The Abrahamic covenant: the promise confirmed
Episode #3 The Abrahamic covenant: the promise signified
The Mosaic covenant that leads to Christ
The forever covenant that created a king
Jeremiah’s take on the New Covenant
The greater glory of the New Covenant
The New Covenant is Abraham Plus
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If you would like to do more indepth reading on the concept of covenant in Scripture, I recommend this book, Sacred Bond. Click on the book and you will be taken to Amazon where you can purchase a copy.
