Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

II COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM - 7-11

“He is the Lord our God. His rule is seen throughout the land. He always stands by his covenant- the commitment he made to a thousand generations. This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to the people of Israel as a never-end- ing treaty: ‘I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.’” (7-11) No event of human history escapes the influence of this unique covenant made by God to Abraham and confirmed to his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob and all of the succeeding generations. This is a ‘uni- lateral covenant, ‘meaning that God alone sets the terms and that he promises fulfillment apart from the faithfulness or lack of his people.’ (Boice, pg. 847) It has two components to it: the first referring to the Jewish nation and the land of Canaan: ‘I will cause you to become the father of a great nation…(Gen. 12:2) and “I am going to give all this land to you and your offspring (seed) as a permanent possession.” (Gen. 13:15) The second refers to all the nations of the earth: “All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen. 12:3) and “…you will be the father of many nations.” (Gen. 17:5) The promises can- not be obtained without first receiving Jesus Christ, the offspring of Abraham who is the heir of the covenant: “God gave the promise to Abraham and his child (seed). And notice that it doesn’t say the promise was to his children, (seeds) as if it meant many descendants. But the promise was to his child- and that, of course, means Christ.” (Gal. 3:16) The Old Testament emphasizes the promise of the land of Canaan while the New Testament focuses more upon the nations of the earth being inherited and blessed by Christ. “He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. They wandered back and forth between nations, from one kingdom to another. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf: ‘Do not touch these people I have chosen, and do not hurt my prophets.’” (12-15) God protected Abraham from the hostility of the kingdoms around him as he traveled from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran in Syria, into Canaan, Egypt, Philistia and eventually back to Canaan. These verses refer to the unfortunate event in Egypt, and later in Philistia, where Abraham lied to the kings, Pharaoh of Egypt and Abimilech of Philistia, telling them that Sarah was his sister. They nearly took Sarah for their own wife until God intervened speaking to Abimilech: “…I kept you from sinning against me; I did not let you touch her. Now return her to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet.” (Gen. 20:6,7) Some years later, Isaac made the same deception with Abimilech and his wife Rebekah, and again God intervened to rescue them. God’s covenant with Abraham protected them from their own weaknesses and failures and preserved the promise. “He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply. Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them- Joseph, who was sold as a slave. There in prison, they bruised his feet with fet- ters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his word, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.” (16-19) God arranged a world-wide famine that brought Joseph’s family to Egypt where Israel could grow into a mighty nation capable of inheriting the land of Canaan. He used the injustice committed against Joseph by his brothers to help fulfill the promise to his great- grand father Abraham. The details of Joseph’s imprisonment mentioned in this psalm are not recounted in the story in Genesis. The ‘collar placed around his neck’ was translated by Jerome to say ‘iron entered his soul’ and has since become a famous saying in Christianity. Although incorrectly translated it did capture the essence of the deep trial of Joseph’s faith; through great humility he was prepared for future honor. God has set times for the fulfilling of his promises. “Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door. Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household; he became ruler over all the king’s possessions. He could instruct the king’s aides as he pleased and teach the king’s advisers.” (20-22) III ALL THE KINGS HOUSEHOLD - Joseph

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