Page 14 - Why Israel?

8 WHY ISRAEL
made between two parties. It is similar to a contract, in that both parties agree to uphold certain stipulations to obtain certain benefits.
A blood covenant goes a step further; it requires cutting of the flesh and the shedding of blood. God commanded Abraham to undergo circumcision as part of a covenant between Him and generations of Jews to come. “This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and thy descendants after thee, every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised on the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” (GENESIS 17:10-11).
God’s covenant with Abraham began when He issued a simple command: “Go.” Addressing Abram, a man steeped in the pagan idolatry of the day (Joshua 24:2), God offers no intro- duction of Himself. He simply says,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (GENESIS 12:1-3)
This mandate was the beginning of God’s covenant journey with the Jewish people. The Biblical narrative is clear that Abraham obeyed God’s command to leave his home and trek to