THE SIGN OF YOUR COVENANT (2)

Post date: Jan 11, 2021 12:18:55 AM

“Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David. Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:11-14. “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised.” Isaiah 38:7.God promised Israel that He will send them a Messiah, and the promise is all over the Old Testament repeated several times by the prophets, but God did not stop at just the promise, He told them to look for a sign that He will show them and the sign will be through a virgin, conceived of a child and that did come to pass. We saw the sign, we show the Child, Jesus Christ was born and the promise was fulfilled. It is not an evil practice to ask God for a sign after believing. God will not punish you for asking neither will He rebuke you for seeking a sign. He still gives signs to His people even today.

God gave Abraham two signs to prove that He will fulfill His promise to him in Genesis 12:1-2, and the signs He gave to him became a symbol of His covenant with Abraham that He will definitely fulfill His words and promises. The first was taking him outside in the night to see the stars in heaven and asking him to count them. The stars were there always to remind Abraham that God will definitely give him children, He will fulfill His promises, by His power alone multiply and exceedingly increase his children and his descendants despite his old age. “And He brought him forth abroad, and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them, and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” Genesis 15:5

The second covenant was God asking Abraham to circumcise himself despite being physically old, it was not a tattoo to show to the world, it was a personal sign for him to keep and to remind himself always of God’s faithfulness in His promises; it was an everlasting sign on the foreskin of his body. What a strong demand by God on Abraham, and what a strong person Abraham was in faith, not to only believe, but also obeyed in carrying it out despite knowing it will be painful, it will take some days to completely heal, and will definitely restrict his activities for some days. But it was worth doing to open the doors for the covenant to be fulfilled.

“And God said unto Abraham, ‘Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must need be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.” Genesis 17:9-14

God did not ask Abraham to circumcise others while he goes uncircumcised. He was to have that personal experience on his body first. God will not ask us to do what He knows will not bring us His best reward despite the pains it will cause us to meet those demands. The first sign was to confirm the promise He made to him, and the second sign was what really opened the door for the covenant to be fulfilled. God will not leave us without a word, without a promise, and without a sign so powerful to convince us of His truthfulness. His words are true, His promises are real, and His covenant is a surety for the best despite the situations. The sign He gives in his covenant is only a reminder to us that He will surely fulfill His word and establish His promises. For prayers, Click here