Ultimate Partnership

The creator of heaven and earth negotiating with a man is the ultimate partnership. The Lord visited Abraham. As I read this encounter of the Lord and Abraham, I thought of the time the Lord spend with Abraham because he had his servant prepared meat, milk, and butter for his guest. Scriptures say, three men-three angels are what they were. We get to read a small portion of this visit through the scriptures. First, the Lord appeared to Abraham to confirm Issac’s birth along with the fellowshipping over food. This divine meeting was with food and refreshing as Abraham provided water for them to wash their feet. Upon the close of the meeting, the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” 

See, the Lord made a covenant between Him and Abram, changing his name to Abraham, Gen. 17:4-6. The covenant involved name changes for him and his wife. And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. God gave Abraham specific instructions regarding the covenant: you and every male in your household shall be circumcised (this act made blood apart of the covenant) in the foreskin of your flesh. It shall be a sign of the covenant between you and Me. Even your servants and all born into your home or brought with your money among you servants when he is eight days old you shall circumcise. Gen. 17:9-12. This kind of looks like marriage! The Lord said to Abraham, “As for Sarai, your wife, you shall call her Sarah, and I will bless her and give her a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her, Gen. 17:15-16. The Lord sees covenant in a way I’ve never really considered before, permanent: He pronounced a blessing upon them, changed their names to fit where He was taking them. This covenant was only the beginning. So, when the Lord visited Abraham announcing Issas’ birth, He also came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because the outcry against that place was so great the sin was grave, Gen. 18:20. At this point, Abraham stood before the Lord, and the Bible says he came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that are there? Far be it from You to do such as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? I say, “Wow!” What audacity to speak to the creator of heaven and earth that way, but they had a covenant. This exchange reveals the Lord’s heart towards His covenant partner. It’s love!   

Abraham started negotiating for fifty and ended at ten see Gen. 18:22-33. Reading through this scene of negotiation with the Lord and Abraham caused me to embrace the ultimate partnership. The Lord didn’t have to share His intentions to destroy Sodom with Abraham because He’s the Lord ruler of heaven and earth. But He did! Is it that all parties are significant in the covenant? Pastor Joseph Prince says, “Without God, we cannot without us He will not!” That statement mirrors John 15:5, where Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Without me, you can do nothing. We are the seed of Abraham through Christ Jesus and heirs according to the promise, Gal. 3:29. I am an heir to believing Abraham. That means I don’t have to beg and plead with God; I can stand before the Lord just like Abraham. But I look to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, Heb. 12:2. My covenant with God is based on the finished works of Jesus Christ at the cross, a more sure foundation than the circumcision of the flesh. God blessed Abraham, making him the father of many. The ultimate partnership! And I am an heir! So are you! If you have accepted Jesus as Lord, Rom. 10:9-10. Invite Jesus into your life. He comes to love you and led you into an abundant life!