“Originally Posted by North Jersey Baptist
But the verses you cited do not necessarily state the Lord has made a covenant with our children.”
Is it
anywhere stated the LORD has made a covenant with our children? And, if yes, what (per Rob’s question – post 118) is involved in that covenant?
Is not the language of Gen 17:10 decisive on this: “
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 this is the nature of the covenant made with Abraham and his seed, “...to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Gen 17:7). This covenant is also known as “the promise”. The blessing of the covenant is partaking in the blessing given Abraham: the friendship of God (Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chron 20:7; James 2:23).
“the children of the promise” Romans 9:8
“the children of promise” Galatians 4:28
“heirs according to the promise” Galatians 3:29
“the heirs of promise” Hebrews 6:17
“the promise is unto you, and to your children” Acts 2:39
The Spirit of God says by Paul in Romans 9 that “...they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children [of promise –SMR]....That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” (6,7, 8)
Paul elaborates this theme is Galatians 4, saying of the unbelieving Jews en mass, “Jerusalem which now is...is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.....Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” (25, 26, 28)
In sum: God
has made a covenant with our children, those which are the children of promise. When they are infants, do we know which these are? Even when they are adults we may not know; we may not know till their dying breaths, and even then maybe not. In Glory we will know.
Those whom He has made a covenant with are those who are of the promise. We all seek to raise
all our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that all the benefits of covenant life be given them. And we watch to see the decree of the LORD in its manifestation, which, as I said, may not be clear in our lifetimes.
Rob (CH), I don’t like your language here:
“Were the promises of God in the OT, given to Abraham, offered to the elect and non-elect alike, Jacob and Esau, in the rite of circumcision?” [emphasis mine –SMR]
I prefer “given”. There is too much baggage associated with the word “offered”. And if you
insist on using that word, I would insist on defining it to mean “
presented to them” as the will of God to be kept, i.e., the circumcision was the sign that they were in covenant with their father’s God, and that they should cleave to Him in trusting love and obedience.
* Esau was a covenant-breaker. Yes, it was presented to them both, the covenant with its glorious promises. But it was
given only to Jacob, in the decree of God, the only one of the promise.
* In the language of Moses: “See, I have
set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments...” [emphasis mine –SMR] (Deut 30:15, 16). I take “offered” and “set before thee” as equivalent.