From Abraham to Jacob: Promise and Fulfillment

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. Since the beginning of time, God has had a special relationship with humans. After the creation of the heavens and the earth, God bestowed the rule of the land and sea to His most favored creation, man. Although Adam and Eve sinned against God, He still bestowed favor on them. He banished them from the Garden of Eden for their sin but gave them clothing (Genesis 3:21). When Cain killed Abel, God banned Cain from the land of his parents but put a mark upon him that he not be killed (Gen. 4:11-16). Even when humanity reached the point of pure wickedness, God could not totally destroy His creation. He entreated Noah to build an ark on which the chosen animals and people of the land would live while the rest of creation perished. After the flood waters subsided, God made a covenant with Noah that “never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood” (Gen. 9:11-12). As a sign of this covenant with man and beast, God promised that if ever the clouds covered the sky, a rainbow would appear in the sky. Following His covenant with Noah, God called a man named Abram asking him to leave the city where he was living and go to the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:4-6). When Abram and his wife Sarah arrived in Canaan, God revealed to him what His purpose was. God had chosen Abram to be the keeper of His covenant with man. Abram was to become the father of all nations; his descendents would number the stars in the sky (Gen. 15:5-6). The custodians of this covenant would follow the blood line of Abram and Sarah to their son, Isaac, grandson, Jacob, and future generations. To mark this covenant, as God had marked the covenant with Noah, God commanded Abram to take all the males of his household and circumcise them. This act would be a sign to God that His covenant was being kept by man (Gen. 17:9-13). God also changed the names of his chosen ones from Abram to Abraham and Sarah to Sarah (Gen. 17:5, 17:15)