(a) Highlight the main features of God's covenant with Abraham (b) State three reasons for covenant relationships.

(a) Main features of God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 17)

God entered into a covenant with Abraham (formerly Abram), and its main features were:

• God promised to make Abraham a great nation and to make his name great, so that he would be a blessing.
• God promised to bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him, and that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed.
• God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting possession.
• God promised Abraham numerous descendants, as many as the stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore, though he was old and childless.
• God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, meaning "father of a multitude," and Sarai's to Sarah.
• God promised that kings would come from him and that He would be God to him and to his descendants after him.
• Circumcision of every male on the eighth day was given as the sign of the covenant.
• God foretold that his descendants would be strangers and slaves in a foreign land for four hundred years, after which they would come out with great possessions.
• The covenant was sealed with a sacrifice of animals cut in two, and a smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed between the pieces.

(b) Three reasons for covenant relationships

• To establish trust, unity and loyalty between the parties involved.
• To bind the parties to specific promises and obligations that must be faithfully kept.
• To guarantee protection, blessing and mutual benefit, and to seal peace or reconciliation.