Communion Part 1 - God's Covenant with Abraham

This is the first blog post in a mini-series of six which will endeavour to give the background, context and importance of what we know today as Communion, or to some, Holy Communion.

Today we are more familiar with the term Contract, rather than covenant; a contract outlines the responsibilities and undertakings of those parties involved in a relationship.

Over the great spans of time God has established covenants (contracts) between Him and His people to govern the relationship between them and, just as a modern day contract seeks to do, outline to each party their individual responsibilities and undertakings.

So, lets have a look at one of God's main covenants from the Old Testament age:

Genesis 17: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9; ''And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.  And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many [multitude of nations] nations. 

Neither [no longer] shalt thy name anymore be called Abram [Lit. Exalted Father], but thy name shall be Abraham [Lit. Father of a Multitude]; for I have made thee a father of many nations have I made thee.  And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed [descendants] after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed [descendants] after thee. 

And I will give unto thee, and thy seed after thee, the land wherein [land of your sojournings] thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.  And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in [throughout] their generations.''

So, God has outlined His responsibilities and undertakings; and now he goes on to outline what he expects from Abraham and his descendants:

Genesis 17: 10, 11, 12, & 13; ''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 all be a token [sign] of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man [male] 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 needs be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.''

In requiring Abraham and all his male descendants to be circumcised, God established an outward sign that an initial inward commitment to the contract, or covenant, had been entered into. This sign indicated that the offspring were uniquely dedicated to God himself.

In most contacts there are penalties should there be a breach of undertakings of responsibilities.  This 'Abrahamic Covenant' was no exception:

Genesis 17: 14; ''And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul [person] shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.''

As the years rolled by Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob;  Jacob begat 12 sons who would in turn found the twelve tribes of the nation Israel. 

We will recall that one of Jacob's 12 sons, Joseph was sold to slave traders by his brothers and ended up in Egypt.

As part of God's plan and protection for Joseph he was elevated from slavery to become Pharaoh's number two due to his ability to interpret Pharaoh's dreams and consequently avert a national disaster by being able to plan ahead and avoid the catastrophic effects of a seven year famine. 

Due this region wide famine, and on hearing that Egypt had stored up grain Joseph's 11 brothers journeyed  from Canaan to Egypt in order to acquire life saving provisions for themselves and their families.

In Egypt God enabled a reconciliation between the brothers to occur.  So with the family reunited and with food a plenty in a region beset by a great famine the brothers and their families decided to stay and settled in Egypt.

At first the Hebrews, or Israelites as they were also known, were welcomed in Egypt and, because of Joseph's senior position, held in high regard.  But as the years continued to roll by the Pharaohs changed and the country's  leaders forgot that one of the Israelites in former times had helped Egypt to avoid a national disaster. 

And, as God's covenant with Abraham was being realised and the descendants of Abraham in Egypt  increased in number the leaders became more and more fearful that the Israelites would become the dominant peoples and take over the control of Egypt.

To be continued next week in Communion Part 2  - Passover