Gen 17: 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in[f] which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
The problem wiht your understanding is God gave no terms that Abraham had to fulfill in order for this promise to continue, in other words, it was not a dual covenant like we think of covenants, (you do this I will do that, You do not keep your 4end of the agreement, I do not have to either) It was and I WILL covenant, God even put moses to sleep when he made the covenant in Gen 15. And only HE walked through the middle, which instilled the fact that if God did not keep his agreement, May God be cut up as these animals were. (It was tradition in those days that is how these covenants were made)
The ONLy conditions ever given to Israel was according to the law in Lev 26, Where God said if you keep my commands, I will allow you to live there in peac e. But if you sin, I will punish you 7 times more. The final punishment being that their cities and high places will be laced to waste by gentiles (accrued 3 times, Once by assyria (northern kingdom) once by Babylon and the last time by Rome in ad 70)
but even after all this, if they confess their sins and confess that they have sinned and their fathers have sinned, and repent of their sins, God will remember the promise he gave to abraham.
if you look at prophecy, you see this will happen in the future, It has not happened yet. Hence, if we literally take prophecy to interpret it. It is a yet to be fulfilled prophecy
Yes there were commands to fulfill, given in the first verse of the chapter:
"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty;
walk before me, and be thou perfect." (Gen 17:1, ERV)
We know the phrase "walk before me" refers to obedience to commands as seen in Amos:
"Shall two walk together, except they have agreed?" (Amos 3:3, ERV)
Following v8, comes the institution of circumcision and when we look forward to the institution of the New Covenant, in the blood of Christ, we see a change in who is now Israel, Israel as continued (not replaced) in the New Covenant:
"For
neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And
as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." (Gal 6:15-16, ERV)
The word "and" is explicatory, or an explanation as stated in Heinrich Meyer's 19th century commentary commentary:
"We must adhere, therefore, to the explicative view of
καί[and] as the correct one (1Co 3:5; 1Co 8:12; 1Co 15:38; Joh 1:16), and indeed, namely, so that it introduces an appropriate, more precise description (Hartung, Partikell. I. p. 145 f.; Winer, p. 407 [E. T. 545 f.]) of the subjects previously characterized."
So it is the New Covenant believers, the church who are Israel continued in the New Covenant for ALL nations, Jew and Gentile, as shown in a couple other translations:
"Circumcision is nothing; uncircumcision is nothing; the only thing that counts is new creation! All who take this principle for their guide, peace and mercy be upon them, the Israel of God!" (Gal 6:15-16, REB)
"For neither circumcision nor the lack of it has any value, but only a new creation. Now peace and mercy be on all who walk by this rule; that is, on the true Israel of God." (Gal 6:15-16 Williams NT)
Abraham was not looking forward to a physical promised land as clearly stated:
"
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for
he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Heb 11:8-10, ERV)
We know in "city" represents heaven, as seen in Heb 11:16; 12:22; 13:14; Rev 3:12.
I was in dispensationalism for the first 35 years of my life and it took study to dig my way out of all those errors. I learned the major problem with dispensationalism -
They have a cafeteria style literalism: interpreting the figurative and symbolic passages in extreme literalism; while interpreting the literal and natural meaning passages figuratively. In this they are deniers of the kingdom of God as the Jews in Christ's day. The Jews rejected their king and kingdom because of their literalism of what they were expecting. In the same way, dispensationalists reject the New Covenant kingdom of God.
Keep in mind when Jesus became the king of his people as prophesied by David, and it happened in the 1st century!
"Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:30-36, KJV)
I expect many would bring up the difficult passage in Romans 11. The following is what makes sense to me out of that passage:
"But if some of the branches(Physical Jews) were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot(Elect Gentiles), were grafted in their place to share the richness/rich root (Jesus the Christ) of the olive tree(God's people), do not boast over the branches(Physical Jews). If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root(Christ), but the root(Christ) that supports you. You will say, “Branches(Physical Jews) were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches(Physical Jews), neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. And even the others(Physical Jews), if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree(Gentiles), and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree(God's people), how much more will these natural branches(Elect Jews) be grafted back into their own olive tree(God's people). Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel(Physical Jews), until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel(elect Jews & elect Gentiles) will be saved; as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (Rom 11:17-27 RSV)
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