If a covenant is a two-way promise, God’s covenant with Abraham looks remarkably asymmetrical.
In Genesis 12, Abraham’s part is to leave his homeland and relocate to a place God will show him. God in turn promises to make him a great nation which will bless all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-4).
In Genesis 13, Abraham’s part is to lift up his eyes and look at the land where God had led him. God also invites him to walk throughout the land. God promises that this land will belong forever to his descendants, who will be as numerous as the dust (Genesis 13:14-18).
In Genesis 15, Abraham’s part is to look toward heaven, try to count the stars, and believe that God will give him children. God promises to give him a son. In response, Abraham believed (Genesis 15:1-6).
The pattern is clear: God invites Abraham to take simple actions that demonstrate his trust: go, look, believe. He in turn promises unfathomable blessings that are not remotely equivalent to those invitations. The invitations are about helping Abraham comprehend the magnitude of the blessings God will give him, not about earning those blessings.
The author of Genesis summarizes this pattern with these words:
He believed in the Lord; and [the Lord] counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:6
The Title Page of the Book of Mormon states that one of the purposes of the book is “to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” Covenants function as evidence of belonging. Blessings received by prior generations demonstrate that God fulfills His promises. The Book of Mormon invites readers to follow the Abrahamic pattern: to believe in God’s promised blessings and to act on invitations that enable us to understand and receive them.
Today, I will follow God’s invitations to go, look, and believe. I will remember that God wants to bless me, and that movement, awareness, and trust will place me in a position to receive those blessings.