Abraham

Abraham comes before us as the first heir of promise. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out... obeyed." Heb. 11:8. But very soon we see these promised blessings lost to Abraham's children for over four hundred years while they groan under the taskmasters of Egypt. This, however, did not abrogate the divine covenant, although so far as testing was concerned, the age ended when the people surrendered grace for law at Sinai (see Ex. 19:8). A dispensation has to do with testing, a covenant with the unchangeable, eternal purposes.