We’ve been looking at God’s dealings and relationship with Abraham to see a revelation of the will of God for man and to know a little of His nature.
Let us begin today by a quick overview of the history of God with man up to this point.
After the fall of Adam the world was eventually populated. God saw that the heart of mankind was very evil so He caused a great flood to overwhelm the entire earth, killing everyone except Noah and his family for a total of eight souls plus the animals aboard the ark Noah built.
It was at point that the possible redemption of mankind began to take shape. Almost a resurrection from the dead. When the flood finally subsided, we read this:
Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said,
“Cursed be Canaan; (Ham’s decedents became the Canaanites)
a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” He also said,
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.
May God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
and let Canaan be his servant.”
The sons of Noah, and Noah himself signals a new beginning for the human race and the opening up of God’s plan for us. Watch the descendants of these three boys.
Ham evolves into the Canaanite, Hittite and similar nations who occupy Canaan which is eventually promised to Israel by God. Japheth gives birth to the rest of the world except for Shem who’s descendants eventually give birth to Abraham. The covenant promises of God are given to him and to and through Israel. That is, all the children descended through Abraham’s son Isaac as we shall see. Salvation was still a long way off, but surly on it’s way-
God began His plan by speaking to Abram, He spoke His covenant promises to Abram which included the establishment of the nation of Israel. But it was an expanding covenant and Abram (when he was 99 years old) heard these words from the All Mighty:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly. Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
So, as we have seen before, This promise is a further expansion of God’s covenant plans for mankind to be worked through this new man Abraham and these promises passed on through the decedents of Abraham’s grandson Jacob who’s name is eventually changed to Israel (as we shall also see) all of Abraham’s descendants not descended through Isaac, who is Abraham’s child of promise, may be blessed but the covenant promises are not theirs. (as we shall also see).
Let me say something about the name God chooses for His created beings. For example, Lucifer was originally the highest angel God had created. However, after he fell from heaven his name changed and he became Satan. His relationship with God had changed, so he became a totally different being- therefore God changed him and his name. Same principle here with Abram. God had already made him a man of multiple nations (a higher position in God’s eyes) hence Abram became a different person- with a new name. The same principle applies to Sarai who becomes Sarah.
One other thing. God called Adam and Eve Adam. One flesh, one being. So the promised child of Abraham must include Sarah as the mother because the two of them are one flesh and the child God had in mind (Isaac) must come through those pair, Abraham and Sarah.
And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
Notice again from the above that God’s everlasting covenant will be established with and through Isaac and his offspring only. None of the other sons of Abraham or their decedents can carry God’s covenant promises.
As we will see in more detail in the next post, Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah by the same time a year later.
We should remember that all of this is a picture of Christ and is fulfilled in Christ. He put it this way:
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness of me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
This is but one of many scriptures that point to the fact that all things contained in the Old Covenant (Old Testament) are fore filled In Christ Jesus.
Also, Abraham would have descendants (after the Nation Israel was formed) that as the stars in the heavens are, so would his decedents be.
So Israel is of the earth- Earthly
The multitude of nations that Abraham and Sarah give birth to are to be as the stars in the sky- Heavenly
Let’s look at a famous scripture (Isaiah 53) to get a clue of how Christ fulfills this covenant:
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement due us that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
So here we have God’s witness regarding the mission of Christ to Israel (and to the Gentiles). Hard to imagine but this entire reference to Jesus is totally missed by Israel (they have been blinded). But look at the end of the chapter:
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Yes, we are all guilty! We have all forsaken the way of the Lord and have freely given ourselves over to satisfy our iniquity. As guilty as we were, He allowed it all to be laid on Him. Making us totally free by simply believing in Him and receiving His grace.
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
Yes He was and now the Gospel of Faith, blinded for a season to the Jews, reaches out to the Gentiles and they are born again. There will be a time when the eyes and ears of the Jews are opened and they will join the born again Gentiles into what Paul calls ‘One New Man’ with Jew and Gentile.
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
This is what happens (looking from God’s side) any time someone believes on Jesus. The soul of Jesus gives itself as an offering to God for the guilt of that person (Jew or Gentile) and that person is born again by the Spirit into Christ, in the heavenlies, and is a child of God.
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
The offspring of Christ and Abraham are created.
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
The anguish Christ endured in His Crucifixion and death is worth it because He will see the Children of God Created.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,10
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Now, in Isaiah 54 we see the promise that Christ would birth a multitude of nations:
“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord
Now, speaking of us in Galatians 4:26 Paul writes:
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Like Isaac was, we who are born again are children of promise! Meditate on that for a while-
All of us known by name by the Father before we were in our mother’s womb and birthed through the death and resurrection of Jesus and saved by faith and that is not of ourselves, but is a gift from the same Father.
Furthermore, we read in Galatians that we are really Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise!
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
I hope this has helped your faith, and that all is well with you and your loved ones- God bless you all and more will be coming.
mcfalger 