More of God's Dealings with Abraham -- 3/8/09

Sunday, March 8, 2009

MORE OF GO’S DEALINGS WITH ABRAHAM
Gen. 15:7-17:14

Last week we dealt with the justification of Abram. We focused on Gen 15:6, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." As we saw last week, this is a very key passage of scripture. It is quoted verbatim three times in the New Testament (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23). In Romans 4, Paul uses it as his prime example of justification by faith. Abram was counted right in God’s sight not because of any deeds he performed, but because he believed God. Though the promise of God that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky seemed absolutely impossible, Abram believed. God spoke and Abram trusted what He said. That faith was credited to Abram as righteous. It was a case of God justifying the ungodly. But how can that be? It is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for it was there at the cross that God fully punished sin in His Son. We sometimes refer to it as double imputation – my sin was imputed to Christ, and His righteousness was imputed to me. We also refer to it as the Great Exchange. I exchanged my filthy rags for Jesus’ robe of righteousness.

This morning we are going to see some of God’s further dealings with Abram. We are going to be dealing with three events in chapters 15-21. We will look at the covenant in chapter 15, circumcision in chapter 17, and the child in chapter 21. We will likely only get through part of chapter 17 this morning.

I. The Covenant (Gen. 15:7-21)

Let’s begin by reading Gen. 15:7-21…
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9. And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19. The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20. And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21. And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
In verse 6 we read that Abram believed God. Now God reminds Abram that He is the one who brought him out of Ur with the express purpose of giving him this land as an inheritance, to which Abram responds, “How shall I know that I will inherit it?” (verse 8). At first, we may want to criticize Abram for his lack of faith. He has just believed God for a multitude of descendants, but now he has trouble with the promise of the land. Be careful. Notice that the Lord Himself doesn’t have any trouble with Abram asking this question. Remember the events before the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. The angel Gabriel told Zacharias that he would have a son who would be great in the sight of the Lord (Luke 1:13-17). Zacharias responded: “Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years” (1:18). That is when the angel announced that Zacharias would not be able to speak until the birth of the child, because of his unbelief. About six months later that same angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary and announced to her that she would have a Son, whose name would be called Jesus. He went on to speak great things about this coming Son. Mary responded by saying, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man” (Luke 1:34). The angel then explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Highest would overshadow her. He concluded with the words: “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (1:37). While the outsider might not be able to detect the difference between the response of Zacharias and that of Mary, there was a great difference. While Mary had an honest question, as she trusted God, Zacharias didn’t believe God. Surely Abram’s attitude at this point was like that of Mary.

At that point God gave Abram definite instructions to take specific animals three years of age, divide them into two pieces and lay them out neatly. (Might get some volunteers, so as to make this clear). Before we go any further, we need to understand a common practice of that day. It was known as the cutting of a covenant. Steven Cole explains it like this…

When two men wanted to make a contract, or covenant, they would take some sacrificial animals, split them in two and the parties of the covenant would ratify it by walking between the split halves of the animals. There are different guesses as to what this symbolized. Some say that it meant to invoke that the same thing that happened to the animals might happen to the party who broke the covenant. Others say it pointed to the essential unity of the two parties, and that there is life and strength in unity, death in separation. Thus the two parties were solemnly signifying their commitments to the covenant.

So God took a form with which Abram was familiar in order to give Abram assurance concerning His promise. But the Lord didn’t limit Himself to simply restating and defining the limits of the promise (which we find in verses 18-21), He also prophesied concerning the future of Abram’s descendants. While Abram asked how he would know that he would inherit the land, the Lord talked to him about his seed. And what did the Lord say? That Abram’s descendants would be in a strange land and be afflicted there for 400 years. After that, God promised to judge that nation and bring Abram’s descendants out with “great substance.” Isn’t that amazing. The Word of God gives us the rest of the story, and that story tells us that God did indeed bring Abram’s descendants out of Egypt and with great riches.

Now come to Gen. 15:16, "But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." Verse 15 makes it clear that this would happen long after Abram had died. It will happen in the fourth generation. Some take it in the sense that a generation in that day was reckoned to be about a hundred years. Therefore, God would bring His people out of Egypt after they had been there about 400 years. However, might it not be literally four generations? It certainly wasn’t four generations from Abram. Just count them – Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. That is three or four generations (depending on whether you include Abram himself), and that only bring us to the time when they came to Egypt. But you will notice that verse 16 doesn’t specify a starting point, only that they would come back in the fourth generation. Let’s read 1 Chr. 6:1-3, "The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2. And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. 3. And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar." Levi, of course, was a brother of Joseph. So from the time they came into Egypt, let’s count the generations – Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses. That’s four generations.

But what about the last part of verse 16? “For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” “Amorite” was a general term for the inhabitants of Canaan, likely due to their dominance in Canaan. We know from the later historical account that God’s people, the descendants of Abram, would drive them out of the land. Some people believe that was very harsh, but don’t miss what we have here. The Lord was willing to let His people suffer for 400 years before He drove the Amorites out of the land. That is extraordinary longsuffering on the part of an All-Powerful God! He could have driven them out 400 years before, but instead He gave them plenty of time. It wasn’t until they became extremely wicked, until their iniquity was full, that God would drive them out and bring His people in.

Not only does this demonstrate the longsuffering of the Lord, but it also reveals His sovereignty. Understand that God is telling Abram all this before it ever happens. He knew exactly how long it would be before the iniquity of the Amorites was full. He is God. The entire universe is under His direction. He not only knows the future, but He ordains it. That is why He could state so clearly that His people would be 400 years in Egypt, that He would judge the nation of Egypt, that He would bring His people back into the land of those whose iniquity would be full.

Now we come to the completion of the covenant. Remember that when two parties cut a covenant, it was customary for both of them to walk between the parts of the slain animals. Each was stating in no uncertain terms that he would keep his part of the covenant, that he would be true to his word. So now we would expect the Lord and Abram to walk between the animals. But notice what we find in Gen. 15:17, "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces." What was Abram doing? We read back in verse 12 that a deep sleep fell upon him. We aren’t given any details, but it seems apparent that the Lord Himself brought this sleep upon him. Abram was able to understand what the Lord was telling him, but he did not walk between the slain animals.

So who did walk between them? What is the significance of the smoking furnace and the burning lamp? Your translation may say something like “a smoking oven and a flaming torch.” However the words are translated, it is clear that these are symbols of the Lord’s presence. They bring to mind the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness. Also, the thunder and lightning and the thick cloud when Moses when up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Yes, I am aware that those events were after the time of Abram. Those comparisons are for our benefit, to help us understand that it was the Lord Himself who was walking between the slain animals. I don’t think Abram needed any help to recognize who this was.

So why didn’t Abram join the Lord in walking between the animals? Very simple – because the keeping of the covenant depended upon the Lord alone. This was not a two-party agreement. The Lord alone took the responsibility for seeing to the fulfillment of the covenant. Yes, the Lord would see to it that Abraham would have many descendants and that those descendants would live in the land He promised.

Here we see the sovereignty of God. It was God who devised the plan. Abram didn’t just decide it would be a good thing to leave Ur and seek another country. It was God who initiated the covenant. Abram didn’t suggest they enter an agreement. Abram didn’t decide to kill the animals. It was God who told him to kill the animals and lay them out. And now it is God alone who walks through the animals, clearly signifying that the weight of the covenant is upon His shoulders. That is what we see here in this passage of scripture.

So it is with God’s covenant with us who are in Jesus Christ. The Sovereign God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. He didn’t ask us if we wanted to be a part of His Kingdom; He decreed it. It was God the Father who sent Jesus to the cross. We didn’t ask for a Redeemer; God provided Him. It was God who stirred us to seek Him. It was God who gave us the new birth through the work of His Holy Spirit. And ultimately it is God Himself who guarantees the final fulfillment of this covenant. That is what Paul means when he says…(Rom. 8:28-30)
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

II. The Circumcision (Gen. 17:1-14)

Then we come to chapter 16. Praise God that this is an unconditional, unilateral covenant that ultimately depends upon the faithfulness of God, because Abram was still a man who was very capable of failure. Chapter 16 tells us how Sarai, who still had no child, suggested to her husband Abram that he take her servant girl Hagar and have a son by her. That is exactly what Abram did. And it worked; Hagar bore him a son named Ishmael, though it was not God’s plan. Paul tells us in Galatians that Ishmael was a son born after the flesh, while Isaac was the son of promise. Abram got ahead of God and took matters into his own hands.

Now before you become too hard on Abram, you must the whole picture. Consider the time factor. Suppose I were to promise to give you a certain thing. A week goes by and I don’t give it to you. A month goes by. Then a year. How long will you wait? Do you know how long Abram and Sarai waited? The truth is, we don’t know how much time elapsed between chapters 15 and 16. However, we do know that Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran (Gen. 12:4). And how old was he when Ishmael was born? Look here in 16:16, “And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.” He was 86. So this decision to take Hagar was after over ten years of waiting. But we don’t know exactly when it was that Abram believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, and when the covenant was established. It may not have been a long time. But even then, Abram could have said, “But God didn’t tell me I would have a son by Sarai, only that I would have a son and many descendants.” Here is the bottom line – Abram felt that since nothing was happening, he needed to take the initiative to make it happen. It seemed like a good idea, so they did it.

And that brings us to chapter 17. Let’s go ahead and read Gen. 17:1-14…
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10. 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. 11. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13. 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. 14. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

When you read about circumcision in both the Old and New Testaments, understand that this is the foundational passage. It all comes back to Genesis 17. Let’s look at circumcision, as the sign (token) of the covenant. The Lord cut the covenant with Abram in chapter 15, but now – 13 years after the birth of Ishmael – he gives to Abram the sign, the token, the expression of the covenant.

When God appeared to Abram, He identifies Himself with these words: “I am Almighty God.” It is the name “El Shaddai,” that has been popularized by the song of that name. The basic meaning is “all powerful.” This is the first of 48 times this name of God is used. Don’t take it lightly. He is the All-powerful One. Throughout these chapters God emphasizes His sovereignty. Notice that the Lord didn’t come and ask Abram for an interview. God appeared when He chose, said what needed to be said, and then departed when He chose. He did not need Abram’s permission for anything He did. As for Abram, the command is, “Walk before me and be perfect.” The word “perfect” does not refer to sinless perfection. This word was used to describe both Noah (Gen. 6:9) and Job (1:8), though neither was sinless. Rather it speaks of a life that is blameless. “It refers to a person who walks honestly and openly before God, who fears God and seeks to obey Him, and who confesses and turns away from sin” (Stephen Cole). And how did Abram respond to the voice of the Lord? He fell on his face.

Notice verse 4, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.” This is a new revelation to Abram. God has already told him that he would have a multitude of descendants and that all the families of the earth would be blessed in him, but this is the first mention of nations coming from him. God does not say simply that he will be the father of a nation, but the father of many nations. It is this promise that leads to the name change. Verses 5-6, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee." “Abram” meant “exalted father;” but Abraham means “father of many nations.” Bear in mind that God is saying this to a man who has only one son, and that son will not be the one through whom the promised descendants will come.

In verses 7-8, the Lord reaffirms the promises that He made back in chapter 15. But now come to verse 9. Notice that it begins with the words, “And God said unto Abraham” (note the name change). He has already been speaking to Abraham. Why the insertion of this note before continuing His words to Abraham. I think it is because of the shift in focus. Up until now, the Lord is telling Abraham what He Himself will do, but now we see a change. “Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.” Do you see the change? Now the Lord is going to command Abraham to do something. And that something is circumcision, as we read in Gen. 17:10, "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."

Now let’s read verses 10-11 together: "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. 11. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." If you read only verse 10, you will conclude that circumcision is the covenant. However, in verse 11, circumcision is referred to as a token (sign) of the covenant. The overall context makes it clear that verse 11 gives us a fuller and clearer understanding. The covenant was cut in chapter 15; now God introduces the sign of the covenant, which is circumcision.

This brings up a serious question. We saw in chapter 15 that God, represented by the smoking furnace and burning lamp, walked through the slain animals. That clearly signified that this covenant was not dependent upon two parties, but only upon God Himself. Yet now, God commands Abram to keep the covenant. It would seem that the two are in conflict. Who is responsible for keeping the covenant – God? or Abraham? We could look at it in various ways. We could say that God would keep the covenant, but Abraham was responsible for manifesting the sign of the covenant. I believe there is a better way to understand it. God is ultimately responsible for the fulfillment of the covenant, but that does not relieve His people of responsibility. Within the overall framework of God keeping the covenant, there are commands that we are expected to obey. Does that make the keeping of the covenant our responsibility? By no means.

Come to the covenant that God has established with us through Jesus Christ (those of us who truly know Him). Phil. 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" There are no conditions listed. The covenant God makes with us is unilateral, as we have seen before. Nevertheless, shortly before ascending back to heaven, Jesus said… (Matt. 28:19-20)
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

God expects us to obey the things which Jesus commanded. So who is responsible for keeping the covenant? God. Let’s take a moment to read from Ezekiel. The Lord is speaking to His people, who by their behavior have dragged His name through the mud. After chastising them severely, He then speaks comforting words to them in Ezek. 36:23-28…
And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Notice all the “I will’s” in this passage. God is the one who will do it. He takes the initiative and He will carry it out. Nevertheless, there is responsibility for His people. In verse 27 the Lord says that they will walk in His statutes and keep His judgments, but read it carefully. “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” They will obey the Lord because the Lord Himself will cause them to do so. That is the way God’s covenant works: He keeps His part and causes His people to keep their part. How does He do that? He gives us a new heart and a new spirit, so that our desire is to do His will.

That raises still another question. We see in verse 9 that Abraham and his descendants after him were commanded to keep this covenant by circumcising all the male children when they were eight days old. So did they obey? Yes, and no. Abraham obeyed, but there were times when his descendants did not obey. So was the covenant destroyed because of their disobedience? No. In spite of their disobedience, God did indeed make Abraham the father of many nations. Ultimately, He did it through one descendant of Abraham, his seed (singular), the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Abraham became the father of all the faithful, not just the Jews.

Now let’s come over to Romans 4. Last week we read the first 9 verses, as we focused on justification by faith. In this chapter, he is likely dealing with some anticipated objections, as he would do in chapters 6 and 7. No doubt, there were some Jews who would say, “But surely Abraham’s right standing before God depended at least partly on the fact that he was circumcised. He obeyed God’s command to circumcise himself and all His people.” Let’s pick up Paul’s argument by reading Rom. 4:8-12…
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. 9. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. 11. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: 12. And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

The argument is very simple. Abraham was justified when he believed God and it was credited to him for righteousness. That took place before circumcision. Gen. 15:6 comes before chapter 17. Therefore, circumcision had nothing to do with Abraham being declared righteous in God’s sight. As we see again here in Rom. 4:11, circumcision was the sign of the covenant.

Now we need to take a moment to consider how this covenant, whose sign is circumcision, relates to the new covenant in Jesus Christ? Is the sign of the old covenant perfectly parallel to the sign of the new covenant? Is the sign of the new covenant baptism? And if that is so, is it proper to baptize infants, in light of the fact that males under the old covenant were circumcised when they were eight days old? There are many dear Christian brothers who take it that way. On the basis of these passages and Col. 2, they would see the parallelism between baptism and circumcision and therefore baptize infants, not as a picture of faith in Christ, but as a way to include them as a part of the covenant people of God.

Come back to verse 11 here in Rom. 4. Let’s read it: “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised…” Notice the term “seal.” Abraham’s circumcision was the seal of the righteousness which was his through faith. Circumcision was the seal in a different way than it was the sign. It was the sign of the covenant for all those who were circumcised. With some exceptions, those who were circumcised did not believe God. They couldn’t, because they were only eight days old. For them, circumcision was a sign, but for Abraham, circumcision was the seal of His righteousness which came through faith. In other words, His circumcision authenticated His righteousness which came through faith; it testified to its reality.

So we see that there is certainly a parallel between circumcision and baptism. Both are outward expressions that are performed once. (Though people may be put in the water more than once, you can only be baptized once). Both come at or near the beginning of one’s experience with the Lord. Nevertheless, there is also a great difference between the two. Circumcision was not an outward expression of a real and genuine faith of the one being circumcised. This truth is brought out in the fact that while circumcision was the sign in Abraham, another term –seal – was required to describe Abraham’s experience. The circumcision mentioned alongside baptism in Col. 2:11 is “the circumcision made without hands” and “the circumcision of Christ.” The relationship between circumcision and baptism is by no means a perfect parallel.

However, there is another parallel to be found. The key is the term “seal.” We find Paul talking about a seal in the new covenant. When we put our trust in Christ, we were sealed. How? With that Holy Spirit of promise. Let’s read it in Eph. 1:12-14…
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
It is the Spirit of God who seals us in Christ. It is the Spirit who testifies to the reality of our faith in Christ. Circumcision testified that a person was a part of the covenant people of God and thereby blessed with special privileges, such as access to the Word and promises of God.

However, it did not testify to an inward change. Both baptism and the Holy Spirit give witness to a radical new birth in Jesus Christ. Baptism is the outward expression and the Holy Spirit is the inward witness (though the Spirit’s work will also result in an outward testimony through the fruit He produces in the life of the believer).

While there are many parallels between the old and new covenants, there are many contrasts, as seen in the letter to the Hebrews. Basically, the old covenant works on a man from the outside in, while the new covenant works from the inside out. Under the old covenant, with the exception of Abraham, the sign came before personal faith. Under the new covenant, the sign follows faith.

Conclusion

We didn’t get nearly as far as I thought we would this morning, but that is a good stopping place. Let’s conclude by running to Jesus. It isn’t a far trip! As we have already hinted at, the covenant God made with Abraham would find its fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can see that in many ways. Remember that God has been making great promises to Abraham since chapter 12, though He formalized them into a covenant years later in chapter 15. Remember the last of the promises from chapter 12, “and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).

Was that promise fulfilled? Not as we would expect. We would have expected Israel, the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, to be a great missionary people, being a great blessing to all the nations around them. That is certainly what God intended, as seen in passages like Psalm 67. However, though there were always faithful Israelites, the nation as a whole brought shame on God’s name, as we saw in Ezekiel 36. One would think that the greater the nation, the greater blessing they would be to those around them. No, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the number of the faithful was reduced to a small remnant. But out of that came the birth of one named Jesus, so named because He would save His people from their sins. Was He a descendant of Abraham? Indeed, He was. And in Him all the families of the earth have been and are being blessed. Jesus fulfilled that promise in a greater way than could ever be imagined, for all spiritual blessings are ours in Him (Eph. 1:3).

But think also of this. As I mentioned before, God commanded that Abraham and his descendants circumcise all the male children in Israel. They didn’t always obey that command. But ultimately that command was fulfilled. How so? Because the seed, the true seed, of Abraham (see Gal. 3:16) has circumcised our hearts. Let’s read it again in Col. 2:9-11…
For in him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11. In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

We have been circumcised in Him. As we read in Rom. 15:8, "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:"

The ultimate purpose of God is to change people from the inside out, and that is what He is doing through His Son. We can’t change ourselves. Our sins have separated between us and our God and we can’t do a thing about it, but God did something about it, when He sent Jesus, the seed of Abraham, into this world. He lived without sin; He died as our substitute, a perfect sacrifice in our place; He was raised to the right hand of the Father. It was there at the cross that God punished our sins in His own Son Jesus. And now He calls on men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel. Give up on yourself and trust Jesus Christ. We have no other hope.