What God required of Abraham…
Leave your country, your people and your father’s household. Go to a land I will show you
God promised to Abraham…
God would give him land
God would make him into a great nation
God would make him a blessing to others
Through Abraham and his son, Isaac, the Jewish nation is born. This small, seemingly insignificant nation still stands today against all odds. Is there a nation today as hated as Israel? Is there any other place on earth that is desired more than the land of Israel? Why? Because God chose to make this nation his own.
However, if we’re not careful, we would conclude that this covenant is all about Israel: God wants to give Israel their own land. God wants to make Israel a great nation. God wants to use Israel to bless others.
Are these things true? Yes, but with the full counsel of God’s word, we can see that this covenant is not fulfilled in and through Israel; it’s ultimately fulfilled in and through Jesus.
We begin with some interactions with Jews in the Gospels:
John 8:39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.”
There was an assumption that God had favor on a Jew just because they were born a Jew. And it’s based on a misunderstanding of this covenant with Abraham.
Matthew 3:5-12 “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ’We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.’”
Romans 2:28-29 “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”
Romans 9:6-8 “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”
But isn’t this covenant with Abraham a covenant with his descendants as well? Paul makes it crystal clear in his letter to the Galatians:
Galatians 3:16 “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.”
The promises of God are to be fulfilled, not through the natural descendants of Abraham, but through Christ!
Galatians 3:26-29 “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
This covenant with Abraham is not fulfilled through the nation of Israel, it’s fulfilled through Christ. Is God done with Israel? No. Will every Jew get saved in the end? Scripture doesn’t support this. How will salvation come to the Jews? The same way it comes to the Gentiles – through Jesus Christ. A Jew must be repent, just like a Gentile. A Jew must receive Jesus, just like a Gentile. A Jew must follow Jesus, just like a Gentile. God doesn’t have two plans of salvation, like some falsely teach – there is one plan of salvation for all people and it comes through Christ! Remember, Jesus came to the people of Israel, and they rejected him. But some believed and were saved. And I believe there will come a time when God opens their eyes and many Jews will repent and surrender their lives to their long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ.
So, knowing this covenant with Abraham is fulfilled through Christ, let’s look at the components of the covenant.
What God required of Abraham…
Leave your country, your people and your father’s household. Go to a land I will show you
What Christ requires of us…
Matthew 10:37-38 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.’”
God promised to Abraham…
Land, Great nation, Blessing
LAND
How will this be fulfilled in Christ?
Hebrews 11:9 “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
John 14:1-2 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
Revelation 21:1-6 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
GREAT NATION
We’ve already looked at Scripture to help clarify what great nation God is talking about. A person is not born into this nation, they are reborn into this nation through faith in Jesus Christ.
How is this fulfilled in Christ?
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Hebrews 11:16 “Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
We get a broader picture of this aspect of the covenant in Genesis 17…
Genesis 17:1-5 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.’ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.’”
Abraham = father of a great number
Revelation 5:9-10 “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’”
Revelation 7:9 “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
BLESSING
Genesis 12:3 “…and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
How is this fulfilled in Christ?
Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Galatians 3:14 “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
1 Peter 3:9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
Romans 16:25-27 “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him--to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Are you an heir to the promise? Have you entered into a covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ? It’s not just about coming to church and saying a few prayers during the week. It’s about leaving everything behind to follow Christ wherever he leads.
In Christ, we will inherit a place prepared for us
In Christ, we are part of a great nation
In Christ, we are not only blessed, but we can be a blessing to those around us.
What an honor to speak about Abraham. But we recognize there is someone greater who came along. He is the one who proclaimed, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” It is Jesus we exalt! It is Jesus we follow.
