Promises

Christ in the Old Testament - Prophecy Promises - Genesis 12:1-9 November 24, 2024 Back in 2013, TIME Magazine ranked the 100 Most Significant Figures in History. Here are the Top 10: 1. Jesus 2. Napoleon 3. Muhammad 4. William Shakespeare 5. Abraham Lincoln 6. George Washington 7. Adolf Hitler 8. Aristotle 9. Alexander the Great 10. Thomas Jefferson I think that's probably an accurate list. However, I am surprised that one person did not appear on that list. Abraham. Because Abraham connects three of the largest world religions, Judaism, Islam, and - of course - Christianity. I think this matters because when Abraham (then Abram) was called by God he was given a promise - in fact, we will see shortly - five promises. This promise, probably unknown to Abraham at the time, was a prophecy concerning the Son of God. Let's read the account from Genesis 12, where we are introduced to the history of God's people through Abraham. We'll read verses 1-9 this morning: 1 NOW THE LORD SAID TO ABRAM, "GO FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR KINDRED AND YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE TO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. 2 AND I WILL MAKE OF YOU A GREAT NATION, AND I WILL BLESS YOU AND MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT, SO THAT YOU WILL BE A BLESSING. 3 I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND HIM WHO DISHONORS YOU I WILL CURSE, AND IN YOU ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED." 4 SO ABRAM WENT, AS THE LORD HAD TOLD HIM, AND LOT WENT WITH HIM. ABRAM WAS SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD WHEN HE DEPARTED FROM HARAN. 5 AND ABRAM TOOK SARAI HIS WIFE, AND LOT HIS BROTHER'S SON, AND ALL THEIR POSSESSIONS THAT THEY HAD GATHERED, AND THE PEOPLE THAT THEY HAD ACQUIRED IN HARAN, AND THEY SET OUT TO GO TO THE LAND OF CANAAN. WHEN THEY CAME TO THE LAND OF CANAAN, 6 ABRAM PASSED THROUGH THE LAND TO THE PLACE AT SHECHEM, TO THE OAK OF MOREH. AT THAT TIME THE CANAANITES WERE IN THE LAND. 7 THEN THE LORD APPEARED TO ABRAM AND SAID, "TO YOUR OFFSPRING I WILL GIVE THIS LAND." SO HE BUILT THERE AN ALTAR TO THE LORD, WHO HAD APPEARED TO HIM. 8 FROM THERE HE MOVED TO THE HILL COUNTRY ON THE EAST OF BETHEL AND PITCHED HIS TENT, WITH BETHEL ON THE WEST AND AI ON THE EAST. AND THERE HE BUILT AN ALTAR TO THE LORD AND CALLED UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD. 9 AND ABRAM JOURNEYED ON, STILL GOING TOWARD THE NEGEB. This week, we conclude our sermon series where we've been looking at - and looking for - Jesus in the Old Testament. Last week, Pastor Pat preached on Psalm 40, what we call a Messianic Psalm, and this week we're looking at another prophetic example. This isn't the first prophecy we find in the historical book of Genesis, the first - of course - is found in chapter 3, verse 15. This prophecy - known as the Abrahamic Covenant - is repeated later in Genesis 13:15, and in 15:18, and again in 17:8. Needless to say, it's an important one. This morning, we will touch on each of the promises, but I want to draw your attention specifically back to verse 3, which reads: I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND HIM WHO DISHONORS YOU I WILL CURSE, AND IN YOU ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED. The latter part of verse 3 is critical for you and me today. To summarize, in the form of our main idea: Through the promise to Abraham, we are directed to Jesus, who brings an offer of salvation to all people. We'll dive into this in more detail shortly, but as noted I want to address the other promises found in this call to Abram. To do so, let's discuss: THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM There are several promises from God in His call to Abram. The first promise is found in verse 2, and that's a promise of ... * Land (v.2) o Abraham will be blessed with land o This promise, as you see here in verses 2-3 applies to his descendants, specifically those from the seed of Jacob. o Modernly, what Israel occupies is much smaller than the promised land. One source noted that if the, Israelites were currently occupying all the land that God gave to them, they would control all the holdings of present-day Israel, Lebanon, and the West bank of Jordan, plus substantial portions of Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. o Obviously, Israel is always in the news. They are constantly under attack. o In fact, they are literally surrounded by their enemies, yet this small nation still stands, even today when two known terrorist groups have stated publicly that they want to wipe them out. o Israel has yet to occupy the land that was promised to them. o If you're familiar with the Scriptures, they tell us why. Partially because they have been unfaithful to the Lord, and partly because Israel is part of God's future plans. o The next promise is the promise of Israel becoming ... * A great nation (v.2) o Once again, when we look at a world map today, Israel is small, and in a hostile region. o Notice, however, it is the Lord who declares them as great, not man. o Also, this promise from the Lord to Abraham (Abram at the time) is significant because of the physical state of Abram and Sarai. o Abram is 75 years old (verse 4), and Sarai was barren, according to Genesis 11:30 - yet He promised that He will be blessed with starting a great nation. o You may recall last week, Pastor Pat talked about a near fulfillment of prophecy and a far fulfillment of prophecy. o In some cases, far fulfillment of prophecy has not yet occurred. o In part, the same claim can be made here. * I say "in part" because we know the nation became great through King David and King Solomon. o But, looking ahead, in Revelation 21 we read of what is called "New Jerusalem" which seems to be a physical place, where the saints and angels are all united under the rule of the Father and the Lamb/Jesus. o Next, a promise that ... * Abraham's name will be great (v.3) o Obviously, as the "Father" of the twelve tribes of Israel, we know this to be true. But, we're also given a reason why he is to be great. o What is this reason? o So, they could be a blessing to others o Specially, verse 3 states that he will be blessed, so that he will bless others. o In Luke 12:48, we are told that if one has been given much, he should give much. It is a principle of gracing others with the grace that has been given to us. o Think about it. There is an evangelical principle in this promise. o Our blessings are not to be stored away, they are to be shared. Especially when it come to the Gospel. o Another realization of this blessing was mentioned earlier when I spoke of the so-called Abrahamic Religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity o Also, during his life, he was blessed with great possessions, children, and later by the time we get to Exodus chapter 1, we see how his offspring was also made great in number - so much in fact, that the Pharoah in Egypt feared them. o Next, as we saw a little earlier, another promise that that this nation will ... * Be protected by God. (v.3) o The specific wording in verse 3 is, I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND HIM WHO DISHONORS YOU I WILL CURSE o This is why - strategically - our country aligns with Israel. o This is why - biblically - we - as Christians - are told to align with and to pray for Israel. o Finally, the next promise to Abraham is the promise that applies to us as well. Namely ... * That all people of the earth will be blessed. (v.3) o Here is where we'll spend the rest of our time this morning. o Unpacking ... HOW CHRIST FULFILLS THE PROMISE: First, and obvious ... * Jesus comes from Abraham's line. o This is summarized in Matthew 1:17 which reads: SO ALL THE GENERATIONS FROM ABRAHAM TO DAVID WERE FOURTEEN GENERATIONS, AND FROM DAVID TO THE DEPORTATION TO BABYLON FOURTEEN GENERATIONS, AND FROM THE DEPORTATION TO BABYLON TO THE CHRIST FOURTEEN GENERATIONS. o Mary sang about this in her Magnificat in Luke 1:55 o Later, Zechariah confirmed this in Luke 1:73 o Peter talks about this in Acts 3 o Paul talks about this in Romans 4 and Galatians 3 o If nothing else, we can have confidence in the historical Abraham. o Even Jesus spoke about him in John 8 o This is important because it is fulfillment of the prophecy. o Next, and more importantly ... * Jesus's offer of salvation is for all people. o This includes the Abrahamic religions. o This includes atheists and agnostics o This includes satanists o We see this immediately in Christ's incarnation. o Returning to Luke's account, for example, the devout Simeon praised God saying in Luke 2:31 that Jesus is: A LIGHT FOR REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, AND FOR GLORY TO YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL o This is where we see the fulfillment of Genesis 12:3, where through Abraham, the Messiah will offer the same blessing offered to Israel to all people. o As noted, Paul talks about this in Galatians 3:7-9: 7 KNOW THEN THAT IT IS THOSE OF FAITH WHO ARE THE SONS OF ABRAHAM. 8 AND THE SCRIPTURE, FORESEEING THAT GOD WOULD JUSTIFY THE GENTILES BY FAITH, PREACHED THE GOSPEL BEFOREHAND TO ABRAHAM, SAYING, "IN YOU SHALL ALL THE NATIONS BE BLESSED." 9 SO THEN, THOSE WHO ARE OF FAITH ARE BLESSED ALONG WITH ABRAHAM, THE MAN OF FAITH. o Paul continues later in verses 28-29: 28 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. 29 AND IF YOU ARE CHRIST'S, THEN YOU ARE ABRAHAM'S OFFSPRING, HEIRS ACCORDING TO PROMISE. o Unfortunately, many people teach that we can claim all of the same blessings of Abraham (you know, money, fame, and riches), but the context and of Genesis 12 and the related passages in the New Testament leads more to the fact that the blessing of salvation is what is available and promised to all people. o Finally, we must discuss ... What this means for us today. To start, let's review the main idea again, which states: Through the promise to Abraham, we are directed to Jesus, who brings an offer of salvation to all people. As we close this morning, let's discuss our response. RESPONDING TO JESUS Let me give you two ways we can respond. First, is the command to: * Love God. o We can do this in at least three ways: * Believe in His Son * Immediately following His baptism, God's voice announced His approval. Effectively, affirming that this was the promised Son. * He had already sent John - along with the rest of the Old Testament prophets - to point them to Jesus, so we must do the same as a response to His grace. * If you have not done that, please consider doing that today, next, we can love God through ... * Obedience * Jesus told His disciples that if we loved Him, we would obey His commandments. * Notice how the need for salvation came before obedience. * That's because obedience is a response to salvation. * Notice how Abraham responded to the Lord's call. * The bible records that he obeyed, and later in chapter 15, it is said that Abraham was accounted for as righteous because of his faith. * Next, we love God by ... * Living in faith * Abraham needed faith to be obedient to God's call. * In verse 7 of our text, Abraham responded by building an alter for the Lord * Paul reminds us in Romans 4 that Abraham's faith is what justified him. * And through his faith, the nation of Israel came to be, and through the line of Judah, the Messiah was born. o So, we love God through believing in His Son, through obedience, and through living in faith. o So, the next response is to ... * Love your neighbor. o The best way to love your neighbor is to point them to Jesus. o We also love our neighbor through service. o Famously, the parable of the good Samaritan reminds us that everyone should be considered our neighbor. o Many of us likely think of our physical neighborhood. o And, I'll be honest, this one would be hard if I was talking about my neighborhood. o I walk two miles around my neighborhood every morning. That's three laps around the neighborhood. o Constantly, I have to maneuver around cars basically parked on the sidewalk. o Even worse, a couple of weeks ago, one of the neighborhood dogs bit my arm. o Not very neighborly if you ask me. o The simple solution? * Be considerate of others around you. o That's what Paul said in Philippians 2:3-4, which reads: 3 DO NOTHING FROM SELFISH AMBITION OR CONCEIT, BUT IN HUMILITY COUNT OTHERS MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN YOURSELVES. 4 LET EACH OF YOU LOOK NOT ONLY TO HIS OWN INTERESTS, BUT ALSO TO THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS. o And guess what? o Paul here is speaking of the example of Christ Jesus Himself. o Which means when we love our neighbor, it is Christlike at its core. This morning, we saw that ... Through the promise to Abraham, we are directed to Jesus, who brings an offer of salvation to all people. In this sermon series, we searched for Jesus in the Old Testament. In it, we have identified several ways that Christ is revealed - and we just scratched the surface - to include the physical, pre-incarnate appearances, the various types, and of course, the hundreds of prophecies. My hope is that through this sermon series, you begin to approach the entirety of the Scriptures differently, with a clear understanding that Christ is present from cover to cover, and that His story is not yet compete. As present-day Christians, we can look back - and we're actually told in the Scriptures to do so (see 1 Corinthians 10:11) - at the example of those who lived before us and learn from them. And we can look forward to the promises that God has given us, knowing that He has always been faithful and true. I am sure that Abraham had no idea the wholeness and fullness that the promise in Genesis 12:3 would produce, but he had faith to trust God at His Word. Do you have faith to trust God at His Word? Let's pray. 2