The Age of Promise

Last session then folks we looked at the third dispensation, which was the dispensation of Human Government. This was the period from the flood to the tower of Babel.

The Test - Scatter & Multiply

The Failure - Didn’t Scatter they converged

The Judgement - Confusion of Languages

We now move on to the time after the Tower of Babel. We now have different languages for the first time in human history. We note that the different languages on the part of the human race was a judgement upon the human race, that helps us a little when we get into acts and the early Church when we see those speaking in different languages after pentecost, then the languages are a judgement upon Israel.

Getting back to our next dispensation, we are now entering the Age of Promise.

The fourth Dispensation is called the Dispensation of Promise

A. The Responsibility

Nine generations after Shem, Abraham was born. Abraham was about 75 years old and living in Ur of the Chaldees when God one day spoke to him.

The covenant He made with Abraham was again unconditional and contained many promises

Genesis 12:1–3 KJV 1900

The only hint of a condition appears to be that Abraham had to forsake his home and family and go to a land God would show him.

The promises from God were:

1. Make Abraham a great nation (verse 2), this promise has been fulfilled both physically and spiritually. Physically through Isaac and Ishmael, spiritually through all those who have Abraham’s faith

Galatians 3:7 KJV 1900

7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

2. To bless him (verse 2), and He did this also both physically (13:14-18) and spiritually (15:6).

3. To make his name great (GEN 12:2), still today the name of Abraham is known and respected by millions.

4. Make him a blessing to others (GEN 12:2). Abraham blessed people in his own time and blessed humanity by his seed Jesus Christ.

5. To bless those who bless him (GEN 12:3).

6. And curse those who curse him (GEN 12:3). God has not only blessed those who blessed Abraham, but He also blessed those who blessed the nation that sprang from his loins, Israel.

Those who cursed Israel (Babylon, Assyria, Rome etc.) must suffer. Some have suffered already, but these promises will not be completely fulfilled until the future.

7. Bless all the families of the earth in him (GEN 12:3). The fulfilment of this is Christ himself, who blesses all those who believe on Him with salvation and who will also physically bless all who are in the Millennium.

Like the Noahic Covenant this covenant also has a sign, and it is circumcision

Genesis 17:9–14 KJV 1900

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.

God also revealed the boundaries of the land given to Abraham. Moreover, God promised all of this to Abraham while Abraham was asleep! This proves the covenant is unconditional.

Genesis 15:12–21 KJV 1900

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.

The ceremony recorded in Genesis 15 indicates the unconditional nature of the covenant.

The only time that both parties of a covenant would pass between the pieces of animals was when the fulfilment of the covenant was dependent upon both parties keeping commitments.

Concerning the significance of God alone moving between the halves of the animals, it is to be noted that it is a smoking furnace and a flaming torch, representing God, not Abraham, which passed between the pieces.

Such an act, it would seem, should be shared by both parties, but in this case God’s solitary action is doubtless to be explained by the fact that the covenant is principally a promise by God.

He binds Himself to the covenant. God caused a sleep to fall upon Abraham so that he would not be able to pass between the two halves of the animals. Fulfillment of the covenant fell to God alone.

God reconfirmed the covenant again after Abraham passed his severe but revealing test of offering Isaac

Genesis 22:1–18 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. 15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Issac is a wonderful type of Christ

Isaac and Jesus were "only, beloved" sons of a righteous father; Ishmael had been sent away in Genesis 21:14 [Genesis 22:2].

Both Isaac and Jesus are identified as the "son of Abraham" [see Genesis 21:3; 22:2; Matthew 1:1].

Both were offered in sacrifice [Genesis 22:2; John 1:29; Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:33; John 11:5019:17-18].

The sacrifice was offered in the land of Moriah – Jerusalem [Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1; Matthew 16:21-23].

Both sons carried the wood for their own sacrifice [Genesis 22:6; John 19:17]

Both were "bound" and placed on top of the wood [Genesis 22:9; John 19:18-19; Philippians 2:8].

Both willingly allow themselves to be offered in sacrifice [Genesis 22:7-8; Colossians 2:6-8].

Both sons were "resurrected" or "given back" the their fathers on the third day.

What then, is the next mention of Isaac after he was to be sacrificed upon mount Moriah? What we find is that Abraham is concerned that Isaac should have a bride and sends his servant out to find her.

Genesis 24:1–4 KJV 1900

1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: 3 And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: 4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

The servant in this passage is a beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit.

The next mention of Isaac was with his father Abraham sending the servant out to find a wife for Isaac. But in this scripture, we have the first time that Isaac is actually seen since his near sacrifice in Chapter 22.

Genesis 24:62–67 KJV 1900

62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. 67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Clearly, this also continues the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who ascended into heaven after the resurrection and is not seen again until He meets His bride at His return.

From the scripture above we see three things that occurred at this time.

Firstly, we see that Rebekah prepared herself by covering her face with her veil.

Secondly, we see that Isaac took Rebekah back to his home, to his mother’s tent.

Finally we see that Isaac loved her and the two were married.

These three events foreshadow the meeting of Jesus and his bride, the church.

Revelation 19:7 KJV 1900

7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Now getting back to this dispensation we find that

The Dispensation began with the Abrahamic covenant and is called the Dispensation of Promise, as for the first time God has made promises to one group of people at the exclusion of all others.

The promises God made to Abraham He reconfirmed to his son Isaac, his grand-son Jacob, and then to Jacob’s sons, the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The manner of behaviour God expected in this dispensation is much like the previous except that He told Abraham to go to a certain land and stay there (Canaan).

Genesis 12:1–7 KJV 1900

1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

The responsibility of Abraham and his descendants during the fourth dispensation was to obey God on the basis of human conscience, human government, and promise.

As should be no surprise by now we move to...

B.The Failure

Genesis 12:10 KJV 1900

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

Abraham obeyed in going to the land, but when a famine came and times got hard he fled into Egypt for food.

Genesis 46:6 KJV 1900

6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:

Abraham and his descendants failed the test of the fourth dispensation.

Moreover, the character of the descendants of Abraham degenerated from that of Abraham. Even though Abraham was afraid and lied in Egypt about Sarah, Isaac seemed to lie more easily

Genesis 26:7 KJV 1900

7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

Jacob (meaning Deceiver Supplanter) was even more blatant in sin. He lied, deceived, tricked, and schemed it appears without a second thought

Genesis 27:6–29 KJV 1900

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. 21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed: 28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, And the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and wine: 29 Let people serve thee, And nations bow down to thee: Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Likewise, his sons (with the exception of Joseph) were even more mixed up in vice and evil. From adultery with handmaids and harlots to murder and kidnapping. Gen. 34:25, 37:23-36, 38:12-18, they all seemed to think lightly of sin.

So the test was failed once again, this leads us to..

C. The Judgement

The actions of everyone concerned, from Abraham on down, and the degeneration of the character of the family in each succeeding generation caused God to send Abraham's seed into Egypt and later into bondage.

The failure once again brought divine judgment.

Exodus 1:8–14 KJV 1900

8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

The climax of the dispensation was reached when God, during the lifetime of Jacob, sent the children of Israel into the land of Egypt where they stayed for four hundred years under the strong taskmaster's whip, until they reached the place where they could stand it no longer, and they cried out unto God for deliverance.

They recognised what they should have known at the very beginning, but which they learned after bitter experience, what we all know if we believe the Word of God, but which most of us have to learn by bitter experience, that God's way is the best way.

When they reached that place and cried out to God for deliverance, God heard them.

However, in spite of the failure God displays his grace in this dispensation as indeed he does in all the others before it.

D. God’s Grace

We should remember that God knew what would happen and had informed Abraham in advance.

Genesis 15:13–16 KJV 1900

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.

God would not forget his people, and there is a deliverer coming for Israel.

Conclusion

The Age of Promise began with faithful Abram obeying the Lord and leaving the idolatrous city of Ur for a land which was promised but was never possessed by either him, Isaac or Jacob.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob believed God’s promises as Paul said:

Hebrews 11:13 KJV 1900

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

The Age of Promise began with blessing and ended with bondage in the land of Egypt: a new administration was required and that takes us to the Age of Law.

Like all of the dispensations, the Age of Promise began with a new administration and new opportunities, but ended in abject failure and slavery. No matter how God chooses to administer the affairs of this world, man will always prove a failure.

The wonder is that God persists; but then He is “the God of all grace!”

1 Peter 5:10 KJV 1900

10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

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