Abraham and the Promise

Introduction:

The Bible is not just a book, is it? No, the Bible is so much more than just a book because the Bible is the recording of God’s authoritative word to humanity. From beginning to end, the Bible describes the character and works of God as related to the salvation of sinful and undeserving people. The beginning of the Bible records how it all began, and the end tells of how it will all end.

In the CDI class we have also learned that from beginning to end, the Bible focuses on one person: Jesus Christ. It is Christocentric. Everything in the Old Testament points forward to Jesus and everything in the New Testament is about the first and second coming of Jesus. And as God’s word, the Bible communicates the truth of Jesus in incredible ways. Now, it is true that Jesus is not mentioned by name in the Old Testament nor is he a character that shows up in the Old Testament. However, the shadow of Jesus is cast all over the Old Testament.

So much in the Old Testament is a picture or a shadow of Jesus. For example, the Passover, when an angel passed over the homes of the Hebrews in Egypt who put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, is a shadow of Jesus who is known as the Passover Lamb; by the blood of Jesus, the wrath of God will pass over those who believe in Jesus. The purpose of these shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament helps us in New Testament times to understand in a more complete way the truth of Jesus.

With the hope of gaining a greater understanding the truth of Jesus this Christmas season, I would like to look at three shadows of Jesus beginning with Abraham.

Abraham, a shadow of Jesus

In Matthew chapter 1, the story of Jesus’ birth begins with a genealogy. Starting all the way back with Abraham, Matthew traces Jesus’ family tree. Matthew could have gone back even further than Abraham but he didn’t because there was something special about Abraham: Abraham is considered the Father of the Faith.

In Genesis 12:1-3, 15:5-6, and 15:13-21, God made a promise to Abraham called a covenant. It was an unconditional covenant which means no matter what happened, God would do what he promised Abraham he would do. The promise God made to Abraham involved Land, Seed, and Blessing:

Land (Genesis 15:18): God promised that Abraham’s offspring would one day inherit the land of Canaan. We call it the Promised Land.

Seed (Gen. 15:5-6): God promised Abraham that his seed/offspring would multiply to be like the number of stars in the sky.

Blessing (Genesis 12:1-3): God promised that Abraham would become a great nation that would be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth.

This promise of Land, Seed, and Blessing was made to Abraham. As far as the Jews knew, it was referring only to earthly things: a plysical land to live in, physical offspring, and physical blessings of prosperity. But as it turns out, this was only a shadow of what was to come through Jesus.

Jesus, the greatest fulfillment of the promise

In Galatians 3:16, the Apostle Paul demonstrated how Abraham and the promise given to him was only a shadow of what was to come. Concerning the promises given to Abraham Paul said, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.” The promises were made to Abraham and to Jesus. Here’s how it works:

Land: Jesus inherited not a physical land and nation but a spiritual one we know as the Kingdom of God of which he is also King.

Philippians 2:9-11: 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Seed: Jesus’ spiritual offspring would multiply and be numbered like the stars in the heavens.

Revelation 7:9-10: 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Blessing: Jesus would be a blessing to all the nations of the world by spreading salvation.

Acts 3:25-26: 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

As you can see, Jesus is the greater Abraham and gives an even greater fulfillment to God’s covenant with Abraham. For all of us who are not Jewish by descent, the significance for us cannot be understated.

Heirs with Jesus and heirs of the promise

For those who have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are called children of God. Paul calls Christians sons and daughters of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:7). But we are not just children: According to Romans 8:17, we are also heirs of God and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ. What is the importance of an heir? An heir is the recipient of an inheritance. In Bible times, when a father died, his sons received everything that was rightfully his. So, as heirs with Christ, we receive everything Christ received, including the promise of Land, Seed, and Blessing.

Through Jesus…

…I am promised an eternal inheritance in the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13-14) (Land)

…I am born again by the Imperishable Seed into the family of faith (Romans 4:16) (Seed)

…I am blessed to be turned away from my wickedness and I proclaim this blessing to others (Acts 1:8, 3:25-26) (Blessing)

Conclusion

Jesus came to the earth as a baby boy so that he would bring blessing to the whole world! Jesus brought about the greatest fulfilment of the promises given to Abraham and is himself the greater Abraham because Jesus is the author of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Through faith in Jesus, we are promised eternal life in the kingdom of God, we are born again into the family of God, and we are turned from our wickedness.

Abraham is the shadow of Jesus who is the Savior of the world. Let us praise the name of Jesus this Christmas season and give thanks to him for the great things he has done for us.