Genesis 22.15-18-Review of the Promises in the Abrahamic Covenant
Tuesday March 21, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 22:15-18-Review of the Promises in the Abrahamic Covenant
Lesson # 119
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 22:1.
This evening we will begin a study of Genesis 22:15-18.
Genesis 22:17-18 records the Lord rewarding Abraham for his obedience to His command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac by reconfirming and enlarging upon the covenant He established with Abraham, which is called by theologians, the “Abrahamic” covenant (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-18; 15:1-6; 17:1-8).
Therefore, this evening we will spend time reviewing the promises of this covenant before studying Genesis 22:17-18 where the Lord reconfirms and enlarges upon this covenant.
Genesis 22:1, “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”
Genesis 22:2, “He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’”
Genesis 22:3, “So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”
Genesis 22:4, “On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.”
Genesis 22:5, “Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.’”
Genesis 22:6, “Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.”
Genesis 22:7, “Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’”
Genesis 22:8, “Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.”
Genesis 22:9, “Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.”
Genesis 22:10, “Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.”
Genesis 22:11, “But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”
Genesis 22:12, “He said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’”
Genesis 22:13, “Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.”
Genesis 22:14, “Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.’”
Genesis 22:15, “Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven.”
“The angel of the Lord” is the “preincarnate” Christ and therefore a “theophany,” or “Christophany,” referring to an auditory manifestation of the Son of God before His incarnation in Bethlehem.
Genesis 22:16, “and said, ‘By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son.’”
The Lord’s statement “by Myself I have sworn” indicates that the Abrahamic covenant, which will be reconfirmed and enlarged upon in Genesis 22:17-18 is “unconditional” and “guarantees” its fulfillment.
The phrase “declares the Lord” expresses the Lord’s faithfulness in fulfilling that which He has promised, indicating that the Lord is “guaranteeing” the fulfillment of the covenant promises to Abraham and his descendants.
Genesis 22:17, “indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.”
Genesis 22:18, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Genesis 22:17-18 records the Lord rewarding Abraham for his obedience to His command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac by reconfirming and enlarging upon the covenant He established with Abraham, which is called by theologians, the “Abrahamic” covenant (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-18; 15:1-6; 17:1-8).
The “Abrahamic” covenant was an “unconditional” covenant meaning its fulfillment depended upon the Lord’s faithfulness and not Abraham’s.
The “Abrahamic” covenant included not only “personal” (Isaac and land of Canaan) and “national” (Israel) promises to Abraham but also contained the “universal” promise of eternal salvation to all mankind through faith in Jesus Christ who is a descendant of Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah.
The Abrahamic covenant was originally established with Abraham when he left Haran and is recorded in Genesis 12:1-3.
Genesis 12:1, “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you.”
Genesis 12:2, “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing.”
Genesis 12:3, “And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
The Abrahamic covenant contained three categories of promises: (1) Personal (2) National (3) Universal and Spiritual.
(1) Personal: “I will bless you and make your name great” (Gen. 12:2), which refers to the fact that the Lord would make Abraham a famous character with a great reputation among men and before God.
This fame and reputation is expressed in that Abraham is called a “father of a multitude” in Genesis 17:5, a prince of God in Genesis 23:6, the man in God’s confidence in Genesis 18:17-19, a prophet in Genesis 20:7, the servant of God in Psalm 105:6 and the friend of God in 2 Chronicles 20:7 and James 2:23.
(2) National: “I will make you into a great nation” (Gen. 12:2), which refers to the nation of Israel.
(3) Spiritual and Universal: “And all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3) refers to the fact that through Jesus Christ, Abraham would be a blessing to all mankind (Deut. 28:8-14; Is. 60:3-5, 11, 16) since it is only through Jesus Christ that one becomes Abraham’s seed and heirs of the promise (Gal. 3:29; Eph. 2:13, 19).
The phrase “and you shall be a blessing” is “not” a promise since the verb hayah, “you shall be” is in the “imperative” mood expressing a command and literally means, “so become a blessing” indicating that Abraham had a responsibility to walk by faith, which is expressed by obedience to the Lord’s commands.
The promises “I will bless them that bless you and the one who curses you I will curse” refers to the fact that the Lord is identifying Himself with the cause of Abraham and guaranteeing protection for Abraham and his descendants.
In Genesis 13:14-17, the Lord enlarged upon the original covenant made with Abraham and specifically, made promises to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants, which is called in theology, the “Palestinian” covenant.
Like the “Abrahamic” covenant, the “Palestinian” covenant was “unconditional” meaning that its fulfillment was totally and completely dependent upon the Lord’s faithfulness.
The “Palestinian” covenant was a confirmation and enlargement of the original “Abrahamic” covenant and amplified the land features of the “Abrahamic” covenant (Gen. 13:14-15; 15:18).
The “Palestinian” covenant was confirmed to Isaac (Gen. 26:3-4) and Jacob (Gen. 35:12), reiterated to Moses (Ex. 6:2-8) who described the geographical boundaries of the land in Numbers 34:1-12 and who prophesied the fulfillment of this covenant during the millennium in Deuteronomy 30:1-9.
The land grant under the “Palestinian” covenant: (1) Most of the land in Turkey (2) Most of East Africa (3) Saudi Arabia (4) Yemen (5) Oman and Red Sea (6) Syria (7) Iraq (8) Jordan.
The land grant has boundaries on the Mediterranean, on Aegean Sea, on Euphrates River and the Nile River.
Deuteronomy 30:1-10 describes seven features of the “Palestinian” covenant.
The Lord promises that this land would be given to Abram’s descendants and this promise was fulfilled to a certain extent by Israel under Joshua (Josh. 21:43-45; cf. 13:1-7) and David and Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:20-25; Neh. 9:8).
The “Palestinian” covenant will have its literal and ultimate fulfillment during the millennial reign of Christ (Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 31-37; Ezek. 34:11-16; Hos. 1:10-11; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:6-7; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 8:4-8).
Genesis 13:14, “The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward.’”
Genesis 13:15, “for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.”
The phrase “all the land which you see” is a reference to the land of Canaan, which is tract of land, which covers all Palestine west of the Jordan (Num 34:2-12) and whose western border is the Mediterranean Sea.
“Your descendants” refers to regenerate Israel and does “not” refer to the Arabs nor the church since only regenerate Israel was promised the land of Canaan.
Genesis 13:16, “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.”
The prophecy that Abram’s descendants would be as the dust of the earth was in a “near” sense was fulfilled in the days of Solomon (see 1 Kings 4:20) and will be fulfilled in a “far” sense during the millennial reign of Christ (see Hosea 1:10).
Genesis 13:17, “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”
Then, in Genesis 15:1-6, the Lord promises Abraham that his descendants would be innumerable and that he and Sarah would have a son together.
Genesis 15:1, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.’”
Genesis 15:2, “Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’”
Genesis 15:3, “And Abram said, ‘Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.’”
Genesis 15:4, “Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.’”
Genesis 15:5, “And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’”
Genesis 15:6, “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
In Genesis 17:1-8, the Lord enlarges again upon the covenant He made with Abraham not only promising him that he would have many descendants but he would also be the father of many nations, which has been fulfilled in a two-fold sense: (1) Biological (2) Spiritual.
Genesis 17:1, “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.’”
Genesis 17:2, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
Genesis 17:3-4, “Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations.’”
Genesis 17:5, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.”
The promise to make Abraham a father of many nations was fulfilled in a “biological” sense through Hagar and the Ishmaelites (Gen. 17:20; 21:13; 25:12-18); through Keturah and the Midianites and others (Gen. 25:1-4); through Isaac and Rebekah, the Edomites (Gen. 25:23; 36:1-43); through Isaac and Rebekah, the Israelites (Gen. 12:2; 18:18).
The Lord’s promise to make Abraham a father or progenitor of many nations was fulfilled and continues to be fulfilled in a “spiritual” sense through those individuals who exercised faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:1-7; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:15-29).
This is how the Lord’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that in him “all the families of the earth would be blessed” would be accomplished.
The “Seed” God covenanted with Abraham found its fulfillment uniquely in the Lord Jesus Christ (see Galatians 3:16).
Genesis 17:6, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.”
The Lord’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 17:6 that “kings will come forth from you” is a reference to primarily the kings of Israel (Gen. 35:11; 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:8-16) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Genesis 17:7, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.”
The promise recorded in Genesis 17:7 “I will establish My covenant with him (Isaac) for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him” indicates that the Promised Seed, the Savior, Jesus Christ would come through the line of Isaac rather than Ishmael.
Genesis 17:8, “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Genesis 17:9-14 records the Lord giving Abraham and his descendants the ritual of circumcision to observe as a sign to ratify the covenant that He established with Abraham when he left Haran.
Then in Genesis 17:15-22, we saw that the Lord promised Abraham that his wife Sarah would be the progenitrix or the mother of numerous nations and kings.
Now, tomorrow evening we will study Genesis 22:15-18 where the Lord reconfirms and enlarges upon the promises of the Abrahamic covenant.