Genesis 22.15-19-Reconfirmation and Enlargement of the Abrahamic Covenant
Wednesday March 22, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 22:15-19-Reconfirmation and Enlargement of the Abrahamic Covenant
Lesson # 120
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 22:15.
Last night we began a study of Genesis 22:15-18, which 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 in theology, the “Abrahamic” covenant.
Therefore, we reviewed the promises of this covenant, which are recorded in Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-18, 15:1-6, 17, and 18:1-8.
This evening we will study Genesis 22:15-18 where the Lord reconfirms the promises of this covenant and then enlarges upon them.
Every time Abraham made a sacrifice for God the Lord responded by giving Abraham more:
(1) God commanded Abraham to leave his hometown and as a result God rewarded him with a new one (Gen. 12:1; Heb. 11:8).
(2) Abraham offered the best of the land to Lot and separated from Lot and as a result God rewarded him by giving him more land (Gen. 13:5-18).
(3) Abraham gave up the King of Sodom's reward (Gen. 14:17-24) and God gave Abraham more wealth (Gen. 15:1-6).
(4) God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac after he waited so long for him to be born (Genesis 22:1-19; Hebrews 11:17-19) and as a result the Lord rewards Abraham by enlarging upon the previously made covenant (Gen. 22:15-18).
In each case, where Abraham was obedient to God, God rewarded Abraham with a deeper and more intimate fellowship with Himself.
Philippians 3:10, “that I come to know Him experientially and the power from His resurrection and the participation in His sufferings by my becoming like Him with respect to His death.”
Philippians 3:11, “If somehow (by becoming like Him with respect to His death), I may attain to the exit-resurrection, namely, the one out from the (spiritually) dead ones.”
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.
The reason for the Lord guaranteeing the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham is given in the Lord’s statement “because you have done this thing.”
This statement refers to Abraham’s obedience to the Lord’s command in Genesis 22:2 “Take now your son, your only son whom you love 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.”
The word “only” in Genesis 22:2 and 16 is incorrectly translated since Abraham had many sons (Ishmael through Hagar, see Genesis 16; Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah through Keturah, see Genesis 25:1-2) and so Isaac was not an “only” child.
“Only” is the adjective yachidh (ryt!y*) and means, “uniquely born one” and this interpretation is supported in that Isaac was a “miracle” baby since his mother was ninety years old and his father was one-hundred years old when he was born.
Furthermore, John 3:16 employs the adjective monogenes (monogenhv$) translated “begotten” in the NASB and is used to describe God the Father’s Son, Jesus Christ as being uniquely born of a virgin.
Hebrews 11:17 employs monogenes translated “begotten” in the NASB but like the word in John 3:16, it means, “uniquely born one” since it is used to describe Isaac who was born to parents who were well past the age of having the capacity to procreate.
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and Isaac was born of parents who were in their old age and so like Jesus Christ, Isaac was unique.
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.”
In Genesis 22:17, Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit employs two infinitive absolutes to express the fact that the Lord is “guaranteeing” the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham as a result of his obedience to God’s command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.
“Indeed” is the conjunction ki (yK!) (kee), which functions in Genesis 22:17 as an “emphatic particle” emphasizing the Lord’s promise to greatly bless Abraham as a result of his obedience.
“I will greatly bless you”: (1) Piel infinitive absolute complement form of the verb barakh (Er^B*) (baw-rak), “blessing” (2) 2nd person common (neither masculine nor feminine) singular piel imperfect form of the verb barakh, “I will bless” (3) 2nd person masculine singular pronominal suffix, “you.”
In Genesis 22:17, the verb barakh (Er^B*) means, “to bless in the sense of enduing someone (Abraham) with power for success, prosperity, fecundity, longevity, etc.”
Therefore, the verb barakh indicates that Abraham and his descendants were endued with power by the Lord for success, prosperity, fecundity (offspring in great numbers) and longevity.”
The Lord blessed Abraham in the sense that the Lord multiplied his descendants so that his posterity was great in number both, racially and spiritually.
Also, the Lord blessed Abraham in the sense that the Lord multiplied his possessions and livestock and prospered him financially.
The phrase “I will bless you” was fulfilled “temporally” according to Genesis 13:14-18; 15:18-21; 24:34-35 and it has been fulfilled “spiritually” according to Genesis 15:6 and John 8:56.
The infinitive absolute barakh stands before the finite verb of the same root in order to intensify the certainty or force of the verbal idea expressing the certainty that the Lord would fulfill the promise to bless Abraham.
So to the English speaking person this construction literally means, “blessing, I will bless you” but to the Hebrew mind, it simply means, “I will greatly bless you.”
“I will greatly multiply”: (1) Hiphil (causative) infinitive absolute complement form of the verb ravah (hbr), “multiplying.” (2) 1st person common (neither masculine nor feminine) singular hiphil (causative) imperfect form of the verb ravah.
The infinitive absolute stands before the finite verb of the same root in order to intensify the certainty or force of the verbal idea expressing the certainty that the Lord would fulfill the promise to multiply Abraham’s descendants.
So to the English speaking person this construction literally means, “multiplying, I will multiply” but to the Hebrew mind, it simply means, “I will greatly multiply.”
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.”
“Your seed” refers to not only Isaac but also those who like Abraham exercise faith alone in Christ alone, which would include the church and regenerate Israel and regenerate Gentiles who lived in dispensations outside of the church age and ultimately it refers to Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the Scriptures teach that the “seed” of Abraham is four-fold:
(1) Abraham’s biological or racial descendants, which would include: (a) The Ishmaelites through Hagar (Gen. 17:20; 21:13; 25:12-18) (b) The Midianites and others through Keturah (Gen. 25:1-4) (c) The Edomites through Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 25:23; 36:1-43).
(2) Abraham’s biological or racial descendants the Israelites of Jews through Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob (Genesis 12:2, 7; 18:18; Rom. 9:6-9).
(3) Abraham’s spiritual descendants, which would include those individuals, both Jew and Gentile racially, who exercised faith alone in Christ alone (Gal. 3:6-29).
(4) The Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16).
The comparative clause “as the stars of the heavens” echoes the Lord’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:5 and is used to compare the Lord’s promise to Abraham to multiply his descendants with the number of the stars of the universe.
The promise of Genesis 15:4-5 not only pertains to Abram’s “natural” progeny (cf. Deut. 1:10; 10:22; Heb. 11:12) but according to Romans 4 it refers to his “spiritual” progeny (cf. Gal. 3:29).
The comparative clause “as the sand which is on the seashore” echoes the Lord’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 13:10 to multiply his descendants as the dust of the earth and drives the point home regarding the Lord’s promise to greatly multiply Abraham’s descendants.
The prophecy that Abram’s descendants would be as the dust of the earth 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).
The Lord’s promise to Abraham that “your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies” is a prophecy that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the great enemy of God and His people would be defeated, namely, Satan, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 (see Colossians 2:15; Philippians 2:6-11; Ephesians 1:15-22).
In the ancient world, to “possess the gate” of one’s enemies was to have access to a walled city and possessing control of the city.
The term “enemies” refers to Satan and the kingdom of darkness who at the present time temporarily rule this world (Eph. 2:1-3; 6:10-18; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Jn. 5:19; Rev. 12:10).
The Lord Jesus Christ has defeated Satan with His death and resurrection and at His Second Advent, He with His church, and the elect angels will imprison Satan and the fallen angels and assume control over planet earth for a thousand years (see Revelation 19:1-20:6).
In another sense, this prophecy also refers to the fact that regenerate Israel will be delivered by Jesus Christ from the armies of the hostile Gentile nations and antichrist during Daniel’s seventieth week and will become head of the nations during the millennial reign of Christ (see Zechariah 14:16-21).
Genesis 22:18, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
“Your seed” is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord statement that “in your seed (Christ) all the nations of the earth will be blessed” echoes the Lord’s promise in Genesis 18:18 and is an enlargement upon the Lord’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that in Abraham “all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Galatians 3:8-14 reveals that the promise in Genesis 18:18 that “in (Abraham) all the nations of the earth will be blessed” and the promise in Genesis 22:19 that “in your Seed (Christ) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” are references to the fact that Abraham’s descendent, Jesus Christ, would bring salvation to the Gentile nations through faith in Him.
Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE.”
Galatians 3:14, “in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
The Lord states to Abraham that He will bless Abraham because of Abraham’s obedience to His command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, which appears to indicate that Abrahamic covenant was “conditional” rather than “unconditional.”
Now as we have noted many times in the past, the “Abrahamic” covenant was “unconditional” meaning that its fulfillment was dependent upon the Lord’s faithfulness but we need to clarify an important aspect of an unconditional covenant.
An unconditional covenant which binds the one making the covenant to a certain course of action may have “blessings” attached to it that are conditioned on the response of the recipient.
That response is simply faith or to trust that God will deliver on His promise, which expresses itself in obedience to the commands of God.
The blessings that Abraham received in Genesis 12:1-3 were conditioned on his obedience to the Lord’s command to leave his country and his father’s house and go to the land, which the Lord would show him, namely, the land of Canaan.
The “blessings” that Abraham received in Genesis 22:17-18 were conditioned on his obedience to the Lord’s command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.
The “fulfillment” of unconditional covenants does “not” depend on the continued obedience of the recipient but rather the faithfulness of God who instituted the covenant.
Abraham failed to operate in faith many times, yet the Lord remained faithful to the covenant promises He made to Abraham.
The Lord was responsible to fulfill the agreement and Abraham’s part was to obey the Lord’s commands, which would manifest his faith in the Lord.
Therefore, the “blessings” of the covenant were conditioned upon Abraham’s obedience whereas the “fulfillment” of the covenant depended upon the faithfulness of God rather than Abraham’s obedience.
Genesis 22:19, “So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.”
Abraham returned with Isaac as he believed he would since according to Hebrews 11:17-19, he reasoned that God would raise Isaac from the dead.
The name “Beersheba” means, “well of seven” or “well of oath” and bears witness to the treaty between Abraham and Abimelech and Abraham’s right to the well (Gen. 20).
“Beersheba” was located in the flat southern part of the Negev, which extends roughly from a line drawn from Gaza through the modern political boundary of the southern West Bank, extending south to the mountain ranges of the Sinai and through the Arabah to the Red Sea.