Untitled Sermon (3)

SEED

Although in Scripture the term ‘seed’ often refers to plants, it is also frequently used of human beings. From a biblical-theological perspective, ‘seed’ is used of people in two important, and closely related, ways: 1. of Jesus Christ; 2. of Abraham’s descendants. Jesus Christ as the seed of promise.In writing to the churches in Galatia, the apostle Paul introduces the idea that the divine promises given to Abraham some two millennia earlier find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Focusing on the announcement that ‘all nations will be blessed through you’ (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; cf. 22:18; 26:4, NIV), Paul argues that Christ ‘redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit’ (Gal. 3:14). The apostle then observes: ‘The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds”, meaning many people, but “and to your seed”, meaning one person, who is Christ’ (Gal. 3:16).Paul’s affirmation that the divine promises to Abraham relate specifically to Jesus Christ is often considered to be an example of midrashic exegesis which distorts the true meaning of the relevant passages in Genesis. However, Paul is not alone in considering Jesus Christ to be the seed through whom the nations of the earth will be blessed. Peter’s observations in Acts 3:17–26, especially verses 25–26, include the same idea, as does, in a more subtle way, the genealogy in Matthew 1:1–17.A careful analysis of Genesis, where the divine promises to Abraham are first recorded, suggests that Paul’s exposition is well founded. Genesis traces a distinctive line of seed, which begins with Adam, and then proceeds through his third-born son, Seth. Through the use of tôlēdôt formulae (‘These are the generations of …’ [NRSV]; cf. Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2) this unique family line follows the lives of particular individuals and their immediate descendants. While Genesis acknowledges the existence of many peoples and nations, it concentrates on the lineage that descends from Adam to Noah (Gen. 5:1–32), and then from Noah to Terah (Gen. 11:10–26). After this the tôlēdôt heading in Genesis 11:27 focuses in upon the family of Terah, in particular his son Abraham. Further tôlēdôt headings in Genesis 25:19 and 37:2 centre attention on Abraham’s son Isaac, his grandson Jacob (also known as Israel), and Jacob’s twelve sons, the most prominent of these being Joseph and Judah.Associated with this family line are a number of important divine statements, the first of which comes in Genesis 3:15. Addressing the serpent, the Lord says, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [mg. seed] and hers [lit. her seed]; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.’ The use of the term ‘seed’ (Heb. zera’) is significant, for it is a key word in Genesis, occurring 59 times compared to 170 in the rest of the OT. Although the noun zera’ does not have distinctive singular and plural forms, J. Collins argues on syntactical grounds that both occurrences in Genesis 3:15 are singular (*TynB 48, pp. 139–148). This interpretation is strongly supported by the construction of the rest of Genesis around a single line of seed, descended from Eve. When Seth is born, Eve comments, ‘God has granted me another child [lit. ‘seed’] in place of Abel, since Cain killed him’ (Gen. 4:25). There then follows a linear genealogy which traces Seth’s descendants down to Noah. R. S. Hess (*Studies in the Personal Names of Genesis 1–11, pp. 111–162) demonstrates how Seth’s genealogy, by means of ‘onomastic commentary’ and brief narrative inserts, conveys a positive picture of hope for the future. This contrasts sharply with the genealogy of Cain which concludes by focusing on the murderous activity of Lamech (Gen. 4:17–24).From Noah, who is described as being especially righteous (Gen. 6:9) and whose actions lead to the establishment of an eternal covenant between God and all creatures (Gen. 9:9–17), the line of seed is traced to Terah, the father of Abram (Gen. 11:10–26). Although Abram’s wife Sarai (they are later renamed Abraham and Sarah respectively) is barren, the Lord promises (Gen. 12:2), and later guarantees with a covenant (Gen. 15), that Abraham’s descendants will become a great nation in the land of Canaan. The Lord also initially promises that ‘all peoples on earth will be blessed’ through Abraham (Gen. 12:3), a promise which stands in sharp contrast to the divine punishments that dominate the narrative in Genesis 3–11, stemming from the disobedience of Adam and Eve in Eden. The divine promise of worldwide blessing through Abraham, however, must be read in the light of the immediately preceding statement, ‘I [the Lord] will bless those who bless you [Abram], and whoever curses you I will curse’ (Gen. 12:3). Only those who are favourably inclined towards Abraham will experience God’s blessing. Later, this promise of blessing is guaranteed by an eternal covenant, the details of which are set out in Genesis 17.

New Dictionary of Biblical Theology Jesus Christ as the Seed of Promise

The importance of the line of David is highlighted in other OT texts. During the reign of Ahaz, who builds an unauthorized altar in Jerusalem (2 Kgs. 16:10–18), the prophet Isaiah looks forward to the coming of a future, righteous king from the ‘stump of Jesse’ (Is. 11:1–13; cf. 9:1–7; Amos 9:11–15; Mic. 5:2–4). Immediately before and just after the downfall of the house of David at the time of the Babylonian exile, the prophets Jeremiah (Jer. 23:5–6; 33:14–18) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 34:22–24) also anticipate a future Davidic king through whom God will fulfil his purposes for Israel and the nations. Ultimately, as the writers of the NT affirm, this expectation finds its fulfilment in Jesus Christ, ‘the son of David, the son of Abraham’ (Matt. 1:1). With Christ’s death, resurrection and exaltation, God’s promise to bless all the nations of the earth through the seed of Abraham starts to be fully realized (*cf., e.g., Matt. 28:18–20; Gal. 3:14; Rev. 5:9–10).

Abraham’s descendants

God’s promise to Abraham of a future ‘seed’ through whom the nations shall be blessed is closely associated in Genesis with the idea that Abraham’s ‘seed’ will become a great nation (Gen. 12:2). This is necessary in order for a future royal line to be established. Thus, special attention is given to the extent of Abraham’s seed in Genesis 15, where God covenants that they will become numerous and after four centuries take possession of the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:1–21).

Various images, which are not to be taken literally, are used to describe the extent of Abraham’s descendants: they will be as numerous as the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4), the dust of the earth (Gen. 13:16; 28:14), and the sand of the seashore (Gen. 22:17; 32:12). These images are repeated later to indicate the fulfilment of the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15. Moses states, ‘The LORD your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as many as the stars in the sky’ (Deut. 1:10; cf. 10:22; 28:62; 1 Chr. 27:23; Neh. 9:23). During the reign of Solomon, the people are as numerous as ‘the sand on the seashore’ (1 Kgs. 4:20) and ‘the dust of the earth’ (2 Chr. 1:9). Moreover, in Solomon’s time the boundaries of the nation are extended to those promised to Abraham (1 Kgs. 4:21; cf. Gen. 15:18–21).

Yet, although Moses anticipated, prior to the Israelite invasion of Canaan, the fulfilment of God’s covenant promise to Abraham, he also looked beyond this to a time when Abraham’s descendants would be ‘but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God’ (Deut. 28:62). Furthermore, they will be ‘uprooted from the land’ (Deut. 28:63). Although God fulfils his promise to Abraham that his seed will take possession of Canaan after four hundred years, an important condition for continued occupation of the land is their obedience to God (*cf. Deut. 7:6–11). At the time of the Babylonian exile the prophet Ezekiel condemns the folly of those who lay claim to the land promised to Abraham while living in disobedience to the Lord (Ezek. 33:23–29). Centuries earlier the entire generation of adult Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, apart from Caleb and Joshua, perished in the wilderness without entering Canaan. In the light of this, it is clear that the divine promises to Abraham are only of advantage to those who, like Abraham, trust and obey God. The OT reveals clearly that the biological seed of Abraham must resemble him morally and spiritually in order to be blessed by God. Indeed, implicit in the Hebrew term zera’ is a resemblance between progenitor and progeny (*cf. Gen. 1:11–12).

This idea is picked up in the NT, where first John the Baptist (Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8) and then Jesus (John 8:31–58) challenge those who see their descent from Abraham as a guarantee of being accepted by God. Indeed, Jesus states that the Pharisees are children of the devil, the hallmarks of their progenitor being their desire to kill him and their rejection of the truth (John 8:44; cf. 1 John 3:8–10). Likewise, Paul emphasizes that the true seed of Abraham are those who through faith in Christ are made right with God: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise’ (Gal. 3:28–29; cf. Rom. 4:13–25).

The NT presents Jesus Christ as the one who brings to fulfilment the divine promises associated with the unique line of seed descended from Abraham. Through Christ God’s blessing is mediated to the nations of the earth. Those who submit in faith and repentance to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour resemble Abraham and become his spiritual seed. This seed, produced through the activity of the Holy Spirit, is distinguished by its fruit from the seed which belongs to the evil one.