Sermon Tone Analysis

Tuesday June 13, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 28:13-15-Jacob Receives Reconfirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant and Reassurance

Lesson # 161

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 28:10.

On Sunday morning we studied Genesis 28:10-13, which records Jacob’s departure from Beersheba for Haran.

In this passage we saw that during the first night away from home, the Lord appears in a dream to him in order to give him reassurance.

This evening we will study Genesis 28:13-15, which records Jacob receiving from the Lord reconfirmation of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and reassurance that the Lord would protect and prosper him in exile in Paddan Aram.

Genesis 28:10, “Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran.”

Genesis 28:11, “He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.”

Genesis 28:12, “He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”

Genesis 28:13, “And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.’”

Genesis 28:14, “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

The promises to Jacob that are recorded in Genesis 28:14 echo the promises given to his father Isaac, which are recorded in Genesis 26:4.

They also echo the blessing that his father Isaac pronounced upon him before he left home, which is recorded in Genesis 28:3-4.

The Lord’s promises to both Jacob and Isaac and the blessing of his father bestowed upon him before he left home were a “reconfirmation” of the promises made to Abraham that are recorded in Genesis 12:2-3, 7, 13:14-18, 15:1-6, 18, 17:1-8 and 22:17.

In Genesis 26:3-4, Isaac received reconfirmation of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant by means of a theophany.

In Genesis 26:23-25, the Lord appeared in a theophany to Isaac at Beersheba and gave him reassurance by reconfirming to him the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant.

In Genesis 28:3-4, the blessing that Isaac bestowed upon Jacob before he left home echoes the promises of the Abrahamic covenant.

In Genesis 28:14-15, God’s reiteration of the promises to Abraham and Isaac assures Jacob of God’s faithfulness.

Genesis 28:14, “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

The Lord is reassuring Jacob in his time of adversity that like his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, that he would receive divine protection and would be prospered by the Lord.

The Lord’s reiteration to Jacob of the promises He made to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac would reassure Jacob that the very God who protected his grandfather and father and prospered them would do so for him.

The Lord’s reiteration to Jacob of the promises He made to his grandfather and father would confirm to Jacob that he was in the Messianic line.

So these promises to Jacob would reassure him that the God of his grandfather Abraham and that of his father Isaac would not abandon him.

“Your descendants” refers to Isaac’s “biological” descendants, which would be the nation of Israel and it refers to his “spiritual” descendants, which would be anyone, Jew or Gentile who believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

In a “near” sense “Your descendants” refers the nation of Israel (saved and unsaved) and in a “far” sense it refers to saved Israel during the millennial reign of Christ.

The comparative clause “like the dust of the earth” echoes the Lord’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 13:10 to multiply his descendants “as the dust of the earth” and “as the sand on the seashore” in Genesis 22:17 as well as the promise to Isaac in Genesis 26:4 to multiply his descendants “as the dust of the earth.”

The comparative clause “like the dust of the earth” drives the point home to Jacob regarding the Lord’s promise to greatly multiply his descendants and would indicate quite clearly to him that the Lord has a plan for his life and would give him assurance during his time of adversity!

The prophecy that Jacob’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).

Like his grandfather Abraham, Jacob receives these promises of numerous descendants while he was childless.

In fact, at this time, he wasn’t even married!

The Lord’s promise to Isaac that he “will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south” echoes the Lord’s promise to his grandfather Abraham that is recorded in Genesis 13:14-15 and pertains to the “Palestinian Covenant.

The Lord’s promise to Jacob that he and his descendants would spread over the land of Canaan would reassure him that he would be returning to Canaan.

The Lord is promising Jacob that He would bring him back to Canaan even though he is fleeing from it at this particular time.

“Spread out” is the verb parats (Jr^P*) (paw-rats), which is a military term meaning “to break out” and implies that the descendants of Jacob who would be the nation of Israel would through military conquest take possession of the land of Canaan.

This military conquest of the land of Canaan was accomplished to a certain extent in Israel’s history under Joshua.

But it will find its ultimate fulfillment when the Lord Jesus Christ at His 2nd Advent who at that time will destroy anti-Christ, the false prophet, and the Gentile armies surrounding Israel during the Tribulation period (aka Daniel’s 70th week) and will establish His millennial reign.

Genesis 28:14, “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

The Lord’s promise to Jacob that in him, “all the families of the earth be blessed” is a “universal” promise and indicates that Jacob would be in the Messianic line meaning that the Lord Jesus Christ in His human nature would descend from him.

The promise “in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed” should be translated “in your Seed or Descendant all the families of the earth shall be blessed” since the word for “descendants” in the Hebrew text is in the singular making the promise Messianic.

This promise is a “reconfirmation” of the “universal” promise the Lord made to Abraham, which is recorded in Genesis 22:18.

The Lord statement in Genesis 22:18 that “in your seed (Christ) all the nations of the earth will be blessed” and the promise to Jacob in Genesis 28:14 that “in Your Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” echoes the Lord’s promise in Genesis 18:18.

It 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 3:8-16 reveals that the promises in Genesis 18:18, “in (Abraham) all the nations of the earth will be blessed,” Genesis 22:18, “in your seed (Christ) all the nations of the earth will be blessed,” Genesis 26:4, “by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,” Genesis 28:14, “in Your Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who would bring salvation to the Gentile nations through faith in Him.

Galatians 3:8, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.’”

Galatians 3:9, “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”

Galatians 3:10, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.’”

Galatians 3:11, “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’”

Galatians 3:12, “However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, ‘HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.’”

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.”

Galatians 3:15, “Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.”

Galatians 3:16, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.

He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.”

Genesis 28:15 records the “personal” promises that the Lord made to Jacob.

Genesis 28:15, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

The Lord’s promise to Jacob that “I am with you” echoes the promise the Lord made to his father Isaac “I will be with you” recorded in Genesis 26:3 and is a guarantee to Jacob of the Lord’s presence in his life.

The Lord’s promise “I will keep you wherever you go” guarantees Jacob divine protection while he is abroad.

These guarantees of the divine presence and protection would encourage Jacob and calm his fears while being exploited by his uncle Laban and while hiding from his brother Esau who was seeking to kill him.

The Lord’s promise “I will bring you back to this land” is the Lord’s guarantee of a “homecoming” to Jacob in that He will bring Jacob back to the land of Canaan.

The Lord’s promise that “I will never leave you” guarantees Jacob that the Lord would be present with him and would protect and preserve him while he lived abroad with his uncle Laban.

Hebrews 13:5, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU.’”

Hebrews 13:6, “so that we confidently say, ‘THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.

WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?’”

The Lord’s promise “for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” does “not” mean that God’s protection of Jacob will end some day but rather that the Lord’s presence and protection will outlast Jacob’s exile in Paddan Aram since the promises given to Jacob are eternal in nature.

All the promises that the Lord made to Jacob that are recorded in Genesis 28:13-15 reassured Jacob that the Lord had a plan for his life.