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The Continuity of the Bible

Adult Class

Winter 2005/2006

Lesson 5: Abraham and the Promises

            After the establishment of the covenant with Noah, we might imagine that humanity had learned its lesson and remained in close fellowship with God. The tower of Babel incident quickly sets us straight. Out of the confusion and turmoil of that event, God chose for Himself one man through whom He might raise up a single nation to live in fellowship with Him. God's purpose in all this was always to bring about salvation for all people (2 Peter 3:9).

            Beginning in Genesis 12, God called Abraham. In Genesis 12:1-3, we see the initial call of Abram (as he was then known). God promised him all the greatest desires of the ancient world:

• Abram's descendants would become a great nation,
• God would bless Abram (understood as great wealth and power),
• God would make his name great,
• God would make Abram to become a blessing to many,
• God would repay in kind those who blessed or cursed Abram,
• All nations of the earth would be blessed through Abram.

            In response to this, Abram did as God called him to do and journeyed to the land selected by God. The promises began to be fulfilled and Abram's substance and household began to increase greatly.

            In Genesis 15, God spoke again to Abram and renewed the promises. He specifically stated that Abram would have a son to be his heir and that God would give to Abram and his descendants all the land. Genesis 15:6 is a landmark passage in the Bible and is used by Paul and James in the New Testament. It is in this chapter that we see the formal covenant made between God and Abram. The terms of the covenant were given by God and included the land and descendants. The ceremony of the covenant was the incident with the sacrifice of the animals and God's appearance between the divided carcasses. Genesis 15:18 declares that this is a covenant.

            In Genesis 17:1-14, the covenant is renewed and ratified. The terms are restated and even amplified as God promises not only descendants, but kings from Abram. His name was changed to reflect his new status: Abraham (father of a multitude). He is required to be blameless before God and to keep the covenant. Then God grants Abraham a sign of the covenant and a sign to be given to every male in the covenant: circumcision. By now, the three main points of a covenant are all in place: the terms have been given, the ceremony has taken place and a sign is instituted as a permanent reminder of the relationship between the parties.

            In Genesis 22:1-18, God calls Abraham to offer his promised son as a burnt offering. In this episode, Isaac is a picture of the salvation we obtain in Christ. The similarities are unmistakable from our knowledge of the death and resurrection of Jesus:

• A child of promise is to be sacrificed as an offering to God
• He carries his own wood for the offering
• He is assured that God will provide the sacrifice
• He is received back alive to an anguished and loving father.

            It is important that we link Genesis 22:2 to John 3:16 to see the power and importance of what Abraham was called to do in this, and what God in fact did in Christ Jesus. Abraham serves as a pattern for the faithful of all the ages, and Paul leans heavily on his example as he describes the impact of grace in Romans 4.

• Romans 4:3-5-Abraham was credited with righteousness. It is a matter of grace to gain forgiveness and the status of blamelessness before God. Abraham did not earn it, but was granted it by the mercy of God.
• Romans 4:18-Abraham gained the blessing of faith as God performed the promises He had made. A son was born to Abraham, and through that son came the Son of God.
• Romans 4:29-35-The fulfillment of all the Abrahamic promises is found in Jesus Christ. He did in reality what Isaac prefigured on the mount of Moriah. It is the resurrection of Jesus that provides to us confidence in the ongoing promises of God. He always fulfills His purposes, and He always fulfills His word. Our future is absolutely secure because He is absolutely faithful to perform His covenant.