THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM
Let’s look in more detail at Genesis 12:1-3 where God makes the following promises to Abraham for his obedience to the command given in v1. (Abram’s name was later changed to Abraham by God and we will use this throughout unless it is a quote.)
1. God would make from him “a great nation”. Once Abraham had children, his seed grew quickly. The ‘Jews’ are direct natural descendants and their existence in the earth is a testimony of God’s immutable word, and of his intention to fulfill his promise. Romans 11:28-29. More on the descendants to come.
2. God would “make thy name great”. Abraham was to personally benefit from this promise, Genesis 17:5,6 & Luke 13:28.
3. “I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse”. The preservation of Israel is evidence of the blessings and curses of the other nations. It is often seen as well in the punishment of their enemies. Jeremiah 30:11, Ezekiel 36:22-26.
4. “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” This constitutes the gospel: Galatians 3:8. There is a two-fold blessing:
5. i) Abraham is promised that through a descendant, (Jesus Christ) reconciliation would be made and the nations would enjoy the beneficence of a divine ruler.
ii) This also involves justification. Sin results in death. The blessing is that sin would be removed and the blessing of forgiveness of sins applied. “blessed is the man whose sin the lord will not take into account” Roman 4:8. Also vv18-25.
“The LORD said to Abraham…all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever” Gen. 13:14-18. Here a specific territory is outlined in the promise. ‘This land’, the land of Canaan, was promised to Abraham and later was confirmed with an oath, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD”, Genesis 22:15-18. However, Abraham never possessed this land during his lifetime, (Acts 7:5). Therefore, in order to fulfill this promise, he must be resurrected (raised from the dead), and receive a change in nature, so as to possess it ‘forever’. See Hebrews 11:13, 39-40.