LESSON TWENTY-TWO

THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM,
ISAAC, AND JACOB

OUTLINE

1. Prophecies with promises.
2. The promise to Abraham:
   1. His being made into a great nation, his name being made great, and his being made the father of a great nation.
   2. Receiving the blessing.
   3. Being made a blessing to all the families of the earth.
   4. Bringing forth Isaac.
   5. Gaining the land that God promised.
   6. His seed being multiplied like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore.
   7. His seed suffering affliction, being afflicted for four hundred years, and then returning to the land of Canaan.
   8. All the nations of the earth being blessed in his unique seed—Christ.
3. The promise to Isaac:
   1. Inheriting the promise given to his father.
   2. Gaining twin sons.
4. The promise to Jacob:
   1. Being fruitful and multiplying.
   2. Being a nation with kings.
   3. Inheriting the land with his seed.

TEXT

I. PROPHECIES WITH PROMISES

According to the Bible, in the Old Testament God’s people had two beginnings. The first beginning was with Abraham because God’s selection and calling began with Abraham. The other beginning was with the nation of Israel. God told the Israelites that they would be a personal treasure to Him among all the nations. They would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exo. 19:5-6). Hence, Abraham was a definite beginning for God’s people, and the nation of Israel was also a definite beginning for God’s people. In between these two beginnings God gained three persons—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. First there was Abraham, then there was Isaac, then Jacob, and then the nation of Israel. From that point on, the nation of Israel became the people of God. Hence, we can say that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the foundation of the nation of Israel. Without Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, there would not be the nation of Israel, and there would not be a people of God in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament not all the Israelites, who are the seed of Abraham in the flesh, are the children of God (Rom. 9:7-8), but those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham (Gal. 3:7) and hence children of God. The New Testament believers, both Jews and Gentiles, who become sons of Abraham through faith in Christ “are blessed with believing Abraham” (v. 9).

Hence, the prophecies with promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concern not only the blessing gained by God’s people in the Old Testament but also the blessing that can be enjoyed by God’s people in the New Testament. These prophecies with their promises are concerned even with the situation in the coming age and in eternity. Therefore, we must have a proper understanding of these prophecies and the promises hidden within them.

II. THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM

A. His Being Made into a Great Nation,
His Name Being Made Great, and
His Being Made the Father of a Great Nation

In Genesis 12:2 God said to Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation.” God promised Abraham that He would make of him “a great nation.” This great nation is the kingdom of God, which is composed of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, the church in the New Testament, the millennial kingdom in the coming age, and the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth in eternity. In the millennial kingdom there will be two parts—the heavenly part and the earthly part. The heavenly part will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, in which the overcomers of the past and present ages will be co-kings of Christ. The earthly part is the Messianic kingdom composed of the restored kingdom of Israel. In this way, Abraham’s name will be made great. Other than the name of the Lord Jesus, no name on earth will be greater than that of Abraham. He is the father of “a great nation.” He is the father of the nation of Israel and of the church, and he will be the father of the millennial kingdom and of all the redeemed ones in eternity. According to God’s promise, what a “great nation” and what a great name this is!