In Genesis 15:12-16 God prophesied that Abraham’s promised seed would suffer affliction. This affliction is signified by the great darkness that fell upon Abraham. As the sun was going down, Abraham fell into a deep sleep, and a terror and great darkness fell upon him. In that darkness God prophesied concerning Abraham’s seed, saying, “Know assuredly that your seed will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they will serve them; and they will afflict them four hundred years. But...in the fourth generation they will come here again” (vv. 13-14, 16).
History proves that Abraham’s seed did suffer affliction for a period of four hundred years beginning with Ishmael’s persecution of Isaac in about 1891 B.C. (21:9; Gal. 4:29) until the exodus out of Egypt in about 1491 B.C. (Exo. 3:7-8; Acts 7:6). Ishmael’s mocking of Isaac was the beginning of the affliction of Abraham’s seed that was to continue for four hundred years. The number four hundred is composed of ten times forty. In the Bible the number forty signifies trials, sufferings, and tests. Thus, the number four hundred indicates ten times of trials. Before the children of Israel were tested in the wilderness for forty years, they already had been tested for four hundred years. From Ishmael’s persecution of Isaac, the promised seed, until the exodus out of Egypt was a period of four hundred years.
When making the covenant with Abraham, God sovereignly made an environment of darkness in which He told Abraham that his descendants would suffer affliction for four hundred years. Thus, the fulfillment of this prophecy was a sign for the fulfillment of God’s covenant. By suffering the affliction as God prophesied, God’s people were assured that He would fulfill His covenant.
God made a covenant with Abraham and said, “To your seed do I give this land, / From the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen 15:18). God promised that Abraham’s seed would be given a spacious land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. The nation of Israel today has only a narrow strip of land, but the promised land is more spacious than this. In typology this means that after all the experiences of affliction, God’s people will be expanded and become spacious. They will have a richer seed and a wider, broader land to fulfill God’s eternal purpose.
God’s blessing of Abraham eventually issues in Christ as the unique seed in whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed (22:18; Gal. 3:16). In Galatians 3:16 Paul speaks of only one seed—Christ. We are all included in this one seed. We all are in Christ, and we are blessed because of Him. In Christ we have been justified. In Christ we are sanctified. In Christ we have the sonship. Everything related to us is in Christ. Ultimately, all the descendants of Abraham, including the heavenly stars and the sand on the seashore, will be in Christ. The New Jerusalem is the enlarged, corporate Christ.
Isaac inherited not only all that his father had but also the promise that God had given to his father concerning the good land and the unique seed, which is Christ, in whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 26:3-5). This promise was for the fulfillment of God’s purpose so that God might have a kingdom on the earth in which to express Himself through a corporate people. Both the good land and the seed are for the formation of a kingdom for God on the earth. In this kingdom God can be fully expressed in the seed, into which He will impart Himself and which will be transformed into His image. This was a promise given to Abraham and inherited by Isaac. This promise will be fulfilled in the New Testament believers. Through the enjoyment of grace the kingdom of God will be realized, and God in Christ will be fully expressed for eternity.
After twenty years of marriage without having a child, Isaac gained twin sons (Gen. 25:20-21, 26a). God promised that Isaac, the promised seed of Abraham, would be the one in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Suppose Isaac never had a son. How could this promise be fulfilled? How could God’s purpose be accomplished? Thus, it was not only Isaac who needed a son but also God who needed a seed out of Isaac. Because Isaac did not realize this for twenty years, God did not do anything. After twenty years Isaac realized that he had such a need and that his need corresponded to God’s need. He then prayed to God, and God answered his prayer. Eventually, Isaac had twin sons—Esau and Jacob. Jacob, who was chosen by God, not only fulfilled Isaac’s need but also fulfilled God’s eternal purpose. Out of Jacob came Christ, who brings in the church, the kingdom, and the New Jerusalem.