God's Promises Through Abraham

God's Promise through the Line of Abraham
In the Book of Daniel, God unfolds three keys to the understanding of Bible
Prophecy. One of these keys deals with His people, Israel: "Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city…"(Daniel 9:24, KJV).1 These
people mentioned are the Jews, whose roots stem from Abraham and are recorded
in the book of Genesis: "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2,
KJV). God's promise of Genesis 12 would be carried through the line of Abraham
down to subsequent generations. This promise begins in the form of what is known
in Scripture as the "Abrahamic Covenant" and confirmed in Genesis, Chapter 15. It
is through this first of four covenants with the Jew that God promises to Abraham
that he will become a great nation, will possess a vast amount of land, and that
blessings will abide on Abraham and on any who associate themselves with him
(Genesis 15:8-21, KJV). Deuteronomy reaffirms the promise that the Jewish
people are a very special people to God, and that He chose them not because of
their number, but because of the promises made to their fathers (Deuteronomy
7:6-8, KJV). There exists, in other religious circles, the thought that this promise
was passed from Abraham to Ishmael, and thereby the Islamic people are the
"people of promise" living today. This could not be further from the truth. To trace
the line of Promise from Abraham through Isaac and then Jacob, only a clear
reading of the Scripture is needed. Ishmael, indeed, would become a great nation
as promised by God (Genesis 16:10-12, KJV), but the line of promise would
definitely pass through Isaac, the son of Sarah and Abraham: "And God said,
Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac:
and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his
seed after him" (Genesis 17:19, KJV). God clearly outlines the recipient of
Abraham's promise and even goes so far as to tell Abraham what to call his son! It
is also at this time that God delivers the ceremonial act of Circumcision to
Abraham and his house. The purpose of this was to "set apart" Abraham and his
seed as heirs to the promise of God (Genesis 17:9-14, KJV). Circumcision
signaled a lifetime separation unto God for the Jew. It did not grant Salvation, but
yet it showed their allegiance to the God of Israel. This allegiance would be tested
later when God would command Abraham to offer Isaac, the son of promise, on an
altar as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed God's voice, and God showed mercy and
provided a Ram for the sacrifice instead (Genesis 22, KJV). God then once again
reaffirms the covenant with Abraham and his descendants. As Isaac grew to
adulthood and married, he then had two sons with his wife, Rebekah. It is
interesting to note that even in the womb, the two "struggled within her" and God
disclosed to Rebekah that indeed, two nations would come forth from her and that
the older brother, Esau, would serve the younger brother, Jacob (Genesis 25:23,
KJV). God then once again confirms the covenant with Isaac, which had been
given to his father, Abraham (Genesis 26:2-5, KJV). This "struggle" between the
two brothers would later end up in a deceitful plot by Jacob to receive his Father's
blessing from his deathbed (Genesis 27, KJV), and cause much contention
between the two and a desire of Esau to see his brother slain (Genesis 27:41,
KJV). Jacob would then flee his land and eventually wind up near Haran where God
would confirm that Jacob, indeed, was God's chosen heir to the continued promise
and covenant with Abraham (Genesis 28:13-15, KJV). God promised to Abraham
that his line would continue and that the blessing of the covenant would remain. It
is through Isaac and Jacob that we see God keep His promise.

Endnotes
1All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Bible version, Royal,
1971.