pilgrim people

Abrahamic Covenant (con't)

Genesis 15: By taking a self-maledictory, blood-oath (see the previous BCT post), God promises Abraham two primary things, offspring and a land as an everlasting possession.

But how were these two promises fulfilled?

As the Bible unfolds God's great plan of redeeming a people for himself, we see that the fulfillment actually comes on two marvelous levels. Now, let's think about this. On the first level, we witness the fulfillment of these promises in the history of the nation Israel. In Genesis 21, we read how the Lord finally gave Abraham and Sarah a son, namely, Isaac. Although it seemed impossible that such a things could happen (given their old age), we read that the Lord visited Sarah and caused her to conceive a son just as he had promised. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

And from Isaac came Jacob, from Jacob came the twelve sons who fathered the twelve tribes of Israel. As the story progresses, we learn how these descendents of Abraham all end up in Egypt where they continue to multiply, generation after generation. In fact, the Book of Exodus begins by telling us that the people of Israel increased greatly and grew exceedingly strong so that the land of Egypt was filled with them. SO great were they that Pharaoh feared they would be too much for his own land, and began to afflict them with heavy burdens and make them slaves, just as was foretold in Genesis 15. Not only that, but Israel remained in Egypt for some 400 years until the Lord led them out...just as he promised.

This promise given to Abraham in Genesis 15 seemed impossible. Yet, it was finally brought to pass. Israel grew into a massive amount of people, as many as the stars in heaven! In fact, we even read of Moses reminding the people in Deut 1.10: "The LORD your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars in heaven in multitude." This is the fulfillment of the offspring promise on the first level.

The fulfillment of the land promise on the first level came to pass in Israel's conquest of Canaan. The Book of Joshua records how God made good on his promise by leading Abraham's offspring into the promised land and cleansing it as a holy place with which his name would be identified (much like the Garden of Eden). We read in Josh 21.43: "So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it...Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed, all came to pass."

How marvelous is the fulfillment of these promises! What comfort we receive to see God's sovereignty over history! What security there is in the faithfulness of the Lord to his covenant promises!

Yet there is more. Remember, there are two levels of fulfillment to these promises in Genesis 15, secured by a blood-oath which God himself took.

Stay tuned...