“Now the Lord had said to Abram, ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed...To your descendants I will give this land’” (Genesis 12:1 -3,7).
From this passage we learn that God made three promises to Abraham. God promised to make him a great nation. God promised to give his descendants the land of Canaan. God promised that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed.
The nation promise was fulfilled when Israel was in bondage in Egypt: “But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). Israel became a mighty nation, God’s chosen people, His elect (Exodus 19:6).
The land promise was fulfilled when Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, conquered the land of Canaan: “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” (Joshua 21:43). The retaining of the land of Canaan was conditional. Israel was to fight the enemies, driving them out, and keep God’s law after obtaining the land. Israel ended up disobeying God and went into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity. But they were restored to the land when a remnant came back from captivity.
The seed promise was fulfilled in Christ: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ’In you all the nations shall be blessed...Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ’And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ’And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:8,16).
Galatians 3 is a good summary of God’s scheme of redemption for mankind.
In the Patriarchal Age, promises were made to Abraham and his seed (Galatians 3:16).
In the Mosaic Age, God gave His Law, the Law of Moses, to
the Jews (Galatians 3:17). The Law of Moses did not nullify the Seed promise that God made to Abraham. The Law of Moses was added because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19). It made sin known to the Jews and it regulated their conduct. The Law of Moses was a guard and schoolmaster to govern the Jews until Christ came (Galatians 3:23-25). It was designed to bring the Jews to Christ. It was temporary in nature.
In the days of the gospel, faith came by Christ (Galatians 3:25). When Jesus died on the cross He took the Law of Moses away and put into force His Word (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 9:16-17). Even though the Law of Moses is no longer in effect as the standard of authority in religion today, we can learn beneficial lessons from it (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11). The gospel of Christ is the standard of authority in religion today. We must hear Christ (Matthew 17:5;28:18; Hebrews 1:2).
God kept the promises that He made to Abraham. To stand on the promises of God is to believe and trust them. God will never let us down. Any promise that God has made in the New Testament that directly concerns us or the future will be kept. We can count on
God’s promises to be fulfilled.
-Scott Vifquain
From this passage we learn that God made three promises to Abraham. God promised to make him a great nation. God promised to give his descendants the land of Canaan. God promised that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed.
The nation promise was fulfilled when Israel was in bondage in Egypt: “But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). Israel became a mighty nation, God’s chosen people, His elect (Exodus 19:6).
The land promise was fulfilled when Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, conquered the land of Canaan: “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” (Joshua 21:43). The retaining of the land of Canaan was conditional. Israel was to fight the enemies, driving them out, and keep God’s law after obtaining the land. Israel ended up disobeying God and went into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity. But they were restored to the land when a remnant came back from captivity.
The seed promise was fulfilled in Christ: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ’In you all the nations shall be blessed...Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ’And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ’And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:8,16).
Galatians 3 is a good summary of God’s scheme of redemption for mankind.
In the Patriarchal Age, promises were made to Abraham and his seed (Galatians 3:16).
In the Mosaic Age, God gave His Law, the Law of Moses, to
the Jews (Galatians 3:17). The Law of Moses did not nullify the Seed promise that God made to Abraham. The Law of Moses was added because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19). It made sin known to the Jews and it regulated their conduct. The Law of Moses was a guard and schoolmaster to govern the Jews until Christ came (Galatians 3:23-25). It was designed to bring the Jews to Christ. It was temporary in nature.
In the days of the gospel, faith came by Christ (Galatians 3:25). When Jesus died on the cross He took the Law of Moses away and put into force His Word (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 9:16-17). Even though the Law of Moses is no longer in effect as the standard of authority in religion today, we can learn beneficial lessons from it (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11). The gospel of Christ is the standard of authority in religion today. We must hear Christ (Matthew 17:5;28:18; Hebrews 1:2).
God kept the promises that He made to Abraham. To stand on the promises of God is to believe and trust them. God will never let us down. Any promise that God has made in the New Testament that directly concerns us or the future will be kept. We can count on
God’s promises to be fulfilled.
-Scott Vifquain