The Promises made to Abraham, a foundation stone of our faith, are frequently cited in public addresses in which attention is rightly focused on the ‘land’ and on the ‘seed’ as the central subjects of the Divine promise. There is however another element of this revelation which is of vital importance to us, and that is the ‘blessing’: “Now the Lord had said unto Abram . . . in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:1,3).
The means by which all families of the earth may share this ‘blessing’ is described in Genesis 22 where, following the faithful offering up of Isaac, God entered into covenant relationship with Abraham and showed him that the channel of the blessing for all nations would be a seed that should possess the gate of his enemies: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice” (v. 18).
But precisely what is this promised blessing? Often the impression conveyed in lectures is that the blessing refers to material favours, the satisfaction of human needs in health, comfort and peace, which the Kingdom age will bring. True though these things may be, we believe there is a more radical explanation for the blessing, as a consideration of the following passages of Scripture shows.
Romans 4
The Apostle Paul in this chapter proves that men are justified (declared righteous) by faith by citing the example of Abraham. In verse 3 Paul quotes Genesis 15:16: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness”. Through his implicit trust that God would provide a seed Abraham is accounted righteous. The apostle continues by showing that in being reckoned righteous Abraham is “blessed”, and he adds: “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth (reckons or accounts) righteousness . . . ” (v. 6). Then Paul cites Psalm 32:1,2, in which David expresses his praise and thanksgiving for healing and forgiveness: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin”. Evidently, to be blessed is to receive forgiveness of sins, to be accounted righteous, and this blessing is available to all men and not just circumcised Jews (vv. 9,10). So Abraham became the “father of all them that believe . . . that righteousness might be imputed unto them also” (v. 11). By following Abraham’s example through faith in God’s revelation to him, all families may be blessed.
Acts 3
In this chapter Peter gives powerful testimony to the resurrection of Christ and emphasises its significance to the Jews who thronged the temple courts. The men of Israel were guilty of putting away God’s servant. Jesus, whom they had crucified and slain in ignorance, was the Messiah, and God raised him from the dead. God is gracious and, although Israel put away His Son, God would put away their sin. Peter implores his hearers to repent: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you” (vv. 19,20). It is in this context that Peter associates the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ with the ‘blessing’ of God’s covenant with Abraham:
“Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” ( vv. 25,26).
Galatians 3
In this chapter Paul stresses again the importance of faith and shows how we may become identified with the Lord Jesus Christ by subscribing to the principles worked out in his sacrifice ( v. 26). The argument is continued with the thought that “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” ( v. 29). How poignant are the words of verse 8 !—”And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify (account righteous) the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed”. The salvation of our souls through the forgiveness of sins is evidently and inseparably bound up with the promises of God to Abraham: “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” ( v. 9).
Luke 1
The seed of Abraham is the one through whom the ‘blessing’ has become available to all. This is emphasised by Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, who was moved to prophesy that God had visited His people, “to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham” (Lk. 1:72,73). This reference to the oath takes us back to Genesis 22, where God swore to Abraham that he and all nations would be blessed in Christ. Intimately involved in the fulfilment of the oath was the forgiveness of sins. Zacharias shows that John the Baptist, in preparing the way for “the seed”, would “give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins” (v. 77).
The Abrahamic covenant referred to by Zacharias was the New Covenant which was to be ratified by the shedding of the blood of Christ. In so doing the Lord Jesus ” confirm( ed) the promises made unto the fathers” (Rom. 15:8). For only through his sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins could Abraham and “all nations” inherit the land for ever.
Reflections
The magnitude of God’s love for us is expressed in Psalm 103: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will He keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins: nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” ( vv. 8-12).
Such was the efficacy of God’s work in Christ, the victory of Jesus over sin, that the extent of the Divine forgiveness is immeasurable. It is a sobering thought that the psalmist continues by reminding us of our duty. How appropriate that he does so by calling to mind the covenant: “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them” ( vv. 17,18) !
Holding fast to those things which have been revealed to Abraham and to us, we may rejoice in the blessedness of forgiveness. The hope of the gospel, resurrection to partake of eternal glory in the Kingdom of God through the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus, was preached to Abraham at the first when God said: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”. These are the truths that form the foundation of our faith.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One