Messianic Perspectives

Chris Rodriguez: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives. Today our Bible teacher, Stephen Gair, continues his six-part series on the Foundations of Messianic Prophecy. This is Chris Rodriguez. Please stay tuned after the message for some important information you won't want to miss. And now with today's teaching, here's Stephen Gair.

Stephen Gair: Shalom. This is Stephen Gair. Welcome back to our series on Messianic Prophecy. We're discussing not just Messianic prophecies, but we're looking at the views, the interpretations, the expectations of the Jewish people regarding Messianic prophecies—those prophetic words contained in the Hebrew Bible, in the Old Testament, regarding our Messiah.

We're in the book of Genesis. One of the most important, critical concepts, ideas, let alone literary real estate that's devoted to this, is the Abrahamic Covenant. If we actually looked at the book of Genesis and were to color-code in blue every passage in the book of Genesis that either directly quotes, expands, elaborates upon, or alludes to the Abrahamic Covenant, you would flip through the book of Genesis and you would see a sea of blue.

Well, what is the Abrahamic Covenant? First of all, what is a covenant? A covenant is a contractual arrangement, a contract, a very solemn form of contract that was very common in the world of the ancient Near East—that's the world of the Bible. We see covenants throughout the Bible, but the Abrahamic Covenant is that contract that God made with Abraham. We call it the Abrahamic Covenant because God made it with Abraham. What else should we call it? The covenant with Larry?

The Genesis narrative reveals that the Abrahamic Covenant was a whole complex of unconditional divine promises that are stated and stated again and reiterated over a period of years, a period of decades, within a series of six recorded encounters between God and Abraham. First of all, when I say a complex, I mean that there's a series of them. And when we talk about unconditional promises, I'm talking about promises that God makes that are not based upon "if you do this, then I will do this."

Those are conditions. These are unconditional. In other words, these are just straight-out promises, unconditional, no strings attached, divine promises that God makes to Abraham. It's not a back-and-forth between God and Abraham; it is from God to Abraham, not a back-and-forth conversation or a series of promises that one promises to another. This is a one-sided deal: God promises Abraham. And each time the Abrahamic Covenant is restated, it's expanded upon and it's enlarged upon.

So we start with a core. You could think of the Abrahamic Covenant as throwing a stone in a body of water. When you throw a stone into a body of water, you have the initial circle that is created by the entrance of the stone into the water. But then a series of ripples expand from that initial core, and each ripple getting larger and larger and larger as it emanates forth from that initial core. And that's indeed what happens.

So think of it as a wheel within a wheel within a wheel within a wheel six times. Six recorded encounters, and each one of those encounters expands and enlarges the promised provisions of the central core of the covenant. Just like throwing a stone in water, you don't get ripples without that initial circle where the stone went down. Just so, every ripple expands the central idea. The stone went in the water and there are echoes, there are repercussions, and that's how the Abrahamic Covenant works.

So, let's not talk about it; let's discuss it itself. The first passage is found in Genesis 12:1-3. Genesis 12:1-3 records God's initial encounter with Abraham. In this initial encounter, we see His commission to Abraham and the initial promised blessings to Abraham. The narrative records the divine instruction for Abraham to go forth from his home in Mesopotamia and to the land that I will show you.

The passage goes like this: The Lord said to Abraham—this is 12:1—"Go forth from your country, Mesopotamia, from your relatives and from your father's house to the land, Canaan, which I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed."

So what we find in this initial encounter, this initial iteration of the covenant, are promises of personal blessing. What do I mean by promises of personal blessing? "I will bless you." What does it mean to bless somebody? This is a very important term, a *brakha* we call it, a blessing in the Hebrew. What does it mean to bless? To attribute good things to, to wish good things for. Let me give you an example that we all understand.

If you were to notice that I sneezed, I would hope that you would say something akin to, "God bless you, Stephen." Why do you say "God bless you" when somebody sneezes? Because what we're actually saying, if we break it down, is "I perceive that through your sneeze you may be of ill health, and so I will pray God's blessing on you. I will attribute or wish or hope for good things, and specifically health, to be brought to you by God."

So when God says He will bless you, it means "I will attribute good things." And what are the good things in specific relation to? Well, in context, it tells us it is in relation to numerous offspring. That's what it means that "I will make you a great nation"—not that I will make you a super fantastic dandy nation that everybody's going to say how cool, but great as in numerous.

And reputation: "make your name great." Now, this, on the other hand, is not in the sense of numerical. This is not a matter of quantity, but this is great in the matter of quality. So great nation in the matter of quantity (numerous nation), reputation, name great in the matter of quality—that you will have indeed great respect, great honor. Universal influence is also promised here when it says "you shall be a blessing and in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed."

And this universal influence is going to extend to what we call in theological terms retributive justice. Retributive justice—that sounds very fancy; what could that possibly mean? Basically, think of it as God's karma: what goes around comes around. So the universal influence of Abraham is going to extend to divine retributive justice in a specific area, and that's in regard to how Abraham, and by implication his offspring, is treated by others.

That's what it means when He says, "I will bless those who bless you," i.e., Abraham and the Jewish people, those under the covenant, "and the one who curses you I will curse." Holy karma, otherwise known as retributive justice: as you treat Abraham, so too will I treat you. You could think of this particular clause of the Abrahamic Covenant, verse three, as the E=mc² of Scripture because we see that play out throughout not only the Hebrew Scripture but also through the New Testament as well.

Well, this is quickly expanded upon in Genesis 12:7. Following Abraham's arrival in the land of Canaan, the Lord promises that Abraham's descendants are going to inherit the land as a gift. The Lord appears to Abraham and says, "To your descendants, I will give this land." The second expansion of the Abrahamic Covenant's promises is contained one chapter later in Genesis 13:14-17.

This is after Abraham and Lot decide to go their separate ways. The Lord says to Abraham, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered."

So after Lot departs for richer pastures, the Lord again appears to Abraham and reconfirms His intention. Don't worry about splitting the land here or there; the entirety of Canaan belongs to your descendants. Now, there's no specifics concerning borders here—fair enough—but the Lord commands Abraham that the land in every direction—north, south, east, west—belongs to him and to his descendants.

Abraham was divinely encouraged to expand his depth of view. Maybe your eyes are not so good at your age, so take a walk. Walk the length and breadth of the land. Walk up, walk down, walk sideways, walk this way, walk that way. One expansion of the covenant promises that is given here is the revelation of Abraham's personal possession of the land. Previously, it had only been promised to his descendants. Now we know that it also belongs to him specifically.

And there's another expansion here, and that's the duration of how long his descendants will own the land. He says, "I will give it to you and your descendants forever," i.e., eternal duration—that's a long, long time. You think the 12th of Never is a long time? Try forever, period. The Lord also defines the parameters of what He had previously meant by the promise of a great nation when He gives this illustration: "I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth." In other words, innumerable. It's a matter of quantity.

But wait, there's more. But I'm afraid we're out of time for now. We'll have to continue this in our next session together on Messianic prophecies. We'll pick it up right where we left off—the Abrahamic Covenant—next time. Until then, this is Stephen Gair saying Shalom.

Chris Rodriguez: Thank you, Steve. If you missed part of this series or would like to share it with a friend, you'll be glad to know that it's available on one convenient compact disc for the suggested gift of just six dollars. Just point your web browser to our online store at messianicspecialties.com. If you'd prefer ordering by phone, just call our toll-free order line at 1-800-926-5397, and our operator will be glad to assist you.

Of course, you can still order by mail. Just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78215. And as always, when you're in touch with us, whether it's through the mail or by phone or even on the internet, if you would please mention the call letters of this station. This is Chris Rodriguez. Join us tomorrow for another edition of Foundations of Messianic Prophecy right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries in San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the freewill contribution of our listeners in this area.