PMW 2024-013 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

A quick summation of Genesis 12 and 13 regarding the precovenantal promise of God to Abraham.

Gen. 12:1a
Now the LORD said to Abram
At this point the Genesis narrative moves out of primeval history and into patriarchal history toward which it has been heading since Gen. 1:1. Like Adam and Noah before him, Abraham initiates a new beginning in advancing God’s plan in history. Although the Abrahamic Covenant will not be established until a little later (15:17–21), here we have the pre-covenantal promise that leads to it. God speaks to Abraham through direct, objective revelation (cp. Gen. 12:7; 17:1; 18:1; Acts 7:2).

Gen. 12:1b
go forth from your country
God called Abraham out of a pagan environment, for his father Terah was an idolater (Josh. 24:2, 15). The strength of Abraham’s faithfulness in answering God’s call is indicated from several factors: (1) He obeyed God, (2) without hesitation, (3) and to the point of leaving his family (v. 1), (4) even though he did not know yet where he was headed (“to a land I will show you,” cp. Heb. 11:8; cp. Heb. 11:1), and (5) while expecting God would make a great nation from him (v. 2) even though his wife was barren (11:30). True faith believes God’s word and submits to it. In Scripture Abraham serves as the very model of faith (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3, 16; Gal. 3:6; Jms. 2:23).

The Lord’s Prayer (8 mp3 sermons)
Eight part expository sermon series covering each element in the Lord’s Prayer. Very practical; very theological. Shows the glory of God, in his sovereignty as prayer underscores the victory of his kingdom and the rule of his law in history. Excellent postmillennial resource from this beloved prayer.
See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

Gen. 12:2
make you a great nation
At the Tower of Babel, technologically-advanced men (11:3–4) failed in their attempt to make a name for themselves (11:4b). But here in v. 2 God promises to make a “great nation” out of this one man and his barren wife (11:30; 16:1). By God’s grace Abraham will multiply greatly (Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; Exo. 32:13; Deut. 1:10; 10:22). God is setting apart Abraham and his descendants to be a special nation (Exo. 19:5; Deut. 4:20; 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). National Israel leads to and will find her fulfillment in the New Testament multi-national church, “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:15–16; cp. Gal. 3:29; Phil. 3:3; 1 Pet. 2:9).

Gen. 12:3
all the families of the earth
In Genesis 1:27 God created Adam as his image to exercise righteous dominion in the whole earth. Then immediately upon the fall of Adam, God promised that the “seed of the woman” would crush “the seed of the serpent” in history (3:15). Now God promises that through Abraham “all the families of the earth will be blessed” (cp. Gen. 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8). Interestingly, the grammar subtly suggests that a greater number of people will be blessed than cursed: compare the “one” (singular) who curses Abraham with “those” (plural) who bless him. Throughout Scripture this hope of a world-conquering faith will continue (Psa. 67:2; 72:17; 86:9; Isa. 66:18; Matt. 28:18–20; John 1:29; 3:17; 12:32; 1 John 2:2). The significance of the “seed” is an important theme in Genesis as we see in its toledoth (genealogy) reports (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1; 37:2). As Genesis closes, we finally learn that the ultimate seed will be an individual to whom will be the “obedience of the peoples” (49:8–12). This one is Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16; cp. Matt. 1:1; Luke 3:32–34), the Redeemer of mankind (John 1:29; 3:16–17; 4:42).

Major Bible Prophecies (5 mp3 lectures)
Gentry conference lectures on the Millennium, Daniel’s 70 Weeks,
Man of Sin, Heaven, and Unfulfilled Prophecies.
See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

Gen. 13:14–15
In this context God promises that he will give the land to Abraham’s descendants “forever” (cp. 12:7). This will soon be confirmed by solemn covenant (cp. 15:7, 18) and is noted elsewhere in Scripture (Exo. 32:13; Josh. 14:9; 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 60:21).

Since “the earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains, / The world, and those who dwell in it” (Psa. 24:1), as Moses well knows (Exo. 9:29; Deut. 10:14), the land is God’s to give to whomever he pleases. Besides this, the evil Canaanite culture would eventually (15:16) justify God’s expelling them from the land (Lev. 18:2–3, 24–28 and Deuteronomy — Introduction — Special Issues).

The “forever” nature of this promise must be understood in terms of both the lexical significance of the Hebrew “forever,” the moral sanctions involved in God’s covenant, and the typological function of Old Testament redemptive history.

First, lexically, the Hebrew word translated “forever” is olam. It does not necessarily indicate unending perpetuity, but may represent a long period of time. For instance, it applies to the Old Testament sacrificial system, as in the practice of the Passover (which was fulfilled in Christ, Exo. 12:14, 17, 24), the continuation of offerings for the Aaronic priesthood (which has long since vanished, Exo. 29:28; cp. Exo. 40:15; Num. 25:13), and the permanence of the temple (which was fulfilled in Christ and destroyed in AD 70, 2 Chron. 7:16).

Clearly these samples of “forever” do not speak of unending duration, not even until the end of temporal history. This is further confirmed when “forever” speaks of the permanent status in Israel of a slave who wants to remain with his master’s house (Exo. 21:6) and the memorial stones set up by Joshua (Josh. 4:7).

Calvin observes regarding the language here that “in promising the land ‘for ever,’ he does not simply denote perpetuity; but that period which was brought to a close by the advent of Christ.” He adds, “the change which Christ introduced was not the abolition of the old promises, but rather their confirmation.” All of this fits perfectly with the typological nature of the Old Testament, which finds its fulfillment in the New.

Second, covenantally the Lord gives this land to Abraham in terms of a formal covenant transaction (15:12–20), not as a simple gift without any obligations or breach-of-covenant sanctions.

This is evident in that God often warns Israel that she may lose the land if she breaks covenant with him: Israel is warned that she must obey him “so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you” (Lev. 18:28). Indeed, in the great covenant blessing and curse chapter, we find that it draws near to its conclusion warning: “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it” (Deut. 28:63).

Postmillennialism Explained, Defended and Applied (6 mp3 lectures)
by Ken Gentry
These five lectures explain the biblical foundations to postmillennialism, while providing practical applications for the modern Christian.
See more study materials at: www.KennethGentry.com

Third, typologically the Promised Land serves as a type of the whole earth. As such, it pictures the spiritual rest brought by Christ’s kingdom, which shall cover the earth (see Heb. 3–4). We see this, for instance, in Psalm 37:11, which speaks of God’s promise to his people: “But the meek shall inherit the land.” Yet in Matt. 5:5 Jesus expands this very promise to include the entire earth. Also Abraham apparently understood the land promise as a down payment representing his inheriting the whole world (Rom. 4:13). Paul expands the land promises to extend across all the earth, when he draws them into the New Testament (e.g., Eph. 6:3).

In the unfolding story of redemption in the Old Testament, we see the expanding of the land promises: God gives Adam a garden (2:8); he grants Abraham’s seed a country (Josh. 1); he promises the New Covenant church the world (Matt. 28:18–20). Ultimately, in fact, Hebrews 11:8–16 shows that the land received by Abraham was not his ultimate longing. Rather, he understood it as referring to the eternal city of God’s kingdom (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22–29).