Abraham’s Seed to Bless the Gentiles…A Messianic Prophecy

“And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, and statutes, and my laws.” -Genesis 22:18; 16:4 (ESV).

      When God promised to bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham’s offspring, the context was extremely impressive. Abraham had undergone a great test of his faith. He heard God’s command to him to offer as a sacrifice his son Isaac. He went to the mountain with his son to perform the act of sacrifice. God intervened and stayed Abraham’s hand from killing Isaac. The writer of Hebrews in later centuries noted: “He (Abraham) considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:19). The commendation from God was that Abraham had obeyed His command. He had carried through on the intent to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Was this act on the part of Abraham—offering his son—not a foretaste of same type of sacrifice God Himself made in offering His only begotten Son as a propitiation for sin? The Messiah was in the ancestral lineage of Abraham. Through the Messiah all the nations of the earth have been blessed, are still being blessed, and will continue to be blessed.

      In Genesis 26:4, the word of promise is to Isaac, Abraham’s son. The covenant was continuing. At that time, a great famine was in Israel. Isaac went to Gerar to King Abimelech of the Philistines no doubt to seek help with food due to the severe famine. God appeared to Isaac, telling him not go into Egypt (as Abraham had done at the time of a previous famine [see Genesis 12:10]). Then God renewed basically the same covenant as He had made with Abraham, Isaac’s father. He promised Isaac his offspring would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens because Abraham, his father, had obeyed God’s voice, kept his charges, his commandment, his statutes, and his laws (see Genesis 26:5). An amazing truth about this promise made to Isaac is that he was a person with flaws of character—not perfect by any means. But through people, as imperfect as they are, God accomplishes His purposes. Did this promise made to Isaac come true? Here is the response from Paul the Apostle: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one. ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). In Hebrews 6:13 we read: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” God’s promises are guaranteed by God’s own perfect and trustworthy character. There is no one greater than God who can assure the promises He Himself makes. God’s oath for blessing all the nations of the earth through “the offspring”—the Messiah—was made upon God’s own character. From the days of Abraham until the seed of Abraham came to Bethlehem to enter earth in human form as a tiny Baby, God was working out the pledge He had made to Abraham and to Isaac. Wrapped up in that tiny Baby in a manager was the means of blessing all the nations of the earth. And “the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations,” (Mark 13:10) which is a sign of the close of the age. Until then, we basically have the same work as assigned to Abraham: “to obey God’s voice, to keep His charge, His commandments, His statutes and His laws.”

      Prayer: Lord, it is amazing to think that we now are the recipients of the promise made to Abraham and to Isaac. Thank You for working Your purposes out through ordinary people with extraordinary assignments until finally Jesus came a baby who was Emmanuel, God with us, to save God’s people from their sins. And, Lord, that same Emmanuel will come again to reign in Glory. Thanks be to God. We rejoice! Amen! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.11.2016

Faith as a Mustard Seed

“The Apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’  And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’”-John 17:5-6 (ESV).

            Who among us has not desired an increase in our faith?  In Matthew’s account of the statement about faith as a grain of mustard seed, it was preceded by the story of Jesus’ healing the boy who was an epileptic, described by his father as falling into the fire or water when one of his attacks came upon him.  The boy had first been brought to the disciples for healing, but they could not help him.  Jesus said to them:  “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to bear with you?”(Mt. 17:17).  When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast the demon out of the boy, Jesus told them, “Because of your little faith.”  Then he gave the statement about having faith as a grain of mustard seed.  Is there a meaning behind this statement that we sometimes do not understand fully?

             Mustard was a large plant in the Holy Land which grew rapidly.  Its seeds were thought to be the smallest of those in the plant world.  Jesus used the mustard seed to symbolize the rapid growth of the kingdom of God as seen in Matthew 13:31-32:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”  As in our focus verses for today, Jesus used the mustard seed to teach a lesson about faith.  When the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith, they were talking as if they expected Him to imbue them with faith.  The truth is that faith must begin within the believer.  And if it is present and active, it can flourish and grow (as the simile of the small mustard seed shows).  The small mustard seed brought forth a plant eight to twelve feet tall.  Jesus used practical and well-known illustrations to drive home His truths.  Just like the little mustard seed produces annually a plant big enough for birds to build nests in, so a little bit of faith can develop and grow in the believer and bear remarkable results.

             As I read this passage from both Luke and Matthew, I recalled a time in my life when my faith had to develop from the small seed I had.  I finished my bachelor of arts degree from Mercer University in December of 1952.  I applied for and received a job teaching fifth grade at a public school, beginning in January.  In an interview with the principal, I learned that the class had already had five teachers in the short period from the time school had opened in the fall.  She advised me the job would be hard and that I would have to be a strict disciplinarian in order to manage the class and teach them.  She asked me if I thought I was up to the task.  Needing a job badly, and wanting to try my skills as a teacher, I responded that I thought I could meet the challenge.

            Children in the class were from what was known as “the peach orchard section,” a somewhat underprivileged area.  Several of the children were behind for grade level.  I sensed a bit of belligerence and questioning on my first morning with the class.  I thought it best to talk to them gently, with a few funny stories mixed with my “teacherly” advice.  We discussed goals and what they would like to accomplish in the half-year of school remaining.  Before I signed and received the job, I had prayed that I could be well-matched with my students and that we would have a strong rapport and a good second semester of school.  Every day, I prayed that God would work through me with His love to reach the children at their point of need.  Certainly that first day with them had been bathed in prayer.

            We were well into the first class when suddenly there was a serious interruption.  I realized that one of my students was having an epileptic seizure.  My principal had warned me that one of the students had epilepsy.  I did not expect a seizure on my first day there.  I had some sterile tongue depressors in my desk, so I quickly went to little Peggy and began to apply what I knew to do for a child with the affliction, although I had never  before had an experience working with one.  I asked one student to go quickly for the principal, who immediately came.  As it happened, with her mother going early to work, Peggy had to get herself ready for school and catch the bus.  She had either not taken her medication—or else she was out of it.  With that and the excitement of a new teacher, she had gone into seizure.  This was before the time of regular on-site school nurses.  The principal and I were able to give little Peggy the help she needed and the seizure did not last long.

             I remembered the incident from Matthew’s gospel and applied it immediately to my situation as a new teacher in a challenging environment.  My principal and I were able to have a conference with Peggy’s mother, and with the nurse who visited several schools within the district.  With proper medication for Peggy, patience on my part, and cooperation from a class room of students who were hungry for a little tender, loving care, that half-year of teaching became a very memorable way to start a thirty-plus year career in education.  You can be assured that I did much praying, even while Peggy was having that epileptic attack on my first day as her teacher.  I am thankful to God that my seed of faith grew stronger just like the small mustard seed grew into a large plant. The issue is not the size of our faith but the presence of it in our heart.  Another metaphor concerning our faith is having enough to move the tree from where it is planted to the sea.  The Bible has many illustrations about accomplishing what seems impossible.  We have to apply our faith to the challenges we face in order to move through them and work in them.. “ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  (Hebrews 11:1).  – Ethelene Dyer Jones  06.08.2014