“Now To Abraham Were The Promises Spoken” – Galatians 3:16

by Micky Galloway

This passage references the promises that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, “Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great. And be thou a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse. And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” In this we see three promises made. For our purposes we will consider them in the following order.

The Nation Promise: This was the first promise to be fulfilled. From the time of this promise to the giving of the Law, Paul identified to be 430 years (Galatians 3:17). At the time this promise was made Abraham was old and had no children. How could he have a great nation descend from him? Paul tells us in Romans 4:18-22, “Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be. And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.” When the promised child was finally born, Abraham was told to, “Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah. And offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2). Abraham willingly went to offer his son, “accounting that God (is) able to raise up, even from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham’s faith was “reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:23). When the descendants of Abraham stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God himself called this multitude of two or three million people “a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5). God had kept His promise to make of Abraham a great nation.

The Land Promise: When God promised Abraham a land, he defined the borders of the land (see Genesis 15:18). After the death of Moses, Joshua would be the one to lead this great nation of people into the land (Joshua 1:6). That Joshua led them into the exact land cannot be disputed. Joshua 21:43-45 says, “So Jehovah gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And Jehovah gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; Jehovah delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not aught of any good thing which Jehovah had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.” Also, Joshua warned the people, “And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which Jehovah your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, not one thing hath failed thereof. And it shall come to pass, that as all the good things are come upon you of which Jehovah your God spake unto you, so will Jehovah bring upon you all the evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which Jehovah your God hath given you. When ye transgress the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them; then will the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you” (Joshua 23:14-16). Yet, some still deny that God gave them all the land he promised to Abraham. Note that David recovered a lost portion in II Samuel 8:3. How could something be recovered that had never been possessed? Further, Solomon reigned over all this land and the inhabitants paid taxes to Solomon (I Kings 4:21; II Chronicles 8:7-9). Nehemiah affirms that God fulfilled the land promise, having identified the borders, “for thou art righteous” (Nehemiah 9:7-8). The land promise of Genesis 12 and 15 is fulfilled because God keeps his promises.

The Seed Promise: God had said to Abraham, “And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Time passes and there is no mention of the promised seed. Israel rebels during the judges and asks for a king (I Samuel 8). Saul son of Kish becomes the first king in Israel. Saul rebels against God, and David, son of Jesse, becomes king in Israel. During the reign of David, reference is again made to “the promise.” Nathan said to David, “When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (II Samuel 7:12-13). This was about 1,000 years before Christ and about 500 years after the Law was given on Mt. Sinai. Other details given by David are recorded in Psalms 22, Psalms 110, etc. After David’s death his son Solomon reigned in Israel for 40 years. After Solomon’s death his son Rehoboam became king. Rehoboam’s lack of judgment divided the people of God into two kingdoms (I Kings 12). The northern kingdom appointed Jeroboam to be king (I Kings 11:38; 12:20). Sadly, there was not one good king in the succession of kings in the northern kingdom. During this time, Isaiah threatened captivity to this rebellious people. He also prophesied about the promised seed, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever” (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7). This was about 700 years before Christ. Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC Jerusalem, capital of Judah fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC. During this time Daniel prophesied, “And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44). Seventy years after the Babylonian captivity a remnant was restored to the land. Then 400 years pass while God is silent.

Seed Promise Fulfilled In NT Times. John the Baptist preaches, “Repent ye, the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Jesus, the apostles and the 70 preach the same message (Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7; Luke 10:9). It is not by accident that the NT begins with, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham…” (Matthew 1:1). Jesus the Savior was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23) of the seed of David (II Samuel 7:14-16; cf. Luke 1:26-33) of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3; cf. Galatians 3:16), just as God had promised in the long ago. This became the theme of the preaching of the apostles beginning in Acts 2 when Peter preached that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified. Now when they heard (this,) they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter (said) unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, (even) as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him” (Acts 2:36-39). In the sermon presented in Acts 3:25-26, Peter makes it clear that the promise to Abraham was a promise of forgiveness. “Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” The apostle Paul gives a summation of the promise to Abraham in Galatians 3:26-29 when he says, “For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one (man) in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.”

Thank God that He has kept His promise, for through His promised Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.