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The Blessing of Abraham
Posted : 20 Jan, 2014 05:19 PM
Hello everyone:
Here is a good web site,which says what i understand about the Blessing of Abraham.
A lot of people are better at writing,as i did not learn too much of anything while going to school.
Shalom
http://www.faithfamilychurch.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122:the-truth-about-the-blessing-of-abraham-&catid=49:insight-to-incite&It
God blessed Abram. What that blessing was and what it was for is the issue. Every one will agree that God blessed Abram as it is plainly stated in Genesis chapter twelve.
(Genesis 12:1�3 KJV) �Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father�s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.�
When Abram obeyed God he came into the covenant that God made with him. If you covenant or partner with God you will always be materially blessed. God doesn�t have any poverty and He does not want His people to be impoverished. Abram experienced the favor of God and prospered greatly. In Genesis chapter thirteen it clearly states that Abram was wealthy.
Gen. 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
While Abram�s wealth was the result of the blessing of God, it was not the objective of God. God was not making a covenant with Abram for the purpose of making him wealthy. It is often preached this way. God was making a covenant with Abram for the purpose of bringing redemption to mankind; and the prosperity Abram experienced was a �benefit� of his obedience to God. God clearly told Abram that in receiving God�s blessing, he was blessed to be a blessing. God was thinking about a lot more than Abram, He was thinking about all of humanity.
Within the �blessing of Abram� stated in Genesis 12:1-3, God clearly states His purpose for this covenant - �and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed�. God was working to do something for all of humanity - not just for Abram.
Remember, the promise made to Abram was made not only to him but to Christ and is repeated in the book of Galatians.
Gal. 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal. 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
When God spoke to Abram in Genesis chapter three, God had Christ in mind because the promise was made to both Abram and Christ. This alone ought to prove that the blessing of Abram was not merely a material blessing of wealth. To reduce it to such dishonors what God accomplished in Christ for us. Yet, in Christ, we have also been prospered. However, prosperity was not the purpose for God sending Christ. Jesus was sent for redemption.
Abram began to walk in obedience to God, and he proved himself to God on a number of occasions. On each occasion God expanded His covenant with Abram. After Abram presented the tithe to Melchizedek and professed his dependence upon God, God gave Abram an unusual experience and further solidified His covenant. God gave a vision to Abram and told him that his heir would be a child of his own (Genesis 15). In this vision a dialogue took place between Abram and God, and God promised that Abram�s seed would be as the stars of heaven in number.
(Genesis 15:5�6 KJV) �And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
The result of this experience is far more important than the promise of an innumerable offspring. Most people focus on the material side of things and then consider them to be the blessing. Abram�s response in this experience provided righteousness for him. Because he believed in the Lord, God counted it to him for righteousness. Being in right standing with God is a far bigger blessing than an innumerable offspring. Abram had become an heir of righteousness by faith.
There are only a very few people in the Bible who inherited righteousness by faith before Abram. Hebrews chapter eleven tells us that Abel obtained witness (from God) that he was righteous. Enoch pleased God so we know it was his faith that pleased Him, and Noah obeyed God in building the Ark and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11:1-7) Imagine, the Bible tells us of only three people before Abram that were involved with faith for righteousness. Maybe this is why the Bible says:
(Romans 4:1�3 KJV) �What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.�
Abraham �found� the law of faith for righteousness that Abel, Enoch and Noah had also found. Each of these men knew, from God, that they were received by God as righteous. That, my friends, is a tremendous blessing. I will take that over wealth any day, but, thank God we have been given prosperity also. We know that Abraham was not born again as we are in the New Covenant; but he was declared righteous, in paradise and waiting for Christ to be risen. It is imperative for us to understand the blessing of Abraham within the �big picture� or the whole plan of God. The Bible, from cover to cover is the plan of redemption for humanity.
It will help us to see the origin of the Law of Faith for Righteousness. It is called the �gospel� that was preached to Abraham and mentioned in the book of Galatians.
Gal. 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Few people understand that the gospel preceded Christ�s appearing. If the scripture saw before that God would justify the heathen through faith, then the Law of Faith for Righteousness had to be in effect before Abraham. Abel, Enoch and Noah all inherited it, and they were all before Abraham. Abel was the son of Adam and Eve! If he inherited righteousness by faith, then the Law of Faith for Righteousness was in effect sometime after the fall of Adam and before the offering that Abel made by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.
The gospel was preached by God in the Garden of Eden.
Gen. 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This scripture, spoken by God Himself, says that He will bring a seed into the earth that will break the power and authority of the devil. That is what the phrase �it shall bruise thy head� means. It even reveals that the devil will bruise the heal of the seed that comes. Let me paraphrase. God is saying in effect, �I am going to redeem mankind myself.� God is saying that He will do the work of redemption - that�s grace.
A few verses after this announcement, God demonstrates to man how this will be accomplished.
Gen. 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
God sacrifices an animal to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. He shows Adam and Eve that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Most scholars agree that God implemented a type of worship when He killed the animal and clothed Adam and Eve. So, they were instructed by God that He would send a seed into the earth to break the power of the devil and that it would require the blood of an innocent lamb. If they believed that, then they would be considered righteous. This was the beginning of and the establishment of the Law of Faith for Righteousness.
We immediately see Abel, Adam�s son, exercising this law. In Genesis chapter four Abel brings an offering to God of the firstlings of his flock, and the Bible says that the Lord �had respect� unto Abel and to his offering. Notice - he had respect unto Abel AND to his offering.
Gen. 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto
Abel and to his offering:
God had received Abel based upon his offering - Abel was received. His offering was also received. This is a critical point to see. Out of the thousands of people that lived before Abraham, the Bible only mentions Abel, Enoch, and Noah as persons who understood the Law of Faith for Righteousness. There may have been others but we don�t know about them. We are not even sure about Adam because he was not mentioned. With this in mind, we can see how rare it was when Abraham �found� this law as listed in Romans chapter four. That was a blessing!
So, what was the blessing of Abraham listed in Galatians chapter three?
(Galatians 3:13�14 KJV) �Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.�
The blessing of Abraham was that he was declared righteous by God through faith. It was also that he was called to covenant with God in bringing the Son of God into the earth. Remember, the promises were to Abraham and his seed (Christ). The blessing of Abraham was that he was righteousness by faith and not bound by the law of works. Actually, the Law caused the Law of Faith for Righteousness to be �shut up� until Christ came.
(Galatians 3:23�25 KJV) �But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.�
There was righteousness by faith before the Law and righteousness by faith after the Law, but apparently righteousness by faith was shut up during the Law.
(Galatians 3:10�12 KJV) �For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.�
Galatians chapter three is an argument by Paul declaring the Law of Faith for Righteousness was exercised and lived by Abraham and came to us in Christ. The Law was given between because of the transgressions of people until Christ could come. It was a means for God to show people their need for God to do the work to redeem them. That no human could ever keep the Law and achieve right standing with God. That only God could accomplish redemption in Christ. The fundamental curse of the Law was that no one could keep it.
We know that there are numerous curses listed in the Law in Deuteronomy chapter twenty-eight. But, Galatians says �the curse� - singular. Deuteronomy says �curses� - plural. Galatians chapter three verse thirteen is talking about the inability to keep the Law as a whole. Its talking about the fact that righteousness could never come by the Law. That is a curse!
The blessing of Abraham is that he participated in the Law of Faith for Righteousness that was also promised to Christ and that came to us in Christ.
We are redeemed from all the curses of the Law found in Deuteronomy because we are in Christ and have a New Covenant - a covenant not based on works that we could not keep. We are blessed and prospered also because of this New Covenant. These are all products or results of the Law of Righteousness by Faith. Since we are the righteousness of God in Christ; then we are free from any curse listed in the Law, and we are delivered from the curse of poverty.
Galatians chapter three must be read in total to understand the blessing of Abraham. It is particularly clear in the Amplified version of the Bible. We can use Galatians 3:13-14 to claim our prosperity because we are redeemed from poverty, but that is not the central point that God is making through Paul.
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