3. The Promised Kingdom

The Promised Kingdom

John Boda

Genesis Chapters 12 – 25

(Including the book of Job)

This is the last Kingdom division which is stays within one Biblical book, stays within
a short time, and is only a dozen chapters long. In other words, get set to engage to
warp drive beginning with the next session!
However, it must be pointed out that this segment of God promising his Kingdom,
did not really begin just at Genesis 12 with Abraham, but much, much earlier!
To be more precise, and technically correct, there were two other starting points;

1. The Eternal Purpose
“..he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and
blameless before him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4)
“ ...according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” (Ephesians 3:11)
These two verses, and others, reveal a great mystery to us which have the potential
to blow many minds!
They clearly state that God not only knew of us long before the world was created,
but that he also knew all about the entrance of sin, and also had a complete plan to
restore everything through Christ! In effect, the plan of salvation and our journey
and lives in it, was started and completed in the awesome mind of God who lives
beyond space and time long before the creation of the universe!
So we could say that the official promise of the Kingdom began at some point in
God’s eternity! (Or another mind blowing concept is that it, like God, never began but
always existed)
Of course this is a great mystery, and Paul even says it is in context of the second
 verse, but it also brings up another mystery, and problem for many people;
If God knew all the details of what would occur long before they occurred,
considering all the pain, suffering, and death, why did he allow it to happen?!
This actually WAS one of the stumbling problems even to Einstein, who quickly
concluded that the answer was forever unknown and therefore became more an
agnostic who rejected much of the Bible.
The main problem is that if God is completely good and pure love (He is), and he is
also all powerful (He is) then any logical mind would conclude that something’s
gotta give! A good God would not, and could not allow suffering and death, if that
occurs, it must be because he is not all powerful. Or if he IS all powerful, then
because of the existence of sin, pain and death, he cannot be good! (The conclusion
of many including the author of “When Bad things Happen to Good People”).
We cannot attempt to seek answers to this dilemma here, as this is not the subject
of the series. But hopefully, if you continue all the way through to the end, the
solution to this will possibly just dissolve within the scope of grasping some of the
big picture of God’s Kingdom!
(But for the record, let me state that this really is much more of a mystery than any
problem. It really is only a problem if we get trapped within our small human
thinking. It may not ever be completely answered to satisfy you, but even so, that
can be a part of the journey of faith as depicted by Job’s ending also.)

2. Proto- Euangellion
The second beginning of God’s Kingdom promise, and really the most commonly
considered point by Bible scholars, is what is called “Proto – Euangellion” – (A –won
– gay – leon) – basically a good message.
With proto meaning first, as in proto-type. This is found in Genesis 3: 15; (Also called
Proto-Evangel)
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her
seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.”
(Although I covered this before, it is extremely important and bears repeating)
Apart from God’s eternal plan, this is the first account in the Bible of God revealing
the core of his plan and promise of recovery and redemption. Notice that it seems to
be in context of the immediate problem! Without any delay, God arrives in the
garden right after the first sin and makes this promise of salvation, and indictment of
judgment against the Serpent.

Note: We know who God is speaking to – Satan – and “his seed” refers to possible a
two fold meaning; all who continue in sin, and also more specifically, the seed of
Satan is “The Man of Sin”, also called Antichrist.
But who is “The woman and her seed”? Again, possibly a double meaning; The
woman is Eve, and all her seed are those who continue in sin. But more specifically,
the woman is the Virgin Mary, and her seed is one specific person – Jesus! All
through the Bible, every other instance of speaking of “The seed” always refers to
males, because it is the male who has the seed. This is the only time it speaks of a
“woman’s seed” and there was only one woman in all of history who originated the
seed, that was Mary, who was impregnated supernaturally by The Holy Spirit.
But this also may have a double meaning! As everyone who becomes a Christ
follower is also “born again” from above by the supernatural work of God as well. In
fact, all Christ followers are children of Abraham, or as many Bible’s translate, “You
are Abraham’s seed.” (Galatians 3:29)
“…having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the
word of God which lives and abides forever.” (I Peter 1:23)
Since all Christ followers are joined together with Christ, (He is the head and we are
the body) then it makes perfect sense to realize that God’s fulfillment of this first
promise would be accomplished by Christ with us joined to him!
"And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly..” (Romans 16:20)
“He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of
God, (Christ) and the armies in heaven, (You & me) clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, followed him on white horses.” (Revelation 19: 13-14)
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment on
all…” (Jude 14, 15)
The overall picture of Genesis 3:15 is this;
The coming seed of the woman (Christ) would be the one who would stomp and
crush the serpent’s (Satan) head and destroy him and his work. But in doing so, the
seed, (Christ) would bruise his heel as he stomps and crushes the serpent. The idea
is of Christ using his foot, which is closest to the earth/ground, and represents his
earthly ministry and ultimate victory of the cross & resurrection! Which in turn did
crush the serpent’s head, and bruised Christ’s heal by giving him a fatal death
wound, but was only temporary as God raised him from the dead three days later.

Overall Theme Focus

Character type studies through the Bible can be beneficial, but we also must be very
careful not to oversimplify! I confess that I have been very guilty of this in the past,
of focusing on many Biblical characters, especially in the Old Testament, and then
extracting a modern application for us here and now.
(The key is to make things as simple as possible, without over simplifying.)
This can work and can be helpful, but there are many problems with it, namely,
“proof texting” which is basically pulling verses out of context to say whatever we
want them to say! Overall, the main problem is that we can easily miss and/or
distort the overall theme, purpose and goal of God. (A text without a context is a
pretext – meaning any text in the Bible must be interpreted within context of what is
around it as well as the entire Bible) (I bring this up because a Biblical character
focus is coming next!)

For instance; the baby Moses was protected by God and kept safe from the decree to
kill all the Hebrew babies. Many preachers then take that story and say that since
God kept baby Moses safe, then he will protect every baby and child of God now. The
problem is that doesn’t happen! Millions of innocent babies are killed in abortions
every year, many people; including Christ followers encounter hardship, and death.
Plus, even at the time, while God was keeping baby Moses safe, there were
thousands of other precious innocent babies of Godly parents who suffered loss.
The problem is that we must be careful to observe the context and who it is that we
are studying! Moses was a very, very special prophet chosen by God to deliver Israel.
This does not mean that he doesn’t care about the others, but there are differences!
Likewise, when young David slew Goliath with his sling, many will teach that is an
example for you and I today to be bold, faithful and strong and go forth in God! (Play
Onward Christian Soldiers now) But really, within the overall big picture, David much
more represents Christ who goes forth to slay our enemy, Satan, and all of us are
more like the rest of the soldiers of Israel who stood by to watch!
If the Bible is the Word of God, as it claims to be, and we know that God is the
ultimate perfectionist and organized originator! Therefore, the Old Testament is not
just ancient history mostly to be quickly read to get to the good stuff! In fact, both
the Old and New Testaments are really one organic, synergetic entity! If the Bible IS
the Word of God, and God IS the originator, then it is ALL written in one complete
thought, theme, purpose and goal!
What is the overall theme, purpose and goal of the Bible? I believe, as most do that it
 is all about The King – Christ! But as great as that is, we must also make sure that is
in context as well! Biblically speaking, with an overall theme look, the entire Bible
concerns this;

The King who rules and reigns within his Kingdom!
The Kingdom of God is always the focus!

Of course, this Kingdom is all about the King who rules and reigns it – Christ –
but we must remember that. Even though many rightly have Christ at the center, the
ultimate end and goal is simply all of us floating around in Heaven with Christ’
Kingship somewhat dissolved into the centrality of God and forgotten.
But there is one Biblical character that we can safely look at and study to gain
insight into God’s purpose, as well as application for all of us here and now, without
much difficulty – Abraham.

Abraham – Our Prototype Template

When we read about many Old Testament characters, it can be very difficult to
relate to most of them! Not only did they all live long ago and far away, but most of
them were specifically chosen by God for a specific purpose and encountered great
miracles or terrible opposition. People like Moses, Elijah, David, Jeremiah, and
others! But when we come to Abraham (First known as Abram) we have someone
much different. Although he became a very great man of faith who is now revered by
most of the world including Judaism, Islam and Christianity, he started out and lived
much of his life first as a nobody, then as a struggling-stumbling pilgrim who had to
make many mistakes and learn along the way. (Sound like anyone you know?)
If the volume of Bible text means anything, then Abraham deserves our deepest and
longest study to understand who he was, and most importantly, what God was doing
through him! Because 12 full chapters in Genesis are devoted to him! (The creation of
the universe got only one) Plus, he is spoken about by many others all through the
Bible, including Jesus, who spoke all very favorably about him!
Furthermore, we are never told in the Bible that we are children of Adam, (We are his
seed) or the children of Noah, Moses, David, Solomon, or anyone else except;

1. All Christ followers are the children of God.
Contrary to popular quotes on T.V. and movies and by many people today, everyone
is NOT child of God! Every human being is a creation of God, and has the potential to
become a child of God, but is not one automatically by being born. Surprised? Here
are the verses;
”But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name.” (John 1:12)

"Beloved, now we ARE children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we
shall be , but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see
him as he is. (I John 3:2)
(There are many more, including the dialog Jesus had with a group of people in John
8: 37 – 59)

2. All Christ followers are the children of Abraham.
Every Christian today, and who ever lived, is directly linked to Abraham! (Even
though there are many great jokes about St. Peter at the Pearly Gates welcoming
people, in all truthfulness, if anyone is there besides Jesus, it will be Abraham)
"Therefore know that only those who are of faith are children of
Abraham.” (Galatians 3:7)
“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s children, and heirs according to
the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)
Furthermore, in the same context, it becomes clear that Sarah, Abraham’s wife,
represents the New Jerusalem and complete freedom in Christ, and it states; “she is
the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26)
(Paul is speaking to all those who are believers, Christians or Christ followers.)
(Also see the text stated above again John 8: 37-59)
The Proto-Type
The reason that I speak of Abraham as our proto-type goes very deep! We don’t
have time to dive into all the reasons here, but remember that we are all his children
today! Nowhere are we ever told that we are children of Moses, as great a prophet as
he was, it is Abraham who received the promises that are linked with God’s coming
Kingdom, and all of us are linked to him.
We are in the midst of the third part of this series, “The Promised Kingdom” and it
largely focuses on Genesis 12 – 25, which all focus on one man – Abraham.
I will now attempt to clarify even more why this man Abraham is so vital to
understanding the Kingdom;
Remember the Kingdom of God defined?
 9
GOD’S PEOPLE, IN GOD’S PLACE, UNDER GOD’S RULE & BLESSING

Where are all these elements here in “The Promised Kingdom” with Abraham? To try
to simplify as much as possible, we can glean the Kingdom of God defined within the
initial calling of Abram (Abraham);
“Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father’s house, to a land
that I will show you. will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make
your name great, and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you, and in you all
the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

GOD’S PEOPLE – Abram (Abraham)! Notice to whom God is speaking in the very
beginning, and this is our first record of God connecting with this man, who at the
time, was really a nobody living near modern Iraq, whose father was an idol
worshipper.

GOD’S PLACE – “A land I will show you” Notice that God had a specific place in mind!
He called Abraham to leave nearly everything, without revealing the exact location,
but IF he obeyed, he would know later. He became the first Pilgrim and Sojourner,
who wandered the rest of his life. But it is vital to understand that he was NOT a
Vagabond – an aimless wanderer! He had a specific goal and destination in his heart,
which God had placed there.

GOD’S RULE & BLESSING – This one requires little explanation! Notice that God
speaks of bless/blessing five times! He will also curse those who oppose this
blessing upon Abraham, this IS God’s rule & blessing!

Covenants

God made a covenant with Abraham, which is more than just a promise, but a sealed,
sure, impossible to break, blood shed agreement! (Of course any promise from God is
perfect and impossible to break, but for our sakes, he makes covenants at crucial
times to reinforce his promises so we will trust him.)
Again, trying to simplify without over simplifying, this covenant to Abraham is called
“The Abrahamic Covenant”, so we don’t confuse it with a later one entitled; “The
Mosaic Covenant” given to Moses. (The Abrahamic Covenant is given in Genesis 15 &
17 and continually revealed more later by God)
If you are not familiar with either of these two covenants, maybe you’ve heard of
this one; “The New Covenant”! This is the one issued by Jesus during what we call
“The Last Supper”.
This New Covenant was prophesied many times by the prophets, and it really is
another name for our Christian Bible – The New Testament.
The New Covenant is much better than the Old Covenant, as the book of Hebrews
tells us over and over at least a dozen times! But when the Bible speaks of “The Old
Covenant”, it is referring to “The Mosaic Covenant” given to Moses, a Covenant of
works laid out in the Ten Commandments and other laws.
(It is crucial to understand that The Mosaic Covenant, although perfect and good,
only produced sin and rebellion because it was given to sinful people who could not
possibly keep it. In essence, it was God saying, “You want to know my requirements
for righteousness? OK, here they are, now go ahead and try to keep them!” It was
designed to lead them (and us) to frustration and the realization that the ONLY way
to righteousness with God is by his grace through faith, the same way Abraham did
it!)
Within our big picture panoramic view, the New Covenant is directly linked with the
Abrahamic Covenant! In fact, it is an enlargement and extension of the one given to
Abraham, which underlines the fact that all of us are children of Abraham.
The New Covenant Unveiled
“…And he believed in the Lord, and he accounted unto him for righteousness”.
Genesis 15:6
This amazing verse is quoted three times later in the New Testament;
1. Romans 4:3
2. Galatians 3:6
3. James 2:23
Each time it speaks of the same thing, that Abraham is the father, and proto-type of

ALL who believe in the Lord. Paul probes deeply into just how he believed through
most of Romans four, to make his point that Abram was counted as righteous by
God, BEFORE he was ever circumcised. He makes this point, over and over, because
the Jews of his audience believed that Abram was made righteous by God because of
his work of circumcision! NO! God counted him righteous before he ever really did
anything except…..believe. THAT is exactly how we do it also today! We are not
declared righteous by God because of going to church, tithing, taking communion, or
even by baptism. We all get into the kingdom the same way, and in the same way
Abram first did, BY FAITH, NOT BY WORKS! Faith comes first, then later we enter
into service unto God, but out of love and devotion, we must never think that
anything we do counts as any kind of merit unto God which makes him love us any
more, or make us righteous!
(Please read Romans Four now – all 25 verses!) This is an amazing Bible chapter
which explains much of this passage! It is scripture explaining scripture!

Cross My Heart & Hope To Die!

Here in Genesis 15:9-21 (The rest of the chapter), we have an account of God
notarizing this covenant, God seals it and conducts a new twist on an ancient
ceremony which Abram probably was aware of; (See Jeremiah 34:18)
In ancient times, when a covenant was made, certain animals would be killed and cut
into. Then both parties of the covenant would pass between them, indicating, -so be
it unto us, like the fate of these animals, if either of us should break this covenant!
However, the reason I say that this is a “new twist” is that, here in our text, only one
party, we are told) passes through, God, while Abram watches. This clearly indicates
that God himself is the one responsible for keeping this covenant; it is entirely by
God’s work, not ours, that will keep it rock solid! Abram’s part was faith – he had to
believe God.
This account is very rich in symbolism; here are some of the possible meanings of
this ceremony;

1. The Deep Sleep & Darkness to Abram: This possibly can refer to the reality that
God’s promises, although sure, will take a long time to fulfill. Also, the
darkness can possibly refer to the coming terrible darkness and persecution to
Israel.

2. The Birds of Prey; When they come to take the sacrifice, Abram has to drive
 them away. This possibly refers to Satan coming to try to stop God’s plan.

3. The Smoking Furnace and Flaming Torch; This is almost certain to refer to God!
He is a burning torch, but covered within a furnace on earth. This also refers to
more of the terrible times coming to Israel. Another passage which shows this
is Judges 7:16-22, where Gideon has his 300 men smash the jars filled with
burning torches, and then defeat the enemy. Also, in II Corinthians 4:7, it
states that we are like “Jars of Clay” with a treasure within, which is God’s
presence. (Hebrews 12:29 – “Our God is a consuming fire”.)

This is an amazing passage! God is saying, and demonstrating by going through the
animals by himself, that he alone is responsible to accomplish his covenant promises
to Abram. Not only that, but if, by some tiniest of possibility that God fails, then he is
bound to cut himself into like those animals, and literally destroy himself! (That is
where I get – Cross my heart and hope to die!) (Please note: I personally don’t
believe that it was ever possible for God to possibly make a mistake, or have any of
his word fail, it is utterly impossible, but this is all for Abram, and our benefit.)
But God is declaring that he is so serious and sure about his plan, promises, and
covenant to Abram that he will back it up with his very life! (Why does anyone ever
doubt God?)

Abraham Lived in the Panoramic

Another reason why this man is so important to all of us today is the fact that he
exemplified the big picture panoramic mindset, almost more than anyone!
He is called “The Father of Faith” because he lived his life by faith, trusting in the
promises of God, promises which involved much more than just him, but his
descendants, the Jewish nation. Even more, God promised that he would be a
blessing to the entire world, and before Abraham, all we knew was that God was
going to bring the King through the human race sometime in the future. Now, we
have it much more specific! God would bring the King (Jesus) through a specific
nation, of whom Abraham was the father.
(At this point the exact time of Jesus’ arrival was not known, however, later God did
reveal that also to Daniel, in very specific dates timed out exactly to Jesus’ entering
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday)
Abraham is extolled within the great chapter of faith in Hebrews 11, and in context of
Abraham listed with others it states;
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar
 off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth….
…For they desire a better, that is heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to
be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:13 & 16)
Abraham, and the others of faith, knew that they were a small part of a much bigger
plan! They looked for a better country, one that is eternal, and is specifically speaks
of a city which is their destination. This city is the culmination of the Kingdom of God
– The New Jerusalem!
This also is all of ours destination as well! In fact, every Old & New Testament
believer is joined with all of us right here and now today, they just are awaiting the
culmination in heaven, and we are on earth, for now;
“God having provided something better for us that they should not be made perfect
apart from us.” (Hebrews 11:40)
We must always remember that although we may feel insignificant, and our ministry
small, yet we are all a crucial piece of God’s grand fabric and design! Everything
counts, and everybody matters!

Summary

God’s People – Abraham and his family & descendants
God’s Place – Canaan, which would later become Israel
God’s Rule & Blessing – God’s great promises to Abraham, and the world.
Next, we will cover “The Partial Kingdom” which will entail Genesis 25 – II Chronicles.