Part 1
If we were to look at history only with our own eyes, it might seem as if Abraham's story was simply the story of a man whom God called and blessed.
But, as we continue to read the Word, we begin to see something else.
The promise God gave to Abraham did not end with him.
God said to him:
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Genesis 12:2–3
Here a big question arises:
If all the families of the earth were to be blessed through Abraham, how would this happen?
And who would be that Seed through whom the promise would be fulfilled?
The story continues.
ABRAHAM → A FAMILY → A NATION
From Abraham came Isaac.
From Isaac came Jacob.
And Jacob had twelve sons.
From them came the twelve tribes of Israel.
But this nation did not always live in freedom.
After many years, Jacob's descendants ended up in Egypt.
They became a great nation.
But they also became slaves.
And it was precisely there, in one of the most difficult moments of their history, that God intervened.
He called Moses and said to him:
I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
Exodus 3:6
It is no coincidence that, when God spoke to Moses, He connected Himself with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The promise continued.
God brought Israel out of Egypt and led them towards the land He had promised to their fathers.
But now something else happened.
God was not simply bringing a crowd of people out of Egypt.
He was forming a nation.
A NATION THAT WAS TO LIVE DIFFERENTLY
On Mount Sinai, God said to Israel:
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5
Then the commandments were given.
The Ten Commandments were not just some isolated rules.
God was teaching this nation how to live as His nation.
To have no other gods.
To make no idols.
Not to use God's name in vain.
To keep the Sabbath.
To honor father and mother.
Not to murder.
Not to commit marital infidelity.
Not to steal.
Not to bear false witness.
Not to covet.
It was a way of life that set them apart from the surrounding nations.
And this is important for the story we are following.
Because God had told Abraham that through his seed the nations would be blessed.
Now we have a nation coming out of Abraham.
It is formed as a nation.
It receives a covenant.
It receives the Law.
And it learns a way of life from God.
The Word also tells us the reason why this nation was set apart:
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:6
But the story did not end with Moses.
MOSES → DAVID → A KINGDOM
Many years later, Israel would have a king.
And here the promise begins to take an even clearer form.
God chose David.
And promised him:
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
2 Samuel 7:16
Now we have something else.
We don't just have a Seed promised to Abraham.
We also have a kingdom.
And a throne that God promised would endure forever.
But who would that King be?
David was king.
His sons would be kings.
But the word "forever" opens a question that the human history of Israel cannot close.
Because kings die.
Dynasties weaken.
Kingdoms fall.
So, who was God talking about?
THE PROPHETS BEGAN TO SPEAK
And this is where the story gets even more interesting.
Throughout the generations, God sent prophets.
And the prophets began to speak of Someone who had not yet come.
Isaiah wrote:
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
And then:
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
Isaiah 9:7
Now we begin to see the threads that connect everything:
Abraham.
The Seed.
Israel.
David.
The Throne.
The Kingdom.
And the prophet Isaiah was speaking of a Child who would bear the government and of a kingdom that would have no end.
But Isaiah was not the only one.
He also spoke of a branch that would come out of the root of Jesse, David's father:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:1
And this King would judge with righteousness.
But there was another prophet who would see something even greater.
DANIEL AND THE “SON OF MAN”
Many centuries after Abraham, Daniel saw a vision.
And in the vision he saw Someone who was not merely an earthly king.
He wrote:
I saw in my vision at night; and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
Daniel 7:13
And then:
To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:14
Here something becomes extraordinarily interesting.
To Abraham, God had said that all the families of the earth would be blessed through the Seed.
To David, God had spoken of a throne and a kingdom that would endure forever.
Isaiah had spoken of a Child, a Son, a King, and a kingdom without end.
And Daniel saw a Son of Man, to whom were given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
A kingdom that would not be destroyed.
The threads were coming together.
And there was even more.
The prophet Micah would say:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the thousands of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel; his origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Micah 5:2
Now we also have the place.
Not just the Seed.
Not just the nation.
Not just David.
Not just the throne.
Not just the King.
Also Bethlehem.
And, as we read this whole story from the beginning, we start to see that something was being prepared.
It was not a story that was being written only at the moment it was happening.
The Word of God had spoken of it much earlier.
From one man…
to a family.
From a family…
to a nation.
From a nation…
to a royal line.
From the line of David…
to the promise of a King.
And from the prophets…
to a figure who would have dominion over peoples and a kingdom that would not be destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Letter to the Galatians gives us an extraordinary key to understanding the promise given to Abraham:
The promises were made to Abraham and to his seed… and to your seed, who is Christ.
Galatians 3:16
Suddenly, what seemed like many different stories begins to appear as a single story.
A promise.
One Seed.
One nation.
One covenant.
One kingdom.
One throne.
One King.
And the prophets begin to show that He will come.
But we haven't reached the birth yet.
We haven't seen the Child yet.
We haven't seen the King yet.
We are just one step away.
Because now the question is no longer:
Will he come?
The Word had begun to show from where he would come, the line from which he would come, the kingdom and dominion he would have.
Now the biggest question remains:
Who is this King?
And then something happened that changed history.
Where you can continue
Next chapter: 05 · The King who was promised.