Genesis
17 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
Now many Christians look at the promises to Abraham as spiritual promises. I don't debate those spiritual promises. But does this text only promise spiritual promises? Look at verse 2 "multiply thee"; there has to be a connection with abraham. Verse 4 "many nations" Abraham would physically fulfill this with Jews and Arabs. Verse 7 "thy seed after thee in their generations" The seed is applied to christ and the generations must then be his physical offspring. Verse 8 state "the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession;" Here all mysticism vanishes with an earthly location. It was misapplying this doctrine that led to the crusades. vrs. 10-14 drive the point home as the covenant is with physically circumcized ethnic people.
Exodus 19:3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.
8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.
10 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
And amendment to the Jewish race is their having been given the mosaic law. Nottice how they are named "the house of jacob. Jacob is His fleshly name and therefore the literal family. In verse 4 they are compared to Egyptians, a different ethnic group. Then "a peculiar treasure unto me above all people" shows an ethnic comprison.
deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel,
unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do
them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.
2 Ye
shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye
diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
4 But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
Here we see Israel again prior to receiving the Law. Verse 2 shows us a regulative approach to what is being said. verse 3 gives us a literal understanding of whom is recieveing the law. Israel is identified as those who survived the exodus. (vrs. 4) Here in verse 5 we have a connection to the land of Israel with the statutes and judgements of the Law. (verse 6) "in the sight of the nations" shows the distinction of ethnic Jews with the Gentiles. vrs. 9 the family tradition goes on "teach them to thy sons, and thy sons' sons;"
Psalm 105:8-11
King James Version (KJV)
8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
Repeated from genesis 17 and again tying Abraham and the covenant to the land. This is now confirmed as being fulfilled by ethnic Israel and it is confirmed as permanent.
Matthew
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not Even though the pharisees had not been faithful. They still held office in Israel under the covenant with Moses. So we see that Israel and the ethnic jews are distinct from the church.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
paul desires the salvation of the ethnic jews who are unfaithful and damned. He eacknowledges however that these people indeed have covenants and promises from God.
This article is not going to deal with theological implicatons. But to simply deal with the question of whether God has made promises to the ethnic jews.
In Christ,
Matt
9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
Repeated from genesis 17 and again tying Abraham and the covenant to the land. This is now confirmed as being fulfilled by ethnic Israel and it is confirmed as permanent.
Matthew
23 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not Even though the pharisees had not been faithful. They still held office in Israel under the covenant with Moses. So we see that Israel and the ethnic jews are distinct from the church.
King James Version (KJV)
romans 9: I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
paul desires the salvation of the ethnic jews who are unfaithful and damned. He eacknowledges however that these people indeed have covenants and promises from God.
This article is not going to deal with theological implicatons. But to simply deal with the question of whether God has made promises to the ethnic jews.
In Christ,
Matt
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