GOD'S PLAN
The Promise
In this timeframe, after the Tower of Babel and the continued failing of human government, we come to the Promise. God chooses a man from whom to make a great nation, that will be the example for the rest of the world. With this example, God will teach the chosen people His ways and if they choose to follow God, He will reward them greatly. If they choose not to follow Him, He will punish them as you do a naughty child. It is from this example nation that God will bring His ultimate act of grace and mercy, the Messiah, who will act as a perfect example for all to follow.
Abra(ha)m was predestined by God, or chosen, to be the father of the Jewish faith. His name was Abram but was later changed by God to Abraham, as he is commonly known. The term “Abra(ha)m” is used for the time he is called Abram. His son Isaac was called by God. His son Jacob was justified by God and his son Joseph was glorified by God. These four generations spell out the message of the promise. God has chosen to give us the opportunity to accept God and have eternal life if we will simply respond to His calling. Once we do so, God will justify us through Christ and then glorify us with that eternal life.
“Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” [Rom 8:30 KJV]
Background on Abraham
In Genesis 11:10-26, we see the listing of the descendants of Shem. We know from historical records that Shem and his descendants went eastward and eventually populated China, India and the other eastern countries we know today. We know that it was Ham that went southward and out to the east to the point of Babylon, which is in modern day Iraq.
This lineage starts with Shem and is followed by Arphaxad, then Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, and eventually to Abram, who later become known as Abraham. In Genesis 11:27-28 (KJV) it says, “Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.” It is in Ur where the story of Abraham starts. Ur is just north of the place where the Euphrates River empties into the Persian Gulf.
Ur is not that far from Babylon, which was the location of the Tower of Babel. You can refer to the lesson on Human Government Fails for more information on Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. It was also in the time of Peleg, four generations before Abraham that God divided the languages and caused the disbursement of the people because of the Tower of Babel. The point here is that this is a land of pagan idols. In fact, it clearly says so in Joshua 24:2 (KJV), “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor (Nahor) and they served other gods.”
God Chooses Abraham
Abraham was not a follower of God before God first spoke to him. This first interaction between God and Abra(ha)m is recorded in Genesis 12:1-13 (KJV), in which it says, “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.” The result of this interaction is actually recorded earlier in Genesis 11:31 (KJV), which says, “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.”
Notice that in chapter 11, it says that Abram left WITH his father and other family members, which is not what God said to do. It also says they stopped in Haran, which is about 400 miles northeast of the area known as Canaan. The reason to point this out is that Abra(ha)m was not a righteous, God fearing man. However, God chose him and gave him a task to do.
Take a closer look at that task. Abra(ha)m was to leave the country he was in (Ur of the Chaldees), leave his kindred, or family and leave his father’s house. He was to go to the place God would show him and give to his offspring. This sounds like an odd request of the Lord. Why would God tell a person to leave his home and family behind and go off to a strange place you have never seen before?
Abra(ha)m was in an idol worshiping, pagan land and his father worship other gods, as described in Joshua 24:2 (KJV), “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, [even] Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.” Most likely, Abra(ha)m did too, prior to the encounter with God. Imagine you have a deeply moving spiritual experience and you come to understand God and believe in Christ and you have been living a sinful life and are constantly around sinful people. The first thing you do is stop sinning and remove yourself from the presence of those who want to continue sinning.
We can only speculate as to why Abra(ha)m chose to take his father and family with him. What we know is that he did, even though it wasn’t what God wanted him to do. Perhaps he was lovingly trying to help his father and maybe his father even said he too believed in God and wanted to follow. Perhaps Abra(ha)m thought he was doing a good a thing and God wasn’t telling him he was wrong, so he took him with.
They follow the Euphrates River up to the place named after Terah’s father or his deceased son, both named Haran. They decide to settle there. This is about 600 miles northwest from Ur, but still another 400 miles to the southwest to get to Canaan. He was only a little over half way there. By this time, Terah is probably tired of travelling and complaining a lot (speculation) and convinces Abram to stop and setup there. Again, Abram, being new to talking to God, isn’t hearing anything else from God, so he gives in and stops.
We don’t know how long they stayed in Haran, but it was probably a long time. What we know is that Abra(ha)m was 75 when he figured out that nothing was going to happen as long as he stayed in Haran and failed to do what God said to do. Some people speculate that he waited for his father to die before departing, but that doesn’t hold water when you know that Terah was 70 when Abram was born and died at the age of 205. If Abram was 75 when he left, we know Terah wasn’t yet dead. Others speculate that he realized his father was still worshiping other gods and staying wasn’t what God wanted so he took his wife and his nephew Lot and left for Canaan.
The message here is that God is patient and will let you learn at what ever pace you need. God selected Abra(ha)m to do His will. You can refer to this as predestination. That doesn’t mean Abra(ha)m didn’t have a choice. If that were the case, he would have gone straight to Canaan.
Predestination of Abraham
The concept of predestination causes a lot of people issues. The term Predestinate as used in Romans 8:30 in this context means to “foreordain, appoint beforehand”. To ordain or appoint means to designate or set apart as holy. It is the “beforehand” part that needs to be thoroughly understood.
The Calvinist movement is focused on this idea that we are predestined and God chooses who is to be saved and who is not. It is difficult to reconcile that concept with the scriptures. There are entire books written on the subject and many arguments for an against the concept of predestination. However, the concept supposes that if we are indeed predestined, there really isn’t free will. We only have the ability to choose within the confines of what God really wants us to do. This is fundamentally conflicted with the concept of loving choice. The only way to truly have love is to have complete freedom to choose otherwise.
There are many scriptures that cause people to think God does the choosing and we just do what He says. For example, Ephesians 1:4-5 (KJV) says, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”
What people are missing here is the true nature of God. God is outside of time. God knows the end from the beginning, as stated in Isaiah 46:10, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” We can’t look at God like we see ourselves. Since God can see the end and the beginning at the same time, He knows all things. He knows who will choose to love Him and who will not. He doesn’t have to guess or try again in case it goes bad.
We see events on a straight timeline. The things in the past are behind us and we can look back but not forward. We move in one direction along that timeline. We are stuck on it and cannot get off. God is outside the timeline and you can think of it as though He is holding the entire timeline in His hands. He can see the whole thing at once. He can look backwards or forwards because He has a different perspective and isn’t bound to the timeline. As such, He can know the end from the beginning.
God loves every one of us, and we are all sinners. The famous scripture John 3:16 says it all. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This does not say for just those God chooses! It says “whosoever”. It is for all people to have that choice. God already knows before we are born if we will choose Him or not. God chooses to give us redemption and forgiveness, but He would give that to anyone that chooses Him. He doesn’t have to forgive anyone. He CHOOSES to. That is the choice God makes about us. It is not about who gets to be saved and who doesn’t. That is truly up to us, but God already knows because He is outside of our time constraint. That makes it look to us like He chose who would be saved, when He did not, we did or will do so.
As far as Abra(ha)m is concerned, God wanted an example of a man to bring forth His chosen people. He Chose Abra(ha)m for that mission. God does indeed use people to serve His will. However, it was up to Abra(ha)m to follow and he spent many years not following. God did not force him to do what He wanted. He let Abra(ha)m figure it out, which, of course, He knew he would do.
God made a covenant with Abra(ha)m and told him he would be the father a of a great nation and his seed shall be of the stars in the sky. Genesis 15:5 says, “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.” Then in Genesis 15:6 it follows, “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” This shows Abra(ha)m’s faith in God.
Abra(ha)m's Issues
We all struggle to follow God’s example and Abraham was no exception. His wife Sarai was barren and Abrah(ha)m had no children. God had promised him his seed would be as numerous as the stars, but he didn’t have any!
When the famine struck the land, He went down to Egypt with his wife and made a mistake. Instead of trusting God, his fear got the better of him. Apparently Sarai was extremely beautiful and he thought the Egyptians would kill him and take his wife, so he said Sarai was his sister, which was half true. Sarai was his half sister and his wife. God warned Pharaoh, who got angry at Abram but feared God and he sent Abra(ha)m away with many possessions, including an Egyptian slave named Haggar.
About 10 years later Abra(ha)m was still waiting for his offspring. Sarai was also getting a little impatient and made a huge mistake by giving Haggar to Abra(ha)m to have a child for her. This was normal in those days when a woman could not have children to have her handmaid do it for her. Abra(ha)m and Haggar had a son named Ishmael. Abra(ha)m was 86 at the time he had Ishmael. It was another 13 years before things started to develop the way God wanted.
In Genesis 17 God confirms the covenant with Abram and changes his name to Abraham. He also changes Sarai’s name to Sarah. If you notice the change in the name, it adds a “ha” or breath sound, which in Hebrew represents the Spirit of God. God also says Abraham will have a son by Sarah and he will be called Isaac. Abraham was 99 at the time and Sarah 90. She even laughed at the prospect. The name Isaac in Hebrew means “he laughs”.
The Sacrifice of Isaac
In Genesis 22:2, it says, ”And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, 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.” Wait a minute. How can God tell Abraham to kill his chosen son? Notice God said “only son”? Isaac was the only son of the Spirit. But child sacrifice? Really? It sounds barbaric, doesn’t it?
What did God do in order to cleans us of our sins? He gave His only Son to be a sacrifice for our sins. Abraham is a type of Father and Isaac is a type of Christ in this prophetic example of what God intended to do for all humanity. Abraham acted in faith knowing that God said Isaac would be the father of a great nation and he had not had any children by this time. He wasn’t even married. Abraham most likely believed God would resurrect Isaac so he could be the father God promised. As such, Abraham took Isaac to the exact location God directed.
This is a very interesting point. In Genesis 22:4 (KJV), it says, “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.” It was a 3-day journey! Genesis 22:6 (KJV) tells us, “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.” They went in agreement. Isaac was not a young child. We don’t know exactly, but he was probably around 30 years old. Since Isaac is being offered up as a sacrifice to God, it would make sense he would be about the same age as Jesus. Going in agreement speaks of Luke 22:42 (KJV) “Father … not my will, but yours be done”.
The location where this was to take place was Mount Moriah, which was about 50 miles away from Beersheba, where Abraham was located and it turns out to be the location which would later come to be known as Golgatha, the very spot in which Jesus was sacrificed about 2000 years later!
Without going into the details of the sacrifice here, Abraham did what God wanted and showed his faith, offered up his son and God stopped him and provided a substitution lamb in Isaac’s place. Sound familiar? Jesus is our substitutionary lamb sacrificed to pay for our sins.
The Flesh Versus the Spirit
Ishmael represents the flesh and Isaac represents the Spirit. Ishmael was born by the works of man (Abram and Sarai taking things into their own hands). Isaac was born by a miracle from God. Isaac is the one God promises will give rise to the nation of blessing.
In Galatians 4:22-31, we read when Christ, the seed came, the old was done away and how the new promise has come. Those who believe are co-heirs with the promised Seed by adoption through God’s grace. To go back under the Law would be to undo the fulfillment of God’s promise. Those adopted by the Seed become seeds and are set free from the bondage of the Law (Gal 5:1). We see that as Ishmael and Isaac were in conflict, so too are the flesh and the Spirit not in harmony. The flesh struggles against the Spirit, often mocking it (Gal 5:16-18). Therefore, believers are to “get rid of the slave woman and her son” (Gal 4:30), that is, to remove the threat of the flesh and “live by the Spirit” (Gal 5:16).
A Bride for Isaac
The story of the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah is symbolic of the union of Christ and the Church. Abraham send his servant, unnamed here, but we know from Genesis 15:2 his name is “Eleazar”, which means “comforter” in Hebrew, to find a wife for Isaac from his own people. He insisted that his servant go back to the land where his family moved to Canaan from, Nahor to find a wife. Notice that the servant appears to be nameless. In John 16:13 (KJV), it says, “Will not testify of Himself.” This is the Holy Spirit seeking those who accept Christ.
The servant took many gifts and went out in search of a suitable bride for Isaac. He asks what happens if no one accepts, and Abraham tells him he would then be released from the promise he made. If we accept, the gifts, we get to be united with our Lord. If we choose not to, we will not be forced. The servant finds Rebekah accepting of the offer and brings her to Isaac.
Once the sacrifice had taken place, we don’t see Isaac again until he is united with his bride to be. In fact, in Genesis 22:19 (KJV) it says, “So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.” Abraham and his servants are mentioned, but Isaac is not. That is not to say Isaac didn’t also actually return with Abraham, but it conspicuously doesn’t mention Isaac. This is prophetic of how Jesus ascends to heaven after He is sacrificed and is next seen when he is united with His bride to be at the rapture.
See the Jewish Wedding for an interesting study on this topic.
The Calling of Isaac
This story has Abraham in the typological role of the Father, Isaac is the Son and Eleazar is the Holy Spirit. Isaac does the father’s will without question, or argument. Isaac is raised from birth in the faith. He goes in agreement with Abraham to the altar to be sacrificed. He accepts that his father will choose his bride. He never questions Abraham in any way. He never fights with his brother Ismael, even when his brother mocks him. He does what he is called to do.
When he is first married to Rebekah, who is also barren, as Sarah, his mother was for a long time, he prays to God to open her womb, which God does when asked. To this point, Isaac is the perfect son.
Esau and Jacob
Rebekah is told by God she will have twins and the first born will eventually serve the second. [Gen 25:23 KJV] “And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” Two nations and two manner of people. This is another example of the flesh versus the Spirit. It is at this point the trouble started for Isaac.
In Genesis 25:28 (KJV), it says, “[Gen 25:28 KJV] And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Esau was born first and thereby had the rights of the first born. As such, Isaac loved him more, even though God had said he would serve his brother Jacob. Rebekah preferred Jacob, we can’t say why exactly, but we can infer it was probably due to the prophecy God gave her. Here we have preferential treatment causing division between the brothers.
In Genesis 25:29-34 Esau sells Jacob his birthright for a bowl of pottage. This seems rather glib, but it has a lot of meaning. It can be assumed that Rebekah has recounted God’s prophecy to a number of people, probably even Jacob, who you know has let his older brother know. Esau was a man of the world, a great hunter. Esau didn’t have a lot of respect for his firstborn rights. Perhaps he wasn’t taking seriously how he could even give away his rights.
Jacob Steals the Blessing
In Genesis 27 the story is told of how Rebekah and Jacob plotted to deceived Isaac and steal Esau’s blessing prior to the death of Isaac. Again, parental preferences are causing strife between Esau and Jacob. Rebekah sees Isaac is near death and to this point, Isaac still prefers Esau over Jacob. Rebekah decides to take things into her own hands and plots a way to steal the blessing.
In the day and age this story took place, people gave great credence to the blessing issued by the patriarch prior to their death. If the patriarch gave you the blessing, you would receive it! It was of the utmost importance.
Jacob dresses up as Esau and deceives his nearly blind father, who gives Jacob his blessing. Esau then returns to find Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob. Isaac then tells Esau he will serve his younger brother, as God had said.
Does this mean God intended to use deception to fulfil His prophecy? This is doubtful, but we will never know because Rebekah and Jacob chose to take things into their own hands. The result of this is a tremendous division between Esau and Jacob and caused Jacob to have to flee for 20 years to avoid being killed by his brother. The end result is God’s prophecy was fulfilled but Jacob had to pay a price for the way in which he did it.
Jacob Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine
When Jacob flees, he goes to Padanaram (Haran), where she came from and her family lives. In Genesis 29, Jacob meets Rachel and falls for her. Her father, Laban, who is Rachel’s brother, tells Jacob he can marry Rachel if he will serve Laban for 7 years. Jacob does so and then Laban pulls a fast one and substitutes Leah for Rachel. When Jacob realizes it, he’s already married to Leah, and he then commits to serve another 7 years to also marry Rachel.
Jacob gets a taste of the deception he did to his father. Although God’s will was done, if we don’t do it they way He wants, we will have consequences.
The Justification of Jacob
In Genesis 32, we are told the story of Jacob wrestling with God. He has been through a lot and made many mistakes. When he is wrestling with God, he will not let go. He is physically holding on to the Lord and God caused an injury to Jacob’s thigh joint so he would let go. We know this is God because Jacob says in Genesis 32:30 (KJV), “And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” He was, physically engaged with the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.
What is going on here? At this time, Jacob is leaving Haran (Padanaram) and run away from Laban. He had spent 20 years on the run from his brother Esau. God came to him on the road back to Canaan where he would come across Esau. God challenges Jacob who shows his faith. After all these years, he has learned a lot. At this point, he has 11 children from 4 women (Leah, Rachel and their two hand maids). His 12th child Benjamin will be born later. It appears that God confronts him to have him show his faith, which he does. As a result, God blesses Jacob. It is through faith we receive the gifts and blessings of God, not our own works.
Jacob is justified by faith. [Rom 3:28 KJV] “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” If Jacob can be justified, which means to be rendered as righteous, given all his shenanigans, then any of us can be. This gives us all hope!
The Glorification of Joseph
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob, also known as Israel. He was the first born to Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. When Joseph was 17, he had a series of dreams in which God prophesied to him that he would be ruler over all of the other brothers. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite and showed that favoritism through the giving of a coat of many colors. [Gen 37:3 KJV] “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.”
His brother hated him for his position in Jacob’s mind and his dreams of ruling over them. They decide to do away with him, but instead of killing him, the drop him in a hole in the ground for 3 days! This is a clue that Joseph is a type of Christ. After spending 3-days in the ground, he is sent as a slave to Egypt. Here he is made to be a servant and he does a phenomenal job of doing so. He faces treacherous, deceitful people, like his master wife, who had him cast into prison because he would not agree to sleep with her. He rises in power even in prison until he interprets the dreams of others, who eventually get him to interpret the dreams of Pharoah. The Pharoah of Egypt then makes him second in command and gives him power over all except himself. Joseph has been glorified by his faith in God. All along, he has always done what God has told him to do and acted in faith. He has suffered many years and served others and always did so acceptingly.
His Brothers Bow to Joseph
Later in Genesis (chapter 42), there is a great famine in all the lands, which is what Joseph had interpreted from Pharoah’s dream. When this happened, all of Joseph’s brothers except his younger brother Benjamin, went down to Egypt to buy food. They had no idea the ruler of the land was there brother they sold into slavery some 15 years earlier. We know at this time Joseph is in his early 30s. Joseph makes them suffer and struggle for a while to learn more about his father and younger brother and to see if they have changed any over the years. He doesn’t reveal his identity for some time, but eventually does and has them gather Jacob and the rest of his family and move to Egypt.
When this happens, the brothers and Jacob all submit themselves to the power of Jospeh, just as his first series of dreams said would happen. Joseph then acts with compassion and humility and gives all the credit to God. In Genesis 45:5 (KJV), he says, “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.” It was God’s will that he be used to provide a way to preserve life.
This mirrors the story of Jesus in that Joseph was sold into slavery not for anything he had done, but because of the sins of others. Joseph became a servant and suffered at the hands of others but always did so acceptingly. He was then raised up and assumed the position of power. He then acted to serve God and preserve his family’s life and gave all the credit to God. This is all a prototype of what Jesus would do during His ministry.
Summary
God knows who will accept Him before we are born. God chooses to give eternal life to those who do. This is our Predestination. God calls us to follow Him. He is always the one reaching out to us, asking if we accept Him. This is our Calling. God justifies those who choose to believe in Him to be righteous, not by our works, but through faith in Him. This is our Justification. For those who choose to follow God, He will raise us up as he did Christ and give us a glorified body that will spend eternity with Him in loving fellowship. This Glorification has nothing to do with our works, but faith in God. To God be the glory! When we grasp this concept, we fully understand the meaning of the Promise.
