I want to begin with the prophecies to fill the earth with Abraham’s descendants. In Genesis, we read about how God establishes his people as a nation through Abraham. We see that ALL families and nations of the earth are to be blessed through him.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3 ESV
5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:5 ESV
15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.
Genesis 22:15-18 ESV
So we see that through Abraham, a great nation will be made who will bless the nations of the earth and be as the stars of heaven or the sand of the seashore. What is the nature of this nation? The word itself is Strong’s H14671 (goy), which essentially means a massing of people. A collection of peoples as nations are commonly defined by similar laws, lineages, or boundaries (land). So in that light, I would like you to think of this promise as possibly being fulfilled in two distinct ways. In other words, ask yourself how God intended this nation to look:
- The first way could be in the more traditional nation sense, where God desired to establish a physical nation through Abraham’s lineage, known to all on earth, that would bless all the other nations of the earth.
- The second way could be in a spiritual sense, where God desired to establish a spiritual nation of His people through Abraham’s faith, known only to God, that would bless all the nations of the earth.
So is the promise fundamentally physical, spiritual, or in some way a combination of the two? We can use scripture to provide more clues
In Genesis 26, we see that God blesses Isaac, who is the miraculous 2nd born offspring of Abraham, and Sarah’s firstborn. Recall that Sarah was baron and could not conceive, and God used her to demonstrate His power. It was through this faith based lineage that kept His promise.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
Genesis 26:3-5 ESV
As Isaac ages, we see the promise continues through His son, Jacob, and we gain further insight into the nature of the promise. In Genesis 28, we see that with regard to land, the promise is further characterized to Jacob as a nation that stretches far across the earth. With this in mind, it would be difficult to believe that the promise was to a single, physical nation that spreads across the whole earth. So we read in Genesis 28:14, how God intends to bless Jacob in his dream with a nation that spreads across the whole earth:
“Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
Genesis 28:14 ESV
This promise in Genesis 28 is again referencing the same promise given in Genesis 12, 15, 22, and 26. God is going to make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky, the sand of the sea, and the dust of the earth. Through them all the families and nations of the earth will be blessed, and they will spread as far abroad to the north, south, east and west. The extent of this spread is a matter of interpretation but given that the people are to be so numerous, one would not assume it to be a land surrounding Jerusalem that is currently ranked 149th in the world for total area, and 92nd for total population. A fitting interpretation, given God’s power, is that He does what He says, and the nation to which He is referring to, will be numerous, and spread far abroad. So in that light, it does not appear that a specific land will characterize God’s promise to His people, but rather it will be to diffuse, spread out lands throughout the earth. This is not to say that God cannot use specific lands for His purposes, for indeed, He sets His eyes on Jerusalem, but God does not define His promise to His nation through specific boundaries. God’s people are not defined by boundaries like the other nations.
“8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.”
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 ESV
It is important to realize that in the beginning of verse 9, the word ki H3588 in Strong’s concordance, is translated ‘but’ in the ESV. In the KJV and elsewhere, it is translated ‘for’, but here, it seems too nuanced. The scripture is describing two things as a comparison. In one case, God is allotting lands and boundaries to the Sons of God, but then contrasts this to His own allotment, which is then defined as His people. The word ki H3588, can also be rendered ‘except’ and this may help better define the statement. The nations received their fixed, divided borders according to the number of the sons of God, EXCEPT (or BUT) HIS portion is His people, which in contrast, are therefore NOT defined by fixed, divided borders as the other nations were in the eyes of God. Of course, nations move their borders constantly, but in God’s eyes, it says that He fixed them and set them in an order, and the scripture then contrasts this with His people, who were not similarly fixed.
God’s land is His people, Israel. Again, this is not to diminish the importance of holy places, but to gain a spiritual understanding of God’s people and how we are viewed by Him in scripture. We see this same concept echoed by the prophet Joel after Israel falls into judgement. We will see that the people are scattered into distant lands, and God describes this as His land being scattered:
2And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,
Joel 3:2 ESV
Jesus also echoes this notion that God’s people are not defined by boundaries or locations of worship. Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and she inquires as to the importance of locations. Christ is discussing the spiritual importance of living water as opposed to the physical water from the well, and she shifts the conversation to an age old dispute between the Samaritans and the Jews about the proper place of worship, be it near Mount Garizim in Shechem, or Jerusalem. Jesus states that neither locations are important when it comes to the worship of God. We pick up in John 4 as the woman changes the conversation:
20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:20-24 ESV
God’s land is His people, Israel. And His people, Israel are not defined by fixed borders or boundaries.
Next Section: Faith Above Lineage