Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
The Gospel is first preached in Genesis 12.
Galatians 3:7-9
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
God takes Abram from his father and becomes his new father in a new land and blesses him. He promises him a son and all the families of the earth will be blessed through this son. This is a foreshadowing of the coming Son of God, Messiah. And then YHVH establishes a seal with Abraham; the seal of circumcision. This is a foreshadowing of the coming seal of the Holy Spirit.
YHVH had the plan of the Gospel in mind from the first time He spoke to our father Abraham. It will be very difficult to understand the plans of God and your place in His family if you enter the story at Matthew instead of Genesis.
Here is another example in the NT of the Gospel being tied to the promises given to Abraham:
Acts 13:30-33
30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’
30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’
It says the disciples preached “…the good news of the promise made to the fathers…” These promises started with our father Abraham. It is paramount to your growth that you understand who your father really is. Anyone who is married presents a living picture of what happens when we become believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We leave our earthly parents and we join the family of God in the commonwealth of Israel just as a man or woman leaves their parents house and cleaves to their wife or husband.
Side note: Elohim also shows the three parts of the One God in His promises to Abraham:
1. God the Father of Abraham who becomes the father of nations
2. God the promised Son to Abraham through Isaac
3. God the Seal (Holy Spirit) through the sign of circumcision given to Abraham
The Gospel was first preached in Genesis 12 and He came and walked the earth starting in Matthew. Our father is Abraham and the promises given to him are ours as well. Without the promises given to Abraham, we have very shaky ground to walk out our faith on.
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