1. After Abraham had obeyed the command to offer up Isaac, what did the Lord swear to do?
"By myself have I sworn, says the Lord, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:16-18)
2. How numerous did he say Abraham's seed should be?
3. Where have we found similar expressions? "And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered." (Genesis 13:16)
"And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall your seed be." (Genesis 15:5)
4. What did the Lord say that Abraham's seed should possess? "Your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." (Genesis 22:17)
5. What is indicated by the statement that his "seed shall possess the gate of his enemies"?
6. Then with what other scriptures already learned, is this parallel? "And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you; and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)
"For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever." (Genesis 13:15)
"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." (Romans 4:13)
7. What further shows that the promise in (Genesis 22:16-18) is the same as those already learned? Compare (Genesis 22:18) with (Genesis 12:3; 18:18).
8. Why did the Lord now say that He would do this thing? "And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:18)
9. And what have we before found was the condition on which the promise was based? "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken of him." (Genesis 18:19)
10. What did Stephen say as to the fulfillment of the promise recorded in (Genesis 13:15; 17:18)? "And He gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child." (Acts 7:5)
11. What do we know concerning all of God's promises? "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
"For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." (2 Corinthians 1:20)
12. Then what must we conclude concerning these promises to Abraham?
Notes:
"Your seed shall possess of the gate of his enemies." (Genesis 22:17)
Ancient cities, as is well known, were surrounded by walls, and the only means of entrance was by means of gates, which were well guarded. Whoever controlled those gates, controlled the city. If an enemy could gain possession of the gates of a city, they could keep the inhabitants closely confined within, or could admit whomsoever they chose. So to possess the gate of one's enemies would signify supreme rule.
When it was promised that Abraham's seed should "possess the gate of his enemies," we understand that his seed was eventually to occupy all the territory then occupied by those who were antagonistic to him. But this was equivalent to the inheritance of the earth, thus showing that this text is parallel with (Genesis 12:13; 13:15; Romans 4:13), which have already been considered.
Notwithstanding these promises, which were made to Abraham as well as to his seed, Abraham died without seeing their fulfillment. Stephen says that God did not give him enough of the land to set his foot on, although He promised that He would give him the whole of it. But we know that the Lord is not slack concerning His promises, and that all His promises are yea and amen; they cannot be broken. Every one will be fulfilled to the letter.
This being the case, we must conclude that the Lord did not intend that Abraham should receive the inheritance immediately, but that the promise should be fulfilled to him at some future time. When we read that Abraham "died in faith," (Hebrews 11:13) although he had not received the inheritance, we know that this was the way he understood the Lord. Had Abraham not thus understood the Lord, he would have died discouraged, instead of "in faith."--Signs of the Times, April 16, 1885--Lesson for the Pacific Coast (May 16)--Genesis 22:16-18.
E.J. Waggoner