LESSON XIV.—THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISES.
1. WHEN the Lord called Abraham to leave his father's house and go into the land of Canaan, what did he promise to make of him? Gen. 12:2. 2. At other times, when this promise was renewed to him, how numerous did the Lord say his seed should become? Gen. 22:17; 13:16. 3. What must be the meaning of such expressions? 4. Did Abraham's descendants become a great nation? Deut. 26:5. 5. What does Moses say in regard to their number? Deut. 1:10. 6. In Gen. 17:4, what did the Lord tell Abraham that he should be? 7. Could this promise have been fulfilled in the Jews? 9. When will the complete fulfillment of this promise be realized? 10. To whom was this company shown? Rev. 7:9. 11. In Gen. 22:18, what does the Lord say to Abraham in regard to his seed? 13. In what way is Christ a blessing to all men? 1 Cor. 15:22. 15. Is there any means of salvation except through Christ? Acts 4:12. 16. What promise was made to Abraham in Gen. 12:7? 18. When did Abraham's seed, according to the flesh, possess the land of Canaan? 19. Did they hold it for an everlasting possession? 20. Did Abraham himself receive any part of the land of Canaan as a possession? Acts 7:5. 21. Did Isaac, or Jacob, or any of the patriarchs to whom it was promised, ever inherit any part of the land? Heb. 11:13, 39. 22. Did they expect the promise to be fulfilled to them in the future? Read Heb. 11. 23. Was Abraham's inheritance to be limited to the land of Canaan? Rom. 4:13. 24. How far was it to extend? 25. What promise is made to the meek? Matt. 5:5. 26. Whose seed are the meek? 28. Then what is the promised inheritance to Abraham and his seed? 30. What is the marginal reading to this verse? 31. Where, then, will Abraham and his seed have their everlasting possession? 32. What will be their number? 33. What will they then fully enjoy? When the Lord called Abraham to leave his father's house and go into the land of Canaan, he promised to make of him a great nation. This promise was fulfilled to Abraham's descendants, as we see from Deut. 26:5. At other times, when the promise was renewed to him, it was said that his seed should become as numerous as the stars of heaven, as the sand upon the sea-shore, or as the dust upon the earth; which must mean that they were to become a multitude too great to be numbered. Moses tells the children of Israel that they have become as the stars of heaven for multitude. Deut. 10:22. But in Gen. 17:4 the Lord tells Abraham that he should be a father of many nations. The Jews were only one nation; so this promise was never fulfilled in them. But when all the seed of Abraham shall be gathered before the throne of God, a complete fulfillment of this promise will be realized. This innumerable company, made up from all nations, was shown to John in vision. Rev. 7:9. In Gen. 22:18, the Lord says to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” This promise will be fulfilled in Christ; for he is the seed of Abraham. Gal. 3:16. Through him all men will have a resurrection from the dead, 1 Cor. 15:22, and it is only through him that any can be saved. Acts 4:12. In Gen. 12:7 we find the promise that God would give the land of Canaan to Abraham's seed, and in Gen. 17:8, that he would give it to him and to his seed for an everlasting possession. Now the Israelites, Abraham's seed according to the flesh, did possess the land of Canaan in the time of David and Solomon; but they did not hold it for an everlasting possession, and Abraham himself did not possess any of it, neither did Isaac and Jacob, to whom the same promises were made. In Acts 7:5 we read that Abraham had no inheritance in it, not so much as to set his foot on; and in Heb. 11 we are told that neither Abraham nor any of the other patriarchs to whom the promises were made, have ever received a fulfillment of them; but that they looked forward to their fulfillment at some future time. From Rom. 4:13, we learn that the promise was made to Abraham, that he should be the heir of the world; and in Matt. 5:5, that the meek shall inherit the earth. Now the meek are Abraham's seed, for they are Christ's. In 2 Pet. 3:13, we learn of a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. The margin reads, “Where the righteous shall dwell.” See also Isa. 65:17; 66:22. It is in this new earth that Abraham and his seed, Christ and all that are his, will have their everlasting inheritance. They will be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and will fully enjoy all the blessings secured them through Christ, the seed of Abraham. Read Dan. 2:44; 7:13, 14, 27. All the inhabitants of that glorious kingdom will be Christ's and therefore Abraham's seed and heirs with him of the promises,—heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.