Early History

#      Our studies of Genesis revealed to us the following: Mankind was told to be fruitful and multiply and conquer the earth. Adam and Eve sinned and all of humanity was punished. A Deluge covered the earth from which only Noah and his family survived. All peoples alive today are descended from the Three Sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japhet. Abraham was descended from Shem the son of Noah. God chose Abraham to be the instrument of His Will, to be blessed and to bring a blessing upon all peoples of the earth (12:2-3, 18:18-19, 22:18).

Genesis (NKJV) 12:

2 I WILL MAKE YOU A GREAT NATION; I WILL BLESS YOU AND MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT; AND YOU SHALL BE A BLESSING. 3 I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND I WILL CURSE HIM WHO CURSES YOU; AND IN YOU ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.

Genesis (NKJV) 18:

18 SINCE ABRAHAM SHALL SURELY BECOME A GREAT AND MIGHTY NATION, AND ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED IN HIM? 19 FOR I HAVE KNOWN HIM, IN ORDER THAT HE MAY COMMAND HIS CHILDREN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AFTER HIM, THAT THEY KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD, TO DO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE, THAT THE LORD MAY BRING TO ABRAHAM WHAT HE HAS SPOKEN TO HIM.

Genesis (NKJV) 22:

18 IN YOUR SEED ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED, BECAUSE YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE.

Genesis (NKJV) 24:

60 AND THEY BLESSED REBEKAH AND SAID TO HER: OUR SISTER, MAY YOU BECOME THE MOTHER OF THOUSANDS OF TEN THOUSANDS; AND MAY YOUR DESCENDANTS POSSESS THE GATES OF THOSE WHO HATE THEM.

Abraham was promised that his seed would be extremely numerous (15:5, 22:17).

Genesis (NKJV) 15:

5 THEN HE BROUGHT HIM OUTSIDE AND SAID, LOOK NOW TOWARD HEAVEN, AND COUNT THE STARS IF YOU ARE ABLE TO NUMBER THEM. AND HE SAID TO HIM, SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.

Genesis (NKJV) 22:

17 BLESSING I WILL BLESS YOU, AND MULTIPLYING I WILL MULTIPLY YOUR DESCENDANTS AS THE STARS OF THE HEAVEN AND AS THE SAND WHICH IS ON THE SEASHORE; AND YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL POSSESS THE GATE OF THEIR ENEMIES. 18 IN YOUR SEED ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED, BECAUSE YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE.

He was assured that he would inherit the Land of Canaan (15:7, 17:8) from the Nile to the Euphrates (15:18).

Genesis (NKJV) 17:

8 ALSO I GIVE TO YOU AND YOUR DESCENDANTS AFTER YOU THE LAND IN WHICH YOU ARE A STRANGER, ALL THE LAND OF CANAAN, AS AN EVERLASTING POSSESSION; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD.

Genesis (NKJV) 15:

18 ON THE SAME DAY THE LORD MADE A COVENANT WITH ABRAM, SAYING: TO YOUR DESCENDANTS I HAVE GIVEN THIS LAND, FROM THE RIVER OF EGYPT TO THE GREAT RIVER, THE RIVER EUPHRATES 19 THE KENITES, THE KENEZZITES, THE KADMONITES, 20 THE HITTITES, THE PERIZZITES, THE REPHAIM, 21 THE AMORITES, THE CANAANITES, THE GIRGASHITES, AND THE JEBUSITES.

Nations and Kings would emerge from Abraham (17:6).

Genesis (NKJV) 17:

6 I WILL MAKE YOU EXCEEDINGLY FRUITFUL; AND I WILL MAKE NATIONS OF YOU, AND KINGS SHALL COME FROM YOU.

Abraham begat from Hagar, the handmaiden of Sarah, Ishmael who was the forefather of many of the Arabs and is representative of the forces of Islam. Nevertheless, the promised blessings were to come from Sarah. Sarah the wife of Abraham was blessed that she would become a mother of nations and kings of peoples would come from her (17:16, 21):

This means the monarchs of several nations ruling at one and the same time, such as the monarchs of Western European countries do now.

Genesis (NKJV) 17:

15 THEN GOD SAID TO ABRAHAM, AS FOR SARAI YOUR WIFE, YOU SHALL NOT CALL HER NAME SARAI, BUT SARAH SHALL BE HER NAME. 16 AND I WILL BLESS HER AND ALSO GIVE YOU A SON BY HER; THEN I WILL BLESS HER, AND SHE SHALL BE A MOTHER OF NATIONS; KINGS OF PEOPLES SHALL BE FROM HER.. .. 21 BUT MY COVENANT I WILL ESTABLISH WITH ISAAC, WHOM SARAH SHALL BEAR TO YOU AT THIS SET TIME NEXT YEAR.

Only Isaac the son of Abraham through Sarah would inherit the covenant of Abraham (17:19, 21:12).

Genesis (NKJV) 17:

19 THEN GOD SAID: NO, SARAH YOUR WIFE SHALL BEAR YOU A SON, AND YOU SHALL CALL HIS NAME ISAAC; I WILL ESTABLISH MY COVENANT WITH HIM FOR AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, AND WITH HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM. 20 AND AS FOR ISHMAEL, I HAVE HEARD YOU. BEHOLD, I HAVE BLESSED HIM, AND WILL MAKE HIM FRUITFUL, AND WILL MULTIPLY HIM EXCEEDINGLY. HE SHALL BEGET TWELVE PRINCES, AND I WILL MAKE HIM A GREAT NATION. 21 BUT MY COVENANT I WILL ESTABLISH WITH ISAAC, WHOM SARAH SHALL BEAR TO YOU AT THIS SET TIME NEXT YEAR.

Genesis (NKJV) 17:

12 BUT GOD SAID TO ABRAHAM, DO NOT LET IT BE DISPLEASING IN YOUR SIGHT BECAUSE OF THE LAD OR BECAUSE OF YOUR BONDWOMAN. WHATEVER SARAH HAS SAID TO YOU, LISTEN TO HER VOICE; FOR IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED. 13 YET I WILL ALSO MAKE A NATION OF THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN, BECAUSE HE IS YOUR SEED.

One of the purposes of the promises was that through the blessings they would be enabled to do justice and judgment (18:19).

Genesis (NKJV) 18:

17 AND THE LORD SAID, SHALL I HIDE FROM ABRAHAM WHAT I AM DOING, 18 SINCE ABRAHAM SHALL SURELY BECOME A GREAT AND MIGHTY NATION, AND ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED IN HIM? 19 FOR I HAVE KNOWN HIM, IN ORDER THAT HE MAY COMMAND HIS CHILDREN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AFTER HIM, THAT THEY KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD, TO DO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE, THAT THE LORD MAY BRING TO ABRAHAM WHAT HE HAS SPOKEN TO HIM.

Abraham was tested with the binding (Akeda) of Isaac (Genesis ch. 22). He passed the examination. Following the trial of the BINDING of Isaac the Blessings to Abraham were confirmed unconditionally (22:16) apart from inheriting the land.

Genesis (NKJV) 22:

14 AND ABRAHAM CALLED THE NAME OF THE PLACE, THE-LORD-WILL-PROVIDE; AS IT IS SAID TO THIS DAY, IN THE MOUNT OF THE LORD IT SHALL BE PROVIDED. 15 THEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CALLED TO ABRAHAM A SECOND TIME OUT OF HEAVEN, 16 AND SAID: BY MYSELF I HAVE SWORN, SAYS THE LORD, BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE THIS THING, AND HAVE NOT WITHHELD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY SON 17 BLESSING I WILL BLESS YOU, AND MULTIPLYING I WILL MULTIPLY YOUR DESCENDANTS AS THE STARS OF THE HEAVEN AND AS THE SAND WHICH IS ON THE SEASHORE; AND YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL POSSESS THE GATE OF THEIR ENEMIES. 18 IN YOUR SEED ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED, BECAUSE YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE.

The right to dwell in the Promised Land remained contingent upon Monotheism and obedience. #

The BLESSED SEED would prove temporarily incapable of being both Sacred and Profane i.e. of becoming great nations and also keeping the Covenant. They would need to be divided into two. Judah would have to keep the Law and consequently have first claim on the Land in the End Times. Spiritually and in the End Times, physically, Judah would lead the way for the others. The other Tribes, represented by Joseph, would have to evolve in their own direction bringing the whole world more in line with Biblical Precepts. This is what they did do more or less on a relative scale.

The Prophecies given to the Forefather concern not only the End Times when they will reach their full fullment but also the Period leading up to that. In the End Times the israelites will rule over all the earth, cf.

Psalms (NKJV)  47:
1 OH, CLAP YOUR HANDS, ALL YOU PEOPLES!
SHOUT TO GOD WITH THE VOICE OF TRIUMPH!
2 FOR THE LORD MOST HIGH IS AWESOME;
HE IS A GREAT KING OVER ALL THE EARTH.
3 HE WILL SUBDUE THE PEOPLES UNDER US,
AND THE NATIONS UNDER OUR FEET.
4 HE WILL CHOOSE OUR INHERITANCE FOR US,
THE EXCELLENCE OF JACOB WHOM HE LOVES. SELAH