The Bible Is a Missionary Book--Part 2

A Covenant for All Peoples

This is a covenant for all peoples. God says: “I will bless you...[so that] in you all families of the earth shall be blessed.” (v. 2,3) Again we have a purpose clause, which develops the previous one, naming those to whom Abraham would be a blessing.

We cannot read this apart from its context. What do we see? God walked with Adam, and dealt with him, as a representative of all nations of men. After all nations fell in Adam, and were alienated from God, they began to multiply, build cities, gain knowledge, and divide into nations. And because they multiplied sin, God destroyed all the nations at that time with a flood, saving only Noah by his grace. After the flood, we see Noah's sons multiplying, and dividing into nations, so that we see 70 nations comprising the whole human race (chapter 10). Then they tried to unite together, to build a city, and make a name for themselves, but God scattered all the nations over the face of the earth (chapter 11).

Then suddenly we jump to God making this covenant with Abraham, and what follows in the OT focuses mainly on the descendants of Abraham, specifically, the descendants of Jacob & his 12 sons. What a tremendous contrast of before & after: before chapter 12, God deals with all nations, then after, he deals mainly with Israel. Has that contrast ever struck you? Why did God do that?

The answer is right here in our text: “I will bless you...[so that] in you all families of the earth shall be blessed.” Who are these “all families of the earth”? If we compare this passage with other Scripture, including the times God reiterates his covenant with Abraham, we see that God intends to bless all nations or peoples of men, all the Gentiles.

For example, the persons of the God speak to each other: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Gen. 18:17,18) Here he uses the phrase “all the nations” instead of “all families,” but the point is the same: God will bless all peoples through Abraham. Keep in mind: “nation” doesn’t mean a geographical area or political entity, as we often use the word today; rather, it means a unique group of people distinguished by their ethnicity, culture & language. “Nation” is the same word that is translated “Gentile” or “heathen” throughout the OT (KJV).¹ In other words, God was promising to bless all the nations--all the Gentiles--through Abraham. God was going to make Abraham the “father of many Gentiles” (Gen. 17:4,5). And he accomplished it, as we read in the NT (Galatians 3:8; Romans 4:16-18).

Wow! That means God was choosing one nation to reach all the other nations. “All the peoples/nations” was God's plan from the beginning. There is continuity between the first 11 chapters of Genesis, and the rest of the OT, and even the NT.

This is what God was doing from the beginning, and what he is doing now. He is exalting his name throughout whole earth: 

“His name shall endure for ever:
his name shall be continued as long as the sun:
and men shall be blessed in him:
all nations shall call him blessed.
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who only doeth wondrous things.
And blessed be his glorious name for ever:
and let the whole earth be filled with his glory;
Amen, and Amen.” (Psalm 72:17-19)

Add to this that Solomon prayed for the nations when he dedicated the Temple (1Kings 8:41-43); God promised the nations an inheritance in the Temple (Isaiah 56:3-8); and he promised to take the Gentiles to be priests & Levites (Isa. 66:18-23). Brothers & Sisters, God's covenant of blessing for all the nations is written large across the whole OT. In fact, one nation is too small a work for God to be glorified as he should:

[The Father says to the Son,] “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isa. 49:6)

Ultimately, it is through Jesus Christ, the Son of Abraham, that God fulfills his blessing to all the nations.

Conclusion

Therefore, the Old Testament is not book about Israel for Israel; rather, it is a book about God for all nations. God is saying, in effect, “Abraham, I am going to pour out such a blessing upon you, that it is TOO BIG for one man; TOO BIG for one family; TOO BIG for one nation. The blessing I am going to shower down upon you is so great that, through your Seed, I will bless ALL NATIONS of men!”

Praise God! How full of grace, how full of blessing, that he would so richly bless his enemies. Who is like Jehovah, in raising up our fallen race, men from every tribe, language, people & nation (Revelation 5:9,10)?

“O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!”

God & his grace are NOT to be bottled up, hidden in the ground, stored up for yourself; his manna rots! God & his grace through Christ are meant to be given away. How we are compelled to multiply God's blessing!

God is multiplying his grace to individuals, so that he might multiply thankful worshipers, who in turn multiply themselves by declaring God’s persons & works to all peoples; thus God’s glory fills the whole earth, as men, women & children from every people group come to enjoy him.

God is the Missionary God to all peoples, to the whole world. (John 3:16,17; 1John 2:2) What could be more important or pressing than multiplying this blessing!

¹Our English words “nation” & “Gentile” are derived from two Latin words equivalent to the Hebrew or Greek notion of a people group.

The Bible Is a Missionary Book--Part 1

We know that the New Testament (NT) is a missionary book; after all, this is where we read the Great Commission, and see Paul going to the nations. But is the Old Testament (OT) a missionary book?

Has it ever seemed strange to you that God dealt with one people Israel in the OT, but now with all peoples since Christ came? Some have even come to the conclusion that God’s real focus is the people Israel, and his acceptance of other peoples now is just a subplot to his main plot with Israel. This is not true! The OT is full of God’s purpose to call not one nation but all nations to himself. One example of this is the covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3.

“(1) 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. (2) 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. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, [so that] in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'”

A Covenant of Grace

This is a covenant of grace. It was not based on what Abraham had done. God did not make this covenant with Abraham because he was such a great guy. Abraham was an idol worshiper (Joshua 24:2) of the Chaldeans (Gen. 11:27). God doesn't say: “Because you have done this..., I will bless you.” But God had mercy on them, and called them to himself. Nor is this covenant based on what Abraham would do later. God doesn't say: “Abraham, if you do this..., then I will bless you.” This covenant is not like the Law, which promised blessings & curses; this covenant promises only blessing! Abraham sinned, as we all do; you have only to read the rest of his story to see that he could not stand before God in his own goodness.

Rather, God says, “I will...” (v. 2). This is a statement of God's pure determination of will to bless. Regardless of what Abraham had done before, regardless of what Abraham would do in the future, regardless of who Abraham was in himself, God was determined to bless him. If God took into consideration anything that Abraham had done or would do, his blessing would be less; or rather, God would have to curse him. But since this covenant was based on God’s gracious nature, therefore it can be extravagant.

What makes grace grace? Grace is not merely unmerited favor or kindness. When you help a stranger in need, we might call that unmerited kindness because he did nothing to earn that kindness from you. But grace goes far beyond this. When you see an enemy in need, who has stolen from you, or injured you, or treated you with hatred or contempt, or killed your loved one, and you give him the help he needs with love in your heart & a desire to bless him, that is grace!

This is a covenant of grace because God solemnly promises to bless Abraham. Whenever God speaks it cannot fail, so if he says he will do something, it is a solemn promise. Thus, God binds himself & obligates himself to a sinner. What GRACE!

A Covenant of Blessing

This is a covenant of blessing. God says: “I will bless you...so that you shall be a blessing.” (v. 2) I don't read Hebrew, but I'm told by those who do, that this is actually a purpose clause: “so that...”. The ESV brings this out, and the Jewish Publication Society OT actually makes it a command: “and be thou a blessing.” 

This marks a very important principle for us to keep forefront in our minds. Yes, God blesses us for his glory, but he also blessed us in order to make us a blessing to others. We are not Gospel culdesacs! God does not lavish his goodness upon us for our enjoyment & privilege alone, but so that we might be his instruments of blessing others. We are blessed in order to be a blessing. This is beautifully summed up in the words of Christ: “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:7,8)

In this way, God is glorified even more. If we alone are blessed, and return thanks to God, then God gets little thanks. But if we multiply the blessing, by being a blessing to others, and they join us in thanking God, then we have multiplied the thanks & praise that ascends to God. Do you desire to multiply God's praise? Then multiply his blessing.

Therefore, God did not separate Abraham because he was better than others, nor so that he might make Abraham better than others, but so that God could make him his instrument to bless others! As Peter Kuzmic put it, “Election is not a call to privilege, but a call to service.”

To be continued...