The Calling of Abram
It is in Genesis 11:26 where we first see Abram mentioned. Why Abram and not Abraham? The main players in the story are Abraham and Sarah and both their names were changed; from Abram it was changed to Abraham and from Sarai it was changed to Sarah. What changed in their names was the addition of one letter, the letter hey in Hebrew, this being the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. According to E.W. Bullinger, in his book, Numbers in Scriptures, five is the number of grace, number four is the number of the creation plus one, the number of God. This then shows that God elected Abraham by grace.
This is a good interpretation since election is always by grace. Another view of the letter hey comes from the Midrash Rabbah, which explains it this way: Because this letter is the only one the in the Hebrew alphabet that is not pronounced with the movement of the tongue, of the lips or from any other articulation of the mouth, but only through the breath, it often shows God’s action as He breathed on them. This is likened to the sixth day when man was created, and in the Hebrew, we have the letter hey in front of the Hebrew word for six, hashishi. With Abraham and Sarah, it shows that God elected them to Himself. These are the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah.
From Abraham begins the history of Israel leading to Yeshua. With Abraham there begins, and in many ways, the history of the church, the history of every believer. He is the spiritual father of all who believe in the Messiah; those who are of faith, we are old in Galatians, are sons of Abraham(3:7).
He represents the man of faith by excellence, and we can recognize ourselves in his victories and also in his failures; the Bible is so sincere and genuine as it reports to us all the facets of one’s character, the good and the bad ones.
From Ur to Canaan
From Genesis 11:10-32 we learn how Abraham came from Ur to Canaan. Questions sometimes come up concerning Ezekiel 16:3, and Abraham’s origins. Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem, “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite, your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. Interpretations are divided between the physical and the spiritual approach to answering this. Concerning the physical, some thought that because Abraham comes from the northern parts, Chaldea, he was associated with the Amorites and the Hittites who also come from the northern part (the Amorites are right below Chaldea and the Hittites are more to the west), however looking at the context of chapter 3 of Ezekiel, it is addressed to Jerusalem (Vs.2) not the Israelites in general. Now, the original inhabitants of Jerusalem were the Jebusites and in Numbers 13:29 they were associated with the Amorites and the Hittites.
In this sense there may have been a blood relation ancestry however, after further considering this chapter, it is better to look at these nations as types of evil (spiritual perspective) without looking at the bloodline, just like Sodom who is called the sister of Judah (vs.46).
The History of Israel Begins
The history of Israel begins here in the first three verses of Genesis 12. Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 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.”
It is a good moment here to take note that Chapter 12’s in the bible often marks an important landmark in the history of Israel.
In Genesis 12 we have the beginning of the history of the nation with Abraham and with the Abrahamic Covenant.
Exodus12 marks the birth of the nation where God gives Israel a new calendar with a new year, and this is marked by the Passover and the blood of the lamb that saved the Israelites from judgment.
Joshua 12 marks the end of the conquering of the land and in chapter 13 we start with the distribution of the land to the tribes.
Matthew 12 marks the religious authorities’ final rejection of Yeshua. Matthew 13 begins the parables of the Kingdom of God.
Acts 12 marks the spreading of the Word to the nations as we see Pasul going throughout Europe to spread the Word.
Chapter 12 of Revelation is a condensed history of Israel situated between two renderings of the Tribulation times.
All of this is not necessarily inspired, but good for memorization.
The Blessings
In vs.1 we see Abraham’s call and in vss.2-3 we see the blessings he will get if he responds to God. There are seven blessings in all.
1 And I will make of you a great nation
He will become a great nation which was to be Israel. This is the first time the word nation is in singular; Israel is the first nation that is singled out, because it was from her that the other nations will be blessed. The word for nation here is goy. Today Jews will call a gentile a goy, which means nation, but the first mention of this word is right here, and Israel is then the first goy.
2 and I will bless you
Throughout Abraham’s life, we are going to see how the hand of the Lord was with him everywhere he went.
3 and make your name great
His name will be great. His name will be paired with that of the Messiah as in Galatians 3:29, And if you are Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed. All of the believers in Yeshua are also Abraham’s spiritual seed. He is also spoken of in many other parts of the New Testament. One entire chapter of Romans refers to Abraham and his dealings with God, this being Romans 4. Two chapters in Galatians, 3 and 4 speak so highly of Abraham.
4 so that you will be a blessing
And we read in the promise that he will be a blessing. His life, his failures and his victories are great lessons and blessings for us.
5 I will bless those who bless you
6 and him who curses you I will curse
But see the last promise I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you. This is another indication that the life of his descendants, the physical ones and the spiritual ones, will not have it easy. This verse tells us that there will be conflict in this world. It speaks of blessings and curses by the people of the world. Notice how personally God takes this side of the promise. It goes from plural to singular. He will bless those who bless (plural), but when it comes to hindering His people, Israel and by application the remnant of the church, He will see to it personally, as if one at a time, And I will curse him who curses you. The two words for curses in our translation are not the same in the original Hebrew. The first word of that verse really means to belittle, to call worthless so we can read it as; And him who dishonours you I will curse. Israel today, as it was throughout the Diaspora had often been belittled, reduced to being thought of as a hindrance. To this God will answer, and He will curse the one who dishonours His people. This second word curse here means to put away, to recede, as the waters of the flood receded. It is to be put away from the presence of God.
The Purpose of the Jew
It is in Genesis 12:3 where we are beginning the see the purpose for the Jew. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” In you, God is referring to Abraham and the nation that will come through his loins. What a blessing to know that all the families of the earth will be blessed. This means that it is all the world who will be blessed through Abraham. Through Abraham, Israel then of course through the Messiah.
The New Testament begins with the words, The book of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: this is where the genealogies of the Scriptures lead us. Right to Yeshua. Jesus the Messiah, the Son of Abraham brings us back to the Genesis 12 where the Table of the Nations ends with one individual, Abraham, through whom God promises a great nation, Israel and through whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of David, speaks of the King Messiah; David was the first king of Israel according to the prophecy and Yeshua is the last. From David to Yeshua.
Son of David
And this title, the Son of David was well known by the people of the time of Jesus. Could this be the Son of David they all pointed to when they saw how Yeshua performed this messianic miracle of recreating sight for a man born blind (John 9)? Matthew more than all the other Gospels combined, uses this title for the Messiah. Both Talmuds spoke about it, as they also used this designation more than 10 times and we see this name used 20 times in the Midrash Rabbah.
It is really in Matthew 1:1 where we see the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy; before this time, Israel was too busy with her internal problems. It all begins with Yeshua, He is the first and the key link to this blessing for all the families of the earth. Through Him and with Him, Israel begins the fulfillment of her calling to be a light to the nations and along with Israel, the Gentiles come in and together they form the Ecclesia, the Body of the Messiah.
The Jewish Foundation of the Church
(1) Christianity is based upon Judaism (See Matt. 1:1; Rom. 1:2; 3:21-23)
(2) Mary was a Jewish woman (See Luke 1:27)
(3) Jesus was a Jew (See Matt. 1:1; John 4:9; Rom. 1:3)
(4) The Disciples were Jews (See Matt. 10:2-4; Acts 3:1)
(5) The New Covenant was written by Jews (See Romans 3:1, 2)
(6) The Church was started with Jews (See Acts 2:5, 41-43)
(7) Salvation comes from the Jews (See John 4:22)
It is in this new congregation of God, the church where the true Israel begins the work that was initially created for her.