“Promises and pie crusts are made to be broken.”
18th century author Jonathan Swift said that. You may know Swift from his book, Gulliver’s Travels, about the man who ended up in a land full of little people. And while Swift may be the one who said the quote about promises and pie crusts, he certainly isn’t the only person who believes it.
We can rest easy knowing that NONE of God’s promises are ever broken, though! Over and over, we read about the fulfillment of God’s covenants, His promises, with His people. One of the most important is His covenant with Abraham.
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. 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. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1–3
God’s covenant with Abraham is where the nation of Israel began. Through Abraham, his son Isaac, and grandson Jacob, the twelve tribes of Israel, God’s chosen people, will be born. But it isn’t just this one nation whose hope was found in God’s promise. God ends His covenant with Abraham by saying, “In you ALL the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Later in Genesis, God explains what He means.
“And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Genesis 22:18
Someone in the line of Abraham will be a blessing to all the nations. The hope of the whole world could be found in his descendant. Who could that be?
If we follow the line of Abraham in Matthew 1, we can find our answer, and the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham, in Jesus!
[1] The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
[16] and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
Matthew 1:1, 16
We know that Jesus is the Christ because He fulfills so many of God’s promises and prophecies, like this one. The Messiah, the blessing and hope of the world, had to be Abraham’s offspring, and He was. The Apostle Paul said, “To them (Israel) belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:5)
Not only is Jesus a man and an Israelite, but He is also God over all! Let us rejoice in His coming 2000 years ago to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham.
By Rob Trahan