Reason 5: Calling the Nations
REASON 5
WHY GOD BECAME MAN
Calling the Nations
John 8:48-58
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.
50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.
51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death.
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.
55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Genesis 22:8-18
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time
16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
The Promise to Abraham
In John 8:56, Jesus boldly tells the Pharisees that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and that Abraham saw it and was glad. Abraham is a significant figure in Jewish history, as he is the ancestor of all Jews and is highly respected in the faith. He is often referred to as the father of faith.
When studying Scripture, it is important to consider its cultural context, history, and linguistic setting in which the story unfolds. Understanding the underlying scripts is crucial to fully comprehend what Jesus said, as many of His statements were controversial.
As the father of the faithful, Abraham was perceived as a beacon of hope for the world to come. The Jews believed that the reward for the righteous dead was to share in a banquet hosted by Abraham, and the highest form of that reward was to lie in ‘Abraham’s Bosom’, a place of honor and favor (Luke 16:19-31).
The religion of Israel is conceived as a religion of hope. It all starts with God calling out to Abraham and promising to make him the father of a great nation (Genesis 12). This promise means that Abraham will have children, and through his offspring (Genesis 22), the promise of blessing for all nations on earth will be fulfilled.
The birth of the nation of Israel fulfils God’s promise, but He also has the Gentiles in mind. He promises that every nation will be blessed through Abraham’s blessings..
This promise encompasses
the life and work of Abraham’s
most esteemed descendant,
Jesus Christ.
Jesus stated that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, indicating that Abraham had faith in God before the arrival of Christ. This faith was future-oriented and resulted in Abraham being counted as righteous.
The Tower of Babel and the Call of Abraham
Abraham was called by God long after people had gathered and decided to stay in one place and build a tower of Babel to honor themselves. The Tower of Babel was likely a ziggurat. This structure represents false religion and goes against God’s commandment to repopulate the Earth. As a consequence, God intervened and caused confusion in their speech, leading to their dispersion.
The people, that at one time were of one language, were divided into several large groups of people, each with its own language. Suspicion arose between these groups, leading them to disperse to different parts of the world.
Since then, there has been conflict and distrust between various groups, tribes, and nations in the world. There is a constant state of unrest and unease. It is common to see nations, tribes, and kingdoms pitted against each other. Throughout history, nations have sought power and control over one another.
Wars have been a part of human history since ancient times. However, it is believed that there will come a time when wars and threats of wars will cease. The promise made to Abraham was that through his offspring, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This is not a promise of unification into one nation, but rather a promise that every nation will receive God’s blessing without losing their unique identity.
God Chose the Nation of Israel
The Scriptures state that God chose Israel as the nation with whom He would have His covenant. God called Israel His chosen people after rescuing them from Egypt. He said, ‘You will be my people and I will be your God’ (Exodus 6:7). The focus is primarily on Israel, but it is not exclusive to them. However, God chose Israel not to exclude other nations. Instead, to be a blessing to all nations.
Israel is not chosen by God
because they are His favorites
or special.
He set them apart to glorify Him
and to bless the whole world
through them.
Israel has been chosen by God and received His Word, which has brought them honor and significant advantages. However, it is important to note that the covenant only applies to those who choose to obey Him. Israel is not inherently superior to any other people, nor did they earn their special status with God. In fact, they have been and continue to be disobedient to God and in violation of His Word.
Similarly, God brings us to Himself and sets us apart as Christians to bless the world and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ. We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
We are God’s people
not because we were chosen by God,
but because
we are ready to do good works.
God’s Call to the Gentiles
Starting in Genesis 12, it is clear that God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and blessed the world through Israel. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as the true seed of Abraham, and through Him, freely bestowed His blessing to other nations. This blessing extends to us today.
Jesus fulfils God’s promise
to bless the nations through Abraham.
The passage discusses the idea that only the remnants of Israel are saved, not the entire nation. It also highlights that not all of Abraham’s children are considered children. The main point is that anyone from any nation who trusts in Christ becomes God’s people and is called God’s children. This means they can be a source of blessing to all people on Earth while maintaining their ethnic and cultural identities in light of God’s truth.
God Hates Idol Worshippers
The book of Exodus demonstrates God’s disapproval of the pagan nations because of their idol worship. Despite claiming to worship God, they worshipped thousands of different gods in their pagan temples and engaged in demonic activities. There is nothing worse than religious hypocrisy. These religions promoted gross and perverted sexuality.
Similarly, Paul states that the Gentiles worship idols despite receiving all gifts from God. They received and enjoyed God’s blessings but dedicated their lives to many other things. Those who have done good in life but do not believe in Jesus will be condemned. Anyone who rejects God will eventually be banished.
God does not accept those
who receive blessings from Him
but do not dedicate their lives to Him.
God’s Emotions and What They Mean to Us
The Bible often depicts God’s heartache toward those who ignore Him. God’s emotions are rooted in His holy nature and compassion. He is not a stone-cold and a stoic person, as the Epicureans allege.
God is not
an impersonal force of nature
who cannot have emotions.
Many passages in the Bible speak of God in human terms to help us understand Him in ways familiar to us. The Old Testament clearly shows that God’s wrath was directed at the pagan nations who created their own rituals and religions.
According to Jewish tradition, Terah and his family were idol worshippers. However, God showed grace to Abraham and put an end to the practice of idolatry.
A Promised Son
Abraham and Sarah were beyond child-bearing age when God promised them a child. They doubted God’s promise, and Sarah gave her slave, Hagar, to Abraham to bear a child. Hagar conceived and gave birth to a son named Ishmael.
Abraham desired Ishmael to be the heir God had promised. In Genesis 17:18, Abraham asked God to bless Ishmael. However, God replied that His covenant would be established with Isaac, who Sarah would bear to Abraham by the following year (Genesis 17:21).
God informed Abraham that despite having an older son, Ishmael, he would not inherit the promise. Instead, God promised to continue His covenant with Isaac.
Ishmael was born
through natural means,
rather than as a result
of God’s promise.
The marriage of Abraham and Sarah was honored by God, and therefore His promise had to be fulfilled through Sarah. The birth of Isaac serves as an analogy for the spiritual birth of every child of God.
A Command to Sacrifice
After Isaac became a young man, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his promised son. This command was astounding because Isaac was the son of promise. The use of sacrificial practices was forbidden elsewhere in the Bible. Why did God command Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, even though He forbids such practices? Not to mention the impeccable timing required for this test.
God’s commandment reveals that the nations would be blessed not through Isaac, but through Abraham’s descendant whom God would later choose. The command to sacrifice Isaac foreshadowed God’s sacrifice of His own Son. The wood laid upon Isaac symbolized the cross Jesus carried to Calvary. Both Isaac and Jesus, the sons of promise, carried the wood for their own sacrifices.
Isaac obeyed his father
and was willing to be sacrificed.
In the same way,
Jesus obeyed his Father
and was willing to die.
Abraham offered his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. In the same way, God offered His only Son, Jesus. Both fathers loved their sons and offered them in sacrifice. However, God carried out the sacrifice of His Son, while Abraham was prevented from sacrificing Isaac by a substitute. This demonstrates the certainty of God’s plan and His ultimate authority.
It was not Abraham who mourned
the loss of his beloved son,
but God.
Isaac was the descendant of Abraham, through whom Jesus was both foretold and promised. God promised to bless Abraham’s descendants and ultimately all nations through this Child.
The Promise to All Nations
After Abraham sacrificed Isaac, the Angel of the LORD spoke to him:
“I swear by myself, because you have done this, and not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me” (Genesis 22:16-18).
Why would an Angel of the LORD claim to be God? Throughout the Old Testament, there are numerous appearances of someone described as ‘The Angel of the LORD’ who is treated as worthy of worship and identified with God Himself. The Angel of the LORD is God Himself, the second person embodiment of the Trinity before He incarnated, known as Christophany.
God promised to bless Abraham and his descendants, and confirmed it through an oath. He swore that all nations of the earth would be blessed. This implies that God will bless even those nations that rebel against Him. This is a remarkable display of God’s compassion, patience, and love.
How will this promise be fulfilled? All the peoples of the earth have the opportunity to be saved from sin and included in God’s family through faith in Abraham’s offspring, Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the Messiah
and a descendant of Abraham,
who fulfilled the blessing
to people of all nations.
Through His sacrificial death,
people of all nations
will receive salvation.
A Call to All Nations
God loves all nations of the earth so He became man and was sacrificed on the cross to fulfill his promise to Abraham. Repeatedly, God has demonstrated his patience towards those who deserve punishment.
God’s love
is demonstrated by His patience
in delaying His judgment
until all nations return to Him.
That’s the reason why the world has not been destroyed by God as it was in the time of Noah.
God continues to call all nations, even though they continue to rebel against Him. With love and patience, His calls take various forms and means. If God’s love and desire to reach all nations is so great, shouldn’t that also be our desire?
To belong to Jesus
is to embrace the nations
for which He died
and which He will rule.
Many things are important in life,
but this is the most important
of them all.
All nations should worship the one true God of Israel, the God of Abraham, who is now known to be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was willing to be born in a humble place. From His birth until His death on the cross, His life was a sacrifice to fulfil God’s promise to call the nations. He became flesh and shed His blood so that the Gentiles may return to God. Let us be united with God’s vision and do His will.
