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NOTES
The Introduction
The promise of Messiah progressively unfolds throughout the Old
Testament. Messiah became the proper name associated with the promised
Anointed One of Yahweh Who would come to deliver, redeem, and restore Israel. Since
the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, God has kept the hope of His people alive
through the promise of Messiah. The Hebrew term Mashiach (מָשִׁ֖יחַ) literally translates Anointed One.
The Greek equivalent of Mashiach/Messiah appearing in the New
Testament is Christos (χριστός).
Each time the word Christ appears in the New Testament, it is a
reference to the office of Jesus as the Messiah.
In the study of Messiah in the Books of Moses, six Old
Testament prophetic predictions will be explored: The Edenic Prediction
(Gen. 3:15); The Noahic Prediction (Gen 9:25-27); The Abrahamic
Prediction (Gen 12:1-3); The Judaic Prediction (Gen 49:8-12);
The Balaamic Prediction (Num 24:15-19); and, The Mosaic
Prediction (Deut 18:15, 18). Each prophecy will be studied within its
historical context and in light of its fulfillment in the Person and work of
Messiah Jesus as recorded in the New Testament.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples, opening
their minds to understand all that was written concerning Himself in all the
Scriptures. “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained
to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). A
study of Luke 24 introduces Messiah in the Books of Moses, establishing the
primary importance of studying messianic prophecy in the Old Testament. This
study focuses on the first six predictions of Messiah in the Pentateuch.
Genesis 3 – The Edenic Prediction (Gen 3:15): Humanity of
Messiah
Genesis 3 records the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. Before casting the man and the woman from the garden of Eden, God gives the woman a promise that includes the first predictive prophecy of Messiah in the Bible. Genesis 3:15 has commonly been called the protoevangelium (“the first gospel”) because it is the first prophecy in the Bible, revealing the promise of a future Redeemer Who will crush the head of Satan.
Genesis 3 records the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. Before casting the man and the woman from the garden of Eden, God gives the woman a promise that includes the first predictive prophecy of Messiah in the Bible. Genesis 3:15 has commonly been called the protoevangelium (“the first gospel”) because it is the first prophecy in the Bible, revealing the promise of a future Redeemer Who will crush the head of Satan.
Genesis 3:15 is the “mother prophecy” that launches the promise of
redemption for fallen humanity through the Messiah Who is the “seed/offspring”
of the woman. The Edenic Prediction establishes the humanity of Messiah, the
promised “seed/offspring” Who becomes the central figure of God’s unfolding
kingdom plan.
Genesis 9 – The Noahic Prediction (Gen 9:25–27): Divinity of
Messiah
Based on the genealogies in Genesis 5, at least 1500 years pass
between creation and the great flood in the days of Noah. With the assumption
that the seven days of creation took place around 6000 BC, some biblical
scholars tentatively propose, and evidence supports, 3800 BC as the estimated
time of the flood.
In the millenniums that follow the entrance of sin into the world
through Adam and Eve, wickedness multiplies exponentially until the whole earth
becomes corrupt in God’s eyes. “God looked on the earth, and behold, it was
corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth” (Gen 6:12).
Genesis 6–9 records God’s execution of judgment on the earth by a flood that
destroys all living things except for Noah, his three sons, Shem, Ham, and
Japheth, their wives, and the animals God preserved on the ark.
When Noah and his household disembark after the flood waters
receded, God blesses them and commands them to “be fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth” (Gen 9:1). Genesis 9 records the sin of Ham, Noah’s son,
against his father, resulting in the blessing of Shem and Japheth, and in the
cursing of Canaan, the son of Ham. Within this prophetic passage of blessing
and cursing, the second prediction of Messiah occurs in Genesis 9:25-27,
predicting God’s dwelling in the tents of Shem.
As Genesis 3:15 establishes the humanity of Messiah, Genesis
9:25-27 establishes the divinity of Messiah. The human and divine converge for
the first time in the advent of Messiah Jesus, the unique God-Man, the Word of
God Who became flesh and made His dwelling among humanity (cf John 1:1-18).
Genesis 12 – The Abrahamic Prediction (Gen 12:1-3): Seed of
Blessing
From among the Shemitic or Semitic people, who are descendants
of Noah’s son Shem with whom God had promised to dwell (Gen 9:27), Yahweh selects
a single man, Abram, from whom Messiah would descend. Yahweh calls Abram to
depart from his native country and to go to a land that Yahweh would show him. Abram
then goes out of Ur with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot to go to the land of
Canaan.
When Yahweh calls Abram to the land of Canaan, He enters into an
everlasting, unconditional covenant that initially included seven promises (Gen
12:2-3): (1) “I will make you a great nation” (2) “I will bless you” (3) “make
your name great” (4) “you shall be a blessing” (5) “I will bless those who
bless you” (6) “the one who curses you I will curse” (7) “in you all the families
of the earth will be blessed.” After Abram’s arrival in the land of Canaan,
Yahweh changes Abram’s name to Abraham, and He covenants an eighth everlasting
promise: (8) “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of
your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I
will be their God” (Gen 17:8).
The Abrahamic Prediction of Messiah occurs in one of the
initial seven promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. Genesis 12:3, “And in you all
the families of the earth will be blessed.” The pronoun “you” is a
singular masculine pronoun that refers to Abraham, representative of his collective
offspring through Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the covenant, who carried the Seed
in whom all families of the earth would be blessed.
The apostle Paul explains, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God
would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham,
saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in You’” (Gal 3:8). The loins of
Abraham carried the human seed of the divine Messiah through Whom salvation comes
to bless all nations.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1.
Who addresses Abram? From where does He tell Abram to go?
From whom does He tell Abram to go? From what house does
He tell Abram to go? To what land does He tell Abram to go?
(12:1)
2.
List seven promises given in the Abrahamic Covenant before
Abram’s arrival in Canaan: (12:2-3)
(1)
(2)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
3.
(C) What eighth promise is
added to the Abrahamic Covenant following Abraham’s arrival in Canaan?
(cf. Gen 17:7-8)
4.
(OB) Who are the two parties in this covenant (contract)? (12:1)
Are any conditions attached to these promises of the Abrahamic Covenant?
(12:2-3) Is Abraham commanded to do anything within the seven promises of the
covenant? What does this reveal about the nature of the Abrahamic Covenant?
Is the Abrahamic Covenant conditional or unconditional? Is the Abrahamic
Covenant an everlasting covenant or temporary covenant? (cf. Gen 17:7-8)
5.
(C) What additional information is provided about Yahweh’s
appearing and covenant with Abraham in Stephen’s final sermon before his
martyrdom? (Acts 7:2-5)
6.
(P) Prophecy: (Abrahamic Prediction – Gen 12:3b)
Who will be blessed in “you”? (12:3b) (D) To whom is the pronoun “you” referring? (Note: In the Hebrew text, “you” is written as a singular masculine pronoun, indicating that the referent of the pronoun is a singular masculine person.) (cf. Notes, p. 2 for further explanation.)
Who will be blessed in “you”? (12:3b) (D) To whom is the pronoun “you” referring? (Note: In the Hebrew text, “you” is written as a singular masculine pronoun, indicating that the referent of the pronoun is a singular masculine person.) (cf. Notes, p. 2 for further explanation.)
7.
(P) Prophecy: (Abrahamic Prediction – Gen 12:3b)
(C) Explain Peter’s use of Gen 12:3b in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 3:25).
(C) Explain Peter’s use of Gen 12:3b in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 3:25).
8.
(P) Prophecy: (Abrahamic Prediction – Gen 12:3b)
(C) Explain Paul’s use of Gen 12:3b in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 3:8).
(C) Explain Paul’s use of Gen 12:3b in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 3:8).
9.
What does Abraham do in response to what the LORD had spoken? How
old is Abraham when he departs from Haran? (12:4) Who/what does Abraham take
with him to Canaan? (12:5)
10. Where does the LORD first appear to Abraham
after he arrives in the land of Canaan? Who is dwelling in the land? (12:6) (C)
Who was the father of Canaan/the Canaanites? Why and how was Canaan cursed?
(cf. Gen 9:20-27)
11. What does the LORD say when He appears to Abraham upon
his arrival in Shechem at the oak of Moreh? What does Abraham build in Shechem
after the LORD’s appearing? (12:7)
12. Where does Abraham pitch his tent after departing from
Shechem? What does he build? Upon Whom does Abraham call? (12:8) Towards what
region does Abraham then journey? (12:9)
13. (C) Why is Abraham offered as an example of
commendable faith in Hebrews 11:8-18?
14. Why does Abraham go down to sojourn in Egypt? (12:10)
Why does Abraham ask Sarah to tell the Egyptians that she is his sister?
(12:11-13)
15. (O) Why do you
think Abraham feared being killed by the Egyptians? What would have happened to
the seed of Messiah if Abraham had died in Egypt?
(A) How is fear causing you to doubt God’s power to fulfill His purpose for you and to bless you with salvation in Messiah?
(A) How is fear causing you to doubt God’s power to fulfill His purpose for you and to bless you with salvation in Messiah?
16. What do the
Egyptians do when they see that Sarah is very beautiful? (12:14-15) How is
Abraham treated by the Egyptians for the sake of Sarah? (12:16)
17. What does the LORD do to Pharaoh and to his
house because of Sarah? (12:17)
What three questions does Pharaoh ask Abraham? What happens to Sarah and Abraham after Pharaoh discovers that Sarah is Abraham’s wife? (12:18-20)
What three questions does Pharaoh ask Abraham? What happens to Sarah and Abraham after Pharaoh discovers that Sarah is Abraham’s wife? (12:18-20)
18.
What do you learn about God
in Genesis 12? What do you learn about Messiah in Gen 12:3b? How could these
truths transform your life?
Write
a prayer response to Gen 12.
BIBLE TEXT (NASB)
Genesis 12
Gen. 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go
forth from your country,
And
from your relatives
And
from your father’s house,
To
the land which I will show you;
2
And I will make you a great
nation,
And
I will bless you,
And
make your name great;
And
so you shall be a blessing;
3
And I will bless those who
bless you,
And
the one who curses you I will curse.
And
in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Gen. 12:4 So Abram
went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was
seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife
and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and
the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of
Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land
as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then
in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will
give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to
him. 8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and
pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he
built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 Abram
journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
Gen. 12:10 Now there
was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the
famine was severe in the land. 11 It came about when he came near to Egypt,
that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful
woman; 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’;
and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 “Please say that you are
my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on
account of you.” 14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw
that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised
her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore he
treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and
male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.
Gen. 12:17 But the
LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s
wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me?
Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 “Why did you say, ‘She is my
sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her
and go.” 20 Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him
away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
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