Page 31 - Biblical Theology Textbook - masters

Study Section 5: God Choses a People

5.1 Connect

Our school has a trophy case. When we win a competition, they give us a trophy. We take the
trophy back to the school and put it in a special cabinet called a trophy case. It has a light in it
and has a glass front. That way, people going by the case can see all the awards that our
student have earned. It’s a way we can “show off” the accomplishments of our students.

In our journey through history, we come to a time when God decides to choose a certain man to be a
special “trophy” among the nations. His trophy was that he was a man of faith and obeyed God. God
decided to make a great nation from the seed of Abraham. He wanted the nations to see a people who
would honor Him. He would make that nation great in response to their obedience. But they rather
chose to dishonor God. Seems like God made a mistake, doesn’t it? But not really, because everything
was a part of His plan of redemption. It is unfolding, so let’s learn more about it…

5.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain why God chose Abraham and made a covenant with him.

2. The student should be able to describe the importance of the Passover Lamb in God’s
progressive revelation of redemption.

5.3 A Turning Point – God Selects a People.

Approximately 1500 years has gone by and God again began to reveal His plan of redemption.
Not because of any merit, Abraham was chosen by God to become the father of a new nation.
In a series of unconditional covenants, God promised that Abraham’s seed would become a
blessing to the earth.

Genesis 12:2-3 says, “ And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your
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name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I
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will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

How would the nations be blessed through Abraham’s seed? Again, God was trying to explain that a
special redeemer would come to earth who would come from the seed of Abraham.

God also promised to give Abraham’s seed a physical piece of land. Genesis 12:7 says, Then
the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” It was to be in this land
that the redeemer would come to minister and pay the ransom price of redemption.

God promised that the nations would be exceedingly large, as the stars of the heavens. Israel sojourned
into a foreign land, Egypt, for 400 years and at this place, God fulfilled his promise. They multiplied to
over 2 million people. And finally, they received that land in Joshua’s day (Joshua 21:43-45).

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