SECOND QUARTER 2022
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #8
MAY 21, 2022
“THE PROMISE” #

 

As we begin our study this week, our focus continues to be on Abraham, and his response to God’s original promise to him as outlined in Genesis 12, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”

We have seen in recent lessons, how through his journey with God after receiving this promise from God, that Abram’s faith sometimes fell short while at other times he went forward on faith and trusted in the Lord. Through it all, God was always faithful!

And, so it is with God’s promises both to Abraham and to us today! When God speaks, it is so. In Genesis 22:17-18, we see God’s promise reiterated:

“That in blessing, I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; --- and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;”

As Acts 13:23 tells us, “Of this man’s seed hath God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.”

Let us now take a look at God’s promise to Abraham as he prepared to go forward by faith with the sacrifice of Isaac. E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones have some valuable insights to share with us in the following excerpts from their articles on this topic.

1. E. J. Waggoner (“Waggoner on Romans”)

The Surety of the Promise, Feb. 27, 1896

God has promised to every man who believes Him nothing less than the freedom of the world. This is not an arbitrary thing. God has not said that if we will believe certain statements and dogmas, He will in return give us an everlasting inheritance. The inheritance is one of righteousness; and since faith means the reception of the life of Christ into the heart, together with God’s righteousness, it is evident that there is no other way in which the inheritance can be received….

 

“Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations), before Him Whom he believed, even God, Who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb; he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded, that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore, it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Romans 4:16-25. WOR 77.3

 

Sure to All. - Since the inheritance is through the righteousness of faith, it is equally sure to all the seed, and equally within the reach of all. Faith gives all an equal chance, because faith is just as easy for one person as for another. God has dealt to every man a measure of faith, and to all the same measure, for the measure of grace is the measure of faith, and “unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7. Christ is given without reserve to every man. Hebrews 2:9. Therefore, as the same measure of faith and grace is given to all men, all have an equal opportunity to gain the inheritance. WOR 79.13

 

Jesus Is the Surety. - Faith makes the promise sure to all the seed, because it has Christ alone for its object, and He is the surety of the promises of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20. We read also of the oath of God, by which Jesus was made high priest, that “by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament,” or covenant. Hebrews 7:22. Now Jesus was not given for a certain class, but for all without distinction. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Jesus by the grace of God tasted death for every man. Hebrews 2:9. He says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. Christ dwells in the heart by faith. Ephesians 3:17. Therefore, since Christ is the surety of the promise, it must be sure to everyone who believes. WOR 79.14

 

The Oath of God. - It may seem to some a little far-fetched to say that the oath by which Jesus was made priest is the surety of the promise to Abraham. But a little consideration will enable any one to see that it can be no other way. In the sixth chapter of Hebrews, we read: “When God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee.... God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” WOR 80.1 …

 

For Our Sakes. - Why did God confirm His promise to Abraham by an oath? That we might have a strong consolation. It was not for Abraham’s sake, because Abraham believed fully without the oath. His faith was shown to be perfect before the oath was given. It was altogether for our sakes. When does that oath give us strong consolation? When we flee for refuge to Christ as priest in the most holy place. Within the veil He ministers as high priest; and it is the oath of God that gives us courage to believe that His priesthood will save us. Then our consolation comes from Christ’s priesthood, and so from the oath which made Him priest. Therefore, the oath of God to Abraham was identical with the oath that made Christ high priest. This shows most plainly that the promise of God to Abraham is as wide as the gospel of Christ. And so, our text, speaking of the righteousness that was imputed to Abraham, says, “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.” WOR 80.2…

 

Quickening the Dead. - It is by the power of God’s word which can speak of those things that be not as though they were and have it true, that the dead are raised. His word makes them live. It was Abraham’s faith in the resurrection of the dead that made him the father of many nations. God’s oath to Abraham was on the occasion of his offering Isaac. Genesis 22:15-18. And “by faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called; accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” Hebrews 11:17-19. WOR 80.4

 

Righteousness and Resurrection. - The righteousness which was imputed to Abraham will be imputed to us also if we believe on Him Who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. Therefore it follows that righteousness was imputed to Abraham, because of his faith in the resurrection of the dead, which comes only through Jesus. Acts 4:2…

 

The power by which a man is made righteous is the power of the resurrection. See Philippians 3:9-11. This power of the resurrection, which works righteousness in a man, is the surety of the final resurrection to immortality at the last day by which he enters upon his inheritance. WOR 81.1…

 

Nothing is impossible with God, and there are no difficulties for Him. Whenever a person is inclined to doubt the possibility of his salvation, let him stop and consider that God made the world by His word, and that He raises the dead, and that it is by that same power that God will save him if he is willing. To doubt God’s promise to deliver us from all evil is to doubt the fact that He created all things by His word, and that He is able to raise the dead. WOR 81.2

 

2. A. T. Jones ARSH January 31, 1899

WHEN Abraham and Sarah had cleared themselves of all the scheme of unbelief which had produced Ishmael, and had stood upon faith alone, dependence on the word of God alone, Isaac, the true child of the promise, was born. ARSH January 31, 1899, p. 72.1

 

In harkening to the voice of Sarai (Genesis 16:1), Abram had swerved from the line of strict integrity to the word of God, from the strictness of true faith; and now that he had returned to the word only, to true faith, he must be tested before it could be certainly said of him that his faith was counted for righteousness. ARSH January 31, 1899, p. 72.2

 

He had trusted the naked word of God as against Ishmael, and had obtained Isaac, the true child of the promise of God. And now, having obtained Isaac, the question must be determined whether he would trust the naked word of God as against even Isaac himself. Abraham had received Isaac from God, by trusting the word of God only. Isaac alone was the seed promised by the word of the Lord. After Isaac was born, God had confirmed the word by declaring, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” Genesis 21:12. And now came the word of God, take thy son, thy only son Isaac, and offer him for a burnt-offering! ARSH January 31, 1899, p. 72.5

 

And Abraham did it, hoping against hope. God had said: Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven; In Isaac shall thy seed be called; Offering Isaac for a burnt-offering. Abraham did not insist that God should “harmonize these passages.” It was all-sufficient for him to know that the statements were all the word of God. Knowing this, he would trust that word, would follow that word, and would let the Lord “harmonize these passages,” or “explain these texts,” if any such thing were needed. ARSH January 31, 1899, p. 72.7

 

Said Abraham: God has said, Offer Isaac for a burnt-offering. That I will do. God has said, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called;” and, thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude. I interfered once in the promise, and hindered it till I repudiated all that I had done, and came back to the word only. Then, by a miracle, God gave me Isaac, the promised seed. Now He says, Offer Isaac, the promised seed, for a burnt-offering. I will do it: by a miracle God gave him at the first; and by a miracle God can restore him. Yet when I shall have offered him for a burnt-offering, he will be dead; and the only miracle that can then restore him is a miracle that will bring him back from the dead. But God is able to do even that, and He will do it; for His word is spoken, Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. And even the bringing back of Isaac from the dead will be to God no more than He has already done; for, as to offspring, both my body and Sarah’s were as good as dead, and yet God brought forth Isaac from us. He can raise Isaac from the dead, and He will. Bless the Lord! ARSH January 31, 1899, p. 72.8 ….

 

3. E. G. White

When sin has deadened the moral perceptions, the wrong-doer does not discern the defects of his character nor realize the enormity of the evil he has committed; and unless he yields to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit he remains in partial blindness to his sin. His confessions are not sincere and in earnest. 5T 641.1

 

The humble and broken heart, subdued by genuine repentance, will appreciate something of the love of God and the cost of Calvary; and as a son confesses to a loving father, so will the truly penitent bring all his sins before God. 5T 641.3

 

It was to impress Abraham's mind with the reality of the gospel, as well as to test his faith, that God commanded him to slay his son. The agony which he endured during the dark days of that fearful trial was permitted that he might understand from his own experience something of the greatness of the sacrifice made by the infinite God for man's redemption. No other test could have caused Abraham such torture of soul as did the offering of his son. God gave His Son to a death of agony and shame. The angels who witnessed the humiliation and soul anguish of the Son of God were not permitted to interpose, as in the case of Isaac. There was no voice to cry, “It is enough.” To save the fallen race, the King of glory yielded up His life. What stronger proof can be given of the infinite compassion and love of God? PP 154.2

 

The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden, when after the Fall there was given a divine promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. To all men this covenant offered pardon and the assisting grace of God for future obedience through faith in Christ. It also promised them eternal life on condition of fidelity to God's law. Thus, the patriarchs received the hope of salvation. PP 370.2

 

This same covenant was renewed to Abraham in the promise, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 22:18. This promise pointed to Christ. So, Abraham understood it (see Galatians 3:8, 16), and he trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. It was this faith that was accounted unto him for righteousness. PP370.3

 

Isaac was a figure of the Son of God, Who was offered a sacrifice for the sins of the world. God would impress upon Abraham the gospel of salvation to man. In order to do this, and make the truth a reality to him as well as to test his faith, He required him to slay his darling Isaac. All the sorrow and agony that Abraham endured through that dark and fearful trial were for the purpose of deeply impressing upon his understanding the plan of redemption for fallen man. He was made to understand in his own experience how unutterable was the self-denial of the infinite God in giving His own Son to die to rescue man from utter ruin. To Abraham no mental torture could be equal to that which he endured in obeying the divine command to sacrifice his son. 3T 369.1

 

The value of a soul, who can estimate? Would you know it’s worth, go to Gethsemane, and there watch with Christ through those hours of anguish, when He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Look upon the Saviour uplifted on the cross. Hear that despairing cry, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34. Look upon the wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet. Remember that Christ risked all. For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled. At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, you may estimate the value of a soul. COL 196.4

 

As we contemplate this last quote and realize that Christ actually died the second death, eternal separation from God – the source of life, for my sins and yours too, we begin to realize more the depth of that sacrifice.

Also, knowing that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always been one, the agony of that eternal separation from life was felt equally by each them, not because we deserve it, but because God has given us His promise.

 

Blessings,

~John Campbell