The Promised Seed

 

“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” (Gal 3:16).

When the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, it was not only made with him, but also to his posterity (“and his seed”). The plural “promises” in verse 16 does not mean that God made more than one promise to Abraham but that He made the same promise to him repeatedly, many times, as if to remind Abraham that He has not forgotten what He had said (see Gen 13:15, 15:5, 17:8, 18:18, 22:18).

Paul emphasised that the word “seed” is in the singular, not plural. The question often asked is, “Did not Paul know that the word “seed” may be seen collectively?” The answer is yes. Paul used it in its collective sense in Galatians 3:29. But, here Paul provides the inspired exegesis by stating the fact that the seed promised to Abraham pointed to a single special individual, namely, Jesus Christ (“to thy seed, which is Christ”). In the light of Galatians 3:16 and 29, we see that the word “seed” in Genesis 13:15, 16—“For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered”—is used in the singular sense to mean Christ—the Seed (Gen 13:15), and the plural sense to mean the children of Abraham (Gen 13:16). God made an unconditional promise to Abraham that He would send a Saviour, and that many people would be blessed through Him.

The Promised Seed was first mentioned in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This was a gospel promise. God was the first Evangelist. He promised Adam and his wife a Saviour after they fell into sin. A Saviour will come from “her seed” (not “his seed”) pointing to the virgin birth of Christ. This promised Seed is born to die for his heel shall be bruised, pointing to the crucifixion of Christ.

God revealed later on that the Promised Seed would be through Abraham. God told Abraham, “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee”, and “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen 17:7, 22:18). Although the word “seed” can be used in a collective sense to apply to many, yet over here it points solely and specially to Christ for in God’s mind, it is only through His only begotten Son that the many who have the faith of Abraham can be saved (Gen 15:6, John 8:56). Without the One (Christ the Saviour), there would not be the many (children of Abraham by faith).

More about the Promised Seed is seen in God’s promise to David that his son would ascend to the throne. “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.” (2 Sam 7:12). Although it was Solomon who took his father’s place as king of Israel, yet God when He gave that promise to David was thinking of His beloved Son—the Lord Jesus Christ, who would make His appearance on earth as the Messianic Son of David, and King of the Jews. The Messianic Seed is the One who will sit upon the throne of David and rule over the whole world for a thousand years (Isa 9:7, Acts 2:30, Rev 20:6).

God has made many promises to His people and He has kept and will continue to keep His promises. “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” (2 Cor 1:20). Our God can be fully trusted to keep His Word. God’sWord is pure and every word, syllable and letter is true. We have every confidence that He who has kept His Words pure throughout the ages will keep His saints true until they see Him face to face. Amen. JK

Special Providential Care of God upon His Children

Our sovereign God is a God of providence. He is in control of the whole world, its inhabitants and events. Nothing happens by chance or by accident. God also oversees and takes care of His children in a special way. Someone explained,

“In the frigid waters around Greenland are countless icebergs, some little and some gigantic. If you’d observe them carefully, you’d notice that sometimes the small ice floes move in one direction while their massive counterparts flow in another. The explanation is simple. Surface winds drive the little ones, whereas the huge masses of ice are carried along by deep ocean currents. When we face trials and tragedies, it’s helpful to see our lives as being subject to two forces—surface winds and ocean currents. The winds represent everything changeable, unpredictable, and distressing. But operating simultaneously with these gusts and gales is another force that’s even more powerful. It is the sure movement of God’s wise and sovereign purposes, the deep flow of His unchanging love.”

Here are some accounts of God’s special providential care of His children:

“Here is a correction in understanding the sovereignty of God as told by a writer in ‘Our Daily Bread’: In ‘Our Daily Bread,’ I told how a Christian providentially escaped death. An unexpected delay in New York kept him from catching Flight 191 in Chicago, which crashed with all 254 aboard. That article brought this note from a reader: ‘I just had to let you know about one of God’s great saints who ran to make Flight 191—and made it!’ His name was Edwards E. Elliott, beloved pastor of the Garden Grove Orthodox Presbyterian Church in California. His plane from Pennsylvania was late, and a friend who had accompanied him to Chicago said he last saw him “dashing forward” in the terminal to make his connection. As I read about Pastor Elliott’s fruitful ministry, the question I raised in that June devotional challenged me with new urgency: ‘Was Divine providence operating only in New York and not in Chicago?’ Immediately the words of my correspondent came alive: ‘At the time, Reverend Elliott didn’t know he was indeed running to Heaven. … Mrs. Elliott and her four married children comforted the entire church. Their Christian faith and testimony in sorrow was most extraordinary.’ (Our Daily Bread, June 1980)”

Now a story from World War II which I heard many times in class when I studied Biblical history and theology under the Rev Dr Timothy Tow:

“Newscaster Paul Harvey told a remarkable story of God’s providential care over thousands of allied prisoners during World War II, many of whom were Christians. One of America’s mighty bombers took off from the island of Guam headed for Kokura, Japan, with a deadly cargo. Because clouds covered the target area, the sleek B-29 circled for nearly an hour until its fuel supply reached the danger point. The captain and his crew, frustrated because they were right over the primary target yet not able to fulfill their mission, finally decided they had better go for the secondary target. Changing course, they found that the sky was clear. The command was given, ‘Bombs away!’ and the B-29 headed for its home base. Some time later an officer received some startling information from military intelligence. Just one week before that bombing mission, the Japanese had transferred one of their largest concentrations of captured Americans to the city of Kokura. Upon reading this, the officer exclaimed, ‘Thank God for that protecting cloud! If the city hadn’t been hidden from the bomber, it would have been destroyed and thousands of American boys would have died.’ God’s ways are behind the scenes; but He moves all the scenes which He is behind. We have to learn this, and let Him work. (J N Darby)”

Here is another remarkable story of how God wonderfully provided for His servant—the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon—a train ticket. Even such small things!

“C. H. Spurgeon once had a singular experience. He had been out in the country to preach, and, when traveling back to London, suddenly found that he had lost his railway ticket. A gentleman, the only other occupant of the compartment, noticing that he was fumbling about in his pocket, said, ‘I hope you have not lost anything, sir?’ Spurgeon thanked him, and told him that he had lost his ticket, and that by a remarkable coincidence he had neither watch nor money with him. ‘But,’ added Spurgeon, ‘I am not at all troubled, for I have been on my Master’s business, and I am quite sure all will be well. I have had so many interpositions of divine Providence, in small matters as well as great ones that I feel as if, whatever happens to me, I am bound to fall on my feet.’ The gentleman seemed interested, and said that no doubt all would be right. When the ticket collector came to the compartment, he seemingly greeted Spurgeon’s companion with much respect, who simply said to him, ‘All right, William,’ whereupon the ticket collector again greeted him and left. After he had gone, Spurgeon said to the gentleman, ‘It is very strange that the collector did not ask for my ticket.’ ‘No, Mr Spurgeon, he replied, addressing him by name for the first time, ‘it is only another illustration of what you told me about the Providence of God watching over you, even in small matters; I am the general manager of the line, and it was no doubt divinely arranged that I should be your companion just when I could be of service to you.’”