Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (5) to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
“Lord Jesus, help us realise that You have called, chosen, blessed, and adopted us in You, so that we will be a blessing to others. In Your name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 3:25-26 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ (26) To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Peter and John were connecting the Jews with the covenant of God with their fathers, beginning with Abraham, when God blessed Him and appointed Him to be a blessing to the families of the earth.
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. (2) I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Abraham’s specific mission was to command his children and household that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice. Genesis 18:18-19 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (19) For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
We live in times when we are losing our families. It is a big and primary task for us to bring up our families under the authority of God.
While taking care of his family, Abraham had to learn that his son could not have the first place in his life, but it must always be God. Abraham passed the very severe test of being willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Genesis 22:16-18 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— (17) blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. (18) In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Abraham, in willing to let go of his son, Isaac, demonstrated/manifested the love of God in allowing His Son to go on the cross for our sins. Abraham was prophetical about God’s plan for the salvation of man.
God’s covenant was with Isaac and his generation. Genesis 17:19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
Isaac was raised from the dead in a figurative sense. As he lay on the altar to be sacrificed, with his father, Abraham, ready to strike him with his knife, Isaac’s life was over, but God raised him from the dead. Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) of whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED,” (19) concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. Isaac was prophesying Jesus.
The covenant that God made with Abraham, He reaffirmed to Isaac. Genesis 26:4-5 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; (5) because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
For the covenant of God to be realised, the people of the covenant must obey the voice of God, and keep His charge, statutes and laws.
The covenant of God passed on to Jacob. Genesis 28:13-14 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. (14) Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
The Jews were being reminded of the great heritage that they carried on themselves that they were people of the covenant of God with their fathers. They were blessed to be a blessing to the nations of the world.
Since we have come to God by faith in Jesus, we too are the seed of Abraham and we are adopted into the family of God. It is not enough to rejoice in our status, but in realising that we are blessed, we are to be a blessing to the nations of our world.