Is it true that people in the Genesis and Exodus are only given promises for future blessings?
Upvote:3
God gave lots of short term promises. Here are just a few from the first 20 chapters of Genesis.
- Genesis 7:4: God promises to Noah to send the rains in seven days time
- Genesis 15:13: a shortish term promise: God says that Abraham's descendants will be enslaved in Egypt in 400 year's time before being freed
- Genesis 18:10: that Sarah would give birth to a son in one year
And God gave some long term promises:
- Genesis 3:15: the seed of the serpent will strike the seed of the woman, but the seed of the woman will crush its head
- Genesis 9:11: that God will never flood the earth again
- Genesis 12:1-3: that Abraham would be blessed, that his descendants would become a great nation and all the nations on earth would be blessed through him
- Genesis 13:15: God promises to give Abraham's descendants the land of Canaan
Maybe you have had the impression that God made no short term promises because Christians often focus on the long term promises. But I think that is natural. Some promises just take time, like the promise to term Abraham into a large nation. Other promises were waiting until Jesus to be fulfilled.
But more than that, God's goal was not to serve his creations, but to inspire them to trust him. God wants to be known and loved as a truthworthy God who does everything he promises to do, and that takes all sorts of promises. Here is what Hebrews 11, the 'Heroes of faith' chapter says:
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:13-16, 39-40, NIV)
More post
- 📝 What are the requirements for establishing an Eastern Orthodox church or mission?
- 📝 How are the teachings in the Book of James consistent with Salvation by Grace alone?
- 📝 What is the purpose of marriage in light of 1 Cor 7?
- 📝 Looking for a study
- 📝 Are intentional sins somehow "worse?"
- 📝 Where can I find Patristic Commentary on the Golden Calf incident?
- 📝 What evidence is there to show that John Wesley and John Calvin did not believe that Jesus is Michael?
- 📝 Why do churches have steeples?
- 📝 What is the purpose and basis for the special garments issued to temple-going Mormons?
- 📝 Prayer of Manneseh, not in the protestant bible?
- 📝 How do soul sleep adherents explain 1 Peter 3:18-20?
- 📝 How could I bring up security concerns at the church that I attend?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholicism, what does "proceeds' mean in the Nicene Creed?
- 📝 How do Catholics justify confessing to a priest?
- 📝 To what degree does the Church of England consider the Genesis creation account to be metaphoric?
- 📝 According to Reformed Covenant theology, how were the people of Israel "purchased" per Exodus 15:16?
- 📝 Non-Christian scholars who believe in the attributed authorship of the Gospels
- 📝 Please help identify this icon of a young man holding a small cross
- 📝 What is the source of the story about the melted gold in the destroyed temple in 70 AD?
- 📝 Martin Luther's take on Roman Catholic clergy individuals living (immediately) before him
- 📝 Why do some Pentecostal preachers claim that Lucifer was a worship leader?
- 📝 Do a significant number of Biblical scholars presently support inerrancy?
- 📝 How is the New Covenant consistent with Deuteronomy 4:2?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholicism, are humans the only beings that can be tempted?
- 📝 What is the "Leviathan" mentioned in Job?
- 📝 How do Sola Scriptura defenders have a list of "scripture" since the list isn't mentioned in scripture?
- 📝 Why Does Matthew not give Jesus Christ's genealogy from Adam?
- 📝 Are there evil acts which are not sins?
- 📝 In what manner did Christian baptism differ from ritual washing as part of Jewish Teshuva (repentance.)
- 📝 How does Reformed Theology reconcile Jesus' meaningful temptation and impeccability?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is it true that people in the Genesis and Exodus are only given promises for future blessings?
- 📝 What explanations are given for the apparent exaggeration of the number of Israelites in the Exodus account?
- 📝 Are there any scholars or doctrinal schools that address the conspicuous dearth of needy people in Jesus' sayings and stories?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief held by Jehovah's Witnesses that Jehovah and Jesus Christ are separate entities?
- 📝 Do people of different denominations think that the others are going to go to hell for holding false views?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have a contingency plan for the case that the pope and all cardinals are dead?
- 📝 What is the basis for the position that only Paul's writings are applicable to the church today?
- 📝 What manuscripts did people use to create the NIV and KJV? Are the manuscripts used to fashion the NIV older than those used for the KJV?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying that the Antichrist, man of lawlessness, and the beast of Revelation 13 are all the same?
- 📝 Do Lutherans believe that the sacraments are necessary for salvation (similar to Catholics), and if so, how do they reconcile this with Sola Fide?
- 📝 What arguments from scripture are given by Baptists for the belief that one third of the angels were banished from heaven with Satan?
- 📝 Who are the origin of Hebrew people and the land ? Genesis 40:15
- 📝 Is there any evidence that in the middle ages (France and maybe Spain), there was a wafer/bread given to the priests as a gift for the priest?
- 📝 Are there any Christian groups or denominations that make a distinction between the gift of healing and just praying for the sick to get healed?
- 📝 Are Jesus and Lazarus the only people raised from the dead?
- 📝 What is the Biblical evidence that there are ONLY three persons in the "Trinity"?
- 📝 Are there Old Testament Scriptures that mention salvation for the Gentiles?
- 📝 Are there any secular historical references to the natural phenomena that occurred at the crucifixion and resurrection?
- 📝 What is the basis for the claim that the entire New Testament can be reconstructed apart from original and copied manuscripts?
- 📝 Is the English translation of "Book of Mormon" ever revised or updated, and if so, on what basis given that the golden plates have disappeared?
- 📝 What is the nature of the theory for Pope Joan and the evidence that substantiates it?
- 📝 Are there any Christian denominations that don't believe Jesus is the only way to salvation?
- 📝 What is the basis for the idea that the Song of Solomon is about the relationship between God and the church?
- 📝 In the NPP, if Paul's "works of the law" are only circumcision and diet, how is Galatians 3:10 interpreted?
- 📝 Why are the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary such a big deal that all Catholics must believe in them?
- 📝 How is the belief that Christians are both adopted and begotten sons of God reconciled?
- 📝 What is the protestant apologetic for James' explicit statement that we are justified by works?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit are of the same nature but different personas?
- 📝 Is there a name for the belief that some individuals would always freely reject salvation no matter the world in which they are created?
- 📝 What are the arguments for the Exodus occuring in 1440BC or 1290BC?