The Kingdom Study Lesson 3 : From Abraham to the Kings
In the previous lesson we saw how that both Adam and Noah had the Kingdom of Heaven and both lost it. In Genesis chapter 11 we see that God comes down and confuses the languages and scatters the people aboard. That brings us to where we will start in this lesson with God dealing with Abraham.
In Genesis chapter 12 God calls out Abraham to start a nation of people that would be his people. Abraham gets the kingdom of Heaven (Romans 4:13) but it is not given to him as it was given to Adam and Noah. This time God does something different with it and promises it to his seed after him. Note that in Genesis 12:1-9 ; Genesis 15:18-21 ; and Genesis 17:1-8, 19-21 Abraham’s seed is promised the land. It is promised unto his seed unconditionally, that is they cannot lose it as Adam and Noah lost it. This is very important as we will see later in the lesson but some may say that this is not fair or does not make since. What we have to remember is that eventually this seed is the Lord Jesus Christ and he will be sinless and will one day reign as KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS from Jerusalem over this kingdom of Heaven.
Which seed of Abraham gets the Kingdom?
If the kingdom of Heaven is promised unto Abraham’s seed unconditionally then the next most logical question becomes which one of his sons gets the promise of the land, remember Abraham had Ishmael by Hagar and Isaac with Sarah. In Genesis 17:9 and Genesis 22:16-17 we see that the promise goes through Isaac and not Ishmael.
After that Isaac has twins, Esau and Jacob. So the question becomes which one of these becomes the seed that gets the promise. In Genesis 27:29 we see that the promise goes to Jacob and not to Esau. These two facts are very important to distinguish because even today people are still fighting about is the rightful owner of that land. There are the many groups that say their father is Abraham and they come from Ishmael and Esau. While it is true that they are descendants of Abraham they do not have the promise to inherit that land. The land goes to the descendant of Jacob and which are the 12 tribes of Israel.
The 12 Tribes of Israel
We know that Jacob has 12 boys and one girl with Leah and Rachel and their handmaidens. From these 12 boys come the twelve tribes of Israel. Now these descendants of Jacob have the promise to inherit the land, but God gives a prophetic statement concerning which tribe will be connected the true king of Israel the Lord Jesus Christ. In Genesis 49:8-9 we see that the tribe of Judah is said to not have the scepter depart from them. A scepter is the rod or staff that a king holds when he is on the throne. This prophesy is directly speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and this is why he is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in Revelation 5:5. Therefore we see Judah connected with this king. This will be important in the next lesson because Israel will go against the will of God and will seek to have a king. God will give them Saul but as you will see he is from the wrong tribe.
Israel as a Nation
At the beginning of the book of Exodus Jacobs’s descendants have become slaves in Egypt. And God calls Moses to deliver them out of Egypt. After God delivers the descendants of Jacob from Israel Moses becomes their leader and they become the nation of Israel at this time. As their leader Moses is called a king (Deuteronomy 33:5) and the place where he is leading them is the Promised Land. Therefore just as Satan the adversary has done with everyone else who has possession of the kingdom that he lost, he attacks Israel as a nation shortly after leaving Egypt. While Moses is on the mountain with God Israel worships the golden calf that they had Aaron make and God tells Moses that he is going to destroy the children of Israel and start over with him. Moses intercedes and God spares them.
After many trials and tribulations and wandering in the wilderness for 40 years the children of Israel make it into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua. Even though the kingdom of Heaven is given to the seed of Abraham unconditionally the children of Israel as a nation can lose it if they do not do what God tells them to do in the land (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). The seed of Abraham will still get the land and but Israel as a nation can lose it.
Once in the land under the prophet Samuel Israel rejects God as being their king and wants a king just like all the other nations have around them (1 Samuel 8:1-22). This is very important in this study because this is where Israel as a nation rejects God the Father as reigning over them (1 Samuel 8:7).
This lesson is important for us today (2011) because it sheds light on the world that we live in. There has been a constant battle for many years as to who has a right to the land called Israel. The conflict is not just a worldly dispute over land it is a spiritual dispute over the promise going to the seed. Now Satan also will do everything in his power to stop Israel from having it because it is promised to their seed and they will eventually get the land in full when Jesus Christ returns. But we have to remember that Satan was once in possession of this Kingdom and he wants it back he will get it for a short time during the tribulation but he will lose it at the 2nd coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore it is easy to see why for hundreds of years Israel has been so hated and attacked on every side because Satan as the God of this world is against them and is going to do everything in his power to destroy God’s chosen people. But in the end we see that Israel will survive and be the lead nation in the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ here on this earth which is the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Kingdom Study Lesson 3
From Abraham to the Kings : Handout
1) When Abraham gets the Kingdom of Heaven what is it connected with? Give a reference.
2) What title is given to Abraham in the New Testament connects Abraham with the Kingdom of Heaven?
3) What is different about how Abraham gets the Kingdom of Heaven from when Adam and Noah got it?
4) Who gets the Kingdom of Heaven after Abraham? Give references.
1) ___________________ (Ref : )
2) ___________________ (Ref : )
5) Why is this so important?
6) Which tribe of Israel is connected with the Kingdom of Heaven?
7) When Israel as a nation gets the Kingdom of Heaven what is it conditioned upon?
8) What happens after the nation of Israel is in the land and Samuel is prophet that is important concerning the Kingdom of Heaven?