Scripture Reading: Genesis 32:24-32.
Memory Verse: “So He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.’” (Genesis 32:27-28)
INTRODUCTION:
Abraham’s descendants through Isaac are known as Israel, a name given to Jacob as he returned from Mesopotamia. At first the name meant, “One who prevailed with God.” Christ defined an Israelite as one without guile, and Revelation 14:5 indicates such are faultless. A true Israelite is an overcomer. But Israel, as a nation, fell far short of the meaning of this name, but members of “spiritual Israel” are overcomers, through Christ (Galatians 3:29).
There were many promises and prophecies that applied to Israel. God called Abraham from his native country to go into a strange land, and when he reached Canaan, God made promises to him that reached far into the future. In Genesis 12:2-3; 13:14-17; 17:1-8, God said, “I will,” over 10 times. Why did He make such unconditional promises? God knew what He was doing, and He promised nothing He could not fulfill. Knowing the end from the beginning, He foreknew what Abraham would do. Through faith Abraham believed God and he was deemed righteous by Jehovah God. (See Genesis 15:6.)
Much later, lacking the faith and obedience of Abraham, the nations of both Israel and Judah (Abraham’s descendants) went into captivity, even after God warned them by all the prophets from Moses to Jeremiah. Moses told Israel that if they were disobedient, they would be scattered to all countries and become “an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword” (Deuteronomy 28:37) among all the nations. Through Isaiah, God said, “‘If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land’” (Isaiah 1:19). Jeremiah told Judah that if they properly observed the Sabbath, Jerusalem would stand forever (see Jeremiah 17:19-27). History shows the Jews were scattered, despised and unwanted in many countries. In the New Testament, both Christ and Paul spoke of Israel’s spiritual blindness, and God’s judgments upon that nation for their stubborn rejection of the Messiah.
LESSON QUESTIONS:
- Define the word “Israel.” Genesis 32:28.
- What unconditional promises were made to Abraham? Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 17:1-8. Eventually, how much was this to include? Romans 4:13; Galatians 3:29.
- Why were these promises made to Abraham unconditionally, while promises are ordinarily conditional to obedience? Genesis 18:19.
- How were all families of the earth to be blessed through Abraham? Genesis 3:15; 22:16-18; Acts 3:25-26; Galatians 3:6-9, 29; Deuteronomy 18:15.
- How may we all become the seed of Abraham, and be blessed by the promise made to him? Galatians 3:29.
- If obedient, how would Israel, as a nation, compare with other nations? Deuteronomy 15:5-6; 28:7-13. If disobedient, then what? Deuteronomy 28:36-44.
- How extensive was the scattering of Israel to be? Amos 9:9.
- How long was Israel to be scattered? Romans 11:25; Luke 21:24; Joel 3:1-2.
- Why were Jeremiah 16:14-15; 23:3, 7-8; Amos 9:14-15 and other companion and related texts, not fulfilled at the end of the 70-years captivity (B.C. 536)?
How important is the message of Israel’s return, and with what end-time development is it associated? Joel 3:1-2