"To Abraham and His Seed" 16   This is an edited version of the lecture titled, "To Abraham and His Seed," which was preached on June 21nd, 2008.   And being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."    Romans 4:21-22   The people of Israel, living for the promised landEarlier, we looked at Genesis chapters 23 and 24. We need to remember that Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah for the full price after Sarah died. Abraham's purchase of the land is repeated several times in the Bible. The Bible mentions that the field was purchased by Abraham from the people of Heth when it records that Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the cave of Machpelah, (see Genesis 25:7-10), and before his death Jacob also asked to be buried in the cave of Machpelah, clearly stating that it was the cave "which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place" (see Genesis 49:29-30).The people of Israel have historically had a strong attachment to this land. This was the land to which the Israelites returned when they were ordered by God to depart from Egypt and return to Canaan, and when they were released after the Babylonian captivity and permitted to go home. They had great pride in the land where their ancestors lay buried and a price had been paid. The certain return of the people of Israel to this land is foretold in the Bible. Jacob bought the birthright of the firstborn from his brother Esau with a bowl of lentil stew, and fled in fear of his brother even though he had been blessed by his father. Jacob goes to Mesopotamia where his mother had been born and raised, and takes Leah and Rachel, the daughters of his uncle, as wives. Jacob loved Rachel, but Leah was used to announce and carry out God's plan regardless of the personal feelings of Jacob. Laban gave Leah to Jacob to spend the first night as husband and wife even though it had been Rachel that was promised to Jacob. This is a story with a deep significance. It helps us greatly in understanding the "Church" and the "Jews". Sons are born between Jacob and Leah, one of whom is Judah. Judah is the ancestor of Jesus Christ, a fact that is clearly recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. After the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt, God tells them to select a leader from each tribe to reconnoiter Canaan before entering the promised land. When all the men who went to spy on Canaan were pessimistic, only Joshua and Caleb of the tribe of Judah remained committed to conquering the land of Canaan that had been promised to them by God. Caleb's part in the eventual taking of Canaan was significant, and Mamre, that is, the land of Hebron in which is located the cave of Machpelah, was given. This is also the land that the tribe of Judah settled after the Jews returned to Israel after they were released from their captivity in Babylon. The people of Israel continued to come back to this land like birds returning home each winter. In the cave of Machpelah are buried Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah. Rachel was left out. No matter where they had been scattered, the people of Israel came back to the land where their ancestors were buried, the land that was promised to Abraham by God. The land was the center and the eventual destination of their entire history.   The will of God hidden in the history of a familySo far we have examined many things through the events experienced by the family of Abraham. Let's now look at Sarah again. Sarah followed Abraham into the land of Canaan. Abraham believed the promise that he received from God, and God counted this for righteousness (see Genesis 15). God then gave a second covenant, along with which he gave the circumcision as its sign. Abram's name was changed to Abraham, and Sarai too received a new name Sarah (see Genesis 17). Through these stories we examined the Church and the Jewish people as they appear in history.We also studied about a woman named Hagar. Hagar was a maid of Sarah who was brought back when Abraham returned from Egypt. His wife Sarah was barren and she gave Hagar to Abraham to have a child, and thus was born Ishmael. Galatians says that "This Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is" (see Galatians 4:25). The Bible says that this woman who was mixed into the family of Abraham and gave birth to Ishmael is like Mount Sinai where the law was given. This is showing that Hagar is like the people of Israel who stumbled into their own snare. We also studied about Ishmael born of Hagar. He is the brother of Isaac. God said to Abraham, "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, ... And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (see Genesis 12:2-3). This was the promise of a nation, that is, the promise of Israel. Ishmael was born during the process in which this covenant was given to Abraham's family and was being fulfilled. Ishmael, however, who was born through the woman who was called to be like Mount Sinai and Jerusalem which is now, was not the son promised by God. Isaac was the son who was promised by God. Ishmael was born before this promise was fulfilled. There is this difference between the two sons. We can know through the Bible that when God created man and woman, he had a profound plan for the creation of the Church which was prepared even before creation. However, this was hidden as a secret to the people of Israel. The history of the Church that was planned before creation followed the history of the people of Israel which appeared first in the chronology of human events. This corresponds precisely to the family of Abraham, whose son of promise was Isaac but whose first son was Ishmael born through Hagar, who was then followed by Isaac. These events of a single family match exactly with the great journey of the Bible that unfolds after Genesis. That is why we can understand that the word of God is living and that it continues to work and march forward if we carefully study the history of the Jewish people. Now let's think about Isaac. I feel something special when I read Genesis chapter 24, which shows Isaac meeting Rebecca after he meditated watching the sunset. Here was a woman who he could love and who could make him forget the sorrow of his mother's death. When I read these passages, the words of the hymn "heaven is my fatherland, Heaven is my home" (Hymn 290) come to mind, and come to miss the eternal home. For Isaac and Rebecca, this was a moment when a man meets a woman, but we can see the will of God by reading about their lives as recorded in the Bible. Did Rebecca and Isaac know this? How should we ourselves read these passages? These are some of the thoughts that come to me when I read the book of Genesis. I try not to have my emotions get the best of me when I read the Bible. I don't try to hide my emotions, nor do I also try to force myself to feel something when I make a discovery or a realization. I read the Bible like I would eat food, something that benefits me without my conscious awareness. However, my heart flutters like that of a teenager whenever I read Genesis chapter 24. I've heard that where Isaac lived, the sunset is especially vivid. Reading these passages makes me think; "How did Isaac feel? What did the sunset look like? How did Rebecca feel when she saw her husband-to-be for the first time? How will each of us feel when we stand before Jesus who loves us?"The beginning part of Genesis says that "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). Many people in this world strive to achieve beauty. Artists paint, musicians compose, designers design, writers write and sculptors sculpt in order to express this beauty. However, the Bible announces that "The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing" (see Ecclesiastes 1:8). Even the best of things become dull and uninteresting after a while. Everything in the world is like this. But what is the beauty that the Bible talks about? The Bible records the building of the tabernacle and the temple, the glory of Solomon and the image of the new Jerusalem. We can see that these are things that defy the confines of the very definition of beauty. However, there are expressions of beauty that transcend all of these. We can get a glimpse of this when we read Song of Songs. The Bible expressed beauty through the voice of Adam when it said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23). This is the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church that will be united with Him into a single body. One of the central methods through with the history planned by God is carried out is the relationship between man and woman as shown in Genesis chapters one, two and three, when the Church becomes one with Christ. We can only imagine the beauty of this event. However, it will be realized someday and will be a great event which many people will be part of. We now run towards it. It is because I know this that my heart is filled with emotion when I read Genesis chapter 24.   Rebecca who was led to IsaacAbraham called the old servant who had been in charge of his entire household. This servant was not the one who would receive Abraham'

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