We're going to continue with National Church Establishments, dealing with Christ and the nations, part two. We're going to talk about Christ as greater than Abraham. The question comes up in John 8, verses 53 and then 56 to 58. The Jews ask, Jesus, art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead, whom makest thou thyself? Jesus responds by saying, Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. I want to talk about Abraham now. as not only as a type of Christ but how Christ being a greater than Abraham has bearing on this issue of church establishment. So if you remember a few weeks ago I talked about how in Abraham first God establishes a church and that church was established in order to become a nation. We want to keep that in mind as we talk about these characteristics that we see in Abraham. The question we want to have before us then is how does the New Testament teaching that Christ is one greater than Abraham reflect the national character of his work? So there are going to be a number of points of comparison and contrast. There are points of similarity and points of dissimilarity. But if we understand who Christ is in relation to Abraham, and if we understand that Abraham ultimately was called out of Ur of the Chaldees first to be a separate people, that is a church unto God, and then they were from that point to become a nation, and through that, be a blessing to all nations, we should see then not only how Christ is completing this idea, but in fact is fulfilling it in a way that Abraham himself couldn't have even begun to anticipate. And so there is a rhetorical answer in fact, that is given. Christ never really says, yes, I'm greater than Abraham. But what he does say is, well, what do you think? After all, Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And by the way, before Abraham was, I am. those answers that he gives throw the Jews into a rage. The reason is because he was not only asserting that he was greater than Abraham in giving those answers, but he also makes an assertion of his divinity. So when we consider this question then, we need to look at the national, not merely the individual character, Christ's work, which is set forth in consideration of his work as one greater than Abraham. We're going to have to examine points of similarity and contrast. The first thing we want to look at is this. Abram is called out of his country and from his father's house to become a great nation and bring blessing to many people. Look at Genesis 12, one through three. Genesis 12 verses 1 through 3. Now the Lord hath said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Abraham, or Abram at the time, is called out of Ur of the Chaldees. He's called out of a situation where God, if you remember, and again we talked about this a few weeks ago, God had just written off the 70 nations. They had tried to build the Tower of Babel. And God goes down and confuses them and scatters them across the face of the earth and essentially says, I'm done with you. I'm going to make a nation that will worship me. It's referred to in Deuteronomy 32, 8. God calls Abraham then in Genesis 12, calls him out of his father's house and calls him to become a great nation and to bless a lot of people. Now, in that we see Christ himself left his father's house, that is to say, he left heaven. He came down, came into this world to bring blessing to many, to become a great nation even. Look at this, 1 Timothy 1.15 and John 3.17. 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, Why did God send Abram into the world that is out of his own country and into the world, the wilderness, so that the world would be saved? And that's exactly what we see in Christ. Christ is a greater than Abraham though because he is going into the world with the fullness of the blessing and power as the eternal son of God. He's not simply the son of God by adoption, but he is the son of God by eternal generation. And so he, as I mentioned, he's sent into the world to become a great nation. Look at 1 Peter 2.9. 1 Peter 2.9. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, God calls a people, through Christ, to become a holy nation. In other words, Christ is standing at the head of a holy nation, just like Abraham. Is there a contrast? Yes. There is a contrast, but the contrast really is in points of dissimilarity. In this point, they share a common goal, although Christ is the only one, as I've said, who has the power to fulfill. And that's precisely what, as we go along, we're going to see. This is precisely what makes him greater than Abraham, is that he can fulfill this. Abraham is carrying the promise forward, but Christ is arising to fulfill that promise. Now that brings us to our second point, that Abraham is called to be the father of a new generation or a new creation. He has written off the rest of the world, at least for the time. Abram is going to be the father of a new creation of believers who, by faith in the promise and covenant of God, are brought in to the kingdom. Look at Genesis 11, verses 8, 9, and also Genesis 13, 16. Genesis 11. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build a city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth. And thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 13 verse 16. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. And that's what I was just pointing up. What happens? What's going on with Abram? He is called to be the father of a new creation. God is cast off, scattered, the other nations. Abram is going to be that starting point of a new nation. Christ is in fact called to be the father of a new generation or new creation. of believers by faith in the promise and covenant of God as well. Look at 2 Corinthians 5 verses 17-19. 2 Corinthians 5 verses 17-19. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, while old all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. What is God doing in Christ? He's reconciling the world unto himself. What was he doing in Abraham? He was reconciling the world unto himself. He concluded the 70 nations in unbelief in order that he might have mercy upon Abraham, and in having mercy upon Abraham, to have mercy upon all of those nations. He's reconciling the world to himself through Abraham, through the faith of Abraham. That's what he's doing in Christ. The scope, again, is not simply aimed at individuals. It is national in import. It is international. It's encompassing the entire world. All right, third, Abram, which means honored father, Avram, has his name changed to Avraham. which is the father of many nations. Look at Genesis 17 verse 5. Genesis 17 verse 5. God says to Abraham, look, I'm changing your name and in giving you this name, you will become the father of many nations. And those who share his faith are in fact called the children of Abraham. Look at John 8, 39. John 8, verse 39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, if you are Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. If you're Abraham's children, you do the works of Abraham. What are the works of Abraham? What's he doing? He's being sent to reconcile the world to God. is being sent to subdue nations. We're gonna see that. We're gonna see how he interprets, or I should say misinterprets that a little bit in a few minutes. But he was painfully aware of what his mission was to entail. He knew. Christ too, we're told, is given a name by God, at which every knee shall bow. Look at Philippians 2, 9-11. Philippians 2. Verses 9-11. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Christ is given a name as well. A name that places him at the head and makes him, in essence, the father of many nations as well. And a lot more, too, by the way. But all things in earth will be brought to subjection. All things. And that has to include nations. It's not simply aimed at individuals. It would have been easy to express it in terms of individuals, It's talking about things. We're talking about institutions. We're talking about churches and nations. We're talking about societies. We're talking about economies. We're talking about those things ordained by men for their common comforts in life. Everything will be brought to bow. Everything will submit. But among those things, one of them has to be nations. And we're told, in fact, that those who share in his faith are accounted his children. Look at John 1, verses 12 and 13. John 1, verses 12 and 13. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So he's given those who believe in him power to be the sons of God, that is children that belong to him. That means he's a father, which we read in Isaiah. Isaiah refers to him as the mighty father. He is a father to his people. He's not the father, but he is a father. to those who are his people. He's a father, he's a husband, he's a brother. He occupies a lot of relations. The one we're interested in here right now is father, because he's being in that, he's being contrasted and compared to Abraham. The contrast is, His dominion is going to far exceed anything that was promised to Abraham. But in order to exceed it, it has to include it. And that's important if we understand how many times the promise to Abraham encompassed nations. The fourth point is, by faith we're told, Abraham sojourned in a foreign land in search of a city whose builder and maker was God. Look at Hebrews 11 verses 8 to 10. Hebrews 11, 8 through 10. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing whether he went By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Why is it that Hebrews brings this up? Where does he get this idea? He's looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Well again, I would suggest that it is based on the fact that Abraham's story begins in Genesis 12. The city whose builder and maker was not God was Babel. Abraham is called out of Ur of the Chaldees to what purpose? To find this city. Why? The city is a polis. It is a political unit. It's not simply a church. It's a nation. It's a nation in utero. Christ, too, we know sojourned amongst men. He tabernacled, John 1 tells us, in the flesh, just like Abraham tabernacled in tents. We know Christ tabernacled amongst men in search of a city to be His bride. Look at Revelation 21, verse 2. I, John, saw a holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. So what is Christ seeking when he comes? He's seeking a city as well. But it's a city not rooted in earthly things, but in heavenly things, that New Jerusalem. The same thing Abraham is seeking. A city whose builder and maker is God. And we are told, Jesus tells us, that this city is a city to be set on a hill, Matthew 5.14. In the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. What's he talking about? He's talking about the church. But he's talking about the church being established politically, seated on a hill. Hills, mountains, we're talking about little and greater nations. We'll see that mountain, hill motif come up again a little bit later when we consider some of the other things that are being said in the Bible. Alright, fifth, we're told that God made Abraham a rock from which all believers came out. Look at Isaiah 51 verses 1 and 2. Isaiah 51 verses 1 and 2. Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord. Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bear you. For I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. I called him alone, I blessed him, I increased him." Abraham is a rock out of which all believers come. God is, through Isaiah, telling them to look back and remember from whence they came. Why? Because they're about to lose their nation. Isaiah is prophesying to a nation that needs to repent. Consider what you came from and why I called you out of this. Christ, Isaiah refers to Christ as the everlasting rock of ages. Look at Isaiah 26 verse 4. Isaiah 26 verse 4. The Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. The word there is tzur ulamim. That means the Rock of Eternity, the Rock of Ages. Ever wonder where that hymn title came from, if you've heard it referred to? Even though we don't sing hymns, it's one of the most popular of hymns, Augustus Toplaty. He got it from this verse. Jehovah is the Rock of Ages, the Rock of Eternity. He is the Rock. ultimately from whence come the sustenance of all believers. Again, look at 1 Corinthians 10 verse 4. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 4, And did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. That rock was Christ. Abraham is a rock. Christ is a rock. He's an everlasting rock. The church is springing out of this rock, and what are we told about this rock? Well, Daniel, we're told something very interesting. We're told it's a rock that should fill the whole earth. Look at Daniel. Daniel 2 verses 34 and 35 Thou saw'st till that a rock was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon the feet that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces. Then was the iron and the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the shaft of the wind. of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." The rock arises. We're told Daniel pinpoints when the rock that will fill the earth arises. It arises during the time of the fourth kingdom, the kingdom of the Romans. It's a prophecy of Christ. particularly it's the prophecy of his church that will fill the whole earth. This is a church which is tied to the faith of Abraham. Abraham was that rock out of which all believers come. In the days of the Romans, this rock, which is cut without hands, is going to arise and it will begin the process of smashing all of the ungodly kingdoms. It's a rock that's going to fill all the earth. It will be that which overtakes the nations. All right, sixth, we had the case of Abraham who spoiled the king of Elam. Elam, if you look at Elam, Elam, is actually corruption of Ulam, which is the word for eternity. He spoiled the king of eternity and brought back the captivity of his people. Look at Genesis 14, 1-4, and 13-16. Genesis 14, verses 1-4, And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Ariok, king of Elessar, and Gadarbaum, king of Ilum, and Tidal King of Nations. These made war with Bera, King of Sodom, and with Bersha, King of Gomorrah, Shinab, King of Adma, and Shemeber, King of Zebelem, and the King of Bellow, which is Zoar. All these joined together in the Vale of Assyrium, which is the Salt Sea. Twelve years they served Kidar Laomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And there came one that had escaped and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner. And these were confederate with Abram. Abram heard that his brother was taken captive. He armed his trained servants, born in his own house, 318, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people." So what does Abram hear? He hears that those men who are confederate with him are taken captive by Kedurleomer. Who is Kedurleomer? He's the king of eternity. Elam. It's corruption of eternity. What does Christ do when he hears that the people with whom he is confederate in the covenant of redemption have been taken captive? Well, he too enters Zephrae and he binds and spoils the strongman in order to deliver his people and thereby bring back their captivity. Look at Matthew 12, 29 in Ephesians 4, 8. Matthew 12, verse 29. Or else how can one enter into a strongman's house and spoil his goods? except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house. Ephesians 4, 8. Wherefore, he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. He led captivity captive. He ascends on high, he leads captivity captive. What does Abram do? He ascends. from the valley where they fought, and he gives gifts to men. He doesn't keep the gifts for himself, he gives it to the others. He doesn't want any to spoil. He's a picture of what Christ is going to do here. And what do we know about this binding? that Christ comes to accomplish, well we're told that this binding is in fact to continue and at some point in the future it's actually to be intensified. Read Revelation 20 verses 2 and 3. So there's a time coming, we're told, we're assured, when this binding will have national consequences, which is what? Satan will no longer be able to deceive the nations. That is to say, Nations, as such, will bow the knee to Christ. Nations, we're told in Isaiah's prophecy, there's a day coming when nation will no longer learn to war against nation. They're going to learn peace. They're going to beat their swords in the plowshares. We know the millennium has not come yet because we have not reached a point where nations, plural, nations, are in fact confessing the Christian faith. Millennium is not a term, the thousand years does not signify the time between the first and second advent. It is in fact a distinct period of time prior to the second coming. A time wherein Satan actually will be bounded so that he can no longer deceive nations as nations. All of that is prefigured in this picture of Abraham because who is it among the various people that he's going to war? The title, King of Nations. Kedorlaomer, who is who? King of Elam, king of eternity. Kedorlaomer is representing a satanic figure. He's corrupted eternity and what it means to be eternal. He's taken all of these other kings captive. He's entered into league with the king of the nations and other kings. So Christ has come to fulfill that. That brings us into our seventh point, which is this, that Abraham, as the father of the faithful, we're told in this account, that he paid tithes to Melchizedek. Melchizedek means King of Righteousness. Zedek, Zadok, all of those permutations in the Bible refer to righteousness. He is the King of Righteousness. He's called the King of Salem. And, in fact, that signifies the superiority of the priesthood and Kingdom of Righteousness, which is to come. Look at Genesis 14, 18-20 and Hebrews 7, 1-10. Genesis 14. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the most high kind. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine right hands, and has broken the ties of all. Hebrews 7, verses 1 through 10. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, preached to the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him. To him also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is King of Peace. Without father, without mother, without decent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abides the priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoil. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who received the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the words of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction of the less is blessed of the better. So who is this Melchizedek? Well, we're told he's the King of Righteousness by his name. He is called the King of Salem, which means the King of Peace. And we know that Christ came to fulfill that role of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is a type of Christ, if not Christ himself. There's some people who think he is Christ himself appearing in a pre-incarnate form here. But we know that Abram is paying tithes, that is, he's recognizing a superiority. Why? Because he is the one paying tithes. He's the one paying the tribute. He's recognizing a superiority of priesthood and kingdom of righteousness to come. And Christ came to fulfill that. Look at Hebrews 7, verse 17. Christ is called a priest forever after the order or in like manner as Melchizedek. according to the manner of Melchizedek. And that holds, then, the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. Look at Psalm 110. Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion, rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, from the gloom of the morning. so has the due of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest for forever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen. He shall fill the places with the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way. Therefore shall he lift up the heads. Psalm 110 is a psalm which in fact joins these two ideas of the Son of God, Christ, coming to fulfill not only that role of Melchizedek, but in doing that, bringing all the nations under the rod of his power. There's a superiority in that priesthood and kingdom of righteousness. And we should note here, before we move on, that Abraham, like Christ, in the days of his flesh, paid his tithes, or as we're told with Christ, the temple tax. It's the didrachsmon, and the stater. And they pay it to the king or the ruler for the upkeep of the true religion. Look at Matthew 17, 24 to 27 and compare it with Exodus 30 verses 13 and 38 26 Matthew 17 verses 24 through 27 when they were come to Capernaum and day that received tribute money came to Peter and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. When he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free, notwithstanding lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up. And when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money that take, and give unto them for me and thee." Exodus 30 verse 13. This they shall give everyone that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary. A shekel is twenty geras, and a half-shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Exodus 38 verse 26. A bikkah for every man that is half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone that went to be numbered from twenty years old and 3,550 men. What is the question here in Matthew 17? He's asked, Peter's asked, if your master pays tribute, and the word for tribute is yidrachma. Does he pay the yidrachma tax? What is a yidrachma? It's a half shekel. That's what he's being asked. It's the temple tax. It's for the upkeep of the true religion. And then Jesus says, look, this is really only exacted on those who are not children, but lest we should offend. And the word there is the word scandal on it. Lest we give scandal. And scandal has particular reference to an act of offense against a legitimate authority. lest we scandalize, go over and take up that fish, and in his mouth there's a stater. And the stater was actually a piece of money that was worth one shekel. The drachma was a half shekel temple tax. That's what was being asked for in Exodus. Christ gives him a piece of money for both of them. Now, if this were an unlawful taxation, if it were unlawful for the magistrate to collect the tithe or the tax for the upkeep of the true religion, Christ would have resisted it. He does not. He pays it. He acknowledges the authority of the magistrate to establish the true religion and confirms it by what he does. I don't want to get into exactly how the financing of a national establishment would go, but I just want to point out there is nothing inherently unbiblical, immoral, and certainly not unchristian about the magistrate collecting tithes in order for the upkeep of true religion. And that, in fact, is who Abraham also paid. He paid a king, the king of Salem. He gave it to him. He paid the tithe to the king. Why? For the upkeep of the true religion. That has great bearing on the idea in what we're going to talk about when we get to how the national establishment is funded, how things are undertaken on behalf of that. All right, eighth, we want to move now to Abraham and his seed. To them the promise of all nations being blessed was made." Look at Galatians 3, 7-9. and the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. So then, they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. They're blessed with faithful Abraham. Blessing was claimed by Christ, who we're told by Hebrews, assumed the seed of Abraham. Look at Hebrews 2 verse 16. Hebrews 2 verse 16. He took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Took not on him the nature of angels, but what? It doesn't say the seed of man or even the nature of man, but the seed of Abraham. Why? Because he is claiming There is a claim being made here, which is much in keeping with the claim that Paul makes in Galatians, that Christ is the seed of promise. And through Him, the blessing of Abraham is held forth to the Gentiles, or nations. Look at Galatians 3, 14-16 and verse 29. that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men. Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disnulleth or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not unto seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Yeah, this seed theology is an indication, in fact, that Paul, the theology of Hebrews is certainly Paul's. He recognizes his principle. There's nothing cutting against that idea here. In fact, I think this is one of the things that holds forth Pauline authorship for Hebrews. But anyway, what is important for our purposes right now is that this blessing to all nations very clearly, we're told now, is coming through Christ. That He, in fact, is the seed, the promised seed. that he is the one. So the blessing of Abraham is to come to all nations, all the Gentiles. Remember Gentiles is that word ethnos, ethnon, all the nations. The ninth consideration here is that Abraham's bride, Sarah, and her name means princess, She was called to be the mother of many nations. Look at Genesis 17, 15 and 16. Genesis 17, verses 15 and 16. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her and give thee a son also of her. Nay, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations. Kings of people shall be of her. She is told that she'll be the mother of many nations. Now, how could this be? She has one child. It just doesn't seem possible. If we understand that the seed, the promised seed is actually Jesus Christ, and that through him, the promise is to all nations, not simply to the Jews or to Israel, but to all nations. Remember, at Babel, all the nations were cast off. When Christ comes again, when he comes in the flesh, I should say, when he's incarnate, when the Son of God assumes the humanity, then mankind at large becomes the target. The blessing of Abraham is going to come on all the nations through Jesus Christ. And we see that, again, this is prophesied. Christ's bride, the church, that is Zion, is to be the mother of nations. Look at Isaiah 66, 6-12. Isaiah 66, verses 6-12. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that revereth, recompenseth to his enemies. Before she travaileth, she brought forth. Before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion trembleth, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth, saith the Lord? Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb, saith thy God? Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her. Rejoice for joy with her. Isaiah holds forth this promise that Zion will trevail to bring forth children. And who are the children? Behold, shall a nation be born in one day." They're nations. We've talked about this before, but I want to reiterate. Zion is the church. The church is to be the mother of nations. The bride of Christ is bringing forth nations. That's what this relationship should entail. Just like Abraham, his relationship with Sarah should entail her being the mother of many nations and kings descending from her. It's more than just individuals who are in view here. Alright, 10th, twice we see Abraham offered his bride to the heathen kings. Look at Genesis 12, 13 to 15, and 20 verses one and two. Genesis 12, verse 13 to 15. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee. It came to pass that when Abram was coming to Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. Genesis 20 verses 1 and 2. And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shurah, and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister, and I have been like king of Gerar, sent, and took Sarah. The problem was that unlike what is prophesied in Isaiah, the time when Zion would dandle the Gentiles on her sides, that is, she would nurse them, that she would bring forth and be a nursing mother to kings, that that time had not yet come and the nations were not ready to receive the bride. That is, they were not ready to establish the true religion. Therefore she was, by divine initiative, kept from them. Look at Genesis 12, 17 and 20, verse three. Genesis 12, verse 17. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. In Genesis 20, verse three. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken, for she is a man's wife. God keeps them back because they were not prepared to accept the true religion. You can't have that heavenly Jerusalem, as we're going to see, as your mother, if you don't have God as your father. But with the coming of Christ, she shall be established in the houses of kings by divine power. Look at Isaiah 2.2. Where is this mountain being established? It's a city on a hill, right? It's a city on a mountain. That is to say, the mountain of the Lord's house, that's the kingdom of God. It's gonna be established in the mountains of the earth, the kingdoms of the earth. And all nations will flow unto it. Zion will prevail. Sarah, whose name is Princess, she will prevail. She will show herself to be the mother of many nations. All right, 11th. We see that Abraham bore a son first, according to the flesh, with his handmaid, Hagar, after Sarah, his lawful wife, seemed barren. Look at Genesis 16, 1-3, and 15. Genesis 16, verses 1-3. Now Sarai, Abram's wife, barren of no children, and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing, I pray thee, going unto my maid. It may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar, her handmaid, the Egyptians, after Abraham had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Verse 15. And Hagar bared Abram's son, and Abram called his name, and called his son's name, which Hagar bared Ishmael. Afterward then the child of promise is born to Sarah, Genesis 21, verses 2 and 3. For Sarah conceived and bared Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bared to him, Isaac. Paul tells us that Hagar is Jerusalem after the flesh, and their children are in bondage, but Sarah represents Jerusalem, which is above. Look at Galatians 4, 23 to 26. Galatians 4, which is 23 to 26. But he who is of the bond woman was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are out of order? For these are the two covenants, the one from the Mount Sinai, which Thus then we see the Jews who reject the house of Abraham remain only one nation scattered in the wilderness. Genesis 21, 13 and 14. Whereas in Christ we see that he is that seed of promise in whom shall all nations be blessed. Genesis 21 12 and compared with Galatians 3 16 and then 14 Galatians 3 verse 16 now to Abram as seed where the promise is made He saith not unto the seeds as of many, but as of one unto thy seed, which is Christ. And verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham might come unto the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we should receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Why is it that this turnaround occurs? In order that the blessing comes upon all nations. God has called Israel out for a temporary purpose. And if Israel departs out of the house of Abraham, Israel remains in the wilderness. And we know from what Paul says that won't be forever. But he does it in order that the promise would redound to all nations. The idea that Israel is a special nation is overrated. It's an important nation. It has a plan in God's economy which is very similar in many respects to every other nation. That is, it too must submit to and believe and profess the faith of Abraham. And as long as it departs from the house of Abraham, it will remain in the wilderness like every other nation. The gospel is about bringing all nations, including Israel, into the house of Abraham. That was what the point of the promise was, and Christ came as the seed of Abraham, assumed the seed of Abraham, in order to bring that to fulfillment. And that brings us into the last point, the 12th point, that because all of these promises, which envision the faith of the true religion being carried to and established amongst the nations, Christ assures us that Abraham rejoiced to see his day, John 8, 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. The reason he rejoices is because the promises which were made to Abraham we know were only going to be fulfilled in one who was greater than Abraham. That's why Christ is greater than Abraham, and that's why this idea of a progression in redemptive history is important. Dispensationalism and all these kooky views that have all kinds of end time events circling around Israel that don't understand exactly what part Israel does have to play, they miss the entire point. God is interested in Israel because Israel is a nation, not because Israel is something more than that. Israel is a nation which, if it comes under the house of Abraham again, it then assumes that position of being in a blessing, being blessed by God, in covenant with God. And all nations will eventually, we're told in Revelation 20, all nations will one day no longer be deceived. And we'll know that when they covenant with God. They're going to swear themselves to God, just like Abraham. Remember Abraham? Abraham does what? He establishes himself as a church. God establishes Abraham, I should say, as a church by way of covenant. And then in time, that church becomes a nation under Moses and that covenant is renewed. But if we let that renewal of covenant in a civil aspect If we let that take precedent over the ecclesiastical, you're going to remain in the house of bondage. Don't do that. That's Israel's problem right now. And that's Paul's point in Galatians 3. Next time, Lord willing, we're going to look at the comparison between Moses and Christ and look at Christ as one like unto Moses.