Dispensation Bible Study #5

Dispensation of Promise

Gen 12:1-4 Now the LORD had 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: 2 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: 3 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. 4 So Abram departed.

In past dispensations, God had been dealing with all of mankind as a whole(the flood, tower of Babel, conscience, etc...). But now at the dawn of a new dispensation, God chose to deal with an individual, Abram. Like before, faith was also going to be a part of this dispensation, because to receive the promises of God, Abram had to leave his home country and trust God to lead him to an unfamiliar place! This dispensation is known as the dispensation of “promise” because of all the promises that God made during this time. All of God’s promises, however, had a condition that had to be met before someone received the promise. Even today God’s word has many promises for us, but all are conditional, dependent upon whether or not we keep our end of the bargain!

Gen 12:6-9 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

Blood sacrifice offered to God upon an altar was still going to be a part of this dispensation, and, in return, God promised Abram that He would give Abram’s descendants the land of Canaan the area of the present day nation of Israel.

Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Gen 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

The concept of paying tithes (means “a tenth”) to the ministry became an important part of this dispensation. God had made Abram a very blessed and wealthy man and here in verse 20 we discover why: Abram had the correct attitude toward his money and possessions! The Bible does not state that “money is the root of all evil,” but rather “the love of money is the root of all evil” (I Timothy 6:10). God does not care if we have money as long as we have the correct attitude toward money! Even today if people will give a tithe (a tenth) of their income to God’s ministry, God will bless them. Abram understood that financial blessing from God was a conditional promise: if he did his part, God would do likewise!!!!

Gen 15:3-6 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Abram had no children, yet God promised him descendants to numerous to count. God obviously had plans to work a miracle and give Abram a child. Unfortunately, Abram and his wife, Sarai got impatient:

Gen 16:1-5 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Gen 16:15-16 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Just as we sometimes get ahead of God, so did Abram and Sarai. When God did not give them a child in what they felt was the proper timing, then Sarai gave her personal servant, Hagar, to Abram to marry. While this was a common practice during this day, this was not the proper will of God. The effects of their mistake can still be felt because from Hagar’s son, Ishmael, descended all Arab nations, and from Sarai’s true son, Issac, came the nation of Israel. Ishmael’s descendants are still at odds with Israel to this day! Notice also that Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael was born.

Gen 17:1-11 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

God has already required Abram to leave his homeland and separate himself from idol worship and heathen religions. After Abram has obeyed His word, God finally reveals the remainder of His Covenant. This principle still holds true today: if we act upon the Word of God that we already know, then God will reveal more of His Word to us. God promised to give Abram many blessings, including many descendant nations, a promised seed (the Messiah) through which the entire world will be blessed, a promised land that his seed would possess, and much more! There was one more requirement: Abram and all males in his household had to be circumcised as a sign of agreeing to the covenant! God also changed their names from Abram (great father) to Abraham (father of a multitude) and from Sarai to Sarah (princess).

Gen 21:1-5 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

At the age of 100 years old, Abraham became a father as his 90-year-old wife gave birth just as God said would happen! Abraham and Sarah had thought God’s promise impossible due to their age, but to God nothing is impossible! Notice that God fulfilled His part of the covenant only after making sure Abraham would do the same!

Gen 22:1-2 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

After Isaac was a little older, God decided to test Abraham’s faith by asking him to give up the very promised son that he had received! For God to require a human sacrifice seemed unthinkable, but Abraham had messed up once by trying to manipulate God’s promises, would he pass this test of learning to allow God to have His way?

Gen 22:10-13 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of

Abraham went through with the plan and as he lifted the knife to kill Isaac, God sent an angel to stop him and provided a substitute sacrifice. God had only wanted to see if Abraham was willing to completely trust in Him! God now knew that Abraham was indeed a Covenant partner with him as nothing was too great to ask! Too many times in our lives also, God allows trials to happen simply to see how committed we really are to Him. In all things, let’s remember that God is in control and submit to His Word, for it is only through strict obedience that we will receive the blessings of God!

Isaac, Abraham’s son grew up and married a woman named Rebecca. They had twin sons named Esau and Jacob. Jacob tricked his father into blessing him with the birthright, and has to flee from the wrath of his brother. Jacob married two sisters named Leah and Rachel and then reconciled His differences with his brother, Esau. He also had an experience with God that changed his name from Jacob to Israel. God then gave Jacob the same promise that He had made Abraham. The nation of Israel are the descendants of Jacob the grandson of Abraham and are thus a fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham! Jacob also offered blood sacrifices to God, separated himself and his family from idolatry and heathen lifestyles. Of course, both Jacob and Esau had been circumcised at eight days old. Jacob had ten sons by Leah, his first wife, and two sons by Rachel, his second wife. Rachel was the favored wife and the eldest of her sons, Joseph was shown special attention by Jacob. The complete story of Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Esau, and the changing of Jacob’s name to Israel is found in Genesis 25:19-36:43.

Joseph’s death was faked by his jealous brothers and was sold as a slave into the country of Egypt. Joseph found favor with God, and Joseph became second in command of Egypt because of Joseph’s God-given ability to interpret the dreams that God had given Pharaoh. When famine did strike the area as Joseph had warned, Egypt was the only land that had enough food stored. Jacob and his eleven sons were then forced to go to Egypt to buy food. After an emotional reuniting with Joseph, Jacob and his family moved to Egypt and enjoyed favored status in Egypt for as long as Joseph was alive. Here the children of Israel (Jacob) multiplied and rapidly went from a tribal family to a mighty nation. The complete story of Joseph’s faked death, rise to power, and reconciliation with his family is found in Genesis 37:1-50:26.

The names of the twelve sons of Jacob were as follows: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. The descendants of these twelve sons of Israel (Jacob) became known as the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi would later become the priests in the dispensation of Law. Joseph was given a double blessing and both of his sons became recognized as tribes of Israel: Mannaseh and Ephraim.

After Joseph’s actual death a new Pharaoh decided to make the now numerous children of Israel into slaves. After more than 400 years in Egypt, God decided to free His people and sent Moses to lead them out. To make Pharaoh cooperate, God caused 10 very severe plagues to come upon all of Egypt. The complete story of the Israeli slavery and the birth and life of Moses are found in Exodus 1:1-12:51.

So the dispensation of Promise:

Began with a promise to Abram that he and his descendants would be blessed and fruitful.

Ended with judgment on the Egyptians for their harsh treatment of God’s people.

For salvation, man had to Obey God’s word, give blood offerings, have faith, listen to their conscience, be fruitful, and submit to human government, as well as, believe that God’s promises were for him, separate from idolatry and heathen lifestyles, pay tithes, and all males had to be circumcised.

The event that led to the ending of the dispensation was Israel freedom from Egypt.

The dispensation probably lasted 645 years.

The dispensation did not provide for regeneration of man’s dead, dormant spirit.