The Bible message for us

We shall now look in more detail at the Bible message to us personally and how it can help us.

God's promise to the world

Early on in the Bible we read of promises that God made to Abram (later called Abraham), the father of the Jews.

Now the Lord had said to Abram: I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Genesis 12 v 1 to 3

God makes it clear right at the start that everyone can be involved in the blessings on Abraham's descendants. The rest of the Bible is the account of how God works out this promise.

God's plan through the Jews

We now want to look at how all nations can be blessed through Abraham's descendants.

We find the answer in the New Testament in the letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia, an area of modern Turkey.

He explains who the descendant (or seed) was who would bring blessings on all nations:

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ.

Galatians 3 v 16

This means that it is through Jesus Christ that all nations can be involved in the promises made to Abraham.

Jesus and the apostle Paul confirm the Jewish connection with God's plan:

Jesus said: salvation is of the Jews

John 4 v 22

Paul wrote: for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain

Acts 28 v 20