Abraham
The next man that God uses to carry out his plan is Abraham, or Abram, as his name originally was. God told Abram that he would bless him and make his name great and a great nation would come from him.
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.
(Genesis 12:2)
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. (Genesis 12:3)
So God brought Abram to the land of Canaan and told Abram that this would be the land that he would give to him and to the generations that came out of him. And God told Abram that his descendants would be as many as there were stars in the sky.
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. (Genesis 12:7)
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.
Abram's salvation came from believing in what God said. The fact that he believed that God would make his name great and that he would make a great nation out of him and that his seed would be multiplied as the stars in the sky was counted as his salvation.
And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)
As a side note, keep in mind that when Abram was 86 years old, he had a son named Ish-ma-el.
Now the covenant that God makes with Abram is a very important part of God's plan; we will see why many years in the future. This is the covenant that God makes with Abram:
¶ 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. (Genesis
17:1)
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee
exceedingly. (Genesis
17:2)
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, (Genesis
17:3)
¶ As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of
many nations. (Genesis
17:4)
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. (Genesis
17:5)
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and
kings shall come out of thee.
(Genesis 17:6)
¶ 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. (Genesis
17:7)
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. (Genesis
17:8)
And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy
seed after thee in their generations. (Genesis
17:9)
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. (Genesis
17:10)
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of
the covenant betwixt me and you.
(Genesis 17:11)
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in
your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any
stranger, which [is] not of thy seed. (Genesis
17:12)
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs
be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant. (Genesis
17:13)
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised,
that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Genesis
17:14)
¶ And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her
name Sarai, but Sarah [shall] her name [be]. (Genesis
17:15)
And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her,
and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall be of her. (Genesis
17:16)
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a
child] be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is
ninety years old, bear? (Genesis
17:17)
And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! (Genesis
17:18)
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call
his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, [and] with his seed after him. (Genesis
17:19)
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make
him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget,
and I will make him a great nation. (Genesis
17:20)
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at
this set time in the next year.
(Genesis 17:21)
And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. (Genesis
17:22)
¶ And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and
all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's
house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God
had said unto him. (Genesis
17:23)
And Abraham [was] ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the
flesh of his foreskin.
(Genesis 17:24)
And Ishmael his son [was] thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the
flesh of his foreskin. (Genesis
17:25)
In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. (Genesis
17:26)
And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the
stranger, were circumcised with him. (Genesis
17:27)
God told Abraham that he would establish with Isaac, and all of his next of kin, an everlasting covenant. This is important because Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob. Upon Isaac's death bed he gives a blessing to Jacob.
Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed [be] every one that curseth thee, and blessed [be] he that blesseth thee. (Genesis 27:29)
God's people were going to come from Jacob. Remember the promise given to Abraham above:
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and
kings shall come out of thee.
(Genesis 17:6)
¶ 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. (Genesis
17:7)
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. (Genesis
17:8)
Well, Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob, and all of God's people will now come from Jacob. Now what is about to happen may show you why the nation of Israel gets so much attention in the world today. Jacob's name changes from Jacob to Israel making all of God's chosen people, the people who have the promise given to Abraham, the children of Israel.
And God said unto him, Thy name [is] Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. (Genesis 35:10)
The rest of the Old Testament mainly talks about God's dealings with his people, the children of Israel. The dispensation following Abraham records God's use for a man named Moses.