In the second and third part of the covenant, we cannot find any ambiguity that could be misconstrued as material blessings. God had promised Abraham to be the progenitor of many nations and this had been fulfilled based on historical records that other nations had indeed sprung from Abraham. We have also seen Israel as a nation occupying the land of Canaan until this day, though its full fulfilment is yet to be accomplished (since it is forever). While there were periods of time when Israel did not occupy it, they serve as a punishment from God for their disobedience.

In the first part of the covenant, we see its fulfilment in the nation of Israel being created through Abraham and preserved through the ages. Abraham was also to be blessed and through him, all families of the earth would be blessed. How would Abraham be blessed? If we look at the life of Abraham, we can see that he had many material possessions, but are these material possessions what God had intended for Abraham when He promised to bless him? Christ in Matthew 6:19-21, after teaching His disciples how to pray, taught them to store treasures in heaven and not on earth. How can we store material treasures in heaven? We have no physical way to send any material things to heaven. As such, treasures that are stored in heaven are not material things. They would have to do with how we conduct ourselves and our deeds here on earth. These deeds and works are recorded in heaven (Rev 20:12) and are opened as evidence at the judgement of the great white throne. These are the things that we can send to heaven, these are the treasures that would not decay with the world. If Christ taught us to store these treasures in heaven, it would mean that these are the important treasures and not the material things in this world (which will decay and rot).

In Matthew 6:27-33, our Lord taught His disciples not to worry about their daily physical needs and that God would provide for them. In 1 Timothy 6:6-11, Paul taught that believers ought to be contented with food and raiment because the love of money is the root of all evil. There are many other teachings in the New Testament about money and material things, but they are not a measurement of how blessed we are. There is no passage that promises followers personal material blessings, the Mosiac Laws promised a cooperate blessing for the obedient people of God, though there are passages that teach us to give these material things away. In the Old Testament Levitical laws, God forbade landowners from cleaning out their harvest but to leave the corners of their fields for the poor. This would mean that there are poor Jews in the tribe of God’s chosen people, the seed of Abraham. If there are poor people among the descendants of Abraham, and if God had meant material blessings in the Abrahamic covenant, it would have meant that God had not kept His promise. We know from Scripture that our God is faithful and does not lie, thus it can only mean that the promise of blessing in the Abrahamic covenant must not have meant material blessing.

If the blessing that God had intended for Abraham and the blessing that the families of the world would receive through the seed of Abraham is not a material blessing, it can only be a spiritual blessing. What spiritual blessing would come from Abraham and benefit all the families of the world? Galatians 3:16 explained that the seed mentioned in Genesis 22:18 is a singular noun which meant Christ, and that this blessing to the world through Abraham would come through Christ. This can only mean that the blessing is from the work of Christ who was descended from Abraham (his seed) for the redemption of the world. This is the only blessing that God could have meant since the main objective of the Bible is to tell man about Christ’s redemptive work, about God’s plan to bring us into fellowship with Him. This is also seen from the last part of Galatians 3:14 which Prosperity Gospel preachers ignore while clinging to the first part of the verse “that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus”. The second part of the verse defines the blessing that would come as “the promise of the Spirit through faith” which clearly defines the blessing of Abraham as a spiritual blessing (since it came from the Spirit).

When reading about the Abrahamic covenant in its entirety and in the context of the entire Bible and the claims by Paul in Galatians, we will not make the mistake of the Prosperity Gospel preachers by taking God’s words out of context and claiming a promise that is entirely made up in the minds of men.

By Dn Kevin Low

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Thank You Note from the Kim Family (Korea)

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!~

Thank you again for your love gift. 

I managed to find a job and worked for a while until covid-19  happened. Then I struggled again financially,  but God has been providing me through you all. I thank God for your generosity and love towards us.

I know everyone is in the same situation since covid 19 occurred, indeed your love gift is very meaningful and precious to my family.

Daeun and Dahee have been growing well and doing well at school. I thank God for your support and prayers for our family. we have been encouraged by your love in God and we all can see God's guidance through your support and care.

Thank you again.

Wol hee Kim

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