Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
5 sermons cite this verse
… give you descendants. He gave the promise to Abraham, then Isaac in Genesis chapter 26 verse 4, Jacob in Genesis chapter 28 verse 14. God says, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, I'm going to bless you, and that blessing is going to be evident in descendants like the stars in the sky. Descendants everywhere. And the points of tension in the book of Genesis, do you remember? points of tension oftentimes revolve around barrenness and questions about an heir, descendant coming. The whole issue with Abraham and Sarah. Sarah was barren, and it was a miracle that God provided them with a child in very old age. And the whole picture was God saying, I'm going to bless you in this way. Same thing happened with Rachel. You look in the Old Testament, you'll see key points where barrenness is an issue. Because barrenness was pictured as a curse. You get to Genesis chapter 49. I know we don't have time to turn all these places. Actually, Genesis chapter 48, verse 16. …
… Then God says the same thing to Abraham's son Isaac in Genesis 26.4, Isaac's son Jacob in Genesis 28.14. You're going to be, your descendants are going to be the dust of the earth. They're going to spread out to the west and the east, the north and the south. All peoples on earth, all the nations will be blessed through you. Enjoy my grace. Spread my glory to all the nations. and that becomes the foundation for why god does what he does in stories throughout the old testament think about god's deliverance of his people from egypt brings them to the edge of the red sea splits that sea in half brings them through in the middle of dry ground that water comes crashing down the egyptians why did he do that exodus 14 verse 4 says i'm going to gain glory for myself among the egyptians i'm going to show my glory to the egyptians in this way joshua 5 and 6 they're about to enter into the promised land joshua's on the outskirts looking over the city of Jericho, first major city in the promised land, these huge walls. …
That Greek word literally means your expectation. Hebrews chapter 11, when it says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, that phrase, things hoped for, is the Greek word expectation. So faith is the substance of your expectation. Expectation is everything. And expectation comes by the word. When God gives you a word, he's not trying to tickle your fancy. He's trying to give you an expectation because expectation postures you to see right. Are we tracking? Okay. So expectation is the knowledge of what is available to you. I don't know about you. You call me greedy, whatever you want to call me. I want everything that's available to me. I am greedy for God. Everything that God says is available to me. I'm eating it all. I want the salad. I want every course of the meal that is assigned to my life and dessert. And I'm going to eat all of it and lick the plate when I'm finished. You ain't got to wash these dishes. …
… And God gives the same promise of offspring through marriage to Isaac in Genesis chapter 26, verse 3, to Jacob in Genesis chapter 28, verse 14. It's interesting. Some of the most tense moments in the initial stories of the Bible revolve around barrenness. It was a curse to be barren. Sarah was initially barren. Rachel was initially barren. And I say curse because your family legacy stopped if you didn't have children, which means you didn't want to be barren in the Old Testament, which means you didn't want to be single. barrenness and singleness were like a curse which heightens the honor we have for prophets like jeremiah or elijah or elisha whom god called to singleness in the old testament when that was so undesirable in that day why think about it excuse me because god's blessing on the multiplication of his people came through marriage and childbearing which made sense based on the way the old covenant worked. The people of God would fill the earth primarily through having offspring, and you couldn't do that if you were single. …
… your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. Listen to this promise and let it get in your heart for a moment today. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. He was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God, and this stone that I have set up as a pillar …