4 Key Promises God Makes to His People

Abraham, initially called Abram, was one of three sons of a man named Terah, a descendant of Shem who was a son of Noah. In Genesis 12:1-3, we’re told that God came to Abram in a place called Harran, in Mesopotamia. There, God told Abram to leave that place and go to the land God would show him.  

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).

Abram did this, heading to Canaan and then Egypt and eventually settling near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron (Genesis 13:18). He continued to serve God faithfully, but he had no children; his wife, Sarai, was barren. One day God’s word came to Abram in a vision: “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. … So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5). 

The Bible tells us Abram believed God (v. 6). 

Years passed, and when Abram was 99 years old, God made a formal covenant with him; in exchange, every male had to be circumcised. 

“You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:4-8).

We know from reading Scripture that this is exactly what happened. God did indeed make Abraham’s name great and made him a blessing. God opened the womb of Abraham’s wife in her old age and blessed them with a son, Isaac. Their offspring through Isaac are today as numerous as the stars themselves. He did indeed become the father of many nations. Abraham’s son, Isaac, gave birth to Jacob and Esau, and through Jacob — called Israel — came the 12 tribes of Israel, and eventually the Messiah, Jesus.

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Moses was a descendant of Jacob, and he was born in slavery in Egypt. Jacob’s family had all moved to Egypt because of a great famine, and after their death, their descendants became so numerous those in power felt threatened by their size. So they oppressed the Israelites, also called the Hebrews, forcing them to do hard labor for the king of Egypt, called Pharoah. 

Moses was supposed to have been killed along with other infant Hebrew boys, but instead he was adopted by the Pharoah’s daughter.

As an adult, he became outraged by the Egyptian treatment of the Hebrews and, after witnessing an Egyptian beating one of his own people, he killed the Egyptian. But word of this spread, and Moses fled to the wilderness. Eventually, he settled down in Midian and married a Midianite woman. Meanwhile, God was moved by the groaning of his people, Israel, who were suffering under Pharoah.

There in the wilderness, God appeared to Moses, identifying himself as “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” and revealing his name to be “I am” (Exodus 3:6-14). God then urged Moses to go to Pharoah and bring God’s people out of Egypt.

But, God said, “I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go” (Exodus 3:19-20).

Further, in Exodus 7:5, God promises, “The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

This is exactly what happens. God sends a plague of blood and of frogs, of gnats and of flies. He sends a plague on livestock and of boils and hail and locusts and darkness, and finally he sends a plague on the firstborn, rescuing only the Israelite firstborn sons but killing all Egyptian firstborn.  

So Pharoah let the Israelites go. But God didn’t stop there, for he intended for Egypt to see his full glory.

God then promises to harden Pharaoh’s heart, and that he will pursue the Israelites into the wilderness. “But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord,” God pledged in Exodus 14:4.

Indeed, the Egyptians pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea, where God enabled Moses to part the sea and the Israelites to escape to safety. When the Egyptians were halfway across, God sent the seawaters crashing over them, and none of the army survived.

The Bible tells us, “And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant” (Exodus 14:31).

God fulfilled his promise and enabled the people to escape slavery in Egypt. And eventually, God brought them through the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

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Many years passed, and God’s people had settled in the Promised Land. They drove out most of their enemies, though they still struggled with some disobedience. God used various judges to guide them, but eventually the people demanded a king. Even though God was their king, they wanted to be ruled like neighboring kingdoms, with a human king. Even though their prophet, Samuel, discouraged this, the people would not relent.

So God told Samuel, “Listen to them and give them a king” (1 Samuel 8:22). And he lifted up Saul, of the Israelite tribe of Benjamin, to be their king. Saul led well for a time, but eventually, he disobeyed the Lord and did not repent, and God raised up another king, David. This man would later be called “a man after God’s own heart” in spite of David’s flaws and wrongdoings (1 Samuel 13:14). For although David sinned in some key ways, including murder and adultery, he repeatedly returned in repentance to God.

Many years later, David wanted to build a temple for God. But God said no, that the temple would not be built by David but instead but by one of David’s offspring. 

However, God promised David that one of his descendants would rule forever, establishing a lasting kingdom before God.

As God promised David through the prophet Nathan, “I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies” (2 Samuel 7:9-11).

God further promised that after David’s death, he would raise up one of his own flesh and blood, who will build a temple for the Lord. God pledged to establish the throne of his kingdom forever, promising, “I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established” (2 Samuel 7:14-16).

This is precisely what happened. God did indeed raise up Solomon, the second-born child of David and his wife Bathsheba, who built God’s temple. From David came Jesus, the Messiah, whose kingdom will last forever. 

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Beginning hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, God began promising that he would send a Messiah — a savior who would redeem Israel for eternity. 

As we read in the previous section, God promised David that his house and throne would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16). This was just one of many promises God would make about his plans for his people. 

In Numbers 24, God promised though Balaam son of Beor, “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17).

In Isaiah 7:14 God promised, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

And as God elaborates later in Isaiah 42:1-4, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

God promised that he would make a new covenant with his people (Jeremiah 31:31). Further, he promised, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22).

In Zechariah 12:10, God promised, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”

And though this Messiah would suffer and his life would be an offering for sin, God promised, “He will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:10-11).

Indeed, we know this did happen as promised. Prophecies foretold the coming of a savior who would redeem the world, and Jesus did do this. Jesus was born, lived, rejected, pierced, died, and resurrected, ultimately fulfilling all these prophecies. His salvation comes to all who believe in him and repent of their sins.

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Here are a few more comforting — and equally true — promises of God found in the Bible:

Matthew 11:28-29: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 8:36: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

The promises given to Abraham, Moses, and David and about the coming Messiah aren’t just for some people; they are for all of us. Indeed, all of us who repent and believe have access to the fruits of God’s pledges. 

So embrace these promises with confidence and faith, knowing that we who belong to him will enjoy them forever. Amen, and thanks be to God!

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