What promise did the Israelites believe God made to Abraham?

Answer 1

Genesis 17:2--5 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5. 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.

Answer 2

Abraham

God said go to a long journey to a new country. God promised that there will be green valleys and flowing rivers.

Answer

There are two main promises, one relates to the possession of the land of Canaan, and the other to the large number of descendants he would have and their significance to the world.
When he was still called Abram. God promised the following

Genesis 12

1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

7And 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 13

14And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

15For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Genesis 15

1After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

2And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

4And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5And 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.

6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

7And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

13And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

18In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

Genesis 17

2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7And 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.

8And 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.

20And 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.

21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

Answer:

God's promise to Abraham was "dual"... a material promise and a spiritual one. The short version is: God promised Abraham "LAND" (specifically, the WHOLE WORLD), the ultimate fulfillment of which shall be the "Kingdom of God" on the earth.

"There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye SHALL SEE ABRAHAM, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, and you yourselves thrust out." (Luke 13:28)

"For the PROMISE, that he should be HEIR OF THE WORLD, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." (Rom.4:13)

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same ARE THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM." (Gal.3:7)

The spiritual PROMISE, of course, was and is: the CHRIST... and the SALVATION of the world!

"...I will BLESS them that BLESS thee... and in thee shall ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED." (Gen.12:3) That's the salvation of the nations.

It is Jesus who is bringing the Kingdom with Him when He returns to the earth... and He's bringing His salvation with Him:

"...unto them that look for Him shall He appear the SECOND TIME without sin unto SALVATION." (Heb.9:28)

God's Promises to Abraham... (the Kingdom of God through his Seed, which is Christ)... is the same inheritance of Christians, because:

"...IF YE BE CHRIST'S, then are ye Abraham's seed, and HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE." (Gal.3:29)

And in the Judgment... all of the families of the generations of men will have to go through this same Christ to obtain this same inheritance... in order to enter into the Kingdom.

God promised Abraham he would have as many children as there are stars in the sky. Even though Abraham was 100 years old and his wife (Sarah) was pass the age of having children. God fulfilled that promise through us. We are Abraham descendants therefore his children.

Answer 3

AnswerThe Israelites believed that God had made a promise to Abraham that his successors would inherit the land of the Canaanites. This would have included other, non-Hebrew people such as the Arabs, said in The Bible to be descendants of Ishmael, so the promise or covenant was later refined to include only the descendants of Israel.