A promise from God is a prophecy from God. If God says He is going to do something you can be sure He will do it. Not only is your Creator faithful and reliable… He wants you to enjoy the feeling of security in His faithfulness… and He wants to enjoy your confidence in Him. Trust & Confidence: the foundation of a healthy relationship.God’s word speaks His promises to you [and to all humanity]… from beginning to end.Genesis 3:15 God’s first promise to humanity is a prophecy directed at the adversary… the serpent… the morning star Lucifer who by his own choice became God’s enemy.God promises a solution to the problems and suffering humanity have brought upon themselves. A choice to go their own way apart from God. A choice with no good future.God tells Satan [the serpent] that from the descendants of Eve there will come a “Seed” or descendant who would step/stomp on his head and crush it. Satan would be permitted to attack the foot of the “Seed” and temporarily disable, harass and impede His work [a reference to the execution of the Messiah and the 3 days in the tomb, also a reference to the continued harassment of the present body of Christ as they bring the true gospel to the world]. But the end is decided and certain. Satan gets stomped.Scripture begins with a promise: God will send a “Seed”, a Son of Man, a descendant born of woman, to restore humanity from the pain, suffering, and death they chose… He will crush and replace Satan, and take charge of the course of humanity on earth. The rest of prophecy expands and elaborates on this promise.Promises to AbrahamGod calls Abraham and sets him apart. And He makes some promises to Abraham that show how the original promise from Genesis 3:15 will happen.Genesis 12:1-3 from Abraham will come a nation through which God will bring good to all humanityGenesis 22:18 from Abraham will come the “Seed” or descendant who will bring good things, and the promise of a brighter future to all humanity.Through Abraham God reveals a new pathway for humanity. On one hand we have the path set by Adam, to follow our own heart, our humanly devised sense of what is right and true. Its the way of all physically created beings, but it has no future. Physical life comes to an end after about 75 to 90 years. Without God there is nothing to look forward to. Just nothingness. [there is a way that seems right to a man but the end is death]On the other hand we have the path set by Abraham, to believe God, have confidence in His promises and to live by His word [obey His voice] because of that confidence. This is the way of spiritual creation. To have the mind of God built in you… a way with a bright a glorious future beyond those 75 to 90 years… a hope of eternal life in the family of God. The promise to Abraham is an example of one prophecy fulfilled in multiple ways [duality]: The Messiah would be born as a descendant [or seed] of Abraham Abraham’s millions of descendants would become a nation. God would make known a better way of living through that nation… His commandments, judgments, and statues… a way of mercy, faith, holiness and righteousness All who believe God and follow the path of faithful obedience would be of the same spiritual family as Abraham Galatians 3:16The Nation of IsraelWhen Abraham was old enough to be a great grandfather, and his wife was decades past menopause, they had a son Isaac. Isaac had two sons: Esau the oldest son & Jacob the younger. Against all tradition and precedent Jacob [the younger] was chosen to receive the promise over Esau [the elder]. These children were the beginning of God making good on his promises. The circumstances sent a message about how God works: God starts things small and causes them to grow larger. God’s blessing is a miracle… over-riding the laws of physics and biology. Isaac was a miracle baby Passing the promises along to Jacob was God’s choice. It was not deserved or earned. However, God does expect a positive response from us in returnJa