All the Blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

There is a certain phrase we hear in a certain place—“all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” that I decided I wanted to look through Genesis and see if I could pick out all the blessings so I can know what we can expect to receive.

The usual ones we know about are the following, which are reiterated multiple times throughout Genesis to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:

·      “this land,” meaning the land of Canaan

·      posterity as the stars in the sky

·      “In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed” (which implies the coming of the Messiah and temple work for families)

Here are the other ones I found:

To Abraham

“I will make of thee a great nation” (Gen. 12:2)

“I will make thy name great” (Gen. 12:2)

“thou shalt be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2)

“I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee” (Gen. 12:3)

“and the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abrams wife” (Gen 12:17)

“…the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand” (Gen. 14:20)

“I am thy shield, and thy exceedingly great reward” (Gen 15:1)

“he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (Gen. 15:4)

“thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age” (Gen. 15:15)

“I will make my covenant between me and thee” (Gen. 17:2)

“[I] will multiply thee exceedingly” (Gen. 17:2)

“thou shalt be a father of many nations” (Gen. 17:4)

“I will make thee exceedingly fruitful” (Gen. 17:6)

“kings shall come out of thee” (Gen. 17:6)

“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.” (Gen. 17:7)

“I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life” (Gen 18:10)

“At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Gen. 18:14)

“Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do[? No.]” (Gen. 18:17)

“he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Gen. 18:19)

“Also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed” (Gen. 21:12-13)

“thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Gen. 22:17)

“he shall send his angel before thee” (Gen. 24:7)

To Isaac

“I will be with thee and will bless thee” (Gen. 26:3)

“I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father” (Gen. 26:3)

“I am with thee” (Gen. 26:24)

To Jacob

“the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed” (Gen. 27:27)

“God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine” (Gen. 27:28)

“Let people serve thee, and nations bow down before thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be everyone that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee” (Gen. 27:29)  (Note: This sounds like Messianic prophecy as well)

“thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south” (Gen. 28:14)

“I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest; and will bring thee again into this land” (Gen. 28:15)

“I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (Gen. 28:15)

“I have seen all [the evil or injustice] that Laban doeth unto thee” (Gen. 31:12)

“I will surely do thee good” (Gen. 32:12)

“as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Gen. 32:28) (Note: Also a Messianic prophecy)

“I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes” (Gen. 46:4)

When I read these blessings as ones promised to me, I get a greater sense of what I can look forward to and ways that I can trust the Lord.  I also see that some can be read as Messianic prophecy.  The one from Gen. 46:4 sounds like a typological reference to the condescension of God, the redemption of man, and the restoration of the gospel through descendants of Joseph.  And this doesn't even touch on what latter-day revelation has to add to what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were promised.

What are your thoughts?