CHAPTER 1 - GOD S PROMISE TO NATIONAL ISRAEL<br > When and how did Israel begin? Is it a nation that goes all the<br > way hack to Noah? Can we know its precise beginning?<br > Indeed we can know its beginning. By carefully reading the<br > Bible we can know without the possibility of error the exact<br > circumstances relating to the founding of Israel.<br > The birth of the nation of Israel coincides with commands by<br > God to the ancient patriarch Abraham. Abraham was a Gentile<br > living in Ur of the Chaldees. God commanded him to leave his<br > homeland and go to a innd in which he would llve as a stranger. The<br > land he was sent to was the land of Canaan which became the land of<br > Israel.<br > As Abraham faithfully obeyed God， he received significant<br > ~romises concerning himse]~ and eoneerffmg h~s see~. Paese<br > promises related to the ~an<~， to b，bra~am an~ %~s ~ x ~~~x~xx~x~，~<br >t toGo~， and to the character and extent of his seed. These promises<br > must be looked at very carefully if we are to understand God s<br > present day commitments to national Israel，<br > The prom ses in question are especially set forth in the twalfth<br > ~g~ the twenty-eighth chapters of Genes s. We will examine<br > th t oa~fally.<br > Two Kinds of I~omls~<br > When we read these promises given to Abraham (Abraham was<br > called Abram unfilGenesis 17) in Genesis 12 through Genesis 28， we<br > i are going to discover that some related only to the seed of Abraham<br > while other promises related to Abraham himself as well as to his<br > seed.<br > We read for example in Genesis 12:7:<br > ，.. the Lord appeared unto Abram and said， Unto thy seed will I<br > this land，<br > i This promise does not concern itself with Abraham bnt only with his<br > seed. On the other hand， we read in Genesis 13:15:<br >