| Flesh, Law, Erets, Adamah
by Randal Nuss
February 11, 2023
Here is a short biblical narrative which explains a few facets of history and prophecy which I’ve been pointing out for years. The first issue is the frequent mention of flesh in the NT. The second issue is the frequent comparisons of erets and adamah in the OT. The following emphasis for clarity:
Romans 9:3-8 - “3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for MY BRETHREN, MY KINSMEN ACCORDING TO THE FLESH:
4 WHO ARE ISRAELITES; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the GIVING OF THE LAW, and the service of God, and the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. FOR THEY ARE NOT ALL ISRAEL, WHICH ARE OF ISRAEL:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the CHILDREN OF THE FLESH, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”
The English term “flesh” does not always mean a person’s meat suit. The above narrative shows that “flesh” is predominately a covenant term indetifying those under Yahwist Law. Paul begins by showing that “flesh” are his brethren, who were Israelites and under the law. Verse 8 shows that the Israelites were “children of God”. Verse 8 also shows that not all “flesh” were “children of God” (indigenous Israel), but rather “children of the flesh” (foreign converts).
Then begins a curious comparison of Abraham and Isaac in the narrative. This has to do with the frequent comparisons of erets and adamah in the OT. Here is a summary of mission declarations for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob made during their receiving of blessings.
Genesis 12:3 - “ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all FAMILIES OF THE EARTH (adamah) be blessed.”
Genesis 22:18 - “And in thy seed shall all the NATIONS OF THE EARTH (erets) be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
Genesis 26:4 - “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the NATIONS OF THE EARTH (erets) be blessed;”
Genesis 28:14 - “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the FAMILIES OF THE EARTH (adamah) be blessed;”
Notice that “families of the earth (adamah)” is a smaller scale than “nations of the earth (erets)”. This proves that erets and adamah are specifically different entities which are also different in scope. Abraham encapsulates both missions, those being a blessing to the families of the adamah and to the nations of the erets. It was achieved through his progeny with Isaac taking the specific mission of being a blessing to the nations of the erets, while Jacob’s being a blessing to the families of the adamah.
Romans 9 reveals that Isaac’s mission was unique to those “not of (indigenous) Israel”, but rather to “children of the flesh” (foreign converts). Through a process of elimination, we can determine that Isaac’s mission was unique to the erets while Jacob’s mission was unique to ISRAEL. We can apply this all the way back to Genesis 1 and 2. Genesis 1 is about the broader erets which Isaac ended up being a blessing to. Genesis 2 begins the specific story of Israel, of which Jacob was a blessing to. Also in Genesis 2, Adam and Eve became “one flesh” (both under Yahwist Law), which indicates that one of them was not under Yahwist law, that being Eve who had to go through a conversion process. Eve was a converted foreigner.
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