What's the meaning of the Sand and the Stars?

A personal interpretation of the destinations of Israel and the Body of Christ according to a dispensational right division of scripture.

Genesis 22:16-17 ... By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou [Abraham] hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son [from sacrifice]: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

In the above reiteration of the covenant promise to Abraham, God mentions two very different locations. The stars and the sand. Now what is significant of these? Why did God speak of these two locations? There MUST be a reason! Nothing God says is insignificant or meaningless! So, in order to understand the meaning of this, we need to look into other scripture for confirmation. Scripture must interpret scripture!

Before we continue, I want to point out that this is not the ONLY reference to stars and sand. These are mentioned many times. See Genesis 13:14 (sand), Genesis 15:4 (stars), Genesis 26:4 (stars), Genesis 28:14 (sand) and Hebrews 11:12 (sand and stars), Romans 9:27 (sand).

The promise God makes to Abraham mentions that his descendants will be multiplied as many as the stars AND the sand. This is important to note! God did not say the stars OR the sand! If He did, it would imply that there was only one group of Abrahams descendants, and this one group is being compared in number to two different items. However, this is not the case, because God used AND! —And implies that there are two groups of Abrahams descendants, each being compared to a specific item. Do you see the difference! The first group is as numerous as the stars, and the second group is as numerous as the sand on the seashore. This is VERY significant.

With this understanding we can now determine who are the stars and who is the sand? Israel (or more specifically, 'believing' Israel) is the sand and the members of the Body of Christ are the stars. Let me give you my reasons for this determination.

Israel is referred to as being as numerous as the sands of the sea in both Isaiah 10:22 and in Hosea 1:10. Besides these two direct references of Israel as the sand, one can also draw parallels based on the destinations of believing Israel and the Body of Christ. We know from the gospels and the preaching of the Kingdom message that Israel will inherit the earth. The 1000-year reign of Christ is not a spiritual reign, but a very physical and earthly reign. Prophecy and the Kingdom doctrine clearly teaches that Christ returns to earth and will occupy the throne of David in the heart of Jerusalem. He will be the One and only true authority on earth, a benevolent dictator, reigning over all countries and all peoples at that time. Have a look at these few confirming scriptures that Israel is tied to earth,

Job 19:25-27 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

Jeremiah 3:17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

Matthew 6:9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (See also: Acts 1:6; Acts 3:21)

In Israel's program, the earth is very much in focus here! Can you see the connection with "sand"?

Now lets look at the Body of Christ. Where is our destination? What does the Bible say regarding our home? Is it also the earth? No —it is not! Our inheritance and destination is the heavens. Have a look at these confirming scriptures,

Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

2 Timothy 4:17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

In the last verse above, Paul, who being a Jew and very aware of the Jewish destination being the glorious Kingdom of Christ on earth, shows that due to his calling as the Apostle to the Gentiles, he was divinely transferred into the "grace program", as he says that he will be preserved for the Heavenly Kingdom.

In the grace program for the Body of Christ, earth is definitely NOT the focus. It is mentioned over and over in scripture that our destination is the heavens. Can you see the connection to the stars?

One last point. If this interpretation is valid, why make the point in the source verse so subtle or cryptic? Why not just say the sand and the stars represent two different people groups? Well, the reason it is subtle is because at this time it was supposed to be hidden. The grace program for the Body of Christ was NEVER prophesied or revealed in the Old Testament or the Gospels. The reason for this can be found in this verse,

1 Cor.2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Without knowing this hidden wisdom of God, the fact that God would use two programs and two people groups for the redemption of humanity and His creation through Jesus Christ, one would never be able to guess the significance of the stars and the sand. One would never be able to decipher the plan of God in order to compromise the crucifixion of Christ and its invaluable outcome. The wording of the sand and the stars was of little significance. However, in this day and age, and with greater insights into the full spectrum of God’s plan, it is now quite easy to spot the incredible significance in the sand and the stars. When one rightly divides the Word and separates Israel (the sand) from the Gentiles (the stars), we can now identify this verse as dealing with two separate programs and understand the significance of each in His redemptive plan.