Eph 2:12 - That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Part 1
CHAPTER 1 - THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB
THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM
God first made a national promise in Genesis 12:2, "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great..." This promise was made to Abram and is repeated in Genesis 18:18, where he "shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him". This promise is also repeated in Genesis 17:5-6, where God entered into a covenant with Abram and his wife, Sarai, that they would be the parents of a people who would become a multitude or company of nations. To reinforce this promise God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham means "father of many nations". The promise reads, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee".
MIRACLE REQUIRED
Remember that at this point Sarah was barren, and past child-bearing age. Abraham had one son, but he was born of Sarah's handmaiden Hagar, and his name was called Ishmael. (Genesis 16:15.) However, the promise had said that the parents of the nation were to be Abraham and Sarah, therefore God had to perform a miracle to fulfil the prophecy. Sarah had laughed at the idea, as the thinking of her natural mind assumed that to have a child at her age was impossible. God is not limited by natural thinking, and in due course Sarah conceived and their son, Isaac, was born. Abraham was then one hundred years old. (Genesis 21:2-6.) Already God was using His supernatural power to cause the plan to come to pass.
PROMISE TO ISAAC
The promises God had made to Abraham were repeated to Isaac. Genesis 22:17-18 records that the angel of the Lord gave the following promise to Abraham concerning his son, "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. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." The descendants of Isaac were to be a great multitude, a huge nation, and to cause a great blessing to come upon the earth. Those familiar with the story will recognise the reference to Abraham's obedience to God in offering his son as a sacrifice on the altar, and God's provision of a lamb as a sacrifice so that Isaac could be spared. There is also a similarity to the sacrifice of Christ in this. No offering man can make is able to cleanse from sin. Only the perfect Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, could achieve cleansing from sin. The promise said, "and in thy seed", Isaac's descendants. This message of the Gospel was to be taken out so that "all nations of the earth be blessed".
ESAU SELLS BIRTHRIGHT
Isaac married Rebekah (Genesis 25:20). She also was barren, but Isaac sought the Lord and she conceived and bore twins. The Lord said unto her (verse 23), "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger" The firstborn came out red and was called Esau, and the second was called Jacob (verses 25-26). As young men Esau became a hunter, but Jacob dwelt in tents (verse 27). Because Esau was the elder he was entitled to the birthright promises given to his father Isaac, but he despised the promises and sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of pottage (Genesis 25:32-34).
PROMISES TO JACOB
God repeated the promises to Jacob, the third generation. At Bethel this next heir was told one further point: that in the process of forming the "multitude of nations" his descendants would spread over all the earth. "And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people". (Genesis 28:3.) Then later as he slept he beheld in a dream a ladder stretching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. The Lord stood above it and said (verse 14), "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Note the order of these directions, it is important. The next morning Jacob arose early "and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it" (verse 18). Remember this stone, too, it also is important.
JACOB'S NAME CHANGED
In Genesis 35:10-11, the promises to Jacob are further expanded by indicating that from within Jacob's descendants a further independent nation would be formed.
God also changed his name: "Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but ISRAEL shall be thy name... and God said unto him... a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee". We are now seeing a substantial list of literal promises which had to be fulfilled through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob / Israel if God's word is to be believed.
To Be Continued…………… A Transition of Wealth
Part 1
CHAPTER 1 - THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB
THE PROMISES TO ABRAHAM
God first made a national promise in Genesis 12:2, "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great..." This promise was made to Abram and is repeated in Genesis 18:18, where he "shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him". This promise is also repeated in Genesis 17:5-6, where God entered into a covenant with Abram and his wife, Sarai, that they would be the parents of a people who would become a multitude or company of nations. To reinforce this promise God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham means "father of many nations". The promise reads, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee".
MIRACLE REQUIRED
Remember that at this point Sarah was barren, and past child-bearing age. Abraham had one son, but he was born of Sarah's handmaiden Hagar, and his name was called Ishmael. (Genesis 16:15.) However, the promise had said that the parents of the nation were to be Abraham and Sarah, therefore God had to perform a miracle to fulfil the prophecy. Sarah had laughed at the idea, as the thinking of her natural mind assumed that to have a child at her age was impossible. God is not limited by natural thinking, and in due course Sarah conceived and their son, Isaac, was born. Abraham was then one hundred years old. (Genesis 21:2-6.) Already God was using His supernatural power to cause the plan to come to pass.
PROMISE TO ISAAC
The promises God had made to Abraham were repeated to Isaac. Genesis 22:17-18 records that the angel of the Lord gave the following promise to Abraham concerning his son, "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. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." The descendants of Isaac were to be a great multitude, a huge nation, and to cause a great blessing to come upon the earth. Those familiar with the story will recognise the reference to Abraham's obedience to God in offering his son as a sacrifice on the altar, and God's provision of a lamb as a sacrifice so that Isaac could be spared. There is also a similarity to the sacrifice of Christ in this. No offering man can make is able to cleanse from sin. Only the perfect Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, could achieve cleansing from sin. The promise said, "and in thy seed", Isaac's descendants. This message of the Gospel was to be taken out so that "all nations of the earth be blessed".
ESAU SELLS BIRTHRIGHT
Isaac married Rebekah (Genesis 25:20). She also was barren, but Isaac sought the Lord and she conceived and bore twins. The Lord said unto her (verse 23), "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger" The firstborn came out red and was called Esau, and the second was called Jacob (verses 25-26). As young men Esau became a hunter, but Jacob dwelt in tents (verse 27). Because Esau was the elder he was entitled to the birthright promises given to his father Isaac, but he despised the promises and sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of pottage (Genesis 25:32-34).
PROMISES TO JACOB
God repeated the promises to Jacob, the third generation. At Bethel this next heir was told one further point: that in the process of forming the "multitude of nations" his descendants would spread over all the earth. "And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people". (Genesis 28:3.) Then later as he slept he beheld in a dream a ladder stretching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. The Lord stood above it and said (verse 14), "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Note the order of these directions, it is important. The next morning Jacob arose early "and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it" (verse 18). Remember this stone, too, it also is important.
JACOB'S NAME CHANGED
In Genesis 35:10-11, the promises to Jacob are further expanded by indicating that from within Jacob's descendants a further independent nation would be formed.
God also changed his name: "Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but ISRAEL shall be thy name... and God said unto him... a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee". We are now seeing a substantial list of literal promises which had to be fulfilled through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob / Israel if God's word is to be believed.
To Be Continued…………… A Transition of Wealth
No comments:
Post a Comment