Tag Archives: Abrahamic Covenant

Bible Study – Three Angels Visit Abraham

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The Covenant has been sealed by both YHWH and Abraham. The year is approximately 1898 B.C.   With the sealing of the Covenant, officially begins the Abrahamic Covenant – and the nation of Israel.

mamre1

1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

Abraham lived in Mamre, a life that could be described as Spiritually rich.

angels-visit

2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from Thy servant:

4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

angels-with-food

6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Here is evidence that angels can take on the function and form of flesh – because they all ate. Abraham’s visitors are not spirits. But – they are not human beings either. The identity of One of these visitors will be covered in the next devotional.

sarah-in-tent

9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.10 And He said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And He said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Genesis 18: 1-15

There is a distinct difference between Abraham’s laughter of indescribable joy [Genesis 17:17] and Sarah’s laugh of disbelief. Also note in vs. 12, that Sarah laughed within herself – it was not audible laughter. See how the Lord knows our very thoughts? But this extremely significant exchange between the Lord and Sarah is often overlooked.

  • Sarah is far, far past the age for having children – she is as “good as dead”
  • She frankly asked if she were to “have pleasure” – meaning would the son be conceived naturally with her “lord” – very old husband
  • She denied that she laughed
  • The Lord asked her a question – which went unanswered – “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?”

The Lord had waited until there could be absolutely, positively, no chance of Sarah conceiving a child naturally. In His Sovereign Majesty He states that He will do what man can never do. The unanswered question – “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” was answered miraculously almost 2,000 years later in reference to the most impossible Conception and Birth. Issac was an impossible conception and birth from dead flesh – Foreshadowing the impossible conception and birth of Jesus Christ – born to give all mankind, spiritually dead in sin – New Birth, not of the flesh, but of the Spirit.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 1: 37

Bible Study – Prophecy of Israel’s Bondage

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In our last devotional, Abram’s extraordinary faith was shown, and God promised Abram an innumerable inheritance. We proceed with the establishment of the the Abrahamic Covenant. It is a detailed procedure, not being fully sealed for 15 years.

7 And He said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

9 And He said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

covenant-between-the-pieces2

10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

It is only my personal take on this – but I believe the covenant animals used here are extremely significant.

daniels_image

The heifer would correlate with the Babylonian empire.

Persia is not included because Persia willingly released Israel.

The she goat is the Grecian empire.

The ram is the Roman empire.

The animals are three years old – each representing a third of Israel’s bondage. The undivided turtle dove would be Israel, and the undivided young pigeon is the offspring of the turtle dove – the church. The fowls that come down to devour the sacrifice, are Satan and his demons.

night-visions

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.13 And He said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

  1. God tells Abram of Israel’s 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
  2. He is told of Egypt’s reciprocal punishment
  3. They will come out of Egypt with great wealth
  4. God will afterwards use Israel to punish the Amorites, but not yet. They had not fully descended into the moral abyss. Much like the pagan world today. But – it’s coming!
fire

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

Notice that Abram does not pass through the pieces! God does.
God is not “cutting” the covenant, He is sealing it with fire! Sealing off His chosen from the pagan nations throughout history, carrying them through, for His purposes. God’s eternal covenant is just that – eternal.

futureisrael

18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Genesis 15: 7-21

Interesting to ponder – the governments of the world all want Israel to give up even more of the tiny patch they hold now. The nations of the world are now much in every way like the “ites” that Israel was commanded to destroy.

9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Peter 3:9-10