Gods covenant with Abraham

[Thewatchman]

Gods covenant with Abraham​

Genesis 15:1. After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.



What a promise it was given to Abram way back then but it is a reverent today and will be until Jesus returns.



Verse 2. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?



Abram was not doubting God, like Mary, he was pointing out the problem that stood in the way. I don't have any children and according to the law when I die everything I have will be given to Damascus.



Verse 3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.



Abram is just restating his concern as in verse 2.



Verse 4. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.



God is telling Abram not to worry He has everything under control.



Verse 5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.



God brought him abroad (Strong's outdoors)showed him the stars; number them if you can, and that shall be the numbers of your children shall be.



Verse 6. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.



Abram believed and it was counted as righteousness. This verse confirms that Abram was not questioning God and His promise but asking how can you do this thing.



Verse 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.



This has been My plan for you along.



God Confirms His Promise

Verse 8. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?



How do I know all this is going to happen?



Verse 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.



Get your sacrifice together We are going to make a covenant together.

Verse 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.



He did not divide the birds because of there size. They were to small to cut in half.



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



Abram was protecting his sacrifice.



Verse 12. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.



Why did a deep sleep fall upon Abram? He was not to take part in this covenant; Why? If he took part in it the covenant by law would end upon his death; so God made it with himself so that it would be an everlasting covenant. Horror of great darkness. This is not a scary darkness but one so dark you could not see anything.



Verse 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.



God is explaining what is going to happen to Abram's offspring in the furture.



Verse 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.



This is God making the covenant with Himself to keep the Abrhamic covenant forever.



Verse 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:19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.




God is letting Abram know what is going to befall his offspring.

 

[Thewatchman]

Gods covenant with Abraham part 2.​

We all should know about Ishmael but lets just do a quick recap. Sarai gave her handmaiden Hagar to Abram. Now before you start saying that is a sin: No it was not. Why? God had given no law to that effect yet. Sarai starts to regret what she had done and starts taking her anger out on Hagar. Hagar took off and an angle comes to her and tells her she is with child, this child shall also become a multitude. We know them today as the Muslim nations.

When Abram was 99 years old God came again to him and said “I am the Almighty God walk before me and be perfect. Use a little common sense here Abram was not nor did God expect him to be perfect. He expected him to try and walk perfect before Him just as we today are to try and walk perfect and when we slip we pick ourselves knock the dust off the seat of our pants ask God for forgiveness and to help us do better and move on.

Genesis 17:4 God changes Abram's name to Abraham and tells him you will become the father of many nations. We have seen that come to pass.

17:7.I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.8And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.9God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you. 10This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

This covenant still stands today with the same stipulation; and it is not circumcision; it is You must keep my covenant. Today that covenant is made by the blood of Jesus Christ He is our sacrifice, He is our way to the Father and there is none other.

That has not made invalided Gods covenant with Abraham that his descendants would become as the sand of the sea. We have to move ahead several hundred years to find out just what this covenant (promise, or inheritance) We will pick it up in Genesis 48.

48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt,are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

This taking the grandsons and making them his own was a very seldom used law; but God has put it to very good use even today.

Verse 8. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age,so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

Israel (Jacob) gets ready to bless Ephraim and Manasseh.

Verse 13. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.14And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

Joseph sets his two son in front of his father Manasseh the oldest on the right to get the first and best blessing and Ephraim on the left. Notice what Jacob does, He puts his right hand on the younger son and his left hand on the older son switching the blessings the younger getting the better blessing than his older brother. Joseph tries to change things but Jacob stops him and tells him I know what I am doing; everything is going to be OK.

Verse 17. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.18And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

Just who these nations are is a bible study for another time. Important to understand just because these nations get a great blessing it dose not mean they are any less subject to Gods law; in fact to whom much is given much is required. So God will require more of the people not less.

I hope you find this study helpful,

ThewatchMan