PROMISE TO ABRAHAM – PART TEN
Wednesday – November 29, 2017
The featured picture is of a Brangus bull we owned and had on the ranch some years ago. This particular bull weighed some 2000 plus lbs. Over the years we had a combination of Brangus and Angus. I really like the large cows and shiny coats but from an ease of birthing, rapid growth, and marketability I would go straight Angus again. Okay, the ranching lesson is out of the way, let’s dive into our Bible Study initiated from the wonderful Book of Hebrews. First our primary text.
Hebrews 6:12-15 (KJV)
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
I have been focusing on the promise of God to Abraham and how that was and is critical to us all. By faith in the Word of God a physical seed (Isaac) was born and the nation of Israel took form. This was a nation that God established out of the need to make Blood Covenant with a man who would provide the legal foundation for the Messiah to enter the earth. The Jewish or Hebrew people who arose from the faith of Abraham and are the people who preserved the Word God that we have today. They have provided an extensive record of what to do and what not to do. By faith they spoke, prophesied, the Messiah into the earth, “the Word was made flesh”. As we follow and unravel this account of Abraham we readily see that the Blood Covenant is the central issue of all creation after the Day of Sin. This Covenant required the full consent and participation of Father, and Son. As for Abraham, Isaac, the son of promise, Abraham’s only son whom he loved, had to be a willing participant in the Covenant. In the fullness of time God, the Father sent His Son, His only Son, whom He loved, and Jesus became our sacrifice willingly just as Isaac was willing to be sacrificed some 2000 years earlier. Isaac trusted the Word of God and he trusted his father Abraham just as Jesus trusted the Word of God and His Father. Jesus was the Word; however, those Words came from the Father. Now I will present ten recognized elements of blood covenant even between peoples.
TEN ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF BLOOD COVENANT
- In a blood covenant a weaker party covenants with a stronger and that is certainly the case with us and God (Matthew 26:28). 2. The blood covenant establishes equality between the parties. Scripture says that we are the sons of God (1 John 3:1). God called Abraham His friend (James 2:23).
- The blood covenant is perpetual or eternal and so is God’s covenant with the Church and with Israel (Genesis 9:16, Hebrews 13:20).
- This blood covenant is indissoluble, unbreakable. The Word of God stands no matter the actions of a person (John 10:35). For the flesh and the unrenewed mind the fact that the Blood Covenant is immutable is at times very inconvenient but at the same time if we will just keep marching it is also an impenetrable defense.
- The blood covenant is honored in succeeding generations. Over and over in Scripture we see God honoring His covenant, for example, with David and his descendants (1 Kings 15:4).
- Breaking the blood covenant leads to death, Scripture says that the wages of sin (breaking covenant) is death (Romans 6:23).
- Blood covenant gives equal access to assets between the parties. We surely got the best part of this deal by far. God calls us possessors of Heaven and earth and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus. (Galatians 4:7)
- The blood covenant provides for reciprocating (give in return) actions. Because Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac then the Father had to be willing to sacrifice His son, Jesus. (Genesis 22:12)
- Blood covenant provides for mutual defense. By our being obedient to the Word of God we provide for His defense and our own (Hebrews 10:13).
- This blood covenant requires a respect between the parties. (1 Samuel 2:30b)
All of these elements are wonderful however number eight dealing with reciprocating actions is vital to this discussion. Next, we find that God tests the Blood Covenant. This step is vital to victory just as it is in our lives. As we will see Abraham and Isaac do not fail and the stage is fully set for the Messiah to come. When we do not waver in the test the stage is also set for our promises to manifest in this physical realm. This test of Abraham and Isaac was vital to the opportunity of salvation for all peoples.
Genesis 22:1-2 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
There are seven mountains, what we might call hills upon which Jerusalem sits. God instructs Abraham to take Isaac to the “land of Moriah” “for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains”. Now, remember there are four parties, really five when Isaac is counted, and they are Jehovah, the Word, the Holy Spirit, and Abraham. Notice the language in Genesis 22:1 with the use of the word “God” and not the usual “LORD” that we have generally been seeing up to this point. The Blood Covenant is going to be put to the test and all participants are to be present. The two fathers and their respective sons, as well as the Holy Spirit who was crucial in the bringing of Isaac into the earth. The Holy Spirit will be essential to bringing Jesus into the earth and through His full restoration as God. I will pick-up here tomorrow.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (GW)
24 The LORD will bless you and watch over you.
25 The LORD will smile on you and be kind to you.
26 The LORD will look on you with favor and give you peace.’
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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