Читать книгу Bloodline for the Messiah - A. M. Deigloriam - Страница 9

(Approximately 2166–1953 BC)

Blessings found in the Old Testament are generally about God’s creation, His protection by providing us with our daily provisions, and a prosperous family. However, there were periods of time where God determined men were lost in sin and a new beginning needed to be established for the benefit of mankind. Noah and his family were blessed and selected by God to survive the flood and to begin the re-population of the earth. God at some time later created a covenant with Abraham, his son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons. The twelve sons of Jacob would be the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel and the chosen nation of God. God blessed Abraham and the Israelites that established the nation of Israel. They were the people (the Israelites) that finally occupied the Promised Land. This chosen nation of God would serve as a leader to all other nations in following God’s word and living as an example of an obedient people. God selected Israel for the primary purpose of being a nation of priests, prophets, and His representative in a world of sinners. Israel’s message was the promise of a Savior and Messiah that would come for the salvation of all mankind. Unfortunately, as prophesied many did deny Christ and still today refuse to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Savior for all of mankind. 1 Peter 2:9 reads, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

However, the qualifier is that these blessings are directly related to the entire nation of Israel and not to the individuals. God does bless individuals on an individual basis and those blessings may vary with obedience, God’s plan for their lives, and their relationship with their Lord and Savior. God loves His creation (all of mankind) and wants to commune with each one and be part of their daily lives. Galatians 3:28-29 reads, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Mankind becomes the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Those that are baptized make a public declaration and are sealed into an intimate relationship with their Lord and Savior. This intimate relationship can be one that brings a greater realization of greater responsibility and a position where greater blessings are present.

God called Abraham and told him to settle in the land of Canaan an area that today includes Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Sometime later God appears to Abraham again in the form of three men. Abraham at the age of 100 runs to meet them and bows his face to the ground.

Genesis 18:2-3 reads, “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. And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.” Abraham was visited by the Angel of the Lord and two angels for the purpose of blessing him with the message of a son.

The message of a son seemed impossible to Sarah and she laughed in her heart knowing she was too old to bear a child. God again uses another situation to teach us that nothing is impossible with God. This child would be the promised child named Isaac. Isaac would be blessed and inherit all of the land that was given to Abraham.

Abraham was known as a friend of God who actually pleaded and begged God not to destroy Sodom because of those few that were considered to be righteous. God heard Abraham’s plea and blessed Abraham when he was allowed to warn Lot, his nephew and his family to leave the city of Sodom. God sent angels to actually pull Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah before the cities were completely destroyed. This is one more example of God’s grace by allowing Lot and his family to escape and God’s patience with people who refused to obey His laws and commandments that had fallen in the depths of unspeakable sin. Today we see man’s morals decay as his society continues to accept depraved behavior as being normal. The result of this moral degradation has been the destruction of the family unit with many absent fathers and mothers with few moral standards and the resulting anger that is seen in many acts of violence. The respect for self and others has been lost with the refusal to love God, obey God’s commands and to love one another.

One of Abraham’s greatest lessons was to follow God’s request to make the ultimate sacrifice to end his own son’s life. God was instructing Abraham by allowing him to experience the pain a father suffers when allowing his son to be offered as a sacrifice. God was allowing Abraham to get some insight as to the amount a suffering God would endure when Jesus Christ His only son would suffer on the cross for the sins of man. God chose Abraham out of a pagan world and blessed him and his descendants as he stepped out in faith and obedience. God demanded that Abraham meet the requirements of faith and obedience for his descendants to be rewarded with the Promised Land. Faith in a sovereign God reduces worry about the future and allows love, kindness, peace to grow, and is self-denying. Faith and obedience are two important requirements from a sovereign God that are consistently repeated throughout the entire Bible.

Genesis 12:2 reads, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:”

Genesis 22:15-18 reads, “And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son. That in blessing I will bless thou, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall posses the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Genesis 25:11 reads, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi.”

God’s blessings were passed from generation to generation. In some cases these blessings unfolded in unpredictable ways. For example, Esau sold his blessings to his twin brother Jacob who in turn deceived his father Isaac to obtain the blessing. However, God disciplined Jacob by allowing many difficulties into Jacob’s life that included being deceived by his wife and beaten by an angelic being. Many of these difficulties were created by Jacob and the decisions he made. Likewise, a believer’s difficulties may be the result of God’s discipline, God’s instruction for growing in strength and wisdom, a method for glorifying God (John 9: 1-3), the result of sin passed down from a prior generation (Exodus 20:5), and other reasons known only to God. Making decisions based on self and your own wisdom will not be part of God’s plan for your life. God has a plan for each person that will use each person’s unique talents.

God’s plan and His blessings are perfect and unfold according to His will. All of the difficulties and hardships in a man’s life are created by sin in the world, disobedience by man, and lack of faith. A person that has asked Jesus to take control of their life will not be exempt from difficulties and hardships. However, they have been changed in many ways and have been given the gift of eternal life. This transformation involves changing the person’s values and goals, realization and appreciation of God’s love, and the claiming of the promise of eternal life with our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. From that point forward the new Christian will view life’s difficulties and challenges from the knowledge of knowing that all things work to further God’s grace and love. God loves His creation mankind and will naturally bless, instruct, and discipline His children.

Genesis 27:28-29 reads, “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be Lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s son bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.”

The family blessing that was passed on from generation to generation was extremely important because it needed to follow the covenant God made with Abraham and the path that lead to the salvation of mankind and the birth of Jesus. These blessings followed a path that was determined by the personal life of Jesus’ ancestors and their sin was responsible for preventing many family sons from experiencing God’s blessings. For example, Jacob’s first born, Reuben, was not considered to be suitable to lead the family and was passed over because of his sin. The fall of man and his sin is a major obstacle for receiving God’s blessings. However, for the believer Jesus’ death and resurrection removed all sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Philippians 3:10 reads, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

Our God is a holy sovereign God who has no sin, and therefore cannot tolerate any unclean spirit. Consequently, for fallen man to commune with God a sacrifice needs to be made that will wash away his sin. God blessed Abraham by allowing him to gain some understanding of the relationship that exists between a sovereign holy God and fallen man.

Application

God continues the bloodline with the birth of Abraham and his life of love and obedience for the Lord Almighty. It is believed that Abraham was the son of Terah the ninth descendant of Noah. Abraham was born in Mesopotamia but later moved under God’s direction to Canaan a land promised to Abraham by God. Abraham was known as the father of all nations and would enjoy a very close relationship with his Creator.

Three angels visited Abraham at the door of his tent for the purpose of explaining that Sarah was going to give birth to Isaac and the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Genesis 18:1-2 reads “And the lord appeared unto him in the plans of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 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,”

The birth of Isaac was not possible in the eyes of Sarah. We are quick to dismiss what seems to be physically impossible and what we know not to be true from past experiences. We forget nothing is impossible for our Lord and Savior. He has the ability to change the position of the sun and stars and to create an earth more beautiful than words can describe. He can change our lives in many ways and at any time.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Trusting in God requires a willingness to acknowledge we have many limitations and we need God’s direction to guide us through life’s many struggles. God does provide direction and does answer our prayers. How and by what means He answers our prayers and directs our lives is in many ways beyond our understanding. However, there are those situations where the answers to our prayers are obvious and our souls are given the opportunity to rejoice and mature in thanksgiving.

Another issue that confronts Abraham is the fact that God was going to destroy both the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness. Abraham was concerned realizing his nephew Lot and his family lived in Sodom. Abraham pleaded with God and tried to save the people of Sodom. However, God could not find ten righteous people in Sodom, consequently the city was destroyed. God was patience with Abraham and listened to his pleads and allowed Lot and his family to escape Sodom.

Genesis 19:15 reads, “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; least thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

Genesis 19:24 reads, “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.”

God’s mercy and patience is great and His rule is always just. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had fallen to great depths of sin. The sins committed by the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were grievous and called out for punishment. God considered all of Abraham’s pleads and carefully reviewed all the issues before making a decision.

God can and will destroy any city or nation that becomes too evil. The evils of Sodom and Gomorrah were detestable and were too evil to be spoken of.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-23 reads, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Abraham was selected by God to be the father of many nations and the instrument for continuing the bloodline for the Messiah. Israel would be only one of many nations.

Genesis 17:3-6 reads, “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but they 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.”

The covenant between God and Abraham was a promise that would have an everlasting effect for many generations and would bless all of mankind in many nations.

Genesis 12:3 reads, ”And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

All the families of the world would be blessed if they took on the faith of Abraham. The covenant between God and Abraham was a promise of blessings that would be centered on the arrival of the Messiah.

Galatians 3:29 reads, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

A person who takes on the faith of Abraham will become a spiritual child of Abraham and will experience the blessings of the covenant made between God and Abraham.

The most difficult truth for Abraham to learn was that he was God’s creation. God created all of mankind, has complete control over all of mankind, and required Abraham to understand that God was in control of all things including death. Abraham’s test came when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham followed God’s direction and placed his complete trust in God and believed without a doubt that God was in complete control. Abraham’s faith was without doubt and was strong enough to withstand any test.

The children of Abraham are all those of many nations that place their faith in God.

John 8:39-40 reads, “They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham‘s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.”

Abraham was a man of truth, unquestionable integrity, strong faith, and a man that followed God’s direction without doubt. Today, the children of Abraham walk in faith and know God’s word and obey His commandments. God spoke to Abraham and instructed Abraham how to obey His charge, commandments, statutes, and His laws. God’s commandments exposed sin and allowed Abraham and others to live a righteous life.

Genesis 26:5 reads, ”Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws.”