Daily Bible Portion (Wednesday)
Daily Bible Portion - 4 of 7
"AND HE APPEARED"
(Weekly Reading>>Genesis 18:1-22:24, 2 Kings 4:1-23, Luke 17:26-37, Romans 4:13-25; 9:6-9, Hebrews 11:13-19)
Isaac – The Son of the Promise
(Genesis 21:4)
After his birth, Isaac was circumcised on the eighth day in accordance with the teaching, instruction (the gospel) and Covenant given to Abraham thirteen years earlier. Joy and laughter surrounded Isaac as he grew and was weaned. On the chronological chart we see that Noah’s son Shem and his great grandson Eber were still alive at this time. Could they have been at these great celebrations, as well as having a part to play in Isaac’s education and learning of the gospel/Torah?
During the celebration of Isaac, Sarah noticed Ishmael mocking and challenging him. She knew that Ishmael’s dishonor toward Isaac was not to be tolerated so she demanded that Ishmael and her servant Hagar leave. There was only one son of the Covenant of Promise and that son was Isaac.
What do the writings of the descendants of Ishmael proclaim? The Quran indeed bears witness concerning the land and to whom it was given.
"To Moses We [Allah] gave nine clear signs. Ask the Israelites how he [Moses] first appeared amongst them. Pharoah said to him: 'Moses, I can see that you are bewitched.' 'You know full well,' he [Moses] replied, 'that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has revealed these visible signs. Pharoah, you are doomed.'"
"Pharoah sought to scare them [the Israelites] out of the land [of Israel]: but We [Allah] drowned him [Pharoah] together with all who were with him. Then We [Allah] said to the Israelites: 'Dwell in this land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the hereafter [End of Days] comes to be fulfilled, We [Allah] shall assemble you [the Israelites] all together [in the Land of Israel]."
"We [Allah] have revealed the Qur'an with the truth, and with the truth it has come down. We have sent you [Muhammed] forth only to proclaim good news and to give warning."
[Qur'an, "Night Journey," chapter 17:100-104]
"And [remember] when Moses said to his people: 'O my people, call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.'" [Qur'an 5:20-21]
Yahweh did not abandon Ishmael and Hagar, but cared for them. Ishmael lived in the desert as an archer and married an Egyptian woman.
Treaty at Beersheba - Genesis 21:22-34
Abimelech, King of Gerar, and the commander of his forces approached Abraham, saying, “Yahweh is with you in everything you do.” The king then asked Abraham to set up a treaty with him and his descendants after him. Abraham agreed.
Later Abraham discovered Abimelech’s servants had seized his well. Abraham again set up a treaty between them and had seven ewe lambs set aside from his flock to offer Abimelech for the well. In accepting the sheep, Abimelech agreed that the well was Abraham’s. With this Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and called the well Beersheba, the Well of Seven with extended meaning of the “Well of the Oath.”
Abraham’s Faith: Part Two
(Genesis 22 Abraham and Isaac)
Is faith blind or is faith indeed tangible and full of substance? How do we describe faith? Paul instructs us in Colossians 1: 21-23.
Paul says here that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven long before there where the four gospels in the New Testament. The only way a believer can walk in tangible faith is to keep the gospel - the same gospel that was given to Abraham. There are not two gospels - one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. The gospel that was given in the Old Testament is the same gospel in the New Testament that has sustained Yeshua’s people since the beginning of time.
When we look at faith as something we have already taken hold of, we walk in Yahweh’s heavenly nature/kingdom (Olam Haba). To understand the gospel made all the difference in Abraham’s life. If he was told to give up his only son while still emotionally tied to an unredeemed lifestyle it would have been extremely difficult to respond and obey. This is the time in Abraham’s life that we see him choose not to be tempted in forfeiting everything he had been given but to trust in the gospel he received. This revealed his future and the importance of the gospel to his future generations (Olam Haba). Here he must walk freely after the Spirit of Yahweh. This final test was for Abraham’s sake to reveal the faith, purpose and vision Yahweh had prophesied over him long ago.
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us.”
In order to walk in Yeshua’s faithfulness Abraham took dominion over his earthly nature. He overcame his lack of self-confidence, and rose above this nakedness (earthly nature Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – Olam Hazeh). He chose to walk after Yeshua’s heavenly nature (Olam Haba) that was freely offered him as a gift from the Tree of Life. Thus far, Abraham had ten testings in his walk with Yahweh but this test would be the one that would bring Abraham into agreement and unity with the Creator of the Universe; echad - one with Him.
After many trials, Abraham was able to take hold of his inheritance and walk in it. This was attainable only through trust. Faith is to honor the principles held in the gospel through application to the instruction and by no other means. Faith, obedience and honoring Yahweh’s word/the gospel delivered Abraham. He pierced the veil and stepped through into the Olam Haba – Heavenly realm – the future yet unseen.
continues tomorrow...
"AND HE APPEARED"
(Weekly Reading>>Genesis 18:1-22:24, 2 Kings 4:1-23, Luke 17:26-37, Romans 4:13-25; 9:6-9, Hebrews 11:13-19)
Isaac – The Son of the Promise
(Genesis 21:4)
After his birth, Isaac was circumcised on the eighth day in accordance with the teaching, instruction (the gospel) and Covenant given to Abraham thirteen years earlier. Joy and laughter surrounded Isaac as he grew and was weaned. On the chronological chart we see that Noah’s son Shem and his great grandson Eber were still alive at this time. Could they have been at these great celebrations, as well as having a part to play in Isaac’s education and learning of the gospel/Torah?
During the celebration of Isaac, Sarah noticed Ishmael mocking and challenging him. She knew that Ishmael’s dishonor toward Isaac was not to be tolerated so she demanded that Ishmael and her servant Hagar leave. There was only one son of the Covenant of Promise and that son was Isaac.
Romans 9:6-9 “For not everyone from Israel is Israel; indeed, not all the descendants are seed of Abraham, rather, ‘What is to be called your seed will be in Isaac.’ In other words, it is not the physical children who are children of Yahweh, but the children of the promise who are considered seed. For this is what the promise said, ‘At the set time, I will come; and Sarah will have a son’” (2 Chronicles 20:7, Psalm 105:6; Genesis 21:12; 18:14; Galatians 4:21-31).
What do the writings of the descendants of Ishmael proclaim? The Quran indeed bears witness concerning the land and to whom it was given.
"To Moses We [Allah] gave nine clear signs. Ask the Israelites how he [Moses] first appeared amongst them. Pharoah said to him: 'Moses, I can see that you are bewitched.' 'You know full well,' he [Moses] replied, 'that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has revealed these visible signs. Pharoah, you are doomed.'"
"Pharoah sought to scare them [the Israelites] out of the land [of Israel]: but We [Allah] drowned him [Pharoah] together with all who were with him. Then We [Allah] said to the Israelites: 'Dwell in this land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the hereafter [End of Days] comes to be fulfilled, We [Allah] shall assemble you [the Israelites] all together [in the Land of Israel]."
"We [Allah] have revealed the Qur'an with the truth, and with the truth it has come down. We have sent you [Muhammed] forth only to proclaim good news and to give warning."
[Qur'an, "Night Journey," chapter 17:100-104]
"And [remember] when Moses said to his people: 'O my people, call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.'" [Qur'an 5:20-21]
Yahweh did not abandon Ishmael and Hagar, but cared for them. Ishmael lived in the desert as an archer and married an Egyptian woman.
Treaty at Beersheba - Genesis 21:22-34
Abimelech, King of Gerar, and the commander of his forces approached Abraham, saying, “Yahweh is with you in everything you do.” The king then asked Abraham to set up a treaty with him and his descendants after him. Abraham agreed.
Later Abraham discovered Abimelech’s servants had seized his well. Abraham again set up a treaty between them and had seven ewe lambs set aside from his flock to offer Abimelech for the well. In accepting the sheep, Abimelech agreed that the well was Abraham’s. With this Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and called the well Beersheba, the Well of Seven with extended meaning of the “Well of the Oath.”
Abraham’s Faith: Part Two
(Genesis 22 Abraham and Isaac)
“Yahweh tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:1-2).
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance [physical] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Is faith blind or is faith indeed tangible and full of substance? How do we describe faith? Paul instructs us in Colossians 1: 21-23.
“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works[sin/disobedience], yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight - if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister” (Colossians 1: 21-23).
Paul says here that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven long before there where the four gospels in the New Testament. The only way a believer can walk in tangible faith is to keep the gospel - the same gospel that was given to Abraham. There are not two gospels - one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. The gospel that was given in the Old Testament is the same gospel in the New Testament that has sustained Yeshua’s people since the beginning of time.
When we look at faith as something we have already taken hold of, we walk in Yahweh’s heavenly nature/kingdom (Olam Haba). To understand the gospel made all the difference in Abraham’s life. If he was told to give up his only son while still emotionally tied to an unredeemed lifestyle it would have been extremely difficult to respond and obey. This is the time in Abraham’s life that we see him choose not to be tempted in forfeiting everything he had been given but to trust in the gospel he received. This revealed his future and the importance of the gospel to his future generations (Olam Haba). Here he must walk freely after the Spirit of Yahweh. This final test was for Abraham’s sake to reveal the faith, purpose and vision Yahweh had prophesied over him long ago.
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us.”
In order to walk in Yeshua’s faithfulness Abraham took dominion over his earthly nature. He overcame his lack of self-confidence, and rose above this nakedness (earthly nature Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – Olam Hazeh). He chose to walk after Yeshua’s heavenly nature (Olam Haba) that was freely offered him as a gift from the Tree of Life. Thus far, Abraham had ten testings in his walk with Yahweh but this test would be the one that would bring Abraham into agreement and unity with the Creator of the Universe; echad - one with Him.
After many trials, Abraham was able to take hold of his inheritance and walk in it. This was attainable only through trust. Faith is to honor the principles held in the gospel through application to the instruction and by no other means. Faith, obedience and honoring Yahweh’s word/the gospel delivered Abraham. He pierced the veil and stepped through into the Olam Haba – Heavenly realm – the future yet unseen.
Hebrews 11:17-19 “By faith [believing in the gospel and obeying it] Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called, concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.’”
continues tomorrow...
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