Sunday 31 July 2011

Abrahamic Covenant


Covenant
A covenant is c contract or agreement between two prates to complete a task in the old testament the Hebrew word Beriyth is translated covenant ,Beriyth is derived from the rood which means ‘to cut’ and hence a covenant is a cutting with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts.
There are two types of covenants: conditional and unconditional. A conditional or bilateral covenant is an agreement that is binding on both parties for its fulfillment. Both parties agree to fulfill certain conditions. If either party fails to meet their responsibilities, the covenant is broken and neither party has to fulfill the expectations of the covenant. An unconditional or unilateral covenant is an agreement between two parties, but only one of the two parties has to do something. Nothing is required of the other party.
There are 4 unconditional covenants in the bible that god established and will be fulfilled regardless of mans ability

1) the Abrahamic
2) the Palestinian/ Canaan
3) The Davidic
4) The new covenant

Within these convents are conditional blessing and curses but the ultimate fulfillment is promised by God himself.We will examine each of them individually over the days.

1-The Abrahamic Covenant
The abrahamic covenant was between God and man called Abraham. God made his declaration to Abraham in Genesis 12.1-3,6-7

There are three main features to the Abrahamic Covenant:

1. The promise of land (Genesis 12:1). God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees to a land that He would give him (Genesis 12:1). This promise is reiterated in Genesis 13:14–18 where it is confirmed by a shoe covenant; its dimensions are given in Genesis 15:18–21 (precluding any notion of this being fulfilled in heaven). The land aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant is also expanded in Deuteronomy 30:1–10, which is the Palestinian Covenant.

2. The promise of descendants (Genesis 12:2). God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation out of him. Abraham, who was 75 years old and childless (Genesis 12:4), was promised many descendants. This promise is amplified in Genesis 17:6 where God promised that nations and kings would descend from the aged patriarch. This promise (which is expanded in the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7:12–16) would eventuate in the Davidic throne with Messiah’s kingdom rule over the Hebrew people.

3. The promise of blessing and redemption (Genesis 12:3). God promised to bless Abraham and the families of the earth through him. This promise is amplified in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34; cf. Hebrews 8:6–13) and has to do with “Israel’s spiritual blessing and redemption.” Jeremiah 31:34 anticipates the forgiveness of sin. The unconditional and eternal nature of the covenant is seen in that the covenant is reaffirmed to Isaac (Genesis 21:12; 26:3–4). The “I will” promises suggest the unconditional aspect of the covenant. The covenant is further confirmed to Jacob (Genesis 28:14–15). It is noteworthy that God reaffirmed these promises amid the sins of the patriarchs, which fact further emphasizes the unconditional nature of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Provisions of the Abrahamic covenant
1-Abraham would be a great nation
2-Abraham name would be great
3-Blessing to those who bless Abrahams descendents
4-Curses to those who curse Abraham’s descendents
5-Land of moriah promised to abrahm’s descendents
6-All families of earth blessed in abrahm
7-Abraham father of many nations
8-Everlasting covenant with Isaac , and his descendents
9-Covenant descendents will posses the gates of their enemies

These provision of the covenant would be the foundation of God’s future relationship with man. After the fall of man god foretold the coming of the ‘seed’ of the woman one who would crush the serpents head, This person would come thru the line of Abraham.Thru Abraham’s family line God would redeem mankind from the fall
Thru the covenant God established with Abraham would all the nations of the earth be blessed.The covenant come to Abraham because he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Romans4 ) Abraham would be a father of all those who would trust God by faith . The covenant was an everlasting covenant meaning its fulfillment was unconditional.
The covenant contained physical provisions involving both a land and a people.The land of promise Moriah , was given by God to Abraham and his descendents thru Jacob.The physical land and Abrahams descendents would play a vital role in the completion of the covenant. Today the land of the promise is one of the most contentious issues that trouble the earth.Over half of the earth population has some sort of spiritual connection to the promise land of Abrahm

Sunday 10 July 2011

Abraham


Abraham is considered to have a significant place in the bible. He is know as the father of faith, because of the unbreakable faith in God that he had in his life ,which is well portrayed to the readers in the bible .He was the eldest son of his father. The bible informs us of that fact that he had two brothers. The bible tells that Abraham’s father along with his people and family left their native land Ur to go to promised land of Canaan, however they end up stopping in the middle and end up living in a place called Haran, shortly after we come to know that Abraham’s father dies in this strange land never getting the chance of seeing the promise land .Abraham who is the eldest takes up the place of the in the family of responsibilities after his fathers death. It is In such a state of Abrahams life ,God comes to Abraham and tells him to leave everything fro the land God will show him ,The bible says that Abraham was 75 when god spoke to him, an age perhaps we would like to sit in our easy chairs with a hot cup of cooko ,with our feet on the cushion , experiencing the retired life , and waiting perhaps for the lord to take us home !


We come to know that Abram’s dealing with God are built around covenants,
‘Leave-----for a land that I will show you ‘ Abram is call to venture into the unknown .The way ahead will be revealed to him as he takes the path of obedience , His part is to trust and obey, what a crucial moment this is in his life it will determine his whole destiny , Indeed it will determine the destiny of the world
God does not hold back on what is being demanded. It is spelled out clearly. He must leave his land, to which by now he has become tied by a sense of belonging. He must leave his kinsfolk, those whom he knows so well and has relied on so often. He must leave his position in the family hierarchy, his father’s house, those who are most important to him. The thoughts are progressive.
But in return he is promised what every man dreams of. He is to enjoy a new land. He will become ‘a great nation’. He will experience God’s special protection. He is to become ‘a blessing’. Indeed the whole earth will be blessed through what he does, or rather what God does through him. The ideas are in parallel. He must leave a land to receive a land. He must leave kinsfolk in order to become part of a great nation. He must leave his close family so that all the world might become his family. This is God’s covenant. Obey, he is told, and you will receive abundantly and flowing over. And Abram believes and obeys


The bibles informs us , as Abram moved from place to place where ever he pitched his tend of rest , he with out fail also builted an alter to worship God , this shows how much he desired the fellowship of God almighty, and that he never forgets to worship God.

We come to read that there was a famine in the land of Canaan, were Abram was living , this must have been a real test to Abram’s faith the land that god has brought him to has failed and he must leave it as least for a time, but we never see Abram complaining to God for bringing him to such a land , as the Israelites complained to Moses in the desert for forty years , this tells us that Abram knew God, as “God almighty “ . and we see Abraham returning back to the land with grate riches from Egypt.

We must stay in the way of faith and perseverance, and try to imitating those who though faith and patience inherited the promises of God and in order to underline that great exhortation , Abraham the patriarch is a truly an example for us to follow no man in all the bible stands up than a greater example of faith and perseverance than Abraham the friend of God . we have many today to follow , but Abraham did not have anyone he could learn from , he himself was the first so was he call the father of the faithful

In our reading of the book of Genesis , we come to reed that not one of all the promises that God told Abraham was not immediately fulfilled, everything thing was held for a long time in obedience, something were not fulfilled in the life time of Abraham ,for one thing he never got possession of the land of Canaan , the only thing that Abraham owned in the land of Cannon was cave that he bought in order that he might burry his wife ,not only that he wondered up and down the land for 25 years after he hand forsaken all to follow the lord before God gave him any inheritance, but finally at the age of a 100 God gave him a Son.

Then we come to know about the most amazing thing the holey Bible were God tell Abrham to take his only son Isaac and sacrifice him on the mountain ,that made no sense at all to the purely human point of view, because they waited so long and everything seems to be depend up on Isaac living for the lord has said in Isaac shall your seed be called.

What did Abraham do to stand in faith, Abraham believed God and because he believed he also obeyed ,what was it that gave this man the will to believe two thing .1) he believed in all his Heart God as the Almighty.
2)Abraham believed in the covenant he had with God, with out question. Which became is anchor of faith in his life and his sole that became the firm foundation that on the basis of which he might have hope and certainty. Our life is like a journey at sea, you can not tell how the weather would be the next day ,with the ups and downs in our life , our faith would be tested again and again with thing that come in this life and in our life we need a firm anchorage , we need something that we can lay hold off that will never mover and that will never faille you and never forsake you . the only thing that you can anchor you sole upon is the firm and absolutely certain word of the almighty that cannot lie .
We now are now known to the one who sits in the right hand of god, and in placing our anchor of faith in him Christ Jesus and obedience to him the way Abraham did we will inherit the promises of God our Father .



In the journey of Abraham and Isaac to the mountain, where God had told Abraham to take his son and to offer his only begotten son as a sacrifice.
There are several significant moments in this journey.We read that the journey took three days, on another moment is ,when Isaac looks around and sees the wood and fire, he asks his father ,were is the lamp to offer sacrifice to the lord, Abraham replied to Isaac by saying that the lord will provide.

when Abraham raised his knife to kill his son , the angel of god told abrham ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

When Abraham look around he saw a ram , caught in the bushes ,Abraham caught hold of the lamb and sacrificed the ram in his son’s place , Thus the team ‘Jehovah-Jireh’ the lord that Provides came to be ,
It is said that it is on this very mountain that God offered his only begotten son our Savior Jesus Christ as a living and ultimate sacrifice for our sins and unification of our fellowship with our Lord God Almighty.