Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Genesis 12:1-3 The Promise of Peace: The Calling of Abraham


Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 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: 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.

Here we have the calling of Abram, who is later renamed, by G-d, as Abraham, the father of the Judaic line. His wife is Sarai, who is also renamed as Sarah. I find it very interesting that G-d adds the Hebrew letter “hey” to their names. The letter “Hey” is symbolic of the breath of G-d. By the breath of G-d comes his Word which is the Messiah Y’shua and the father of the Messianic line is Abram or Abraham.

Also, anytime G-d calls anyone into service, he calls them to be sanctified, or separated from worldly influences. This is no different from you and me. Here he is telling Abram to get away from everything and come to G-d. Notice that it’s not a request. He is commanding Abram to come forth. If it was a request then he would have phrased it as an “If …Then” comment. If you come forth then I’ll will bless thee. No. He is telling Abram to come forth and he WILL bless him. The reason is that G-d has had a salvation plan for you and me from the beginning and now is going to continue through this man, Abram.

Notice that it is a command followed by a unconditional promise. It doesn’t matter what Abram does from here on out, G-d is going to follow through with his promise. Praise G-d. Aren’t you glad that G-d is that way. Once you place your faith and separated yourself from the world, G-d has promised you eternal life with him and there’s nothing you can do to separate yourself from G-d….unless you make a conscience decision to leave him. Abram is no different. As we will see, Abram will put his faith in G-d and will fall flat on his face many times before the end of his life. However, G-d will always be faithful and follow through with his promises.

In these verses, G-d promises to show him a land that he will give to Abram and his descendants and make it a great nation. This nation is what we know today as Israel. I love the part that G-d will bless the nation of Israel and make it a blessing to the whole world. This blessing came to us through the Messiah Y’shua which came out of Israel. It is amazing to sit back and look at how G-d’s plan has played out and continues to play out according to the scriptures. I do believe we are in for some exciting times ahead as G-d’s salvation plan comes to a head. I firmly believe and expected that we will see the coming of our Lord and Savior in his triumph return for his people within our lifetime.

Finally, notice in verse three that G-d will also bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. To see this, all you have to do is look back on the past seventy years and see the supernatural protection of the nation of Israel. You might say that they don’t believe in the Messiah, Y’shua. That is true right now. However, as the scriptures tell us, they will come to recognize the Messiah in the end times and remember that this is an unconditional promise. It doesn’t matter what Israel does, G-d fulfills his promises not for Israel and anyone else but for his glory and name sake.

We, as the people of this world, must treat Israel with respect and friendship because they are blessed by G-d. Right now, there is a movement within the United States leadership to slowly distance themselves from Israel. This is a major mistake. I firmly believe that will lead to our downfall as a great nation. The United States, Great Britain, Canada, etc. have been blessed because they started are Christian nations and have supported the nation of Israel. Turning our backs on Israel will lead to judgement.

Today, I leave you with Psalm 122.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good. “

We should daily pray for peace in Jerusalem, Israel. If we do, we will prosper and we will see the coming of the Lord. For true peace will come only when Israel recognizes the true Messhiach which happens, according to the scriptures, just before G-d comes for his people.

Come Lord Y’shua Come.

Shalom

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Genesis 11:10-32: The Path To Our Savior?


These are the generations of Shem: Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood: And Shem lived after he begot Arphaxad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begot Salah: And Arphaxad lived after he begot Salah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. And Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber: And Salah lived after he begot Eber four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begot Peleg: And Eber lived after he begot Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. And Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu: And Peleg lived after he begot Reu two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begot Serug: And Reu lived after he begot Serug two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor: And Serug lived after he begot Nahor two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Terah: And Nahor lived after he begot Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Here we have what appears to be another simple genealogy. However, as we have learned, nothing appears in the Scriptures without a reason. This section starts out as “The Generation of the Name” Shem means “the name”. In the Bible, there is only one name that is above all names and that is Y’shua.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father. Philippians 2:9-11

If we take a look at the meanings of the names mentioned here, we find a prophecy pointing to our salvation.

Shem means "the name"
Arphaxad means "the healer and forgiver"
Salah means "will rise up"
Eber means "one that will allot to himself the anger"
Peleg means "bear it for the sect."
Reu means "friend and shepherd."
Serug means "this line"
Nahor means "become weak or die"
Terah means "as dirt(man)"
Abram means "the exalted father"
Nahor means "become weak or die"
Haran means "on the mountain"
Sarai means "the daughter or son (child) of the king"
Milcah means "the wife of the king"

Put into sentence form, it reads:

"The name of the healer and forgiver will rise up. One that will allot to himself the anger and bear it for the sect. The friend and shepherd from this line will become weak as dirt(man). The exalted father will become weak on the mountain for child of the king, for the wife of the king."

Here we have a prophesy that states that a healer and forgiver will rise up. One that will take on himself the anger or punishment from G-d for a group of people that holds to a certain belief. This forgiver will be their friend and shepherd and come from this line or genealogy. He will become weak or die as a man. (Another name for dirt is the Hebrew name, Adam, which means “man”). It also says that G-d will die on the mountain for his daughter or child (Church) and his wife(Israel).

In this prophesy, we find that the Messiah will be a man and G-d. This has to be confusing to some. However, we find that the Y'shua ha Meshiach was and is exacting that 100% man indwelled by 100% G-d for the sole purpose of supplying a perfect sacrifice required for our sins.

One must ask, “Is this prophesy just coincidence or strategically place by G-d for those of us that earnestly seek our G-d....in order to point to the one who will save us?”

The answer is between you and G-d. Let his Spirit guide you.

Shalom