The Son of Promise Is Born
Book of Genesis Chapters 21 through 23
We know it is the season of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We who study "typology" know that in the Book of Genesis the story of Isaac, born to Abraham and Sarah we see a lot of typology relating to Joseph, Mary and Jesus the Messiah.
Isaac is the son promised to Sarah just as Jesus was the son promised to Mary but more important Jesus the Messiah, was promised to all the world.
Isaac was the son of promise to Sarah and Abraham just as Jesus the Christ is the "promised" Messiah!
We may not understand "the fullness of time" as mentioned in the Scriptures but to Sarah, the end of those 9 months of carrying Isaac was the fullness of her time of pregnancy.
It was a great day for her, and the Lord did just as He had promised.
Gen 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to "the time of life"; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
It had been 25 years since God made His promise to Abraham about a son.
Another instance where we see God always keeps His promises and another promise fulfilled, when God showed up at the tent of Abraham and Sarah the day Isaac was born.
*****Gen 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
Gen 21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, "at the set time" of which God had spoken to him.
In all these things we see the "power" of God!
Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old and they were not like those who lived before the flood.
Sarah had baby Isaac exactly 9 months after the Lord said she would in Genesis 18.
The birth of Isaac was controlled by Jehovah from start to finish.
God keeps His promises, but we will always have to work with God's timetable, and He does not live by our timetable.
If we were as faithful as Jehovah, we would not have many problems in this life!
Our relationship with the Lord depends upon our own faithfulness!
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is our own faith in the promises of God that make our own life livable.
We learn how to endure the hardships of this life.
We grow stronger in our faith.
We learn to trust what the Lord tells us.
We pray and talk to the Lord more because we grow closer to Him!
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Abraham called his name Isaac.
*****Gen 21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
We have to know the Lord has a sense of humor when we see that Abraham was told to name his son Isaac.
The meaning of the name "Isaac" is "he laughed".
Both Sarah and Abraham laughed when the Lord confirmed that Sarah indeed would have a son in her old age and that Abraham would be the father of this promised son.
It would have to bring back precious memories every time Sarah called out to her son.
Abraham had considered his body to be dead and that of his wife Sarah, but just as God has said, He does the impossible.
I am glad that as a child of God, I never have to consider myself a dead man!
I am alive in Christ Jesus, and when my loved ones think I am dead, I will be more alive than I could ever be upon this earth.
Then according to the Word of God Isaac was circumcised on his eighth day.
*****Gen 21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Here is a study of the 8th day.
Why the 8th day? In Judaism, circumcision is considered a symbol of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. The act of circumcision is called “the bris”, which literally means “covenant.” One reason the circumcision is performed on the eighth day is so that if the newborn baby will have lived through a complete week which includes a Sabbath. Once the baby has experienced the “holiness” of a Sabbath, he may enter into the covenant of the Jewish people.
Another reason for the 8th day deals with blood clotting. Blood clotting is dependent on 3 factors: platelets, prothrombin, and vitamin K (which is responsible for prothrombin production and is produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract). Holt and McIntosh, in their classic work, Holt Pediatrics, observed that a newborn infant has “peculiar susceptibility to bleeding between the second and fifth days of life. … Hemorrhages at this time, though often inconsequential, are sometimes extensive; they may produce serious damage to internal organs, especially to the brain, and cause death from shock and exsanguination”.
It has been shown that it is on the fifth through the seventh days of the newborn male’s life that vitamin K is present in adequate quantities for blood clotting.
On the eighth day, the amount of prothrombin present is above 100 % of normal (the only day in the male’s life in which this will be normally be the case). Therefore, the 8th day is the perfect day to do the circumcision … when the Vitamin K and prothrombin levels are at their peak.
And once again the Bible reveals a great deal of scientific truth written hundreds, and sometimes thousands of years before being “discovered” by modern scientists. Lanny Johnson
*****Gen 21:5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
Abraham had reached a milestone in his life at 100 years old.
There can be little doubt that God had added some youth to this amazing couple in the Bible.
Another thing Abraham realized was that he was totally dependent upon God for everything.
What did Jesus teach us?
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Abraham realized this truth just as we must realize this truth!
We will never get to Heaven without the Lord Jesus Christ.
I know many other people reject this statement, but it is still Biblical Truth!
*****Gen 22:1 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.
For Abraham to be that Patriarch that he would become, God decided he would need one more test.
The truth is just as Job said it: the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.
To be a child of God, we must be willing to always put God first in our lives!
After waiting so long for his own child by his own wife he had loved for so many years, it could be that Abraham came to a standstill in his life and forgot his calling.
We do not know for sure why, but God tested Abraham one more time.
Abraham had sent Hagar and Ishmael away, something he did not really want to do.
Gen 21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
Ishmael was Abraham's son, but not Sarah's, but Abraham loved Ishmael as much as he did Isaac if not more.
Abraham obeyed the Lord and sent them away.
Abraham knew that he had surely sent Hagar and Ishmael to their death unless God intervened, which He did.
Now, would Abraham give up another son?
*****Gen 22:2 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.
We can only imagine what was going on in the mind of Abraham.
Just how much faith did he have in the promises of God?
What had God promised Abraham?
Gen 12:1 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 shew thee:
Gen 12:2 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:
Gen 12:3 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.
There was land:
Deu 30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
Deu 30:2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
Deu 30:3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
Deu 30:4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
Deu 30:5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Deu 30:7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
Deu 30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
Deu 30:9 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
Deu 30:10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
There was the seed:
2Sa 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
2Sa 7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
2Sa 7:15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
2Sa 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
There was the blessing:
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
To Abraham all these things depended on Isaac but in reality, all these things depended on Jehovah.
If Isaac was sacrificed, then in order for the Lord to continue His promise, then Isaac would have to be raised from the dead.
Is this the faith of Abraham that brought his righteousness. I believe a yes goes here.
*****Gen 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
As Abraham and Isaac climbed to the place of sacrifice, Isaac realized they had brought no lamb and he questioned his father.
As we study this passage, we will see one of the greatest types in the Bible, at least I think so.
Isaac, a type of Christ.
What was the mindset of Abraham?
Gen 22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and "come again to you".
Abraham knew he was to sacrifice his son Isaac, but in order for him to return to these he left behind with his son, then God would have to resurrect him from the dead.
In Abraham's mind this is exactly what God would do, so Abraham had full intention of being obedient to the command of God to offer Isaac as a burnt offering.
I also believe Abraham recognized this place as the place of the skull, but many do not.
Mar 15:22 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
Joh 19:17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
It is also true that in this same area, the Temple of Solomon would be built on Mount Moriah.
2Ch 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
What do we know about the death of Jesus?
Joh 19:17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
Jesus bore His own cross just as Isaac bore the wood to his own sacrifice.
What are some the lessons to the Church?
God wants the Church to know that the sacrifice of any human being, including aborted babies is wrong!
Say what they will, but babies are allowed to be sacrificed (aborted), because some foolish men and women think that there is not enough food to go around and that has never been true.
Eph_6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Why are the lockdowns, the face mask, the plague of Covid-19 itself allowed because of these same ones (wickedness in high places)!
Just today I saw where these same wicked people recommend for us to wear the face mask all of 2021 or another year, even if you take the vaccine.
In other words the vaccine is no better than the face mask! What a joke!
They want a great portion of our world to die off, especially the aged, and those who require much medical help and the weak.
We will wrestle against these things until the Lord returns to take us home or we die!
Isaac toted his own wood that was to be used to sacrifice him just a Jesus did!
*****Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide "himself a lamb" for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
What a statement!
God wants to show a picture forever of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Mount Calvary. Calvary also means the place of the skull.
Remember Abraham knew in his heart that if he killed his only son Isaac that God would have to raise him from the dead to complete the promises He had made to him!
It took "three days" for Abraham to travel where he could see the place of sacrifice.
Abraham had to show immense faith in the truth of God and His promises.
Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Heb 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Heb 11:19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Then Abraham spoke filled with the Holy Spirit and he said, "God Will Provide Himself A Lamb".
God Himself would be the sacrificial Lamb!
In reality Abraham did not know what God intended to do, he just knew to obey the Word of God.
God did just as He said He would do!
We who know these things will celebrate the Birth of our Savior knowing that He is the Sacrificial Lamb of God and He is God!
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Immanuel means “God with us”.
*****Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Gen 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
Gen 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
If that Angel had not called out to Abraham, he would have certainly sacrificed his only son.
I believe that Angel to be the Lord because He always speaks with authority!
We should be able to see that Abraham did solemnly offer up the sacrifice of his son.
Abraham loved God enough to give Him all he had, and the most treasured of his things was his son.
Sounds familiar again.
1Jn_4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
We should ask ourselves, have we made an absolute surrender to the Living God?
Are we willing to give our life to Him?
Do we truly love God, like we say we do?
Are we totally surrendered to our God?
In all this did we see that Isaac gave himself obediently to his father, "Just as the Lord Jesus Christ did".
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
Psa 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
We should understand that God did not need for Isaac to be sacrificed.
God needed the heart of Abraham!
Here again we see Abraham as the example of the "Born Again" child of God.
We need to surrender to the will of God.
We also see God will never accept a human sacrifice!
God wants a living sacrifice!
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies "a living sacrifice", holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Isaac became a living sacrifice! His death would have been meaningless!
God would have to provide Himself as the only acceptable sacrifice!
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There would be a resurrection, but it would not be Isaac!
God provided a substitute for Isaac!
*****Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
We should understand that God, the true God, the Living God, will never ask for a human sacrifice!
Those who condemn this passage in the Scriptures are fools and miss the truth of it!
It is false religion that demands human sacrifice!
It is false religion that is the factor behind abortion and the sacrifice of innocent babies, even before they are born.
This is sold as the freedom of women to choose which is another joke on humanity!
The false gods of Moloch and Chemosh, are still around today.
It is the triumph of Abraham's faith that is the theme of this passage.
It is the example of Messiah that is the theme of this passage.
We should ask ourselves, does God approve us as He did Abraham?
We should ask ourselves, have we accepted the Messiah as our substitute?
We must realize, God has no pleasure in our suffering or in our death!
What did Peter teach us?
1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Jehovah-jireh means, “God will provide”.
God, the true God has provided everything we need to restore our relationship with Him.
Just as with Abraham, our relationship is bound up with our faith in the Word of God!
God will provide! Today we call it "Grace"!
Thank you for your mercy my Heavenly Father.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment