Abraham. The Father of Many Nations. Abraham whose progeny would be as the sand of the seas and the stars of heaven.
Rom_4:16 …the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth
By faith Abraham was justified. Abraham had a covenant with God based upon faith. This covenant obviously came before the covenant God made with the descendants of Abraham. This covenant was not made null and void by the covenant given during Moses' generation. Read the following for the beginning of a much more detailed explanation than I could recap… May God bless us through the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever, may we be given wisdom abundantly to comprehend all that we need to know to be His always!
*******
The Faith of Abraham Pt. 6
CHAPTER V. THE COVENANT WITH ISRAEL
The seed of the woman, who was to bruise the head of the serpent, must be some one individual to be known as of Adam's race; but how should he be known? How could he be distinguished from others of the same race? The children of men soon spread abroad upon the face of the earth, and some means must be instituted whereby the promised One should be recognized, for it was necessary that faith must receive him, and his identity must be so complete that an impostor could not be received in his stead.
Of all the families of the earth, the family of Terah, of Mesopotamia, was chosen as the one from which the promised Redeemer should come. And of the sons of Terah, Abraham was chosen. The conquering seed of the woman was to be his seed also. And of the sons of Abraham, Isaac was chosen. And of the sons of Isaac, Jacob was chosen. And of the twelve sons of Jacob, Judah was chosen. Inasmuch as the Ishmaelites and the sons of Esau were circumcised as well as the Israelites, and called themselves by the name of Abraham, it was necessary that special means be instituted to keep the latter separate from all others. Jacob was caused to go down into Egypt; and when the iniquity of the Amorite was full (see Gen. 15:13-16), his children, grown to be a large people, were brought back to the land of Canaan. They were forbidden to make any covenant with the nations of that land, or to intermarry with them; but were required to keep themselves separate from all people. On the way to Canaan the Lord made a covenant with them; it was not the covenant made with their fathers (Deut. 5:3); though it embraced the same purpose--the one great purpose--and required the same holiness. But it differed from the covenant made with Abraham, being based solely on obedience. That covenant is found in Ex. 19:5-8. From Mount Sinai the Lord sent a message to the people by the hand of Moses, in the following words:--
"If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."
Moses laid these words before the people, and they answered with one accord: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." The condition was something that he called his covenant. It was connected with obeying his voice. But as yet they had not heard his voice; thus far he had spoken to them only through Moses. But three days after that time, he spoke unto them with his own voice, in the hearing of the whole multitude. Moses, afterward speaking of this, Deut. 4:12, said:--
"And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone."
As in the covenant mentioned in Gen. 9:9-16 the promise was all on the part of God, regardless of man's action, in this covenant the promise was on the part of the people. They promised unqualified obedience to God's holy law. God simply set before them the objects to be gained by such obedience. That these objects comprised the highest attainments possible to man, may be learned from the following comparison:--
1. They should be a peculiar treasure unto the Lord. Christ gave himself for us, that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people. Titus 2:14; see also, 1 Peter 2:9.
2. They should be a kingdom of priests. "Ye also are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood." "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood." Equivalent to a kingdom of priests. 1 Peter 2:5, 9.
3. They should be an holy nation. "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people." 1 Peter 2:9.
There are no higher blessings contained in all the promises of God, than are contained in these scriptures; and the things set before Israel, to be gained if they kept the first covenant, perfectly coincide with the choicest blessings in the gospel of Christ. All these were theirs provided they had done what they promised to do.
But did they keep their promise? Did they keep his covenant, and perfectly obey his voice? They did not. Very soon after this solemn transaction was ratified, they made a molten calf, and sacrificed unto it after the manner of the worship of the Egyptians. Not one of them fulfilled the perfect righteousness indicated in the condition. They were well described in that scripture before which the world stands convicted: "They are all gone out of the way; . . . there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Rom. 3:12, 19; Ps. 14:3.
Then another question arises: If that covenant was based upon obedience only, and had not faith incorporated into it as a means of pardon, then it could afford no salvation to any who violated it; for it is impossible for law to save its own violator. That is very true; it admits of no question, for we find nothing but obedience in that covenant. "If ye will obey." And the people said, "We will do." Are we to conclude, then, that all were lost who lived under that covenant, because they were all sinners, and it contained no power of forgiveness? By no means. A consideration of a few texts of Scripture will make this point clear.
1. Our Lord Jesus reminded his hearers that circumcision was not of Moses, but of the fathers. John 7:22. It was a token, not of the covenant made with the twelve tribes of Israel, but, of the covenant made with the fathers. They were already the covenant children of Abraham,--under a covenant of faith and grace. Hence, when the law condemned them, the law which they had so solemnly promised to obey, they were turned back as their only refuge to the covenant with
Abraham.
Of this covenant the true seed of Abraham, Christ the Messiah, was the appointed mediator.
In this manner the law served to bring them to Christ. Gal. 3:24. As they only who are sick need a physician (Matt. 9:12), so must the sinner be convicted of his malady before he will apply to the great Physician for healing. And as by the law is the knowledge of sin, and by the law sin is made to appear exceeding sinful (Rom. 3:20; 7:13), nothing but the law can convince anyone of his need of a Saviour, and bring him to Christ for salvation.
How inefficient, then, to lead to genuine conversion, are all proposed systems of gospel teaching which ignore the law of God.
To be continued…
Rom_4:16 …the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth
By faith Abraham was justified. Abraham had a covenant with God based upon faith. This covenant obviously came before the covenant God made with the descendants of Abraham. This covenant was not made null and void by the covenant given during Moses' generation. Read the following for the beginning of a much more detailed explanation than I could recap… May God bless us through the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever, may we be given wisdom abundantly to comprehend all that we need to know to be His always!
*******
The Faith of Abraham Pt. 6
CHAPTER V. THE COVENANT WITH ISRAEL
The seed of the woman, who was to bruise the head of the serpent, must be some one individual to be known as of Adam's race; but how should he be known? How could he be distinguished from others of the same race? The children of men soon spread abroad upon the face of the earth, and some means must be instituted whereby the promised One should be recognized, for it was necessary that faith must receive him, and his identity must be so complete that an impostor could not be received in his stead.
Of all the families of the earth, the family of Terah, of Mesopotamia, was chosen as the one from which the promised Redeemer should come. And of the sons of Terah, Abraham was chosen. The conquering seed of the woman was to be his seed also. And of the sons of Abraham, Isaac was chosen. And of the sons of Isaac, Jacob was chosen. And of the twelve sons of Jacob, Judah was chosen. Inasmuch as the Ishmaelites and the sons of Esau were circumcised as well as the Israelites, and called themselves by the name of Abraham, it was necessary that special means be instituted to keep the latter separate from all others. Jacob was caused to go down into Egypt; and when the iniquity of the Amorite was full (see Gen. 15:13-16), his children, grown to be a large people, were brought back to the land of Canaan. They were forbidden to make any covenant with the nations of that land, or to intermarry with them; but were required to keep themselves separate from all people. On the way to Canaan the Lord made a covenant with them; it was not the covenant made with their fathers (Deut. 5:3); though it embraced the same purpose--the one great purpose--and required the same holiness. But it differed from the covenant made with Abraham, being based solely on obedience. That covenant is found in Ex. 19:5-8. From Mount Sinai the Lord sent a message to the people by the hand of Moses, in the following words:--
"If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."
Moses laid these words before the people, and they answered with one accord: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." The condition was something that he called his covenant. It was connected with obeying his voice. But as yet they had not heard his voice; thus far he had spoken to them only through Moses. But three days after that time, he spoke unto them with his own voice, in the hearing of the whole multitude. Moses, afterward speaking of this, Deut. 4:12, said:--
"And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone."
As in the covenant mentioned in Gen. 9:9-16 the promise was all on the part of God, regardless of man's action, in this covenant the promise was on the part of the people. They promised unqualified obedience to God's holy law. God simply set before them the objects to be gained by such obedience. That these objects comprised the highest attainments possible to man, may be learned from the following comparison:--
1. They should be a peculiar treasure unto the Lord. Christ gave himself for us, that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people. Titus 2:14; see also, 1 Peter 2:9.
2. They should be a kingdom of priests. "Ye also are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood." "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood." Equivalent to a kingdom of priests. 1 Peter 2:5, 9.
3. They should be an holy nation. "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people." 1 Peter 2:9.
There are no higher blessings contained in all the promises of God, than are contained in these scriptures; and the things set before Israel, to be gained if they kept the first covenant, perfectly coincide with the choicest blessings in the gospel of Christ. All these were theirs provided they had done what they promised to do.
But did they keep their promise? Did they keep his covenant, and perfectly obey his voice? They did not. Very soon after this solemn transaction was ratified, they made a molten calf, and sacrificed unto it after the manner of the worship of the Egyptians. Not one of them fulfilled the perfect righteousness indicated in the condition. They were well described in that scripture before which the world stands convicted: "They are all gone out of the way; . . . there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Rom. 3:12, 19; Ps. 14:3.
Then another question arises: If that covenant was based upon obedience only, and had not faith incorporated into it as a means of pardon, then it could afford no salvation to any who violated it; for it is impossible for law to save its own violator. That is very true; it admits of no question, for we find nothing but obedience in that covenant. "If ye will obey." And the people said, "We will do." Are we to conclude, then, that all were lost who lived under that covenant, because they were all sinners, and it contained no power of forgiveness? By no means. A consideration of a few texts of Scripture will make this point clear.
1. Our Lord Jesus reminded his hearers that circumcision was not of Moses, but of the fathers. John 7:22. It was a token, not of the covenant made with the twelve tribes of Israel, but, of the covenant made with the fathers. They were already the covenant children of Abraham,--under a covenant of faith and grace. Hence, when the law condemned them, the law which they had so solemnly promised to obey, they were turned back as their only refuge to the covenant with
Abraham.
Of this covenant the true seed of Abraham, Christ the Messiah, was the appointed mediator.
In this manner the law served to bring them to Christ. Gal. 3:24. As they only who are sick need a physician (Matt. 9:12), so must the sinner be convicted of his malady before he will apply to the great Physician for healing. And as by the law is the knowledge of sin, and by the law sin is made to appear exceeding sinful (Rom. 3:20; 7:13), nothing but the law can convince anyone of his need of a Saviour, and bring him to Christ for salvation.
How inefficient, then, to lead to genuine conversion, are all proposed systems of gospel teaching which ignore the law of God.
To be continued…