Faith is the key to righteousness

The Lord Seeks a Personal Relationship

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Rebellion and Renewal

Book of Exodus Chapter 32

Rebellion and Renewal

Book of Exodus Chapter 32

Rebellion is the attempt to have things your way.

We should keep in mind that never before this, had any people been so privileged, as the Children of Israel!

Never before had Jehovah so blessed any people as He did these people.

Remember Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden for far less than what these children of Israel had done!

Jehovah had only been known to them as Elohim, the true God.

His name Jehovah was being much more personal with them.

We should completely understand that our LORD wants a personal relationship.

Even then, they chose to call Him Adonai saying His name was too sacred to pronounce.

We do not have to have so much fear to not call our Lord by His name, but we must not ever take His name in vain!

We must respect Jehovah at all times! He is a Mighty Awesome God!

It should be noticeable that it was Elohim as Jehovah, who made first contact with humanity.

He had watched, only speaking to a few men such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and I believe Job since the time of the flood that covered this entire world.

Remember we hear almost nothing from Noah after the flood.

Now through Moses, Jehovah wanted to speak to all His creation and offer His Testimony.

This nation of Israel had been chosen to be witnesses of God’s testimony to all the other nations in this world.

Their first message was that there was only One True God and He had spoken to them and given His Testimony.

Moses had now in His possession the words that God had written with His own finger.

Exo_31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Deu_9:10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

It is human nature to rebel when we think we can get away with it!

Even babies will do this.

In fact, the worst of our enemies is our own flesh!

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

This is not saying our good side is fighting with our bad side. This is saying our flesh is fighting against God’s Holy Spirit who abides in every believer.

We do not have a good side!

Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

So let us see what Jehovah thinks of rebellion.

1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Samuel was speaking to King Saul here in this passage.

We could say God does not like any rebellion against His Words.

Chapter 32 verse 1

*Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

We should keep in mind that these people had already agreed to do everything that Jehovah had told them to do.

They had made a Covenant with Jehovah.

But this obedience did not last very long!

Most of the people on this earth do not believe there is a God, and you can add to that, all those that do not believe that God keeps a watchful eye upon us.

It is a fact that Moses had been in contact with Jehovah for forty days continuously and these people had all sort of imaginations about what might have happened to him.

Mount Sinai was a rough old mountain, but these mountains cannot be compared to high mountains.

So, we see these people had no patience and we can see that this was Jehovah’s first test.

We can be sure the Lord will test our sincerity and our faith from time to time!

They may have been anxious to get to the Promised Land, but they would have been slaughtered if they even made it there without God.

So they decided they needed some gods and they had seen the Egyptian make their own gods for centuries.

All a false god had to do was to ride in a wagon in the front and go wherever the driver went and then get the driver to wipe the dust off occasionally.

This is all the power a false god has.

To worship false gods is to have Spiritual ignorance and a willful turning away from the Spiritual knowledge and worship of Jehovah.

A group of these people gathered unto Aaron.

The next Scripture has confounded many people.

*Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

These same people wore earrings because they had seen the Egyptians wear them.

It is a sad thing that if a few people do something stupid and ridiculous, it is not long before many others will do the same thing.

In a sense they wanted to be like the free Egyptians.

Reminds me of our government today who at one time were bound to the Constitution, but who now want to be like the European Union and use those laws. How foolish can we be!

The EU is the most liberal group of nations on the face of the earth and who is foolish enough to be like them, many of our own politicians. Fools.

We have to understand that our hearts are full of sin!

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

What makes them so foolish?

Psalms 36:1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

These Israelites were proud of their gold, but they wanted a false god the more.

There are some who believe that Aaron asked for their gold thinking they would not give it up, but they did willingly.

Exo 3:22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

So what did they do?

*Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

So, silver and gold and idols became the gods of the children of Israel!

The Book of Psalms, the song book of the children of Israel had this song in it:

Psa 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
Psa 106:20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
Psa 106:21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
Psa 106:22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

There can be no doubt that Satan was involved in these things.

We see that Jehovah made them sing about it when they gathered together in the Tabernacle and Temple.

There can be little doubt that this calf was similar to the false god Apis, of the Egyptians.

We know that the Holy Ghost caused Moses to write all these things down because Jehovah does not hide anything from us.

I am sure Moses was ashamed to write these things as instructed.

These things were written for us here today!

Many Christians today want to see a visible God.

It is a fact that I am sure that Jehovah has shown up at many to our services at Gethsemane where I attend.

If you worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, the Lord will show up.

I do not need to see some object that tells me what God would look like!

These people had worshipped the false gods of Egypt.

Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

Aaron had been one of those who had worshipped this false god.

We may not know who made the mold in the earth, it does not point out individuals because they were all guilty.

It does point out that Aaron took a graving tool and finished the work when the work of the mold was complete.

In reality we again see a type of Christ!

Just as Moses was away and upon the Mount; so Christ is away from this earth.

Before Christ went away, He told His disciples these words.

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

The Lord Jesus Christ is to be the only “object” of our faith!

Even after we have studied and seen all the things in the Scriptures including future prophecies, the Lord Jesus Christ says, “let not your heart be troubled”.

In other words, we have no reason to worry about anything!

The Lord Jesus has all this world under His direct control!

He has been gone much more than forty days, but it is not time to make some idol resembling Him to worship.

We do not worship the cross we worship our Lord Jesus who took our place on the cross.
We do not worship the virgin, Mary; we worship her son Jesus as named by Jehovah and whose Father is the Holy Ghost.
We do not worship the Bible, we worship the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ.

These children of Israel had been taught to do the same thing by Moses before he went upon on Mount Sinai and these people should have patiently waited on him just as we are to patiently wait on the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Aaron made another mistake which was even worse.

*Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

What is the cause of terrible sin?

We have seen that these Children of Israel: They were not patient enough to wait on God.

1) They lost “Faith” in God.
2) They turned away from God.
3) They chose to do things their own way.

They broke the Commandments of God, the same commandments that were explained to them by Moses and that they had agreed were good commandments and they had agreed to follow.

These children of Israel were already on their way to the Promised Land.

They had only stopped at Mount Sinai under direction of the same God, Jehovah who had released them from bondage.

Moses had stopped under the direction of Jehovah because the Pillar of Cloud had stopped at this location and Moses and the elders of Israel could receive the laws that would guide and govern their nation.

It had been nearly six weeks that Moses had gone up onto the Mountain and neither he nor Joshua nor those elders had been heard from though Moses had been with Jehovah all this time.

Again we can see “in type” that is what we are seeing today. The Lord Jesus Christ has not yet returned to take us to the true Promised Land.

What is patience?

1) We can learn patience by studying these Old Testament teachings!

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2) We can learn patience by keeping our faith.

Jas 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Terrible sin can also be influenced by weak leaders as we see today in our own government.

Aaron was a weak leader who should never have been left in charge!
Aaron did not have enough backbone to stand up for God nor even for his brother Moses.

Terrible sin is believing in false gods!

We can say that none of these things have changed today.

Our world has not gotten any smarter in fact, we could say our world has gotten dumber, still seeking false gods.

Still placing weak leaders in place, leaders that have no fear of Jehovah God.

We do not know why Aaron built an altar, but to build an altar before an idol is a terrible sin.

Aaron had heard his own brother teach the Word of God and he too had agreed to it.

Exo 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

It did not take much time for these children of Israel to sink in sin and immorality.

Guess what, God was watching all these things even as He was speaking with Moses.

*Exo 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

We must clearly understand that Jehovah sees everything that goes on in this world at all times.

You can say that this is impossible, and I will tell you that I serve the God that does impossible things, and His name is Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jehovah is not blind to the things of this world!

Jehovah saw terrible sin and He became angry.

We should also understand that even though Jehovah knows what will take place before it takes place, He still can be angry to show us His feelings.

The purpose of the Bible is to teach us about our Heavenly Father and His Savior!

People need to understand that we cannot hide corruptness!

We cannot hide wickedness!

Our own government thinks we are blind to corruptness, but we are not, nor are we blind to their wickedness!

Jehovah states “they have corrupted themselves”.

Gen 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Gen 6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

People think our world has changed, but in reality, nothing really ever changes!

The entire world is corrupt before God today in fact, more corrupt than it has ever been because this world has denied God’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

People are always quick to turn away from the commandments of God because the Word of God exposes their sin in fact, all of our sin.

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

They still think that the Word of God is a book of suggestions and not a book of commandments!

These children of Israel had in fact become children of false worship!

They had bowed themselves before a manufactured piece of metal that resembled a cow.

They were making the statement that salvation and deliverance are manufactured! How foolish.

The only thing this home-made cow could do was shine if someone took the time to keep it clean.

How many times have we seen lost souls go to the altar and be led in the sinner’s prayer and never change their ways?

They say yes to committing to the ways of the Lord Jesus and then, return to their old ways.

How does the Word of God compare this?

Pro 26:11 As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

We cannot deliver ourselves!
We have no goodness within us!
We cannot reach the Heavenly Father without the Lord Jesus Christ!
We cannot please the Heavenly Father without “Faith” in His Holy Words!

We are certainly fools to sacrifice to manufactured gods!

Jehovah pointed all these things out to Moses because these children of Israel needed a true leader, one who would also be their “Intercessor”.

Again, Moses would become a “type” of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

We must all be “Intercessors” for our family, for our friends, for the lost, and sometimes even for our brothers and sisters in Christ!

*Exo 32:15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
Exo 32:18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.

Does Jehovah have the right to be angry with us? You better believe He does!

Anger against sin is justified!
Anger against sin can even be said to be righteous!

Joshua did not know what Jehovah had said and he thought his brothers and sisters of Israel were being attacked, but Moses knowing what Jehovah had said, told him that the noise was not that of war but of singing and partying.

They were indeed dancing and drinking, some intoxicated and even immoral conduct and Moses was indeed angry, so angry that he cast the Word of God to the ground, breaking those tablets.

These are the same tablets that would be placed inside the Ark of the Covenant. The broken laws.

We all have broken the Commandments of God just as these children of Israel!

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We always see pictures of these two tablets showing the Ten Commandments and that may have been all they contained.

They could not have been exceptionally large for one man to tote them both.

We see in verse fifteen that these tablets were written on both sides and that they were the work of Jehovah in verse sixteen.

What does God teach us about anger?

Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.

The Devil will take advantage of our anger if that anger lingers.

Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ecc 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Psa 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

Pro 19:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

We need to get rid of our anger as quickly as we can and work toward presenting the truth of a “loving God”!

*Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

These children of Israel had served the false gods of Egypt and the government of Egypt gave them little choice, but we must keep in mind that we always have a choice, and that choice must always be to serve and worship our Creator, the One True God!

The vast majority of these same children of Israel had little or no faith!

Deu 32:19 And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

We should understand that just like Moses, our Lord Jesus is going to come down from the mountain and right now if He came, He would see little faith even in His own house and the people would be playing around false gods being full of immorality and wickedness.

Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

We are warned as the Apostle Paul writes to the Church.

1Co 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
1Co 10:8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
1Co 10:9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Co 10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The Book of Revelation:

After destroying the two prophets of God who came with God’s message of repentance.

Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

They tormented them with the truth of a Holy God!

If we read our lesson Chapters, then we know that Moses returned to the Mountain to meet Jehovah and again as a type of Christ he returned to the people.

In type we know that our Lord Jesus will return in two stages. First to get His Church and take them home and a second time seven years later He will return in wrath!

And Moses saw the calf.

*Exo 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

What is an idol, something that can be beaten into dust?
Something that be burnt into nothingness!

Deu 9:19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
Deu 9:20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
**Deu 9:21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.

What is Jehovah’s commandment to Christians?

1Jn 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
1Jn 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Idol worship is sowing to our flesh!

Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Moses then turns to Aaron.

Aaron was allowed to become the High Priest, but he lost two of his sons who also did not listen to the Word of God and Aaron was not allowed into the Promised land.

Our Preachers and Pastors need to take heed. God makes these men responsible for many things of the Church Age!

Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Notice who are those held responsible:

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

Rev 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

Rev 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

It was time for these children of Israel to decide if they were on the Lord’s side or not!

This is the same message we have today. When the Holy Spirit comes calling it is our time to decide if we are on the Lord’s side or not!

Amen

Abraham

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

God Calls Abraham

Book of Genesis Chapters 12 through 15

From our studies we know that the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis dealt with the creation of this world and then the table of nations.

It also dealt with the beginning of many things.

We next studied the Book of Job who probably lived a couple of generations before Abraham.

We will now pick back up in the Book of Genesis and see Abraham and the beginning of the nation of Israel.

We will see that the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father is still faith!

We will begin to see how the promises of God have already affected every human upon this earth and the promises of God are the key to our “faith”.

Faith is the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

And just so you know, you cannot say you have “faith” and disregard the words of the Received Text.

Abortion is still wrong according to the Word of God.
Those who live as Sodomites are wrong according to the Word of God.
All queers are wrong according to the Word of God.
Those who promote these things are wrong according to the Word of God.

When our “faith” is real we can feel the presence of the Almighty God!

In Abraham we get to see true “faith”!

The Book of Genesis also being the Book of Generations let us see how we get to Abraham.

Gen 11:25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
Gen 11:26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Gen 11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
Gen 11:28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Gen 11:29 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.
Gen 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Gen 11:31 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.
Gen 11:32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Abraham had begun his journey to the land of Canaan, but the death of his father had brought his journey to and end and this brought a response from the Lord.

*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:

As we know, Ur of the Chaldees is located in modern day Iraq.

We do not know how God spoke to Abram because God used many methods to speak to those of the Old Testament.

Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

How does God speak to us today?

Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

So we should not be concerned of any so-called modern-day prophet!

Our only concern should be the teachings of Jesus.

This does not mean we use only the “red letter” passages.
Nor does it mean we use only the New Testament.

We need all the Word of God to be instructed in righteousness!

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Righteousness is doing right according to the written Word of God!

The truth is we can find the Son of God from the Book of Genesis through all the Scriptures to the Book of Revelation.

What we know is that Abram was guided by Jehovah. He did not have a map or a compass.

All Abram had was his “faith”!

God wants us to learn about Abraham!

Fourteen chapters in the Book of Genesis devoted to Abraham.
Chapter 4 of the Book of Romans devoted to Abraham.
Chapter 3 of the Book of Galatians devoted to Abraham.
12 Verses in the Book of Hebrews the Hall of Faith devoted to Abraham.

Abraham was the Father of two races of people who are still relevant in our world today, the Jews and the Arabs.

Three religions of the world can trace their roots back to Abraham.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam.

It can also be said that Abraham is the father of faith therefore the father of all believers.

Rom 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Rom 4:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

One of the great lessons in understanding the power of God is, that God can take one man, one person and change this entire world for many generations!

It all began with a call from God.

Abraham was called to separate from his country.
Abraham was called to separate from his relatives.
Abraham was even called to separate from his father’s house.

Yes, we may have to leave our families to serve God especially if they are against us!

Abraham’s world had forsaken and denied the only Living and True God!

Kind of reminds us of what we see today. A world that is forsaking the One True Living God!

One of the most important things God said to Abraham is in verse 3.

*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.

Abraham was a blessing because he was in the blood line to the Messiah.
Abraham was a blessing because he was in the bloodline to the Jews.
Abraham was a blessing because he was in the bloodline to the Arabs.
Abraham was a blessing because he was a great example of “Faith”!

Every Christian must also be an example of the “faith” of Abraham!

Rom 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Rom 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

So Abram believed God and he obeyed.

*Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Notice Abram did not dispute with God even though these were great things he was asked to do.

Nowhere else in the Bible is one human called to be the father of a new chosen people.

In this Abram is a type of Christ who also is the Head of a new “Born Again” chosen people!

God called Abram to completely change his life.
To turn his life around and go in a different direction.
To forsake all the people and places he had ever known in his 75 years.

In this Abram is a type of Child of God.

Every “Born Again” child of God is called to leave their old life completely and live a new life for Jesus Christ.

Jesus put it like this:

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

This is truth behind becoming a Christian. Jesus said you should not be surprised by this command.

Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

This is the complete truth and there is only one way to be “Born Again” and it is by accepting “the complete Word of God” in faith!

The Bible is no to be accepted as the cafeteria. We cannot pick and choose the parts of the Bible we want and reject the remainder!

1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Those who reject the Word of God, even one passage, have violated the command of our Lord and Savior!

Abram had to turn away from his old country.
Abram had to turn away from neighbors, friends, and loved ones.
Abram had to turn away from his father’s household, his property, and many of his own possessions.
Abram left a place of false gods to seek the true and living God.
Abram was called to live a life separated from that world, in search of a better place.
Abram had to be totally set apart unto God.

Today we call this “sanctification” and every Christian is called to be separate from this world and dedicated to the Lord!

We are just pilgrims passing through this world on the way to God’s New Heaven!

We see that Abram would begin his journey by “faith”.

Abram did not leave alone.

*Gen 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Abram had not kept these things to himself, but he had told others. Of course his wife who today we would certainly say stepsister.

He took Lot his brother’s son, whose father had died but he chose to trust his uncle Abram.

Then look closely he gathered the “souls” who had believed the Word of God and chose to believe the things they heard.

Abram lives in a pagan land of many gods and Abram learn the truth of the Lord and accepted it as the truth.

We see type after type in these early things of Abram.

If you are child of God, you are on this same journey with Abram today.

Abram will face many difficulties on this journey, but we can enjoy every mile of the trip.

Up to this point we have read where one patriarch after another lived until they died.

Now we get to Abram and we see that he lived so he could live forever!

This is the journey of each true Christian!

We live so we can live with Jesus throughout eternity!

So they went forth into the Promised Land, the land of Canaan.

Gen 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

So Abram journeyed.

*Gen 12:6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

As Abram journeyed, he first passed through the place where in latter days would be the city Sichem.

The oaks of Moreh existed, but the city of Sichem (Shechem)(Samaria) was not yet built.

Jacob later used this oak forest to hide the things stolen from Laban.

Gen 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

The Canaanites were a godless, wicked people. In some places, they may be called the Amorites.

This Scripture indicates that Abram knew he could not yet lay claim to the land because it was easily seen that there were too many so Abram would travel as a pilgrim through a foreign land but they traveled in faith to the Word of God given to Abram.

Heb_11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Abram knew that before the land could be claimed those godless people would have to be removed!

God had a plan for this, but that part of the plan Abram did not know about. It would not happen in his lifetime!

Abram was to be the father of the nation that would destroy the Amorites and most of the Canaanites which is Israel.

In typology that nation would be the believers who with the Lord will destroy all the evil in this world we live in.

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

*Gen 12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

What do we know?

Abram had reached the promise land but did not at that time possess it.

As a “Born Again” child of God we have reached the promise land but at this time we do not possess it.

Possession will come by the Rapture or it will come by our death, but this promise of God will be fulfilled!

We must know that though we have not reached Heaven, Jehovah already considers the mansion that is being built by Jesus to be ours.

It has our name on it and cannot be given to any other.

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

We will sit together with the Lord Jesus Christ!

When Jehovah says seed in this Scripture, it tells Abram that it will not happen in his lifetime.

It also tells Abram he will have children and we know Sarai was barren at this time and was now 65 years old, Abram being 75 years old.

It is our “faith” that has caused these things to be sure!

What do we know? Our faith will also be tested just as God tested Abram!

As long as we are on this place called earth, we are among enemies!

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.

Only in Heaven will we be free from our enemies!

Abram, understanding the Words God had given to him, accepted the truth and chose a place to worship the One True God and built an altar to worship.

To be honest no place of worship is complete without an altar!

*Gen 12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

That word Bethel means “house of God”.

That word Hai, which is Ai means, heap or mass and was a royal city of the Canaanites.

No matter where Abram traveled, he built a place to worship the Lord.

Bethel had started as a place to worship God but in the end, Bethel came under the judgment of God.

1Ki 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
1Ki 13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
1Ki 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
1Ki 13:4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
1Ki 13:5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

We should be very aware that the Judgment of God will begin in the House of God!

1Pe_4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

We know the Lord blessed Abram as he traveled in the Promised Land.

In fact, the Lord blessed Abram and Lot so much it became hard for them to travel together.

Gen 13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

We begin to see the difference between “selfishness” and “unselfish faith”.

Most all these things had there beginning in the Book of Genesis!

We must remember what happened to Eve.

1Jn_2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Lot fit into all these categories and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

It is this city and its actions that gave us the word Sodomites, known today as the gay lifestyle.

*Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
Gen 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

The Lord again appeared before Abram but only after he had separated from Lot.

We know that Lot was a righteous man in the eyes of God, but at this time he was allowing his pride to interfere with his relationship with the Lord.

Great lessons are to be learned by all those who trust the Lord.

Great lessons can also be learned by all God’s children who mix with and accept the things of this wicked world!

It is a fact God will do more for those who trust Him than for those who choose to do for themselves.

Lot saw grazing land where He could pitch his tent in one place and remain there, but he chose to be close to the doorway to sin and eventually moved into that sinful and wicked city and immoral city.

Abram chose a place for a nation.

We will see that God’s people who stay away from the worldly, are the same ones who please God.

God told Abram, “do not be sad for your nephew” “look in every direction and you can see the land that will belong to your children and grandchildren and those who come from them”.

Act 7:5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

*Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

What is a promise of God? It is a sure thing! It is real! It will take place!

As we go through these years with corrupt governments easily swayed by climate change, which is happening naturally, we must understand that natures rage can never overcome “faith’s” treasures!

God’s promises will come because every Word of God is the truth!

We know for a fact that Israel became a great nation, was destroyed and placed all around the world and has again become a great nation.

So some say what about this “as the dust of the earth”? Israel has never been that great of a nation but always been a small people.

But God is not just talking about Israel.

Abraham was the father of most all the Arab nations and there have been many peoples.

You may say again yes but still the dust of the earth.

Also out of Abraham comes the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the Church and the Saints from the time of Adam till today would be a large group.

So yes you add all these groups together Abraham was indeed the father of a large people.

So Abraham, let us take a stroll through the Promised Land.

*Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Is there any doubt that God gave this land to Abram?

It would be some 700 years before Joshua would lead Israel into this land to take possession of it.

It was 700 years before these wicked people reached level of sin without repentance before God would destroy them, but He did.

It has now been just over 2000 years since the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but the wicked will be destroyed when they reach a certain level without repentance.

If we will allow our “faith” in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ be our guide, we to will walk around and admire the Heavenly Land God has promised to those who walk by “faith”.

2Co_5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

We do not walk into tomorrow we walk in the great things to come!

We may not know when, but we know they are just as close as our lifetime.

We do not walk in just promises, we walk in “Divine Promises”!

When we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we begin our own journey and through valleys and hills we should enjoy our trip to the “Glory World”.

The gift of this land was not fulfilled until the time of King Solomon and will be a reality during the Millennial Reign of King Jesus.

*Gen 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

What do we see from Abraham? Steadfast obedience.

Abraham first returns to Hebron where he had buried his wife.

This place was special to Abraham.

Hebron is the very place where Abraham made an alliance with Jehovah!

Hebron is one the oldest cities that still exist today and was well known before Abraham.
Hebron is about 20 miles from Jerusalem.
Hebron is the place where Sarah died and is buried in the cave of Machpelah. (There is now a great mosque built inside this cave)
Hebron is part of the special inheritance given to Caleb because he followed the Lord.
Hebron was also one of the 6 cities of refuge.
Hebron was the capitol city of King David for 7 years until he moved his capitol to Jerusalem.
Hebron was also the city where Absalom began his insurrection against his own father King David.

Abram built an altar in Hebron to worship the Almighty Living God.

Why was Abram so much different from most of the remaining world?

*Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

We begin to see the “great faith” that Abram had in the Lord.

In reality Abram had no reason to believe the Word of God.

Abram was far past the days of fatherhood and so was Sarah.

Abram did the one thing we are all to do.

We are to listen to what God has to say and then believe every word.

2Ti_3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

We know the red-letter words in the New Testament are the actual words of Jesus and they are words we need to follow, but all the Word of God came by the Holy Spirit.

There is no words in this world that are as accurate as the Word of God!

2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

God said and this is all I need to know.

When God told Abram these things, then he just accepted the Word of God to be the truth.

Abram set the standard for “faith” throughout the written Word of God!

God takes our faith and counts it for our righteousness.

This was the reality in the day of Abram who became Abraham.
This reality became well known in the time of Jesus who paid all our sin debt.
This is the reality today!

Faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is counted for our righteousness.

Faith is the key to the heart of God!

In reality the word “believe” has its beginning in this 15th chapter in verse 6 and it holds the same meaning throughout the remaining Scriptures.

We can rest on God’s promises!
We can lean of God’s promises!
We can be sure of God’s promises!
We can have complete confidence in God’s promises!

Abram believed that one of his seed would be the promised Messiah!

It is righteousness that opens the doors of Heaven and this righteousness comes only by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen