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GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM


In this "Introduction", we will look at what the scriptures have to say about God’s covenant with Abraham and how God is keeping His promise to him and to his descendants.  I will also include some things about Abraham’s test and how it foretells Jesus and the cross but it will be covered in more detail in the book.  If you read the book and the scriptural evidence referenced there, you will see more of how Abraham and Isaac were actually telling of the cross to come and you will see how God is keeping His covenant promises to Abraham and to his descendants. 

In addition to what is being presented in this introduction, I have put together several short papers on God's covenant with Abraham so that the message can be more easily understood.  Much of what is presented here is included in those new papers but some new information has been added.  Those papers have been placed on my new web site, "godscovenantwithabraham.com".  On the left-hand side of this page is a link to that site.  You may wish to visit that site after reading what is being presented here.     

Do you want confirmation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that He died on a cross to redeem man?  You can see it in the story of Abraham and the covenant that God made with him (In Genesis, chapter 17) if you listen to Jesus tell that story.  We have all heard or read that story before but we were reading, or listening to others read what Moses wrote in the book of Genesis.  This time, let's listen to Jesus tell the story.  What's that!  You don't remember Jesus telling the story of Abraham in the gospel accounts?  Jesus did not tell the story of Abraham in a direct way. He told it in another way.

He told it as the word of God speaking through Moses:

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   2 He was in the beginning with God.   3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. - - - -

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us - - - -

John tells us that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh and that He existed with God and was God from the beginning.  It all came into being through Him.  He, the Word, is the creator ("By the word of the LORD the heavens were made", Psalms, chapter 33).  The Father spoke everything into existence through Jesus.  

Jesus is the Word of all scripture, including the Old Testament and when we read what Moses wrote, Jesus is the one telling us the story of Abraham.  Moses wrote exactly as Jesus was directing him when he wrote about Abraham and the things that he said. As we read those scriptures, if we listen to Jesus as He is telling us the story of Abraham and his test (through Moses), then we can know that, "JESUS IS LORD".

Peter tells us how Jesus spoke through the prophets.  Peter spoke of our salvation and said that when the prophets prophesied of the grace that was to come to us, they made searches and were, "seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow" (1 Peter 1:10-11).  The Spirit of Jesus spoke through the prophets when they spoke of the cross and the glories that it brought.  He spoke through the prophets, Moses and Abraham.

When Paul spoke of Christ being the creator, he said, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation”.  He also says, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).  If Christ created all things, then nothing that has been created is excluded.

It is obvious from the above scripture that His creation work is still going on.  If Christ’s creation works include placing rulers and thrones and authorities into their positions, then His creation work is still under way and it includes who is being placed into power and over what.  It includes every ruler and king in every land and it included the Pharaoh that led his army into the sea in pursuit of God’s people.  If we are not happy with those who have been placed into positions of power in our land we should speak to the one who placed them there, rather than to complain about it to others. 

Remember what Jesus told the Jews about Abraham, in John, chapter 8?  He said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" (verse 56).  When they questioned that statement, Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am" (verse 58).  When Abraham was born, Jesus was already there.  After God began speaking to Abraham, he began to hear and see Jesus.  When we read what Moses wrote about Abraham, Jesus is the one telling the story through Moses.  Abraham was also a prophet and when Moses recorded what he spoke, the Spirit of Jesus was then speaking through both Moses and Abraham.

You remember how God appeared to Abraham and commanded him to take his son Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering.  The story is found in Genesis, chapter 22.  The story has not changed but if we remember that Jesus is really telling the story, not Moses, we may see more in that story.  

When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering Abraham obeyed God and went because he knew that something like the cross was coming.  He may not have seen it clearly but he saw it. When he saw Jesus, Abraham saw the cross.  Listen to the story and see what Jesus is saying about that.

Part of the story of Abraham's test:

Genesis 22

1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

Think about the fact that Abraham has already been declared righteous because of his faith and God has promised that through his seed, all families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:3 and 15:6).  God made His everlasting covenant with him ten or fifteen years before the test (Genesis, chapter 17) and in that covenant He promised Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.  During the same visit God told him that Isaac would be born through Sarah and that Isaac was the one through whom God would establish His covenant.

At the time of the test, Abraham has met all of God's requirements and Isaac was born as promised.  Isaac had been circumcised as required by the covenant but God is asking Abraham to kill that son of promise.  Isaac was the one through whom the covenant was to be fulfilled.  

Was God changing His mind and deciding not to keep His promise?  No, God keeps promises and Abraham knew that.  Abraham was a believer in God and His promises and that is why God had given him credit for righteousness many years before the test.

Let us now look at the test of Abraham.  I will not copy all of the verses of scripture that tell us this story but you may wish to open your Bible and read along (I will be using the NASB translation) as we read and discuss it here.  It will be expanded in more detail with more scripture in the book.

After God commanded the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham does not hesitate.  The scripture says that Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey.  He split the wood that he would need and took his son and two young men and began his journey to the place selected by God for the sacrifice of Isaac.  They traveled for two full days and into the third day when Abraham looked up and saw that place in the distance. He said to the young men traveling with them, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you" (verse 5).  He said "we will return", not "I will return". Abraham knew that God was asking for Isaac's life but he also knew that God would somehow keep His promise through Isaac.

As Abraham was traveling toward that mountain, he was considering some things.  What he was thinking about can be seen in what the scriptures have to say in the New Testament book of Hebrews.  These verses are looking back at Abraham's test two thousand years before.

The Hebrew writer referred to God's test of Abraham: 

Hebrews 11

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;   18 it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

Abraham was considering God's commandment that he sacrifice his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering.  He was considering that God is awesome and he feared that God but he also believed in Him.  He believed God's promises.  He was considering that God is able to raise the dead, if necessary, to keep His promise.  If he thought about the possibility that God had changed His mind and was backing out of His covenant promise, he quickly rejected that possibility. Abraham believed that Isaac would die but God would resurrect him from the dead.  How is that for an example of faith?

The Hebrew writer tells us that Abraham considered that God had the power to raise the dead from which he received Isaac back as a, "type".  The original Greek word used for the word, "type", in the above scripture is, "parabole".  In every instance when that Greek word was used in the gospels, it was translated as "parable".  Why did our modern translators not translate it that way in this verse (Not in any of the modern translations)? 

The likely reason is because our definition of a parable usually includes the statement that the created earthly story is fiction.  A parable is a created earthy story that parallels and teaches spiritual truths.  Man's definition says that the story is fiction.  We get the same general definition whether it is from a Bible dictionary or from Webster's dictionary.  The story of Abraham is not fiction; it really happened.  How could it be translated as, "parable"?

Should God be limited by man's definitions?  The scriptures never tell us what God's definition of a parable is.  Or do they??  Is God giving us His definition of a parable in the story of Abraham and his test and the covenant that He made with him?  Does God also create true-life stories so as to parallel and teach us about His spiritual truths?  Did God make Abraham’s story happen for our instruction?  If so, is God still causing true life stories to come about, including our life stories?

We must believe that God is involved in the creation of our life story because we pray daily for God to make something happen for us or for others near to us.  We pray for success in things.  We pray for healing.  We pray for about everything and, when we pray and God answers our prayers, we are involved in the creation of our life story.  The biggest input that we have into our life story, however, is when we make the choice to love God.

Paul tells us how our love for God determines the outcome of our life story after he speaks of our not knowing how we ought to pray in Romans, chapter 8.  He tells us that the Spirit intercedes for us when we pray (Verse 26).  After telling us that the Spirit intercedes for us in our prayers he tells us that "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;  and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

When Paul said that God causes all things to work together for good in the lives of those who love Him, he is saying that God is creating a good life story for them.  God is involved in every aspect of our lives and He makes everything in our life work together for our good if we love Him.  If we choose to love Him, He will have mercy on us and He will cause everything in our lives to work together for our good so that His promises to us will be fulfilled. 

Paul also says that God foreknew and predestined those who would love Him to be conformed to the image of Christ.  That means He foresaw everyone who would choose to love Him and they are being created in the image of God by being created in the image of Christ in His new creation. 

God’s promise of good things to come is not promised to those who refuse to love Him.  God will not make us love Him.  He wants us to make the choice to love Him and to believe in Him.  That can be seen when we hear Peter tell us of God's patience and how He is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to
repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9) 

If the scriptures say that God does not wish for any to perish but that all should come to repentance then we have a right to make that choice for ourselves.  If God was making the choice for us and His wish is that all would come to repentance, then He would cause everyone to repent so that they would not perish.  God has allowed us to make the choice and His wish for us is that we would make the right choice.

Back to what Paul said about God having foreknown and predestined the ones that are to be justified and glorified by having been created in the image of Christ.  God is not limited in time.  He is in all time now and He was in all time at the beginning of time.  The Psalmist (David) said, "Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all" (Psalms, chapter 139).  

God hears us speak the day before we spoke and He heard us speak six thousand years before that.  Did God hear and answer our prayers before we could talk? Did God see our faith and love before the foundation of the world?

God knows our heart and He knew our hearts before we were born.  Is that why the Psalmist will then speak of his days having been ordained before he was born just a few verses later in chapter 139?  He says, "Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them".   

Every day of his life had been determined and recorded in God’s book before he was born.  Just as God foresaw every day of the Psalmist’s life before he was born, He also foresaw every day of our life in the beginning and based on what He foreknew about us, He predestined our future.

We, the saints, are the called and predestined because God foreknew us.  When Jeremiah spoke of his calling, he recorded God saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5).  If God knew Jeremiah before he was born then He foreknows each one of us before we are.  If He foreknew me, then He knew beforehand if I would choose to have faith in Him and if I would love Him.

God’s freedom in time allowed Him to foresee us make our life choices and for those that He foresaw choosing to love Him, He has predestined them to become sons of God in the image of Christ.  We must make that choice if we want God to create a good spiritual story for us.  Whatever choice we make, God will have foreseen us make it and He will have planned our life around what He foresaw in us.  

Is that why Paul spoke of how God chose us and predestined us before the foundation of the world in Ephesians 1:4-5, (When he wrote, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will”)?

God's freedom in time helps us to understand how He knew that hundreds of prophecies would be fulfilled in Jesus.  Those things all happened in time when time began.  He saw all of His creation work when He began that work.  His creation work includes His new creation work that directs our life story so that we can be created in the true image of God in that new creation.  It included His creation work being foretold in the life of Abraham.  

Regarding God’s creation work, we must remember that God does all of His creation work through Christ. When Paul said that God causes all things to work out for our good if we love Him, Jesus is making it happen. He is doing that as a part of God’s new creation work that creates us in His image.

If we choose to love God He will cause everything in our life to work together so as to cause our life story to be a good one.  Having a good life story does not assure good earthly things, it assures good spiritual things.  Paul is the one who recorded this scripture and he did not receive great earthly things.  From an earthly prospective Paul lived a life of suffering and poverty but he tells us that, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).

Just as God causes good things to come to those who love Him, the reverse can be true for those who refuse to love Him.  He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and the rain to come to both the good and the bad (Matthew 5:45) but from the prospective of the new creation, He sometimes causes bad things to come to those who choose not to love and honor Him.  

The scriptures are full of statements about God causing bad things to happen in people's lives that have chosen not to love Him.  God hardened Pharaoh's heart to cause the old salvation story to happen like it did.  His story was not good for Pharaoh because he did not love God.  God used Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to punish His unfaithful people.  God scattered His old covenant people among the nations because they did not love Him.

Just a few verses after Paul speaks of how God makes all things work together for our good if we love Him, he tells us how God made things happen in a way that was not good for Pharaoh, someone who did not love Him.  Paul spoke of Pharaoh and said, “the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH” (Romans 9:17). 

Regarding the Pharaoh that refused to let God’s people of the old covenant go, God sent Moses to that Pharaoh with His command to “let My people go”.  God had forewarned Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let them go when He sent him to Egypt.  God had foreseen the evil that would come to be in Pharaoh’s heart and because of what He had foreseen in him, He pre-selected him for destruction.  His part of that old salvation story turned out bad for him and his people.

After Paul spoke of how God had selected Pharaoh for His purposes, he then tells us how God does His work of creating true life stories.  He speaks of how God is the potter and we are the clay.  Paul says, “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires”.  He is telling us that he hardens the hearts of some (Like Pharaoh) to cause them to rebel but He has mercy on others.  Remember, it is those who choose to love God that have been promised good things.  The good result is receiving the covenant promise of that everlasting heavenly land.

After telling us how God hardens some and He has mercy on others, Paul continues his discussion of how God is working in people’s lives by telling us that God is the potter and the potter works with the clay and makes some vessels for honorable use and others for common use.  

In verse 21, he wrote, “Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”  He tells us how God patiently endures vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (Like Pharaoh) so that His wrath and power can be made known.  As He told Pharaoh, He raised him up to demonstrate His power and to make His name known throughout the earth. 

Paul tells us that the scripture spoke to Pharaoh to tell him that God raised him up for the purpose of demonstrating His power and that His name might be proclaimed throughout the earth.  When Paul said that the scripture spoke to Pharaoh, it was Jesus speaking to Pharaoh because Jesus is the Word.  Jesus is the Word and the creator, so, He is the potter and we are the clay.  As He does His creation work, He has mercy on some and He hardens others, as He desires. 

When Paul spoke of how the potter works with the clay to make vessels of His choosing, he asked how we can resist God’s will and why does God still find fault with us?  He asks who are we to answer back to God when the potter is the one who does the choosing.  Paul is asking a good question.  In his wording in Romans, chapter 9, Paul makes it sound as if we have no choice in what we will become but when we look back to what he wrote in chapter 8, we can clearly see where we do have a choice. 

He had already given us the answer to the question he asked in chapter 8.  We heard the answer when we heard Paul tell us how God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.  Remember, Paul said that He foreknew the ones who would choose to love Him.  

If He foresaw us making the choice to love Him, He will create us as vessels meant for glory.  We may not be able to choose the exact vessel that we will become but we have a choice in whether or not we will become destined for glory or for wrath.  Those who make the choice to love God will be created in the image of His Son and will be destined to receive His glory. 

It sounds as if His work includes having mercy on those who are to be created in the image of Christ and hardening the hearts of others.  As Christ was doing His old covenant creation work, He was causing things to happen for God’s people in a way that would allow them to be set free from slavery in Egypt.  He did it in a way that would show God’s power being displayed. When He repeatedly hardened Pharaoh’s heart, then the many signs and wonders were displayed before the Egyptians to cause Pharaoh to let them go.  

God did not make Pharaoh into an evil man.  God foresaw Pharaoh’s heart and, because of what He foresaw in him, God chose him to become ruler over Egypt and He caused him to do what he did so that old salvation story would come about as it did.

Earlier, we read where Paul spoke about Christ’s creation work and he said that it included thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities.  Jesus is the creator who places all rulers into their positions and He put Pharaoh into his position and He directed his actions to cause that old story to happen as it did.  He was creating the old covenant story by working in the lives of those people.  For the faithful ones who would choose to love Him, things would work out for their good.  For others (Like Pharaoh), things would not work out for their good.  He did it in the old covenant story and He is doing it in our lives today.  

The good promises are to be fulfilled for those who love God.  Love for God, however, must be shown by our actions.  Jesus tells us how we show our love for Him in John 14:15.  He says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”.  He makes sure we get the message when says it two more times in that chapter.  He tells us, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him”.  

Previously He said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments.  Now, He says that if we keep His commandments, we love Him.  The Father will love those who choose to love His Son with obedience and the Son will love those whom the Father loves. 

Two verses later He tells us, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me” (Verses 23-24).  

God’s promises are to those who choose to love God’s Son with obedience to His word.  His word is the word that He received from the Father.  We must love and obey the Father’s Word in order to receive His covenant promises.  Having a home (An abode) with God is the promise.  That promise is only made to those who love Him.  Only those who love Him with obedience to His word will receive the promise.

Remember, the Psalmist said that every day of his life was recorded in God’s book before he was born.  Did not God also foresee Abraham choose to live a life of faith and love for Him and then cause his story to happen as it did?  Did He cause Abraham's story to come about as it did for our instruction?

Notice what Paul said about Abraham's faith:

Romans 4

20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.   22 Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,  

When Jesus spoke through Moses and had him record the story of how Abraham was made righteous by faith, He did it for us as well as for Abraham.  He is telling us about the kind of faith that we need to bring us credit for righteousness.  Abraham was given credit for righteousness because of his faith in God and faith in His word.  Abraham knew that God would keep His promise.  He knew that God would not lie about His promises and he knew that God was able to do whatever was necessary to keep His word.  Remember what the Hebrew writer said.  Speaking of Abraham's faith, he said that he considered that God could raise Isaac from the dead.

The statement about Abraham having been given credit for righteousness because of his faith was first recorded by Moses in Genesis 15:6.  God promised that he would have descendants like the stars in the heavens.  He was an old man, but he knew that God could make it happen.  Paul said it was written for our sake.  It was written to show us how we can receive credit for righteousness by belief in God.  Abraham had full assurance in God's word.  Jesus is the Word that Abraham believed and he was, therefore, justified by faith in Jesus.  It all happened for our instruction.

Abraham believed God’s promises and that included His covenant promise to give the land of Canaan to him and to his descendants as an everlasting possession.  God made His covenant with him in Genesis, chapter 17.  God told Abraham that it was an everlasting covenant and He said, “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God”. 

Much of the Christian world has misunderstood what God was saying in His covenant promise to Abraham.  They keep asking the question, “When is God going to fulfill His promise to Abraham and give back to the Jews all of their land of Canaan”?  They are not hearing what God was telling Abraham.  God told Abraham that His covenant was an everlasting covenant between Him and Abraham and his descendants after him and it included giving them the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.  That promise of an everlasting possession meant a heavenly land and Abraham knew that.

When the Hebrew writer spoke of the faith of Abraham he said that, when he was called, he "obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8).  The writer tells us that he lived in that land as an alien, living in tents with Isaac (His son), and Jacob (His grandson), "fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God"  (Hebrews 11:9-10).  None of those fathers (Abraham, Isaac or Jacob), ever received that earthly land because it was never the real promise.  

If the scriptures say that Abraham was looking for a city built by God, he was.  He knew that God’s everlasting covenant promise was not of this earth because this earth is not everlasting.  Abraham heard God say that the covenant was an everlasting covenant and it included possessing the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.  He knew what that meant.

God's covenant with Abraham really included both the old and new covenant promises.  The old covenant promise was for Abraham's earthly descendants to receive an earthly Canaan.  The Hebrew writer tells us that covenant was a faulty covenant when he wrote,
“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.” 
(Hebrews 8:7) 

If it was faulty in the first century when the Hebrew writer wrote those words, it was faulty when it was given to Abraham.  It was faulty because it was of this earth.  God knew it was faulty when He gave it.  God gave it as an earthly copy of the true covenant.

The new covenant promise is the true promise.  It is the promise of an everlasting Canaan to Abraham and all of his descendants by faith.  We know that the true promise was the heavenly promise because the promise was made to Abraham and to his descendants and Abraham never received that earthly land.  

We heard the Hebrew writer tell us how he lived in that earthly land but he lived there as an alien living in
temporary dwellings (Tents).  
The only ground that Abraham ever owned there was the small plot of ground that he purchased as a burial place for his wife, Sarah.  He did not inherit it; he had to purchase it. 

Abraham never received that earthly land and neither will his descendants after him receive it as the true covenant promise.  It will be some six hundred years before Abraham’s descendants will enter that land to take possession of it but they will never keep it as an everlasting possession. 

As Stephen said, when he spoke of Abraham and that promise (He was defending himself before the Jews), "But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM" (Acts 7:5).  

Those Jews were concerned about their covenant promise of that earthly land.  Stephen was preaching the true covenant promise of the heavenly land.  He was trying to tell them that Abraham never received that earthly land and neither would they have it as the true promise.

Why would God allow that old covenant for an earthly land to come about and cause that old Hebrew story to happen as it did if it was never the true covenant?  God caused that old earthly story of Abraham’s earthly descendants being given their earthly land to come about as an earthly copy of our new covenant story just as He caused Abraham’s life story to come about as it did.  He made it happen for our instruction.  God was showing us an earthly copy of what He requires of us in order for us to receive the covenant promises.

The true covenant promise was an everlasting one and receiving that promise demands that man comply with God’s covenant conditions.  Meeting God’s conditions for the covenant is a part of what the scriptures are showing in God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son.  God told Abraham that His covenant requirement was circumcision of the flesh (Genesis, chapter 17) but it would be made clearer in Abraham's test.  We will take a closer look at God's requirement for circumcision later on.  

The commandment for Abraham to sacrifice his son of promise after all of those years of waiting, seems to be the most outlandish thing that God ever required of anyone, with one exception.  That would be the outlandish requirement that God made of Himself to sacrifice His Son so that He could keep His covenant promise to Abraham.  

God's covenant promise was a heavenly Canaan.  It is only available to those who are made perfect.   Abraham could only have that land if God offered His Son as the perfect sacrifice.  Fulfillment of that everlasting promise to Abraham and his descendants would require that God make the perfect sacrifice in order to make them perfect.  Because of God's sacrifice, Abraham and all of his descendants by faith could have their everlasting heavenly land.  God was asking Abraham to be willing to do the earthly copy.  

Just as the heavenly Father would offer His Son, Jesus, father Abraham was being asked to offer his son, Isaac.  Did the sacrifice of Isaac have earthly components that foretold the cross?  Remember, it was done as a "type".  

Just as God knew that His Son would live even if He had to die on the altar of the cross, Abraham knew (By faith) that his son would also live even though his body was (He thought) to be consumed in the fires of that altar.  God did not require that Abraham complete his sacrifice, only that he be willing to do so.  God could foresee Himself having to complete His sacrifice and He only required Abraham to show the earthly copy.  

God made Abraham suffer through the test to show true covenant belief and obedience and to let us see, in Abraham, a copy of the pain that God would experience when He perfected the everlasting covenant by making His sacrifice.  It shows us an earthly copy of God's sacrifice.  

When we read those Old Testament stories, Jesus is speaking to us.  Is He speaking in parables as He tells those stories?  Did Jesus cause the Old Testament story of Abraham and his test to come about as a true story parable?

If Jesus really did make that story come about as a true story parable, the earthly story components will parallel the spiritual. Let's see how it parallels the story of the cross. The story said that, as Abraham and Isaac went to the place of sacrifice, "Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son" (Genesis 22:6).  

When Isaac carried his altar wood, did it copy what Jesus would do?  Did not God lay the wood for His burnt offering on His Son when Jesus "went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha" (John 19:17)?  Jesus carried His altar wood just as Isaac had done two thousand years before.  The load that Jesus carried was heavy enough to cause Him to stumble.  The amount of wood needed for a burnt offering as large as Isaac would have been very heavy.  I wonder if Isaac stumbled under that heavy load?

As Abraham and Isaac were walking together toward the place of sacrifice, Isaac asked his father, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the
burnt offering"
?  Abraham responded, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son"
(Verse 8).  After the angel stopped Abraham, he saw the ram caught in a thicket and he offered the ram as a sacrifice in the place of his son, Isaac.

Abraham's prophesy statement said that God would provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.  After the sacrifice was stopped, a ram was provided by God.  The ram provided that day was not the Lamb of prophecy.  A ram is not a lamb.  Was the ram only a temporary sacrifice, substituted for Isaac?  Did that ram foretell the everlasting substitute sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God and did not God, Him-Self provide that sacrifice?

The scripture says that Abraham "bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood".  Did it copy what God would do when He bound His Son and laid Him on top of the wood?  Was the cross laid flat for Jesus to be bound before it was lifted up?  Did they use ropes in addition to the nails?  History may be telling us that ropes were sometimes used.  The use of ropes would help prevent the body of one being crucified from pulling loose from the nails.

When Isaac carried his wood to the place of sacrifice, did he go to the same place where Jesus would take the wood for His sacrifice?  We don't know exactly where Golgotha was located (Some people think they know based on physical appearances) but can the sacrifice of Isaac help tell us?  Notice the place where he was to make the sacrifice.  Abraham was told to go to the land of Moriah, to a mountain there to make his sacrifice.  The only other place in scripture where that name is mentioned is found in 2 Chronicles 3:1, where it says that Solomon began to build the temple on Mount Moriah.

Did God send Abraham on that long journey to tell where his future covenant sacrifices would be made? Did Isaac's altar foretell the place where burnt offerings would be required of man under the old covenant?  Was Isaac placed on an altar that was before the future temple location just as the altar of burnt offering stood there?  

Did the sacrifice of Isaac also foretell where a sacrifice would be offered under the everlasting covenant?  Was it where a burnt offering would be required of God and where He would raise up His true temple, the house where He would place His name forever?  Did the copies burn on a part of the mountain where the true sacrifice would burn?

Did the cross stand before the temple and outside the east gate?  Is that why the Hebrew writer referred to the old sin offering (where blood was brought into the holy place) being burned outside the camp, saying, "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate" (Hebrews 13:12).  

The Hebrew writer did not say which gate.  Did God specify the gate when He gave the Law of Moses? When the Law specified where the sacrifices were to be offered, God knew exactly where He would place His temple.  He also knew that the altar of burnt offering would be before the doorway of that house.  

Remember, as those old covenant priests went about their worship they were serving a copy and shadow of heavenly things (Hebrews 8:1-5).  As they were burning that sin offering body on the ash heap (The Law required them to burn the body outside the camp where the altar ashes were poured out), it was just a copy and shadow of what was to come.  

The true sin offering of all time was the body of Jesus.  Did God cause those priests to take the bodies that were only copies of the true sin offering and burn them where the true offering would burn?  Is that why scripture says that Jesus, "Therefore", suffered outside the gate?  Did God send Abraham to the same place?

Outside that gate one could look out over the Kidron valley, a valley of graveyards.  Was that ash heap located near the altar and just outside the east gate at the drop-off into the Kidron valley?  If you read  my introduction for the book, "DRAWING NEAR THROUGH THE VEIL", you heard Jeremiah say of that valley, "the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD" (Jeremiah 31:40).  

The dead bodies were those in that valley graveyard. Were there tombs near the top, outside the east gate?  The west side of that valley was holy to the LORD.  Did ashes from the clean place for ashes wash down among the graves?  Did the true sin sacrifice of all time burn on the ash heap and was it located outside the east gate?  Did His blood make that valley holy?  Is there anything that could be more holy than His blood?

God chose that place for Abraham to show his willingness to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. Did God choose that location for Abraham’s sacrifice because that is where God would make His sacrifice? Is that why Abraham named that place what he did?  After Abraham was restrained by the angel from killing his son, he "called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide".  Scripture continued by saying, "as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided" (Genesis 22:14).  

God will provide there, not man.  Remember, only a little while before that, Abraham told Isaac that God will provide for Himself the Lamb for the burnt offering.  Moses wrote this book, including the account of Abraham naming that place.  The Spirit of Jesus was guiding him as he wrote.  When Abraham named the place where he offered Isaac, "The LORD Will Provide", was he telling us that it was the place where God would provide the Lamb for the burnt offering?

Abraham told Isaac that God would provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.  When Jesus guided Moses to add the statement about how it will be provided, "In the mount of the LORD", was God not telling us that He had selected that place as the Mount of the LORD and the place where He would provide for Himself the Lamb?

Solomon was required to erect an earthly temple on that mountain.  God’s temple was built on the "Mount of the LORD".  It was the house where God would place His name.  After it was constructed, it would be the only place on earth for sacrifices to be made under that old covenant.  The Hebrew altar of burnt offering would stand before the earthly temple on that mountain.  No other place was acceptable for their sacrifices but before that temple doorway.  Was Isaac offered at the same place?  Did it happen because Jesus would be offered there?

Jesus was the only righteous one who met the conditions of being a perfect sacrifice.  That required Him to live a perfect life.  He lived while the old Law was still in effect.  Did He comply perfectly with the Law and, "therefore", burn outside the camp at the clean place for ashes?  Did He remain perfect under that Law to the very end and burn at that ash heap?  Did He offer His sacrifice at the doorway of the tent of meeting (East of the temple) as the Law required (Leviticus 1:3)?

The cross is the most important event of all time.  Did the most important event of all time take place at the most holy place on earth, the mountain where the temple stood?  Could any one thing be more important for considering that mountaintop for His earthly dwelling place than because He had chosen that place for His sacrifice to be made and the new house of God to be raised up?  Did the cross stand outside the east gate overlooking the Kidron valley, a place of ancient graveyards?  Was there a garden at that clean place for ashes and a new tomb nearby?  Remember, the Law had only a shadow of the good things to come (Hebrews 10:1).

Everything about that old covenant earthly story was caused to come about as an earthly copy of our new covenant story.  We have seen how Abraham was showing a copy of God’s sacrifice under the everlasting covenant when he sacrificed his son.  That was a part of what was only the beginning of the old covenant copy.  God will continue to cause the story of Abraham’s descendants receiving the covenant promise to show the earthly copy in the generations that followed. 

Remember, Abraham’s descendants will become a great nation while living in Egypt.  They will, however, become slaves in that land.  We saw previously how God sent Moses back to Egypt to bring that nation out of slavery.  Remember, Pharaoh had been made ruler over Egypt so that God could cause things to happen the way they did.  God called Moses (At the burning bush) and sent him back into Egypt to lead His people out of slavery.  After some reluctance, Moses went.  He went before Pharaoh (With his brother, Aaron) and spoke God’s command, “let My people go”. 

Remember, God had previously told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the people go.  It was only after God’s great power was displayed with signs and wonders that Pharaoh would let them go.  Moses led God’s people out of Egyptian bondage and, when they were trapped at the sea, Moses stretched out his hand and parted the sea and led them through the sea, on dry ground.  When the Egyptian army pursued after them, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the waters returned to their place.  The entire Egyptian army was drowned in the sea. 

After the Israelites saw what God had done, scripture records, “When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31). 

Notice, they were a nation of saved believers that had been saved from slavery.  They have the promise of a land of milk and honey but they have not yet received that land.  They have been saved out of slavery but they must faithfully travel through the wilderness to that land and be willing to fight for it.  They will be required to faithfully follow the LORD and His servant, Moses, all the way there in order to receive the promise.  It will not happen for most of them.  Most of them will be disobedient and rebellious and God will strike them down in the wilderness. 

When they sent twelve spies in to spy out the land ten of them came back and gave a bad report.  They told how it was truly a land of milk and honey but they also said it was inhabited by strong nations and giants.  Only Joshua and Caleb gave a good report and encouraged the people to enter and take possession of that land. 

That nation had been saved from slavery and the land of promise was before them but they wanted to return to slavery, instead.  God told them that their corpses would fall in that wilderness (Numbers 14:29).  Not one of those of their numbered men would enter that land except for Joshua and Caleb because they were the only soldiers of God’s army who were willing to fight for that land. 

God’s army consisted of all men twenty years old and older who were able to go to war (Excepting the priestly tribe).  Of God’s army, only Joshua and Caleb would enter that land because they had followed the LORD fully.  

Forty years later (The rebels had all died in the wilderness) Moses repeated God’s promise of how none would enter except Joshua and Caleb and adds, “Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it”  (Deuteronomy, chapter 1).  

Their little ones would enter because they had no knowledge of good or evil.  They were under the age of accountability.  Everyone in God’s army, except for Joshua and Caleb, died in the wilderness. 

That was their story.  Their story was the earthly copy that God caused to come about for our instruction.  Now we will look at our story.  Just as Moses brought God’s earthly chosen people out of bondage, Jesus has been sent to bring God’s spiritual chosen people out of spiritual bondage.  In John, chapter 8, Jesus spoke to the Jews, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34).  He will then tell them, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed”.  

When Jesus said that all sinners were slaves of sin, He included all mankind.  Every person on earth (Who has reached the age of accountability) is guilty of sin and is in bondage to sin.  If we are to be set free from slavery to sin, we must follow Jesus out of that slavery.  We can see it all when we read about that old Hebrew story.  

When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth and retold what had happened in that old Hebrew salvation story and he said that what happened to them happened for our instruction (1 Corinthians, chapter 10).  He begins that chapter by saying, “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ”.  

He then tells us how God was not pleased with them and He laid them low in the wilderness.  Paul tells us, “Now these things happened as examples for us”.  Paul connects the events of that story to events in our story.  They were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea just as we are baptized into Christ by water and by Spirit.  

Remember, the Spirit of the LORD was in their cloud.  They ate bread from heaven and drank water from the rock that symbolized the Christ to come.  Jesus is the rock that was struck to give us living water and He is the bread of heaven.  They ate and drank in their wilderness just as we partake of spiritual food and drink as we travel through our spiritual wilderness. 

Because of their rebellion, they were not pleasing to Him and He laid them low in the wilderness.  Paul tells us those things happened as examples for us.  Paul then writes, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.  Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (Verses 11-12).  

We need to believe Jesus as He instructs us through the old Hebrew story and confirms it in the New Testament scriptures.  Jesus is the Word speaking through Paul to tell us that it happened as an example and was written for our instruction.  We may have been saved from slavery to sin but we can still fall and not make it to our land.  If we truly believe in Jesus we will take up our cross and follow Him through the sea and then through the wilderness (Spiritual wilderness) all the way home. 

Jesus is telling us to study the copy and learn the lesson.  Look closely at the old copy as it instructs us.  Remember, Moses brought them out of slavery with signs and wonders.  After the plagues that displayed God’s power had caused the Egyptians to allow that nation to depart, God then destroyed the Egyptian army in the sea.  Remember, He parted the sea for His people to pass through and when the Egyptians followed after them they were drowned in the sea.

Jesus caused that story to come about like it did when He hardened Pharaoh's heart that last time.  God’s people had already been allowed to depart after the death of the firstborn of Egypt but God did not lead them directly toward their land.  He led them around for a day or two and down to the edge of the Red Sea.  That was where Pharaoh and his army caught up with them and God brought about the event of the parting of the sea and the destruction of the Egyptian army in the sea. 

If God had not hardened Pharaoh’s heart that last time and caused him to gather his army and to chase after Israel, that event would never have happened.  God’s people would have continued their journey toward their land without the need for that event to take place.  If the parting of the sea had not happened, then the Egyptian army would not have died in the sea.  They would have remained alive in their land. 

Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart and cause the event of the parting of the sea to come about that destroyed Pharaoh and thousands of Egyptians in the sea if God’s people had already been allowed to go free?  Was it only done to punish Egypt?  

God did punish them but there is another reason why He caused it to happen the way it did.  We heard Paul say how the scripture spoke to Pharaoh and told him that He had raised him up for the purpose of showing His power and that His name would be proclaimed throughout the earth (Romans 9:17). 

Remember, Jesus, the Word and the creator made it happen.  Jesus spoke to Pharaoh and told him that He raised him up to show His power to save and it can only happen through the name of Jesus.  He was speaking of what was to take place when God’s people would be set free but the true message was foretelling what was to come to His people under the new covenant.  He caused the events of His earthly people being saved from slavery to happen to foretell what was to come when Jesus would come to earth to save God’s spiritual people out of slavery to sin.

Peter spoke of the name of Jesus Christ and told the Jews, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  It is the name of Jesus that is now being proclaimed throughout the world.  

The new covenant gospel message is the news of salvation through Jesus Christ.  God’s power is being shown through Jesus and His power to save in the gospel.  Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

God showed His power in the old story when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Egyptian army was washed away in that sea.  That was a copy of our spiritual story and how He now saves us from slavery to sin.  When Jesus stretched out His hands to receive the nails on the cross, He was preparing the way for God’s people to be led out of spiritual slavery to sin.  

Jesus Christ will save us from slavery to sin when we believe the gospel message and obey His Great Commission ("And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."  - Mark 16:15-16) and follow Him through the sea to freedom.

Israel being saved from slavery and brought through the sea to freedom copies our spiritual story of how Jesus has saved us out of a world of slavery to sin to be brought through the waters of baptism so that our sins can be washed away.  Those who believe the gospel message of salvation will obey Jesus and follow Him through the waters so that they can be set free from slavery to sin in this world.

We can only be justified and saved from slavery to sin if we have the faith of father Abraham.  We must believe and obey Jesus, God’s Word.  The good news of the gospel is now being proclaimed throughout the earth to tell all nations how Jesus has redeemed us from sin with His blood.  He has paid our debt for sin but we must believe His message and follow Him out of slavery if we are to be set free.

If we have obeyed the gospel and followed Jesus through the sea, we have been saved from slavery but we have not yet received our land.  Just as they were a nation of saved believers after their slave-masters had been washed away, so it is with us.  We must, however, remember how they were required to remain faithful through their wilderness travels.  We must continue to faithfully follow Jesus through our spiritual wilderness. 

We must believe Paul when he tells us that what happened to those people happened as examples for us and it was written for our instruction.  Only those old covenant ones who remained faithful received the earthly land in that old story and the same is true for us.  Only faithful soldiers in God’s spiritual army and the little ones who do not know good from evil will receive that spiritual land.

When God gave Abraham credit for righteousness, He could see ahead in time to Abraham as he was placing Isaac on that altar.  That is exactly what James said. Remember what James said about Abraham's faith and works and how God saw Abraham offer Isaac on the altar before it happened?  James referred to Abraham offering up Isaac on the altar, saying, "and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God" (James 2:23).

James is telling us how Abraham fulfilled Scripture when he obeyed God and offered Isaac on the altar.  He fulfilled Scripture that tells how he was made righteous by faith when he showed his faith by his obedience.  The Scripture is the Word and Jesus is the Word.  James is telling us that Jesus foresaw Abraham's obedience.  It sounds like Jesus gave Abraham credit for righteousness when He foresaw Abraham obeying God's commandment and proving his faith at the test.

Look at what happened after the test in Genesis, chapter 22.  When we listen to Jesus as He speaks through Moses and tells about Abraham's test, He says the same thing that James said.  After the test and the angel had stopped Abraham, Moses records what God said to Abraham (through the angel).  

The angel told Abraham, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore".  He would be blessed with descendants like the stars of the heavens and as the sand on the seashore because he did that thing as God had commanded.

That is the same promise that Abraham had believed decades before he offered Isaac on that altar (having seed like the stars of the heavens).  He was given that promise when he was declared righteous by his faith because he believe that promise.  That promise was later expanded to say that, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED".  

Abraham believed that promise when it was first made and he still believed it when he offered Isaac.  It can be seen as Abraham offered Isaac on that altar.  He was declared righteous when he first believed it but the angel said that God would keep His promise because Abraham had done this thing and offered Isaac.  As James said, the scripture was fulfilled when it happened.  God had foreseen it happen when He first gave Abraham credit for righteousness.  Abraham showed his faith with his works and because of his works, his faith was perfected.  

After telling him he would be blessed because he had done that thing, the angel said, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice" (verses 16-18).  That promise was first made to Abraham when God called him and told him to leave his father's house and go to the land that God would show him.  God promised him that "in you all the families of the earth will be blessed"  (Genesis 12:3).  God would keep His promise because Abraham obeyed with his actions.  Again, the scripture was fulfilled when Abraham obeyed God's voice.

Paul said that promise was the gospel being preached to Abraham (Galatians 3:8).  It was the gospel promise of salvation to all nations.  God promised to bless all nations through him because he believed God and obeyed His voice.  That happened some twenty years after God had made the same promise to him because he had believed God.  God had foreseen Abraham’s faith being perfected by his future obedience.

When Abraham obeyed God and offered Isaac as a burnt offering, he was completing his faith requirements with his actions.  James tells us "that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected".  When it happened, the Scripture was fulfilled.  That is what Paul was telling us in Romans.  We read some of those verses previously. 

When Paul spoke of how Abraham's faith had given him credit for righteousness and it was written for our sake, it was after Paul said something about how Abraham was not justified by works but by belief in God.  He said, "FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS" and it was credited to him "Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them" (Romans 4:9-11).

Abraham was made righteous by his faith before he was given his covenant requirement of circumcision.  His faith caused him to believe what God would say years later when He was given the covenant requirement of circumcision.  It was to be a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham.  

God told him that circumcision was an everlasting covenant requirement and that any male who was not circumcised would be cut off from his people (Genesis, chapter 17).  Abraham's faith knew that God meant what He said and he and all males in his household were circumcised that day.  

If we have Abraham's faith, we will obey God and meet our covenant requirement.  When God made His covenant with Abraham, He told him that his everlasting covenant requirement was circumcision.   If the covenant requirement of circumcision was to be an everlasting requirement, it also applies to the everlasting new covenant.  

How can it apply to us?  Christians are not required to be circumcised, or are they?

The old covenant requirement for that earthly land was physical circumcision.  Was God telling Abraham that his covenant requirement for the heavenly land was spiritual circumcision?  Are the scriptures telling us that our everlasting covenant requirement is to have a circumcised heart?  Paul tells us that circumcision is not one that is outward in the flesh, but "circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter" (Romans 2:29).

That old circumcision was only the earthly copy.  True circumcision is circumcision of the heart.  It causes us to believe God's word that commands us to remove our body of sin.  Our everlasting covenant requirement is spiritual circumcision by the "removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him though faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Colossians 2:11).  

That covenant requirement is for all of God's sons, both male and female ("For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise." - Galatians 3:26-29).  

In the above scripture the Greek wording does not say, "children of God".  It says "sons of God".  Whether male or female, if we are "in Christ Jesus", we are "all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" when we believe Him and obey His covenant requirement for circumcision of the flesh.  

When we repent, we make the decision to turn from a life of living for self and live for Jesus.  Those who make the choice to follow Him will truly live but they must "no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (2 Corinthians 5:15).  We must love God enough to carry a cross.  Unless we take up our cross and follow Jesus, we are not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:38).  

The circumcision of Christ requires the removal of our old body of flesh and burying it in baptism so that we can be raised up as a new person with Jesus.  If we follow Him in the likeness of His death, we will be in the likeness of His resurrection (Romans 6:1-6).  

If we have not been crucified in the likeness of His death, we will not be raised up in the likeness of His resurrection and we will not have met God's covenant requirement of spiritual circumcision of our body of flesh.  God told Abraham that "an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant" (Genesis 17:14). 

Just as God saw Abraham offer Isaac before it happened, God saw Abraham meeting his covenant requirement of circumcision before it happened.  Do you suppose that God would have declared him righteous if he had refused to comply with the covenant requirement of circumcision?  Would He declare us righteous if He foresaw us refusing to comply with our requirement of circumcision?

God had said that any uncircumcised male would be cut off.  Abraham knew that God would keep His word that any uncircumcised male would be cut off from his people and he obeyed.  God keeps His promises and Abraham knew that he had to obey.  When God gave him credit for righteousness because of his faith, God had already foreseen him believing God's word and meeting his covenant requirements with his works of obedience.

God did not cause Abraham to believe in Him but He foresaw Abraham show his faith by his works.  When Jesus foresaw it, He gave Abraham credit for righteousness before he did anything.  Abraham was given credit for righteousness apart from works but, because of his works, his faith was perfected.  He would receive the covenant promises because he obeyed God’s voice.  

That is the same message that we got when we heard Paul speak of how God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.  Remember, only those who obey the commandments of Jesus really love Him.  Just as true love obeys God's word, true faith obeys God's word.  God's covenant promises are to those who love God and show their faith with obedience.  

Paul spoke of the Law and works (Romans 3:27-31) saying, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law".  The Jews were trying to be justified by works of the Law.  They only had a partial belief in God.  They did not believe in God's word of grace.  Jesus is the Word and they did not believe in Him.  They were doing works of the Law outside of faith in Jesus.  They failed because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".  

Abraham did his works because of his faith in God's word.  He obeyed God's word with his works because He believed in God's Word (Jesus) and he showed his belief by his works.  

Righteousness will be credited to us by faith in Christ if we believe like Abraham believed.  It must be a faith that will believe in and keep God's Word.  We must keep His word because Jesus tells us "if anyone keeps My word he will never see death" (John 8:51).

God sees our obedience before it happens.  That is how we are predestined.  If He foresees us having a life of obedient faith, we will be predestined for eternal life.  It is not because God chose to make us believe and obey.  He sees us make the choice and He sees it long before it happens.  It can be seen in the life of Abraham.  He was given credit for righteousness before his faith became obedient.  The scripture was fulfilled when it happened.  We must be like Abraham and obey God when He speaks.

Abraham knew that God would keep His word regarding his son, Isaac, and that is faith that justifies.  It appears that it will justify us before we do anything if Jesus foresees us keeping His word before He speaks to us (Before we see it in scripture).  

We must believe in Jesus.  We must be like Abraham and believe Him and obey Him each time we hear Him speak.  We must keep following Him.  

If we hear Him speak and refuse to obey, Jesus will have foreseen it and He will not have given us credit for righteousness when we first believed.  We will only have been made righteous by faith if Jesus foresees our future obedience.

We are called just as Abraham was called, with one exception.  Scripture tells us (Jesus tells us), "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going"  (Hebrews 11:8).  

Abraham had no help from the written scriptures because there were none.  He could not see where he was going but we can.  We can see where he was going and we can see where we are going because the scriptures are telling us about it.  We must be like Abraham and believe in Jesus if we wish to be among the ones who are called.

If we are of the faith of Abraham we will be like Abraham and when Jesus calls us, we will obey and do what He commands.  Each time Abraham heard Jesus speak he believed Him and obeyed His voice.  Remember, Jesus once said that, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).  

For Abraham, following Jesus required him to do that work of splitting the altar wood for the sacrifice of his son and taking it to the place of sacrifice.  It caused him to make that offering.  We must be like Abraham and take up our cross and follow Jesus.

If we are of the called, we will keep listening to His word (We will keep studying it) and we will meet our covenant requirements.  When we hear Him commanding us to follow Him to where we have never been before, we will be like Abraham and go there.  If we hear Him speak and refuse to act on His word, then we do not have the faith of Abraham.  

Jesus knows before we are born whether or not we will have the faith of Abraham.  If He sees us having Abraham's faith and He sees us being obedient, then He will give us credit for righteousness when He first calls us.  The Potter will have foreseen what the clay's faith and love will be and we will have been predestined for eternal life.  

Having a home (an abode) with God is the promise. That promise is only made to those who love Him.  Only those who love Him with obedience will receive the promise.

James included Abraham's example when he spoke of faith and works and said, "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:17).   Abraham had a living faith that believed with obedience and, as the angel said, "because you have done this thing", he would be blessed and his seed would be multiplied.  

As James said, the Scripture was fulfilled.  Jesus is speaking to us through James just as He speaks through Abraham.  Jesus said that the promise is to those who obey His voice.  We must show our love for Him by obeying His voice.

Paul said that we are saved by grace, through faith, but he also said that we have been created in Christ for good works that He has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  Works can't save us.  We are justified by faith but it must be a faith that believes like Abraham believed.  It must be a faith that believes and obeys God's word.  

Because Abraham obeyed God's voice, God's gospel promise of everlasting life to all nations would come through his Seed.  We are saved through a living faith.  If our faith does not believe and obey God's word with action then our faith is dead.  We can't be justified by a dead faith.  When Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him, He expects us to do that work.  

Abraham met the requirement of having a circumcised heart when he offered his best to God.  God is telling us the same thing.  He is telling us that we must carry our cross and place ourselves on the altar as our spiritual sacrifice to God.

I am not a theologian, just a Christian trying to hear Jesus as He speaks of His cross.  As a retired engineer with over a half-century of Bible study, some of it is just beginning to sink in.  Those Old Testament stories really were written for our instruction (Romans 15:4).  Within the last ten years or so, I have come to realize how God caused some Old Testament true stories to happen to show us copies of our spiritual story.  He caused them to come about and to be written in the Old Testament scriptures to give us the same lessons that He would state plainly in the New Testament scriptures.

The old stories teach nothing new being required for salvation that we can't read in the New Testament.  They give us the same requirements in earthly story form that the New Testament scriptures are telling us about spiritually.  If we are confused with the spiritual statements of the New Testament, we need to study the old earthly stories.  We need to study them anyway, so that we can know that, "JESUS IS LORD".  

Remember, Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables but He explains everything privately (To those who will bother to read it with open hearts) to His disciples (Matthew, chapter 13).  We need to be sure to come near and listen to Jesus as He explains the meaning of His parables to His disciples.  If we only hear Him speaking in parables, we will never understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.  

You will notice that I have used the New American Standard translation for the copied scriptures in this book.  You may wish to also read the same scriptures from the translation that you normally use.

 

Johnny Rogers 8/26/02

Revised 11/2/09

 

Image of the cross is from FreeFoto.com

Link For cross - http://www.freefoto.com/preview/05-08-10?ffid=
05-08-10&k=Cross+at+Sunset

 

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org )