Household

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled Lech - L'cha, which means, "Go! Leave!" This reading portion covers several chapters in the Book of Genesis, from Ch. 12 through Ch. 17. These chapters begin the account of Abram/Abraham's journey into the land of Canaan as he was commanded to do by the LORD. The reading begins: "Now the LORD had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families (mispaha - familes, kindred, a circle of relatives, tribe, a genus, a kind) of the earth shall be blessed..' So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot (his nephew) went with him..." (Gen. 12:1-4).

     The phrase "Get out" as spoken by the LORD to Abram is the Hebrew word yalak, yalak (written twice). This places particular emphasis on the meaning, making it "Get out!" The word yalak/halak means, "to go, walk, depart, move, go away, to die/to live or manner of life, to lead, to bring/walk away, to go through or over a place." The LORD wasn't throwing Abram out of his home and away from his family in Haran as a punishment, but, the meaning implies that he is to get out for his own sake or benefit. As we can see in the above verses, the LORD has attached to the command to "Get out!", incredible and miraculous blessings that will come upon Abram, blessings that would never have ordinarily come into the life of a herdsman. The place in Mesopotamia from which Abram was leaving was Haran, which has the root meaning: "kindle, burn, angry, scorched, dried of thirst, to roast, of men destroyed by heat." From the Arabic language, Haran/harar has this very interesting meaning: "born of a noble race, free born, the brightness and purity of a man obscured by no stain." If we combine the two ideas, we may be able to say that the same fiery brightness that shines from an unstained purity in one man, is the same fiery brightness that destroys another (stained) man in scorching heat.

     The chapters covered by this week's Sabbath reading portion deal with Abram's journey in the LORD into the land to which God told him to go and the covenant that the LORD made with Abram/Abraham. God both spoke to and appeared to Abraham on several occasions in order to direct him. It is also here in these chapters that we first see Abram, or anyone, called a Hebrew ('ibri/'eber/'abar - "one from beyond", from beyond the Euphrates or Jordan Rivers/great grandson of Shem, "the region beyond", region on the other side, "across or beyond"/pass over or through, cross over, overflow, emigrate). (Gen. 14:13). The Hebrew letters used to compose the word "Hebrew" are 'ayin, beth, reysh, yod. These letters' individual meanings could be joined together to say: "See and understand the appearance of the fountain, house, family or body within the Highest's completed work." These are amazing works that the LORD was establishing in and through Abram the Hebrew that started with His command to "Go!".

     We have discussed in earlier blog entries the awesome foundation that the LORD established through Abraham when studying this Lech L'cha Sabbath reading portion in previous years. However, for this entry, I would like to look at events in Genesis 16 and 17.

     In Genesis 16, we see an account of Abram's first-born son when Abram was eighty-six years old. His wife Sarai/Sarah had borne Abram no children, and she told Abram to embrace her Egyptian maid, (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Hagar. After Hagar conceived, Sarai/Sarah "dealt harshly ('ana - afflict, force, troubled, weakened, browbeaten, oppress, put down, be depressed, be humiliated, hurt) with her." (v. 6). Hagar fled from Sarai, and the Angel of the LORD found (masa' - find, attain, acquire, meet, encounter, come upon, light upon) her by a fountain ('ayin - eyes, sight, fountain, of mental and spiritual faculties) in the wilderness. The Angel of the LORD told Hagar that she must return to her mistress, Sarai, and then said: "I will multiply your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) seed/descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude. And the Angel said/sang to Hagar about the name of her son to be born, and told her his name would be Ishmael (yisma'el - God will hear, whom God hears). (v. 7-12). Hagar called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You-Are-the- God-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen (ra'a - see, behold, appear, perceive, regard, seer, foresee, have vision, look upon, gaze at, discern) Him who sees me?" In this statement, Hagar didn't say that she saw an angel, but that she saw the LORD (yod-hey-vaw-hey: "Behold the hand, behold the nail"). (v. 13-14). "So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Ishmael. (v. 15). 

     The LORD had previously established a solemn covenant with Abraham, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates..." (Gen. 15:17-21, excerpt). The LORD repeated that promise to Abram/Abraham, as He promised to make Abraham, then childless, a father of many nations.

     There came a point when a natural and spiritual family or household was to be established through Abraham. This household of Abraham was to be established through God's (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) covenant of circumcision. Every male in Abraham's household, from eight days old, was to be circumcised. However, this circumcision was not only to apply to the natural descendants of Abraham's flesh: "...every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with (your) money from any foreigner who is not your descendant..." (Gen. 17:9-14). The circumcision of the flesh is called here a "sign/token" of the covenant. (v. 11). The word translated as "sign" here is the Hebrew word 'ot, spelled with the Hebrew letters aleph-vaw-tav. which when joined together can mean "the Lord Adonai nailed to the cross, or joined to the covenant. The word 'ot means "miraculous signs, miracles, distinguishing mark, to consent, agree, assent." We can see that the covenant established was to anyone and everyone who lived within Abraham's household, not limited to those who were born of his flesh.

     What kind of household is this? According to the sign (see above meaning) of this household, it is a household of miracles. It is a household of faith, indicated by the consent and agreement necessary by the meaning of the "sign". Finally, it is a household of life, because those who do not receive the "sign" of this household are cut off. This covenant of the sign of circumcision is not limited to an outward or physical sign, but, more importantly, it is an inward or spiritual circumcision. From another reading portion of this Lech - L'cha, or "Go!/Leave!" Sabbath, the prophet Jeremiah wrote of the LORD asking Israel to return to Him and saying: "Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns (see Mt. 13:3-9). Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of your evil doings." (Jer. 4:3-4). The apostle Paul, who in the flesh was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, as well as a Pharisee, wrote of the same truth: "...For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (see Rom. 2:25-29).

     Jesus also remarked that being of the household of Abraham requires more than being his genetic descendant. It requires a submission of the heart and understanding to God, the Father. (see Jn. 8:37-39). Circumcision was a prophetic sign as well as a natural sign that pointed us to greater things than the sign itself according to the Hebrew meaning of "sign".

     Abraham's household members, joined in identity by the sign of circumcision, was made up of not only his natural descendants, but even foreigners that he had bought. The prophet Isaiah brings this same revelation regarding the Servant of God, the Messiah/Christ as we read in the household of Abraham: "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness; and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles....to raise up (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isa. 42:6/Isa. 49:6). The Servant/Messiah/Christ is for the salvation and restoration of Israel first, and then also to the Gentiles and the whole earth. (see also Rom. 1:16-17).

     It was then that the LORD prophesied and promised to Abraham that his wife (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Sarah would give him a son, who was to be named Isaac. It is with (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) not yet born Isaac that the LORD will establish (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) His covenant, although the LORD promises to bless Ishmael. (Gen. 17:15-22). The very day that Abraham was circumcised, he also circumcised his son, (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Ishmael, and all the men of his house (bayit - house, dwelling, temple, household, family, descendants as an organized body). (v. 23-27).

     We can see the identity of the Messiah/Christ upon this natural and spiritual household of Abraham in the repeated presence of the *aleph-tav in the written Hebrew above (see *note below). Jesus also confirmed His personal presence and relationship with Abraham as the eternal Messiah/Christ, and Abraham with Him, that superseded time even though they were forty-two generations apart within flesh and time. (see Jn. 8:56-59, Mt. 1:17).

     The LORD would repeat His covenant promise of the land to Abraham's second son, Isaac, and later, to his son, Jacob. However, the prophecy of Isaac's miraculous birth to a childless and aged Sarah, points to more than the son who will inherit the land. Abraham, before he died, would have several "natural" children, but only Isaac was the son of (prophetic) promise. It was only Isaac out of all of the sons of Abraham who was to carry the seed of the yet-to-be-born Messiah/Christ. (see Mt. 1:1-2, Lk. 3:30-34, Gal. 4:27-29).

     As the LORD Himself established this remarkable and miraculous household of Abraham as a sign, His plan of salvation continued on its set and unchangeable course.

     If you would like to learn more about this remarkable household of miracles, faith and life established not by the will of man, but by the will of God (see Jn. 1:12-13), you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, who is a God like You, establishing the end from the beginning?! Before I knew and loved You, You called me to be accepted and adopted into Your household of salvation, not because of who I was or wasn't in the flesh, but because of Your purpose for me in the Spirit and by faith in Your Son of Promise, Jesus. Let the sign of Your covenant of circumcision be within my heart and my most inward parts as it calls out to others to come and join Your eternal household. Bless the father of our faith, Abraham, and bless His household, both Jew and Gentile. I ask this in the name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Messiah/Christ. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Go!

Last week, we saw how God established His elect people. This week, we will see how God established, through a covenant with Abram/Abraham, the land promised to His elect people. This will be important in the end times before the return of Christ, as it has been throughout history. It started with a command from the LORD to "Go!...Get out!" That is also the title of this week's Sabbath reading portion, Lech L'cha, which covers Gen. chapters 12 through 17. Last week we saw that the Hebrew people (Eber) descended from Noah's oldest son, Shem. Continuing down the line of Shem's descendants, we eventually come to Abram, who would later be renamed "Abraham" by God. Abraham would be a spiritual earthquake, changing the course of history forever. However, first, the LORD had to move Abram from the Chaldean (Babylonion) city of Ur, to the territory of Canaan, which was inhabited by the descendants of Noah's second son, Ham. Abram's father had earlier relocated his family, including Abram and his wife Sarai, from Ur to Haran, an Assyrian city (Gen. 11:31-32). However, this was not where God wanted Abram to dwell. He commanded Abram to "get out" of his father's house, and "go" (yalak, yalak [2X] - to go, walk, to die, live, manner of life, to lead, bring, carry, cause to walk, flow, take away, vanish, lead away) to a land that God would show (ra'a - reveal, be made visible, discern, perceive, be exhibited to, have vision, cause to see) him (Gen. 12:1). We think that God wished to establish from Abram and his descendants the land that would be called "Israel", and that is true, but the plan of God is not limited to that, and does not end there, as He revealed to Abram: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curse you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (v. 2-3). From the Hebrew words used above, Abram's departure was not just for himself, but to lead or bring others "out" as well. Abram did as the LORD commanded and departed (yasa - exit, come out, go forth with purpose, lead out, to deliver, break out) from Haran (haran/harar - dried up, parched/to burn, be scorched, charred, melt, dry up, be angry, destroyed by heat) (v. 4). Abram is leading others out of a place that destroys by an angry, burning heat. This is not just about Abram, but Abram as a symbol of deliverance for others. Abram did indeed bring others out: "Then Abram took (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Sarai (sarai/sar/sarar - princess, nobility/ruler, commander, governor, chief, leader, task master/have power, rule over, prevail over, to hold dominion, act as a prince) his wife and Lot (covering over face making sad, veil, wrap tightly, hide, do secretly, incantation) his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people (nefes/napas - souls, life, living creature/to breathe, refresh, breathe upon, current of air) whom they had acquired (asa - make, wrought, keep, commit, prepare, accomplish, act with effect, celebrate, ordain, bring about) in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan (meaning merchant, traffick, bring down, subdue, vanquish, depressed, bow down). So they came to the land of Canaan." (v. 5). The command given to Abram to "get out" will change the spiritual landscape. While God was establishing new boundaries for the inhabitants of the land, He was also pulling down old spiritual boundaries. The people that Abram established were not only his physical descendants, but many spiritual descendants also, as a hero of faith in the Word of the LORD to him, just as the LORD prophesied (Heb. 11:8-10). One of Abram's descendants was Jesus, who blessed all of the people of the world with the promise of everlasting life through Him. One of the things that Abram believed God for was a heavenly city built by God (Heb. 11:10, see also Rev. 21:1-6, 22:1-5). Jesus, although He was physically born approximately two thousand years after Abram, knew Abram, and Abram knew Jesus, as Jesus revealed to those who questioned Him: "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham...Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad...Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (Jn. 8:52-58). If you accept Abraham as a father of your faith, than you must accept all that Abraham knew by the revelation of God, and by which he walked the physical and spiritual land. The LORD told Abram: "Lift (nasa - be lifted up, exalted, lift oneself up, rise up, to carry or bear continuously, endure, forgive) your eyes now (na - pray, please, in entreaty or exhortation) and look (ra'a - look, behold, perceive, inspect, foresee, have vision, learn about, distinguish, consider, discern, to be visible) from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever...Arise (qum - raise, establish, bring on the scene, confirm, perform, stand, become powerful, be fulfilled), walk in the land through its length (orek/arak - physical length, forever in length of time/to be causitive, long of time, extend, stretch, lengthen) and its width (rohab/rahab - width, expanse, great breadth of heart and understanding/to grow wide, be enlarged), for I give it to you." (Gen. 13:14-17). Abram was being asked by God to "see" from a heavenly perspective, not necessarily from an earthly one. He was to "see" prophetically, supernaturally, from this spiritually raised position. He was to bear and carry this vision from the LORD, inspect it, discern it, study it, or meditate upon it, according to the meanings of the Hebrew words used. God entrusted His vision to this man. This land was promised to Abram, and his (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) seed, or descendants (see Gen. 13:15-16 in Hebrew). The walk with which Abram was to walk the land was a walk through time, and heart and understanding, as well as physical length and width. We sometimes view Abraham as an "Old Testament" figure only, but God viewed Abraham as having presence and spiritual influence throughout time. In other readings from this Lech L'cha, or "Go!", Sabbath portion, the prophets wrote about the eternal importance and meaning of Abraham's life. And this eternal presence of Abraham was to be a comfort to God's people: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!' says your God. Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned..." (Isa. 40:1-2). One of these comforts, a word which also includes the meaning "to repent", lies in the fact that the LORD called the generations of Abraham: "Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last, I am He...you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob (Abraham's grandson), whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you, and not cast you away...Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing." (Isa. 41:4, 8-9, 12). The LORD remembers Abraham and His many and diverse descendants forever, and is committed to them. This is their continual comfort. In another Sabbath reading for this week, the Word of the LORD calls upon His people to look to Abraham: "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness; you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him." (Isa. 51:1-2). What does the LORD expect His people to see as they "look to" and reconnect with their patriarch, Abraham? As Jesus said above, the same thing that Abraham discovered: the One who leads to comfort, joy, gladness, thanksgiving and justice (v. 3-4), the One who is righteousness and salvation, the One whom Abraham knew in his walk with eternity and the enlarging of his heart and understanding: the Messiah/Savior/Lord Jesus. The LORD continues: "My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth...But My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished...But My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation." (v. 5, 6, 8). Here's a hint regarding the connecting to Abraham. The LORD also says to His people: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner." (v. 6). When God tells His people to lift up their eyes, it is the same word, nasa (see above), with which Abram was instructed to "see" - with a supernatural, prophetic sight from the realm of the heavens: to carry and bear that vision received from heaven until it is manifested in the earth. It is no coincidence that as the signs of the end times before Christ's return become more and more difficult, Jesus told His disciples to "...look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." (Lk. 21:28). Peter wrote that "we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." (2 Pet. 3:13). How many of us are "looking" in this manner, and how many of us have our eyes fixed instead on the things which are here, now, natural and passing away? If Abraham is a father of your faith, you must "see" what he saw. If we are counted as Abraham's children, both natural and by faith and Spirit, then we must do the works of Abraham, as Jesus said (see above). We have seen here that Abram saw both a natural and supernatural (the City of God mentioned above) land. In another reading selection from this Sabbath lesson, Lech L'cha, or "Go!", the prophet Jeremiah reveals a powerful image as he calls God's people to repent, turn from their own sinful ways, and return to the LORD. By doing so, the LORD will transform them. The LORD also said: "At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne (kisse/kasa - seat of honor, throne, dignity, authority, power, canopied [covered] throne, royal throne, the tribunal of a judge, the seat of the high priest/cover, conceal, hide, to cover over sins, to pardon) of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD (YHWH - "Behold the hand, Behold the nail"), to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their own evil hearts." (Jer. 3:17). Nations shall be transformed as well by the Throne of the LORD. The supernatural vision of the land, as well as the natural vision, contains the Throne of the LORD. Ultimately, it is from this Throne that the Lord, who is the Lamb, says: "Behold, I make all things new...It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega (aleph-tav), the Beginning and the End..." (see Rev. 21:5-6). Abraham was not just an "Old Testament" patriarch. He carried the vision of God that extends into our time, and all time into the future. It is the same vision that made a way of salvation for all, both physically, as Jesus is a descendant of Abraham, and spiritually, as Abraham removed from Haran the people (souls) who belonged to him, and obediently lifted up his eyes to see, and walk the length and width of the land. If you would like to know more about our forefather of faith, Abraham, and his works, you can pray with me: "Father in heaven, You elected Abraham to receive Your prophetic promises, Your vision, and Your walk for my sake. As I seek a closer relationship with You, I look back to Abraham, whom You called, "My friend". Jesus called His disciples His friends as well. Teach me by Your Spirit, to lift up my eyes, and see in the way that You would have your people to see. Teach me to walk the land carrying the prophetic vision of the new things promised in Your Word. Let me do the works of Abraham of which Jesus spoke, works of faith in the One Abraham knew outside of time, Jesus, my Savior. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

Foundation

We are still in the Book of Genesis, or B'reshit: The Beginning, in the sabbath schedule of readings, and we will see another beginning this week. This week's Sabbath portion deals with a beginning of a people, a nation, a line of kings, a faith, and even principles of the Church, all accomplished through one man. An eternal, earth-shaking, history-changing foundation was established, and it was established by God out of nothing, and from nowhere. It starts with God saying to a man, "Go, leave!", or Lech L'cha, the title of this sabbath's assigned reading. The man receiving the order to "Go!" was, of course, Abram, who would later be renamed Abraham by God, meaning "Father of a multitude". This man who had no children at the time, would become the patriarch of multiple millions over many generations, because of a promise from God. Abram is described in scripture as having originally come from out of the Chaldees, which is geographically located at the end of the Tigris-Euphrates River system, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The Chaldeans were reportedly made up of Aramaic speaking tribes that had migrated there from the Levant (Middle Eastern area). The Chaldeans were under the rule of Neo-Babylon, which was under the rule of the sprawling Assyrian Empire. As we can see then, Abram was well "buried" in "the back of beyond" obscurity, but God knew him, found him, and called him out. This is the beginning of our foundation as God commanded Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' So Abram departed (yalak/halak - go, go away, walk, to die, live, manner of life, carry) as the LORD had spoken to him..." (Gen. 12:1-4). The Hebrew word that is translated "departed" here also means "carry". Abram did not leave alone, but carried his wife, his nephew, all of the servants of his household, and the future generations within him that he never thought he would father (including all of us) with him as he began this walk into the unknown land to which the LORD was leading him. At one point in his relationship with God, Abraham was taken outside by the LORD to view the night sky, and the LORD said to him: "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them...so shall your descendants be." (Gen. 15:5, Heb. 11:12). Abraham believed this promise although his wife, Sarah, was barren, and, like himself, of advanced age. In order for a true foundation of God to be established, it is written that Jesus is, and must be, the Chief Cornerstone of that foundation of God's living temple of faith and salvation (Mt. 21:39-44, Eph. 2:19-22), 1 Pet. 2:4-8). We will soon see how Jesus was indeed the Chief Cornerstone of this foundation established by God in Abraham. From another of this sabbath's readings, the LORD reveals how He called the generations, including the generations of Abraham, before they ever appeared: "Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first; And with the last I am He." (Isa. 41:4). As this verse refers to God as "the First" and "the Last", we can see Christ emerge because this was the name that identified Him to us (see Rev. 22:13). Many generations later, the descendants of Abraham would be told by the prophet how to be restored back to God from their rebellious ways: "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him." (Isa. 51:1-2). From this prophecy in Isaiah, which is also part of this sabbath's reading, while the LORD points Israel back to its foundation in Abraham, He also seeks to comfort Zion with the mention of His salvation in the same passage: "Listen to Me, My people; and give ear to Me, O My nation...My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth...The earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished." (v. 3-6, excerpt). The LORD speaks of His foundation in Abraham and connects it to His salvation here. We see Jesus make the same connection, as He admonished a generation who had not truly looked back to their foundation, their father, Abraham: "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you...If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this...Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad...Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (Jn. 8:37-58, excerpt). Abraham, who, it is estimated, lived 2,000 years before Christ was born, "saw" Jesus' day of salvation, and rejoiced in it! Jesus, as the slain Lamb of God, existed in eternity with the Father before Abraham, and before the creation itself (see Rev. 13:8). The foundation that God built from Abraham definitely included Jesus as its Chief Cornerstone! The sovereign prophetic power of the foreknowledge of God is awesome to behold as He reveals it to His prophets and apostles (Eph. 2:20), as He did with Abraham. The Book of Hebrews tells us that the heroes of our faith, which included Abraham, saw the promises afar off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth because of them (Heb. 11:13). The promises of God that they received by faith separated them from the earth and its other inhabitants. Their home became not this world, but the heavenly realms. Hebrews 11 continues that Abraham specifically knew to wait "for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (v. 10). Abraham shared in the promise of the salvation of Christ by faith, because he had to wait for its fulfillment in us. (Heb. 11:39-40). In fact, many prophets saw and desired to receive the fulfillment of this promise of salvation through Christ in their lifetimes, but had to receive its fulfillment by faith as it was not yet time for Christ to appear (see Lk. 10:23-24). This is the purpose of this part of the foundation of faith that God established in Abraham - many additions would be built, and elevations added upon this foundation, of generations in Christ not yet born, in order to build that living city of God for which Abraham waited (Rev. 21:2-3). There is another interaction between God and Abraham included in this week's sabbath reading that will again mysteriously connect Abraham to Christ, and to the Church of believers. In Gen 17, the LORD appeared to Abraham and said: "I am Almighty God (Shaddai/saday- most powerful); walk before (halak + panim - come away, walk, depart, die, live, carry + face, presence, turn oneself to look at anything) Me and be blameless/perfect (tamim/tamam - without blemish, complete, whole, entirely in accord with truth/ finished, to be completely crossed over)...As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations...I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you, and to your descendants after you." (Gen. 17:1-7). As God called Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect, we also are called to do the same (see Eph. 4:11-13, Eph. 5:25-27). These are principles established by the foundation created by God in Abraham. Again God called Abraham to "depart", but this departure would be with God's presence in covenant. "Covenant", meaning alliance, is the Hebrew word berit, meaning "create, birth, something new, cut, separate, cause to eat, cut in order to choose and separate". The word, berit, is composed of the Hebrew letters beth, reysh, yod, and tav. The meanings of these letters put together could be: "The house, body or family by the Highest's hand on the cross". There is no covenant made between God and man except through Jesus Christ, who is present in the very word "covenant", whether it was made before or after His physical appearing. Abraham was told of a token or sign that he and his generations must carry as part of this "cut" covenant. The sign or token, which is the Hebrew word ot, formed by the letters aleph, vaw, and tav, meaning "Adonai God nailed to the cross", is circumcision (mul - cut down, cut in pieces, cut off, destroy). Circumcision is meant to distinguish one from uncircumcision, which means "uncircumcised of the lips and heart, to remain unharvested, to regard as profane or unpure". Paul wrote that circumcision, rather than an outer, fleshly work, is truly fulfilled as an inner, spiritual work in the heart (Rom. 2:28-29). This is not just a New Testament concept, but this inner circumcision was also expressed clearly by Moses (Deut. 10:12-17, Deut. 30:6). In this week's sabbath reading, the prophet Jeremiah also repeated this truth: "For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem... 'Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts...lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." (Jer. 4:3-4). However, Paul went even further regarding inner circumcision, writing: "For we ARE the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. 3:3). We, as the circumcision, are the sign or token of God's covenant of eternal life through Jesus, His Salvation. This was established in the foundation that God created in Abraham. God's encounters with Abraham are too numerous to be detailed here, but, as we read the words of Jesus, we can see that His words are life for the children of Abraham, Jew and Gentile, for Abraham was the father (ab- founder of a household, group, family, clan) of many nations, and a hero of faith. The children of Abraham are built upon his apostolic and prophetic foundation, with Christ as its Chief Cornerstone, who do as their father Abraham did. If you would like to know more about this foundation that was established by God in Abraham, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You called Abram out of the world and its empires, and into Your Presence. You revealed great mysteries of Christ to him as Your apostle and prophet for future generations. You gave him a new name, and separated him as You cut covenant with him, and all of his household. You have given him to us as a reminder of Your foundation, and the work of Christ in him, and in his descendants. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that the work of Christ may be perfected and completed in my heart also. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."