Bible Study Online Article
In the last article we learned that Jacob is fast approaching his last hour, and Joseph learns that through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, he too, will have a place within the Promise Covenant that God had promised to Abraham. But it's important for us in the twenty-first century to be able to look beyond what's labeled the "Abrahamic Covenant," so that we can see how the Word of God, relates to us this very day. We have to understand, that God's Promise Covenant is much bigger, than the labels that we place on them. I truly believe that placing labels on people or things, limits those people and things, to the label that was placed on them. We must know, that a covenant is simply an agreement between two parties, and in this instance, it's an agreement, between God and humanity. Not just God and Israel, but God and humanity. This is important for us to understand, for we must remember that God had made his first covenant with Adam: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' "Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food.' And it was so." (Genesis 1:27-29) My question would be at this point: "Who did Adam represent?" And the answer to that very same question would be "humanity," not Israel, but "humanity." And although Adam and his wife Eve had messed up by listening to the serpent, the Promise Covenant was still in play. But now, it was altered to fit the punishment that Adam and Eve brought upon themselves and humanity as a whole: "To the woman he said, 'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.' To Adam he said, 'Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, "You must not eat of it," 'Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. "It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:16-19) I don't know about you, but the last time I looked, women were still going through a painful childbearing process; we still have to work hard and struggle, in order for us to survive; and we all, have to face death one day. My point is, God first made his Promise Covenant with humanity, and that covenant never expired. This is why, when the human race had become so wicked, God wanted to destroy it; but He didn't, instead; just like he showed with Adam and Eve, He spared us and through His unconditional gifts of mercy and grace; Noah was chosen, to usher in the human race into a new world. But Noah wasn't just anybody; he was a direct descendant of Adam and Eve through their son Seth. For we must remember that humanity continued to survive after the Great Flood of Judgment, and so therefore, the seed of Adam continued on through the likes of Noah. For unto to them: Seth was born, and unto him Enosh, and unto him Kenan, and unto him Mahalalel, and unto him Jared, and unto him Enoch, and unto him Methuselah, and unto him Lamech, and unto him Noah. Now before the flood, God announced the second coming of Christ through the prophet Enoch: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude 1:14-15) It's at this point, the Sacred Scriptures have moved us, to what we now have labeled -- The Noahic Covenant: "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you, the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you, every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." "And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. 'Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.' So God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.'" (Genesis 9:8-17) My question again, would be at this point: "Who did Noah represent?" And the answer to that very same question would be "humanity," not Israel, but "humanity." Look, I'm not trying to slam Israel, not at all. But what I'm trying to get you to see, is that we must not separate Israel from the rest of humanity. After all, they are direct descendants from Noah's oldest son Shem. This is important on so many levels, but it also shows that Israel didn't just appear from out of nowhere. It also shows that the Promise Covenant that was placed on them was part of a continuation that had already been put in play with the Noahic Covenant and the special blessing of Shem: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave." (Genesis 9:26-27) So let's not forget where Abraham came from, shall we: "This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. "When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters. "When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. "And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram [Abraham], Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. (Genesis 11:10-27) Remember, I'm not slamming Israel, that would be foolish on my part; but we must not, limit our perception to just one nation; for God is much bigger than that. If we place limits our perception (especially through labels) we will never, be able to see beyond those same labels that we place on people and things, and so therefore, we will be -- forever disconnected. We must understand that we are, as human beings, all connected to each other. Soon we will be entering into the Exodus stage and we have to stay focused on tracking God, how he interacts and reacts to those within His Promise Covenant and to those outside of it. And as we move forward, I will continue to address the continuation of the Promise Covenant throughout humanity (Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Palestine, Mosaic, Davidic) and how Jesus became the final Blood Covenant Bearer for the entire human race, and how He, is the only way, and why we can only be included within this Blood Promise Covenant by accepting Him as our Saviour and Redeemer. Through the exploration of the Sacred Scriptures we will see and learn how the Word of God, is one glorified testament, not limited by the labels of "new" or "old" but a testament on how God gave us everything, and how we, not knowing any better, ran out the Eternal Door, and hid ourselves from Him, and how God left the Eternal Door open, in which He used Jesus Christ to open it. Oh! How He longs for the day that we, not as humans, but as His children will come back home, and walk back through that very same Eternal Door. Jacob calls for the rest of his sons. It's here, that God would use Jacob to put forth the foretold expectations and promises, of what's coming next, as we begin to enter into the next stage of the Sacred Scriptures, the next stage of how God reacts, and interacts with the nation of Israel; and their opposition. And more great examples and confirmations that prove: that God, has always been, and will always be -- in the midst of our lives.
Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty **YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
102) Jacob the Stunned & Delighted 105) Israel's Blessing to Pharaoh 107) The Promise Between Father & Son 108) Jacob Becomes Ill 109) Jacob Adds Manasseh and Ephraim 110) Ephraim Placed Before Manasseh 111) Joseph's Expectation and Disappointment 112) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 113) The Prophecy of Reuben, Simeon and Levi 115) The Tribe of Kings 116) Representation of the Scepter 117) The Importance of the Sanhedrin 118) The Gathering of the People  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible Study Online, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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