The Seed of Abraham

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Short Summary
The discourse centers on the significance of the promise made to Abraham regarding his seed and its implications for mankind across different ages. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding God’s plan through the concept of two distinct ages of redemption, with a focus on the earthly and heavenly callings that stem from the Abrahamic covenant. Key biblical references are discussed, including the sacrifice of Isaac as a foreshadowing of Jesus, and the blessings promised to Abraham’s descendants, which extend to both the church (symbolized by stars) and humanity (symbolized by sand), ultimately leading to a future where all nations will be blessed.

**Keywords:** Abraham, covenant, redemption, heavenly calling, earthly kingdom, Isaac, Jesus, blessings, scriptural references.

Long Summary
### Summary of the Discourse on the Promise to Abraham

Introduction to the Topic:
– Focus on the biblical promise made to Abraham and his seed.
– Importance of understanding this promise for Christians and the world.
– Mention of interactions with brethren in Africa, discussing the significance of the promise.

Key Concept:
– Understanding God’s plan requires recognizing two distinct ages of redemption.
– The Heavenly Calling: Opened during the Gospel Age with Jesus.
– The Earthly Hope: Promised to those before Jesus, rooted in resurrection on earth.

Biblical Reference:
– John 14:2-3: Jesus prepares a place for his disciples, indicating a need for understanding the distinction between heavenly and earthly promises.
– The confusion among disciples about the immediate establishment of the kingdom.

Abrahamic Covenant:
– The promise made to Abraham spans multiple ages:
Patriarchal Age: Initial promise to Abraham.
Jewish Age: Partial fulfillment with Israel receiving the promised land.
Gospel Age: Fulfillment through Jesus and the heavenly calling.
Millennial Kingdom: Earthly calling for mankind.

Genesis 22 – Key Events:
– God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, symbolizing God’s future sacrifice of Jesus.
– Abraham’s faith is emphasized; he believed God could raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews reference).
– Genesis 22:2, 17-18: God swears an oath to bless Abraham and his seed, indicating blessings for all nations.

Symbolism in Genesis 22:
Mount Moriah: Significant location for future temple and Jesus’ crucifixion.
Two young men: Represents two classes following Christ – Jews and Gentiles.
Wood carried by Isaac: Symbolizes the cross Jesus would bear.
Third Day: Abraham sees the promised place, paralleling Christ’s resurrection on the third day.
Lamb of God: Abraham’s declaration that God will provide a lamb (Isaac as a type of Christ).

Further Promises and Symbols:
– Genesis 22:17-18: Blessings of stars (heavenly) and sand (earthly) are discussed.
Stars of Heaven: Represents Jesus and the church (Galatians 3:16).
Sand of the Seashore: Represents Israel and earthly blessings.

Dust of the Earth:
– Represents natural Israel and the blessings of the land.
– Genesis 13:15-16: Promise of land to Abraham’s descendants.
– Dust signifies the physical descendants of Abraham and their inheritance.

Abraham’s Journey and Locations:
– Ur, Haran, Shechem, and Bethel symbolize different ages in God’s plan.
– Shechem represents the initiation of the Gospel Age, while Bethel signifies the Millennial Kingdom.

Covenants and Their Representation:
Hagar: Represents the Law Covenant, leading to bondage.
Sarah: Represents the Abrahamic Covenant, symbolizing spiritual blessings.
Keturah: Represents the second aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant, the earthly blessings to mankind during the Kingdom.

Conclusion:
– The promise to Abraham and his seed is crucial for understanding God’s plan across different ages.
– Anticipation for a future where all families of the earth will be blessed, culminating in peace and enlightenment.
– Reference to Zechariah 8:23, highlighting the hope for future blessings and unity.

### Bible Verses Mentioned:
John 14:2-3: “In my Father’s house are many mansions…”
Genesis 22:2: God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
Genesis 22:17-18: “In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed…”
Galatians 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made…”
Genesis 13:15-16: Promise of land as dust of the earth.
Zechariah 8:23: Anticipation of blessings in the future.

Transcript

We’re going to talk on a subject that you all know none of the Bible students don’t know about the promise made to Abraham and the seed of Abraham that is a result of that promise. I wish the whole world of mankind knew it. I wish all Christians knew about it. Frequently when we have Zoom services with Africa, we talk to some brethren that are well versed in Scripture, but sometimes it’s brand new for them. We have new attendees.

You know, one of the things. Let’s see now if we can get that PowerPoint. Just a moment. Okay, and do we have a microphone for Sister sue now?

Got it. Okay, thank you. So one of the things that we emphasize for people that are fairly new is that the key to understanding God’s plan is recognizing that there are two separate and distinct ages of redemption. If you recognize that, you really have gone a long way to understanding God’s plan of the ages. We often also.

I’m still waiting for this. So we also often mention that the heavenly calling was never opened until the gospel age and until Jesus came, and that surprises a lot of Christians. But if they knew that the heavenly calling was not open before the time of Jesus, then they would recognize that the people, be 4,000 years before Jesus came, had a hope for a resurrection on earth. Now, when I tried to demonstrate that the high calling was not open before the time that Jesus introduced it, I frequently go to John the 14th chapter.

John 14 is the time when Jesus had the last supper with the disciples, and at that last supper, he said, I have something to tell you. Says, I’m going to be going away, but if I go away, I’m going to go and prepare a place for you that when I’m finished and the place is prepared, I’m going to come back and I’m going to receive you to where I am. That where I am, there you may be also, and the disciples were very confused.

As a matter of fact, just three verses later, Thomas said, lord, we don’t know where you’re going. We don’t know how to get there. This was just a confusing issue to them. Just a week before, when they approached Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus gave them the parable explaining that as a king has to go into a far country to receive a kingdom and to return. He was talking about himself, I have to go away and then I’ll come back and receive you, and the kingdom will be then.

Because they thought the kingdom was going to immediately appear. Now, what did they think about the kingdom? I don’t think they understood it to be a heavenly reward for them until Jesus explained, I’m going to go somewhere else and prepare a kingdom, prepare a place for you, then come back and take you where I am. If every Christian understood there was no heavenly calling until that time, then they would grasp there must be an earthly kingdom, an earthly opportunity for all of these dear ones of the Old Testament as well. Now, on the chart of the ages, let’s see now the chart of the ages.

As you all know, we have the time of Abraham, and we’re going to talk about Abraham and his covenant today in the patriarchal age, and then we have the fulfillment of part of that, only part of that in the Jewish age. Now maybe you think of the Abrahamic covenant as only being fulfilled from Jesus time forward. Well, there’s a reason for thinking that, because Paul says in Galatians that Jesus is the seed of Abraham, that’s through Jesus that the fulfillment will come to pass.

But we’re going to suggest there is a part of the Abrahamic covenant that actually began in the Jewish age and that is giving Israel the land that was promised to them, and then subsequently, of course, Jesus came and there was a gospel age with its heavenly calling and the thousand year kingdom with its earthly calling for the rest of mankind. So we really have the, in the patriarchal age, the Abrahamic covenant promised and outlined and designated to Abraham. But then it’s fulfilled in three ages following, and we’re going to see in our discussion today those three ages being referenced.

Now you all know that in Genesis the 22nd chapter, that’s where God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac, and we’re going to go to that place in Genesis 22. We’ve asked Sister sue to do the reading for us because she’s a better reader than I am, and it also gives us opportunity for a change of voice. So Genesis 22.

Let’s read verse two to begin Genesis 22:2, and he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou loveth, and get thee into the land of Mora and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell you thee of. Okay, now that fast is just very well known to all of you. That’s not new. You know that God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac.

And you know that that was symbolic of the fact that God would ultimately offer his own son Jesus as our redeemer. Now you all know how the story ends. You know that Abraham did this. You know that he did it promptly the next morning. He Woke up and he’s on his way.

So he was not hesitant, but I’m sure he was quite perplexed. That’s not the right word. Perhaps wondering, what is it that God has in mind? You remember that Abraham had been waiting. He was 75 years old when he came into the land.

He had been waiting for 25 years for a child before finally Isaac was born. He even asked God, do I really understand this right? Is it going to be for me? Or it may be my servant Eliezer? God says, no, no, it’s going to be from you.

Now his son has risen. He’s to the point of maturity, and now he’s asked to sacrifice him. So there must have been things going on in Abraham’s mind. Now it’s Paul in the book of Hebrews that says that Abraham believed that Jesus, that God rather, would raise his son Isaac from the dead, because how else are you going to fulfill the promise? So that’s an inference that Paul makes about what Abraham might have been thinking.

I’ll take Paul’s word for it. I wouldn’t have, you know, guessed, but I’ll take Paul’s word for it. But Abraham certainly thought this was odd. But he’s ready to do what’s required and promptly ready to do. Okay, we’re going to read now finally, in Genesis 22, verses 17 and 18.

Those are the two verses highlighted here. This is after God has recognized Abraham’s going to do it, and now this is what God does. He. He swears with an oath that he’s going to do this.

God has never sworn with an oath before this time. So, Sister sue, verse 17 and 18, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore, and thy seed shall possess the gates of his enemies, and in this thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed. Okay, now it’s verse 16 that says, I’ve sworn this.

So that’s an oath. Now, it’s not the only time that God will ever give an oath, but it is the only. This is the first time God has ever given an oath, at least of record for us, and that’s fitting that God would secure this with his promise by an oath, because what the whole plan of God depends on is that Jesus died for everybody, and therefore he’s going to bless all the families of the earth. Now, I don’t know what Christians think when they read this in verse 18, all the families of the earth.

That’s really very clear now. I. Did I switch that or did you? I don’t know, but that’s okay. It’s all right.

It’s a good spot. So all the families of the earth are going to be blessed, and I think. Well, do they think that that’s just an exaggeration, but it’s really real. Now, the song that we sung opening this and some of the songs we sung before this emphasize that everyone is going to be blessed.

It’s going to be a glorious morning when that time comes. Now, I’m getting older. I’m not as old as some of us, but I’m getting older, and the older I get, the more emotional I seem to get. Some of the hymns we sing during this convention, they just have to swallow hard to finish singing them because these are precious promises that everyone everywhere is going to be blessed with this blessing.

Now, I’ve had some unusual circumstances in recent times. I had called various people, financial advisors, some people working on their house. I’ve got bids every single time. Been about five of these every single time. Somehow religion has come into it.

I think the first time, too, a couple of people came, man and woman. They weren’t related, but young people, and I spoke with it with an accent. I said, where are you from? Said Israel.

So I thought, oh, okay, you’re Jewish. Shook his hand. I said, I love Jews, and, you know, the next time somebody else came and the same thing happened, spoke with an even greater accent, turned out to be a Jewish man that was from a Hasidic family that married a Christian lady. I said, no problem.

There’s going to be a time when Christians and Jews are going to be work real good well together. So, and then just recently spoke to another gentleman, and I said, well, you know, I’m Christian. Told him what I was doing. He said, oh, well, I’m Christian, too.

So I’ve had a lot of discussions recently, and every time I’ve talked about the blessing of all the families of the earth, and it almost seems to take them a little bit by surprise. Oh, my goodness. But this is what God promised, and it’s real and it’s right there. Now, when God promised this In Genesis chapter 22, there’s a number of things that we have talked about before in Genesis 22 that strike our fancy. We’re just going to list them here.

That’s not the point of our lesson for today. But just list some of them. In Genesis 22, verse 2, God tells Moses to go to a mountain in Moriah. Mount Moriah. Mount Moriah.

You notice that God tells Moses to go to a particular place. Why? Well, you’ll find Mount Moriah mentioned only one other time. I believe it’s the Book of Chronicles, and that’s where David and later Solomon have a place located.

That’s going to be for the temple. In other words, he wants Isaac to be offered exactly where. God knows that hundreds of years later there would be a temple and where hundreds of years after that, Jesus is going to die. Now he’s going to die on one of the mountains of Moriah. I don’t mean that Jesus died exactly where the temple was, because that’s not true.

He died outside the gate. But it was on the mountains of Moriah, so it’s the same location. Secondly, in verse number three, we read that two young men went with them. Why does it stipulate this? I’m going to suggest that when I see the number two or like two men or something like that, my opinion is this is an opinion.

It’s very interpretive. But I think it has to do with the two classes of people that are going to follow Christ and be part of the church, and that would be Jews and Gentiles, and you know, when the Gospel age opened, it opened separately for Jews and Gentiles, and it was Cornelius that was the first Gentile.

And then in verse three, it also says he brought the wood. Why is it meaningful to mention the wood when it comes to Isaac’s offering? Because Isaac represents Jesus. He’s going to be put on the cross. Whenever I see wood, I think cross.

Now, maybe it’s not always the case in Scripture. That’s what I think of, and I see. Does that match in this case? I think here it does.

I think the wood of the cross. In verse four, we read that it was on the third day that Abraham lifted up his eyes and he saw the place afar off. Well now, if you count the years from Adam forward to Abraham, every one of us will agree that on the third thousand year day is when God talked to Abraham, and Abraham still didn’t see redemption right away. It was a long ways off.

But on the third day from Adam, that’s when Abraham recognized something better is coming. Now how do we know that Abraham knew that? Because Jesus said so. He said, Abraham saw my day and was glad. Well, that means that Abraham recognized someday there’s going to be a redemption for everyone.

Now, Abraham did work with altars, so maybe he pieced together the concept that there was going to be a better offering. We don’t know how deep Abraham saw all these points, But Jesus said, abraham saw my day and was glad. Verse number six talks about putting the wood on the back of Isaac. Well, you remember that Jesus carried the wood up the cross, up, up the mountain. Verse 7.

Isaac turns to his father and he says, I see the fire, the wood. Where’s the lamp? And Abraham said in response, my son, God will provide a lamb, and he did. Now, who was the lamb?

Immediately that was accepted as the proper offering? I think it was Isaac. They say, wait a minute. You remember when Isaac came off the altar, Abraham looked and he saw a ram caught in the thicket? Yeah.

Did that ram replace Isaac? I don’t think so. Well, that ram was a ram. Isaac was the lamb. Isaac was the lamb of God.

In picture picturing our Lord Jesus. We’ll talk about the ram a little bit further too. Number 12.

Oh, that’s when God said, yes, stop, Stop. Because it’s not necessary for your son actually to die, and Abraham did not have to plunge that knife into the heart of his dear son. Suppose Abraham had done that. He would have remembered that for a long time it was not necessary.

Now, God could have done what Abraham, according to Paul, thought he would do, Just raise him from the dead. But it wasn’t necessary for him to die. But when it came time for God to offer his son no stopping, he had to watch his own son suffer on the cross for six hours to atone for the sin of mankind for 6,000 years. Okay, verse 13. Let’s read verse 13.

Sister sue, would you? Genesis 22:13, and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the steed of his son. Okay, so there’s the ram.

And for a long time, many years, I thought, well, I knew that happened. I didn’t know what it was about. Sister in Alabama told me about this. So whatever I tell you she told me, I think it’s right. Said a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.

That’s a thorn bush, and caught by its horn means it’s on its head. Does that remind you of something that happened to Jesus before he died? There was a crown of thorns placed on his head. Now, I keep waiting to find the scripture that says when they took him to the cross, they lifted that crown from him.

It does say they put a robe on him and they mocked him as though he was royalty. But before he went out to be crucified, they took that robe off. We’re just kidding about that. We don’t really respect you. They took that off, but I don’t think they took the crown of thorns off.

Now if you find something that says no, they did let me know. I think he died with that crown of thorns on. Is that meaningful symbolically? Just that he suffered. Remember, part of the curse back in Genesis chapter two was if you eat this tree that’s forbidden for you, I’m going to curse the ground.

It’s going to bear thorns and thistles. That’s part of the curse that Jesus suffered to alleviate. So I think the very fact that this ram, which I also believe is a picture of our Lord Jesus, it’s a burnt offering. Burnt offerings are Jesus. I think that this ram also pictures Jesus in another point of view, that he bore all of the elements of the curse that mankind had suffered.

Verse 14. Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh, which means the Lord will provide, and of course, that what is what Jesus would be the provision that Lord God made for all of our sins. Okay, now in verse 17 and 18 that we read earlier, Sister sue read that. It says, I’m going to bless you as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the seashore, and all the nations shall be blessed.

Now we look at that, I think, customarily among the brethren as a heavenly and an earthly blessing, and I believe that that’s right. I think that’s exactly what was intended. Now here on the chart of the ages, we have the gospel age and then the kingdom age, heavenly stars of heaven and then sand of the seashore. So I think that makes a lot of sense.

The very fact that these two ages start with the death of Jesus is fitting the way God expresses it. Because you offered your son, I’m going to bless you like the stars and then like the sand of the seashore. So that fits the two ages of redemption. That really is the foundation of God’s plan. But we’re going to see a third description of the seed of Abraham that’s different than stars or sand.

We’re going to suggest that’s Jewish age. But here only these two are mentioned because starting with the death of Jesus in symbol the offering of Isaac, only these two ages of redemption would follow forward. So I think that’s the intention of just mentioning those two. Okay, now let’s look where the stars of heaven are mentioned again. Let’s look at Genesis, chapter 15.

We won’t read all five of these verses, but let’s read.

This is the time when Abraham was uncertain whether he really would have a child. It’s been some years. He’s getting quite old.

I can understand why he would. He would wonder maybe Eliezer my servant is going to be the childbearer on my behalf. So let’s see God’s answer in verse 4, chapter 15, verse 4, and verse 5, Sister sue, chapter 15, verse 4 and 5, and behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, this shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heirs, and he brought him forth abroad and said, look now towards heaven and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them.

And he said unto him, so thy shall thy seed be so, so shall thy CB as the stars of heaven. You know, he doesn’t say sand of the seashore anywhere here. As a matter of fact, he never says sand of the seashore until we get to to Genesis 22 that we already read. That’s the first time you’re going to see the sand. But starting here, he’s going to bless him as the stars.

Well, Isaac, of course, is a picture of Jesus. Now that’s not something we have to wonder about either. We’ve got this by the Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter three, and we’d like to read verse. Let’s see.

This is Galatians 3, verse 6, verse 17, verse 17. Sister sue, if you could get Galatians 3, verse 17, and this I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 400. Okay, Sister sue, thank you. You’re doing wonderfully.

But I’d made a mistake. Please. Verse 16. 16. Now, to Abraham and his seed were the promise made, he said not.

And to. Sorry. Now, to Abraham and his seed were the promises made, he saith not, and to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.

Okay, to thy seed which is Christ. So that’s very clear. The seed of Abraham is Jesus. Now, nobody doesn’t agree with that and understand that, but there’s the demonstration for it. Now let’s read if you would, for us Also verse number 29.

Verse number 29, and if ye be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Okay, so if you be Christ now, you will be part of the seed of Abraham, and that’s why I think all the brethren recognize that the seed of Abraham includes Jesus and the church. Now, if Paul hadn’t said that very clearly, you might wonder a little bit.

Okay, Isaac represents Jesus. How are we going to get the church in there? But sometimes the promised seed represents the whole collective, and so you are included, all your brethren are included and are calling to be part of that seed of Abraham, to bless all the families of the earth. Okay, that’s Galatians.

That’s. That tells us for sure that the seed does represent Jesus and then the church and therefore the stars of heaven. Well, that makes sense. Now let’s go a little farther and read for the stars of heaven. Genesis 26, verse number four.

Genesis 26, verse four. While she was looking for that, this is to Isaac. This is after Abraham. This is now to Isaac, and then we’re going to see later what he says to Jacob.

It’ll be a little different. Let’s read 26:4, and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give unto thy seed all these countries, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

Now he’s talking to Isaac, and notice he doesn’t say this, the stars and the sand. He only says the stars. I think that’s because Isaac represents the church, Christ and the church, and now Isaac is getting this promise.

So let’s go down to the sand of the seashore. Let’s look at. We looked at Genesis 22:17. Let’s look at Genesis 32, verse 12. Now, Genesis 32:12 is when Jacob has been away for 20 years.

I like numbers. I think two is a picture of the Holy Spirit. I learned that from somebody else years ago. I think 20 here or 200 or sometimes 2000. It’s a picture of the age of the spirit.

So after 20 years, Jacob is coming back to the land. I think that’s Israel coming back to the land, and Israel is going to be blessing mankind here on earth. So let’s see what it says to Jacob when he’s returning. Genesis 32:12.

And thou saith, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude the sand and sea, no stars, because this won’t be heavenly, this will be earthly. Now Israel has come back to the land. In our day, we could talk all about this experience and see how Israel is undergoing all of the stresses Jacob experienced when he came back to meet his brother Esau, and that’s going on today. But this point is that this is preparatory for the kingdom.

And you all remember that in Revelation 20, in verse 6, the church is going to reign with Christ a thousand years to bless mankind, and then Satan’s going to be loosed to test the world, and then he’s going to go out to deceive those that are in the four corners of the earth, the number of whom is as the sand of the seashore. Again, earthly. That’s the world of mankind in the kingdom that is going to be tested. Okay, now you know all that.

You know that the stars are heavenly and that the sand is earthly. But now here’s the last one, and this is the dust of the earth. This is the one that is not mentioned in Genesis 22. Let’s read Genesis 13, verse 15 and 16.

Now, while you’re looking for that, this is the episode where Abraham and Lot are in discussion with each other. There’s a problem. The herdsmen are in conflict. They need to be separated. So Abraham says, you make your choice.

Choose anywhere you want, and wherever you go, I’ll go the other way. We’ll still be friends. We’re family. You’re my nephew, I’m your uncle.

We’re both godly, but. But this, this will ease the tension, and so Lot picks, you know, where he picked place he shouldn’t have. He suffered for that. Later on, Abraham was left, and he’s got not the nice area, but he does have the area of promise.

And this is what God says to him in verses 15 and 16. For all the land which thou seeth, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever, and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. So he’s talking about the actual land that your children are going to receive is. Don’t worry about what you just saw in the Jordan Valley.

Your land, your. Your descendants are going to receive all of this, and it’s like, going to be like the dust of the earth. So when he’s talking about the actual land, he says, dust of the earth. Now, I think dust is a little higher than sand.

I don’t really think dust is a good word for it. I think it’s more like the dirt or the earth, you know, that’s prolific, that’s productive. But the point is, it’s earthly, but it’s a little higher than the sand, in my opinion. So I think this is natural Israel. Why isn’t that mentioned in Genesis chapter 22 after Yakhrodiza well, because Israel’s already got that part.

And that’s why I think this, all that these, the fulfillment of God’s promise, it starts in the Jewish age with the dust, and then it goes onward further to the stars and to the sand in the next two parts. Now let’s look at Genesis 28:14 also. That’ll be the last one of these, and this also is to Jacob, by the way, and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in the end thee.

And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Okay, now that’s when Jacob is leaving for 20 years away, and I think this is spiritually, symbolically promised to Israel. Yeah, you’re leaving, you’re going, you’re going to have some difficulties, but your seed is going to be like the dust of the earth. You’re going to get this land back again.

And that’s where we find Israel today. They’re back in their land. Now they’re still having problems requiring all of it. That’s another lesson for another time. But I find all that very engaging.

I’m looking at what’s happening with deep interest and I think we can connect scriptures to it. Okay, gotta go on. Now we’re going to suggest that in Abraham’s journey for the covenant offering, for the covenant that God made, they started in Ur of the Chaldees. He went up to Haran, and then he would. Finally, when his father Terah died, he came down into Shechem.

You’ll find this in the 11th and 12th chapters of Genesis. We won’t have time to read all that, but there’s four stopping points. Now, I’ve always wondered why this is called Haran, and I think it’s because it was named that after Abraham’s fallen brother, he had two brothers, Haran and Nahor. Now at the end of Exodus 12, when Abraham, chapter 22, excuse me, when Abraham has offered his son Isaac, then he hears news from his brother Nahor.

And guess What? He’s had 12 children. I think all of this is a picture of natural Israel. That’s not in a spirit on not. This is before the Gospel age and the millennial age where Shechem and Bethel are going to picture.

We’ll see that in just a moment. So we’ve got Ur, Haran, Shechem and Bethel. But I don’t think Haran’s name is a coincidence. I think it was a fresh area that was inhabited by Abraham’s family and they named it Harand after his brother. Scripture doesn’t insist on that, but I think that’s a reasonable conclusion.

So what we’re going here, here a little bit easier to see. That’s where Abraham started in Ur, went to Haran, down to Shechem and then to Bethel. Now our time is running low so we’re not going to read all these scriptures. But I’ll remind you, and I think most of them are are things you would recall. I’m going to suggest that these four locations represent the four ages in God’s plan starting with Abraham’s day forward.

Now you see Shechem and you see Bethel. If we were to read those scriptures, what you would find is for the first time in Abraham’s experience ever, we have written record of the fact that he made an altar and offered to God. Now I’m not suggesting Abraham never did that before. I’m suggesting that it’s never recorded before. The first time you find an altar connected with Abraham’s experiences will be when he came to Shechem.

I believe that altar represents Jesus sacrifice as the initiation of the gospel age, and then it says they moved on to Bethel and they offered, they built another altar and sacrificed. Again I’m going to suggest that the meaning of that is that Jesus sacrifice was good for the gospel age and it was also good for the millennial age. So I would suggest here that on the chart of the ages what we’ve got is Abraham starting here, a picture of the patriarchal age. Then he goes to Haran.

That’s like the dust of the earth. That’s the Jewish age. Then he goes to Shechem where there’s an altar. I think that’s the gospel age where Jesus sacrifices is applied, and then we have the kingdom, which would be Bethel, which would be also a place where Jesus sacrifice is going to be applied to redeem the world of mankind.

Now recently I have a lot of correspondence from brethren overseas, Scriptures now, and then brother from India emailed me and said, have you ever seen Leviticus 19:23 to 25? So yeah, I’ve seen it. He says, what does it mean? That’s what they always say.

What does it mean? I don’t know, but it’s always engaged me and I have an opinion now, and I’ll just suggest that just real quick because this is where periods of time also represent ages in God’s plan. This prophecy, this, this area is an instruction. We won’t have Time to read it.

But Leviticus 19, 23, 25 is very odd. It says when you get into the land and you plant fruit trees for your welfare and for your nourishment for the first three years, consider those trees uncircumcised. Now, I told this to Ruth the other night. We were talking about uncircumcised. That’s a tree, uncircumcised.

But I think what it means is it’s not ready yet for eating. It’s still unclean. So I think that there’s three times, three periods of time that. That things are not yet ready for mankind. But in the fourth year, that fruit is going to be holy, but you still can’t eat it.

Now, that’s very odd to me. I wouldn’t know. You know, that seems just odd to me. But if we’re talking about the eight, the periods of time in God’s plan from the time there was an opportunity for mankind to be fed by the tree of life, go way back here to the world that was. I’m going to suggest those three years where you can’t eat.

The benefits of that tree are this period before the Flood, then the patriarchal age, and then the Jewish age, and then in the Gospel age, that would be period number four. It’s holy, just like you are holy. Now, in my prayer this morning, I mentioned sinners like me. You know, I didn’t use that expression, but that’s what I missed. I’m deeply impressed with how frail I am and how merciful God is.

I’ll tell you that. I am deeply impressed with that. So. But you all are holy because we’ve been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and we’re endeavoring to walk a holy life. That’s my goal.

That’s your goal. All of us want to be that. So I think the reason in the fourth year was holy is because it describes those who are endeavoring to walk after the path of holiness, and finally, finally you can eat of that tree of life and get nourished by it in the fifth year, and that will be the next age, the age of redemption in the kingdom for mankind.

That’s a suggestion. It’s very interpretive. If you like it, come tell me. If you don’t, correct me and tell me something better. I’d love to hear.

Okay, let’s go a little further. So we have three mothers, as you all know, of the children of Abraham. Nobody doesn’t know this, and we often make these three mothers a picture of three Covenants. Well, I think that has to be. Paul kind of gives us the clue for this.

We are going to read this, and this is in the book of Galatians. This is the fourth chapter. Now, going on a little bit further, but we’d like to read verses. Well, let’s see, that would be 22 to 26.

But let’s just read 22 and 23 to begin. Sister Sue. For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bond woman was born after the flesh. But he of the free woman was.

Was by promise. Okay, now let’s read. Let’s see. Let’s read a little more. Verse 24 that just tells us what happened.

24 and 25 that tells us whose Hagar is. Which things are an allegory. For these are the two covenants. The one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is agar, for this agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and the ant and Anthrith to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children. Okay, so Paul says these two women, that would be Hagar and Sarah, represent two covenants.

There’s no ambiguity there. I don’t know of anybody that doesn’t believe that. That. That’s very straightforward, and then he’s very clear that Hagar represents the.

The covenant that came from Mount Sinai. That would be the law covenant. I don’t know anybody that disagrees with that, but I do know people that disagree with what Sarah represented, which covenant. But I think it’s clear here. Now, Paul doesn’t say Hagar is the law, and therefore Sarah would be the Abrahamic covenant.

It’d be kind of nice if he said that, then it would be clear. But he says these are the two covenants. He’s already talked in chapter three about the Abrahamic covenant. We know when it was made. We know who it was made with.

So I think when he says the two covenants, he means the Jewish covenant. That’s the law, and then the Abrahamic covenant. But I’m going to suggest you now, he doesn’t talk about Keturah ever. So most of the brethren say Keturah will take you into the kingdom. I believe that that’s true, but I’m going to suggest that what Keturah represents actually is the second part of the Abrahamic covenant, and that is the blessing of mankind on the earthly kingdom.

So I think the Abrahamic covenant is in two parts, and it’s Represented by two full wives of Abraham. Now this one is not a wife. Hagar is not a wife. She’s a bond maid. Just like the law was a law of bondage.

But now you got two full wives, and I think Sarah is the spiritual and Keturah is the earthly. You remember that Keturah didn’t become a wife until after Sarah had died, and then now Keturah becomes a full wife. Do you know when she had her children?

I didn’t know this for a long time. You know that she didn’t have a children as a wife. She had the children as a concub. When she was a concubine. That’s interesting to me.

It listed in First Chronicles about the third chapter. It lists all the children of Keturah, a concubine, and it lists her children. There were six in number. I think that’s telling us something about mankind in general. That mankind, six in number, 6,000 years.

Born through sin and death. 6,000 years. Then when the kingdom comes, then Couture becomes a full wife, and now all the privileges of life and blessing her children are upgraded, and I think those children represent the world of mankind in the kingdom.

So this, this I think. I think makes sense. Now I have something more to say about Sarah. She’s. Do you know how many women in the Old Testament whose age is given when they died?

Take a guess how many. That’s it. It’s the only one we know. I wasn’t sure about that for a while. So, you know, I said that a few times.

Nobody corrected me. I never found an example to an exception. She’s the only one, only woman we know who’s how old she was when she died. Does that suggest there might be a meaning to it? I think so.

I think so. Okay. Seven is the number seven stages of the church. 12 is 12 tribes of spiritual Israel. In Revelation, the seventh chapter, I think that’s all about the church.

But you see that number again when you go to Esther, chapter one, verse one, and you’re going to see that Esther was the bride of a husband who was master over 127 territories. Esther, Queen Esther, she’s the bride of Christ. I think that takes us into the spiritual realm. Again, more to say about Noah. All the days Noah was on The Ark was 3 times 127.

I’ll talk about that some other time. Our time’s really up. But I think again it’s telling you that the Abrahamic covenant is going to bless people in three ages, and the127 is therefore referred to three times. So we’re going to just summarize by saying, here’s where Abraham received the covenant way back in the patriarchal age.

That covenant is going to be his seed are going to be like this dust of the earth, and they’re going to receive the actual land promised, and then after Isaac was offered, he said, your seed is going to be like the stars of heaven. That would be Jesus in the church, and then he said, your seed is going to be like the dust, like the sand of the seashores. That’ll be the world of mankind.

We’re getting very close to that time. It’s wonderful. Pretty soon this world won’t stop having wars and start making peace, and gradually they’re going to say, what’s going on? What’s happening?

Is this good? Like we think? Could it possibly be? And then Zechariah the eighth chapter, one shall say to another, are you going to go to Jerusalem? I’m going and I’m going to be blessed there.

That’s what we’re looking forward to. Lord, bless.

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