Quotes Song:
Father Abraham had many sons; Many sons had Father Abraham; I am one of them and so are you;
So let's all praise the Lord. .. -Kids Song
"Let’s have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." - Abraham Lincoln
Deuteronomy 32:28-31
God is a “Rock” to them that trust Him.
The Hebrew for the word “Rock” here has the sense of being pressed.
Our God is a mighty force; and their force is not our force.
Our God is a Firm foundation: a solid rock on which you can build your life.
Our God is a Refuge: A 'refuge from the storms of life'; He is 'my rock and my fortress and my high tower.'
Our God is a Refresher/Rejuvenator: A rock from which water gushes out.
Our God is a Repose: A great rock in whose shadow we fine relief from the heat of the day.
“…The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders.” -Deut. 33:12.
Remember:
John 1:1, 14 “1- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14- And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Jesus is God (Spirit John 4:24) robed/reveled in flesh.
And what did He bare between His shoulders? –The Cross!
Isaiah 46.4-5 “…I have made and I will bear, yea, I will carry, and will deliver. 5- To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?”
Their Rock is not our Rock!
The Cross carries them who carry it.
Luke 9:23 “And he [Jesus] said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Please open your Old Testaments to the middle.
That of course being Genesis chapter 11:26 as this is the first mention of Abram (later {Gen. 17:5} his name was changed to Abraham).
From Genesis chapter 1 until the first mention of Abram in Genesis chapter 11 covers 2,000 years of man’s history.
Then from here, the rest of the Old Testament covers another 2,000 years. --- Hence, the middle.
So from Adam and Eve time flies, until we hit Abram; More chapters are devoted to this one man than to the creation and the first 2,000 years of history.
This sends a clear single that Abram is not just your average Joe as they say.
Isaiah 51:1-2 “1- Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn [Abraham], and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged [Sarah]. 2- Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.”
Haran died at 205 years old (Gen. 11:32). God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12:1, 4:
“1- Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 4- So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.”
So what was so amazingly different about this 75 year old man?
What made him different than every other man who ever lived in the previous 2,000 years?
He was the first in history to universally proclaim monotheism!
Josephus says this about Abraham: He “began to have more lofty conceptions of virtue than the rest of mankind, and determined to
reform and change the ideas universally current concerning
God. He was thus the first boldly to declare that God, the creator of the universe, is one”. (Ant. 1.155).
This one-God believer is whom God establishes the Abrahamic covenant with. This was an everlasting covenant:
Genesis 17:7 “And I {Yah-way} will establish my covenant between me and thee{Abraham} and thy seed{Isaac} after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”
The Abrahamic Covenant was a FAITH Covenant.
“…The just shall live by his faith.” –Paul quoting the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk.
In Jesus’ day the Pharisees were legalist; they were more interested in the letter(mechanics) of the law, than the spirit(intent) of it.
Consider: Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus said, “27- Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28- But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Paul called this concept, “A better covenant!”
Hebrews 8:6, 10 “6- But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
10- For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”
Our Rock is not their Rock – Our Rock is FAITH.
Faith in the One God – who is our redeemer.
Matthew 16:13- 19 “13- When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14- And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15- He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16- And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17- And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18- And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [a small stone], and upon this rock [bolder] I will build my church; and the gates of hell [grave] shall not prevail against it. 19- And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Peter had the keys to the kingdom and he used them.
Acts 2:1-4 “1- And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2- And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3- And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4- And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Peter unlocked the door for the Samaritans in Acts 8 and the Gentiles in Acts chapter 19.
Hebrews 11:39-40 “39- And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40- God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”
