Gen 19:13  For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

Gen 19:14  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Gen 19:15  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Gen 19:16  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

Gen 19:17  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

Gen 19:18  And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

Gen 19:19  Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

Gen 19:20  Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

Gen 19:21  And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

Gen 19:22  Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Gen 19:23  The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

Gen 19:24  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

Gen 19:25  And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Gen 19:26  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Gen 19:27  And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

Gen 19:28  And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Gen 19:29  And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

The angels told Lot who they were, and what the mission that had brought them to Sodom, and they charged him to flee from the city with his wife and his four daughters, two of them married, and two betrothed. Lot communicated their bidding to his sons-in-law, and they mocked at him, and said: “O thou fool! Violins, cymbals, and flutes resound in the city, and thou sayest Sodom will be destroyed!” Such scoffing but hastened the execution of the doom of Sodom. The angel Michael laid hold upon the hand of Lot, and his wife and his daughters, while with his little finger the angel Gabriel touched the rock whereon the sinful cities were built, and overturned them. At the same time the rain that was streaming down upon the two cities was changed into brimstone.

When the angels had brought forth Lot and his family and set them without the city, he bade them run for their lives, and not look behind, lest they behold the Shekinah, which had descended to work the destruction of the cities. The wife of Lot could not control herself. Her mother love made her look behind to see if her married daughters were following. She beheld the Shekinah, and she became a pillar of salt. This pillar exists unto this day. The cattle lick it all day long, and in the evening it seems to have disappeared, but when morning comes it stands there as large as before.

The savior angel had urged Lot himself to take refuge with Abraham. But he refused, and said: “As long as I dwelt apart from Abraham, God compared my deeds with the deeds of my fellow-citizens, and among them I appeared as a righteous man. If I should return to Abraham, God will see that his good deeds outweigh mine by far.” The angel then granted his plea that Zoar be left undestroyed. This city had been founded a year later than the other four; it was only fifty-one years old, and therefore the measure of its sins was not so full as the measure of the sins of the neighboring cities.

The destruction of the cities of the plain took place at dawn of the sixteenth day of Nisan, for the reason that there were moon and sun worshippers among the inhabitants. God said: “If I destroy them by day, the moon worshippers will say, Were the moon here, she would prove herself our savior; and if I destroy them by night, the sun worshippers will say, Were the sun here, he would prove himself our savior. I will therefore let their chastisement overtake them on the sixteenth day of Nisan at an hour at which the moon and the sun are both in the skies.”

The sinful inhabitants of the cities of the plain not only lost their life in this world, but also their share in the future world. As for the cities themselves, however, they will be restored in the Messianic time.

The destruction of Sodom happened at the time at which Abraham was performing his morning devotions, and for his sake it was established as the proper hour for the morning prayer unto all times. When he turned his eyes toward Sodom and beheld the rising smoke, he prayed for the deliverance of Lot, and God granted his petition–the fourth time that Lot became deeply indebted to Abraham. Abraham had taken him with him to Palestine, he had made him rich in flocks, herds, and tents, he had rescued him from captivity, and by his prayer he saved him from the destruction of Sodom. The descendants of Lot, the Ammonites and the Moabites, instead of showing gratitude to the Israelites, the posterity of Abraham, committed four acts of hostility against them. They sought to compass the destruction of Israel by means of Balaam’s curses, they waged open war against him at the time of Jephthah, and also at the time of Jehoshaphat, and finally they manifested their hatred against Israel at the destruction of the Temple. Hence it is that God appointed four prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zephaniah, to proclaim punishment unto the descendants of Lot, and four times their sin is recorded in Holy Writ.

Though Lot owed his deliverance to the petition of Abraham, yet it was at the same time his reward for not having betrayed Abraham in Egypt, when he pretended to be the brother of Sarah. But a greater reward still awaits him. The Messiah will be a descendant of his, for the Moabitess Ruth is the great-grandmother of David, and the Ammonitess Naamah is the mother of Rehoboam, and the Messiah is of the line of these two kings.

-The Legends of the Jews, By Louis Ginzberg

Gen 19:12  And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

Gen 19:13  For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

Gen 19:14  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Gen 19:15  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Lot – Righteous man, unrighteous choices

The Bible calls Lot a righteous man, but his actions so far have said something that seems completely different.

First we saw that Lot moved toward Sodom and that eventually Sodom moved into him.  Now we see that his actions have hurt his relationships with his family and with His God.

1. His family scoffs at him

Lot goes to his sons in law to warn them but they scoffed at him.  That is a striking example of how our actions speak to those around us.  First the men of the city tell him to stand back, or get out of the way and now his sons are scoffing at Lot.  We can say all the religious things that we want but our actions tell the truth

Gen 19:15  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Gen 19:16  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

1. His failure stops him

Lot lingers because he truly doesn’t want to leave the city, even after he has been warned so many times.  Finally the angels TAKE Lot and his family out of the city

Gen 19:17  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

Gen 19:18  And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

Gen 19:19  Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

Gen 19:20  Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

Gen 19:21  And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

Gen 19:22  Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Gen 19:23  The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

1. His fear stalls the work of the Lord

Zoar means little one

Lot, still acting out of fear, asks the angels if he can go to another city, even though they tell him to go to the mountains.  Now Lot has lost belief in the Lord

Gen 19:24  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

Gen 19:25  And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Gen 19:26  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Gen 19:27  And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

Gen 19:28  And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Gen 19:29  And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

1. His faithlessness hurts his spouse

As they are fleeing for their safety, his wife looks back and she is turned into a pillar of salt.  His family is affected by his bad choices.  It not only hurt his son’s – in – law and his wife but we will see that it also hurts his daughters.

Many times we might feel like Lot and we can allow ourselves to be:

Deflated by your situation

Or dejected by your surroundings

And defeated by your society

But through the Lord we will be

Fed by Scripture

Filled with the Spirit

Fulfilled by the Son

Many scholars say that this episode is a picture of the rapture, Lot being the type of Christians in the future who are carried away before destruction comes to this sinful world.  Regardless of what you believe about the end times, Lot still can stand as an example for us by showing us the enormous amount of grace that the Lord shows to us, especially when we lose our way

19:2  And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

19:3  And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

19:5  And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

19:6  And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

19:7  And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

19:8  Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

19:9  And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

19:10  But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

19:11  And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

Two of the visitors from chapter 18 have come to the city of Gomorrah.  The Angel of the Lord had stated that their intent was to see if the cry against the city was as bad as it seemed.  When they come to the entrance of the city, they encounter Lot, who, it seems has taken a place of a judge in the city.

19:1  And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

19:2  And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

19:3  And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

Lot was the nephew of Abraham. His father had died and I would imagine that Abraham had treated Lot like one of his own from the beginning. Lot had lived and moved with him for some time now. He had also prospered along side his uncle, so much that they had come to a point where they no longer could dwell together because of strife between their servants and the need for grazing areas.

Abraham lets Lot choose where he wants to dwell first, giving him control as to where he would go and deciding where his uncle would go as well. This would have been a perfect time to honor his uncle but that did not seem to be on his mind.

10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.

He looked around for the place of most prosperity. This is all well and good but it leads Lot into eventual temptation and devastation in regards to his whole family.

Lot decides to dwell in the city and he then pitches his tent toward Sodom

His next step is to pitch his tent in Sodom

Eventually Sodom takes control of his life and he becomes entangled within its sinful grasp.

19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

19:5  And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

Sodom was one of a group of five towns, the Pentapolis (Wisdom 10:6): Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela — also called Zoar (Genesis 19:22). The Pentapolis region is also collectively referred to as “the Cities of the Plain” (Genesis 13:12) since they were all sited on the plain of the Jordan River, in an area that constituted the southern limit of the lands of the Canaanites (Genesis 10:19

Classical Jewish texts do not stress the homosexual aspect of the attitude of the inhabitants of Sodom as much as their cruelty and lack of hospitality to the “stranger.” The people of Sodom were seen as guilty of many other significant sins. Rabbinic writings affirm that the Sodomites also committed economic crimes, blasphemy and bloodshed. One of the worst was to give money or even gold ingots to beggars, after inscribing their names on them, and then subsequently refusing to sell them food. The unfortunate stranger would end up starving and after their death, the people who gave him the money would reclaim it.

A rabbinic tradition, described in the Mishnah, postulates that the sin of Sodom was related to property: Sodomites believed that “what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours” (Abot), which is interpreted as a lack of compassion. Another rabbinic tradition is that these two wealthy cities treated visitors in a sadistic fashion. One major crime done to strangers was almost identical to that of Procrustes in Greek mythology. This would be the story of the “bed” that guests to Sodom were forced to sleep in: if they were too short they were stretched to fit it, and if they were too tall, they were cut up.

The view of Josephus

Now, about this time the Sodomites, overwhelmingly proud of their numbers and the extent of their wealth, showed themselves insolent to men and impious to the divinity, insomuch that they no more remembered the benefits that they had received from him, hated foreigners and avoided any contact with others. Indignant at this conduct, God accordingly resolved to chastise them for their arrogance, and not only to uproot their city, but to blast their land so completely that it should yield neither plant nor fruit whatsoever from that time forward.

—Jewish Antiquities 1:194-195

and Josephus recounts that when angels came to Sodom to find good men they were instead greeted by rapists:

And the angels came to the city of the Sodomites…when the Sodomites beheld the young men, who were outstanding in beauty of appearance and who had been received into Lot’s house, they set about to do violence and outrage to their youthful beauty….Therefore, God, indignant at their bold acts, struck them with blindness, so that they were unable to find the entrance into the house, and condemned the Sodomites to destruction of the whole population.

—Jewish Antiquities 1:199-202

He says how beautiful it was before everything was burned up, and how rich the towns were in the area. Josephus described what had happened:

Now this country is then so sadly burnt up, that nobody cares to come to it… It was of old a most happy land, both for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all burnt up. It is related how for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the remainders of that divine fire; and the shadows of the five cities are still to be seen, as well as the ashes growing in their fruits, which fruits have a colour as if they were fit to be eaten: but if you pluck them with your hands, they will dissolve into smoke and ashes

—The Wars of the Jews, book 4, chapter 8.

Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC to AD 50), a Jewish philosopher, theologian, and a contemporary of Jesus and Paul, comments,

“The land of the Sodomites, a part of Canaan afterwards called Palestinian Syria, was brimful of innumerable iniquities, particularly such as arise from gluttony and lewdness, and multiplied and enlarged every other possible pleasure with so formidable a menace that it had at last been condemned by the Judge of All…Incapable of bearing such satiety, plunging like cattle, they threw off from their necks the law of nature and applied themselves to…forbidden forms of intercourse. Not only in their mad lust for women did they violate the marriages of their neighbors, but also men mounted males without respect for the sex nature which the active partner shares with the passive; and so when they tried to beget children they were discovered to be incapable of any but a sterile seed. Yet the discovery availed them not, so much stronger was the force of the lust which mastered them. Then, as little by little they accustomed those who were by nature men to submit to play the part of women, they saddled them with the formidable curse of a female disease. For not only did they emasculate their bodies by luxury and voluptuousness but they worked a further degeneration in their souls and, as far as in them lay, were corrupting the whole of mankind.”

The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and the three other cities of the plain were sinful and godless. In their country there was an extensive vale, where they foregathered annually with their wives and their children and all belonging to them, to celebrate a feast lasting several days and consisting of the most revolting orgies. If a stranger merchant passed through their territory, he was besieged by them all, big and little alike, and robbed of whatever he possessed. Each one appropriated a bagatelle, until the traveller was stripped bare. If the victim ventured to remonstrate with one or another, he would show him that he had taken a mere trifle, not worth talking about. And the end was that they hounded him from the city.

Once upon a time it happened that a man journeying from Elam arrived in Sodom toward evening. No one could be found to grant him shelter for the night. Finally a sly fox named Hedor invited him cordially to follow him to his house. The Sodomite had been attracted by a rarely magnificent carpet, strapped to the stranger’s ass by means of a rope. He meant to secure it for himself. The friendly persuasions of Hedor induced the stranger to remain with him two days, though he had expected to stay only overnight. When the time came for him to continue on his journey, he asked his host for the carpet and the rope. Hedor said: “Thou hast dreamed a dream, and this is the interpretation of thy dream: the rope signifies that thou wilt have a long life, as long as a rope; the varicolored carpet indicates that thou wilt own an orchard wherein thou wilt plant all sorts of fruit trees.” The stranger insisted that his carpet was a reality, not a dream fancy, and he continued to demand its return. Not only did Hedor deny having taken anything from his guest, he even insisted upon pay for having interpreted his dream to him. His usual price for such services, he said, was four silver pieces, but in view of the fact that he was his guest, he would, as a favor to him, content himself with three pieces of silver.

After much wrangling, they put their case before one of the judges of Sodom, Sherek by name, and he said to the plaintiff, “Hedor is known in this city as a trustworthy interpreter of dreams, and what he tells thee is true.” The stranger declared himself not satisfied with the verdict, and continued to urge his side of the case. Then Sherek drove both the plaintiff and the defendant from the court room. Seeing this, the inhabitants gathered together and chased the stranger from the city, and lamenting the loss of his carpet, he had to pursue his way.

As Sodom had a judge worthy of itself, so also had the other cities–Sharkar in Gomorrah, Zabnak in Admah, and Manon in Zeboiim. Eliezer, the bondman of Abraham, made slight changes in the names of these judges, in accordance with the nature of what they did: the first he called Shakkara, Liar; the second Shakrura, Arch-deceiver; the third Kazban, Falsifier; and the fourth, Mazle-Din, Perverter of Judgment. At the suggestion of these judges, the cities set up beds on their commons. When a stranger arrived, three men seized him by his head, and three by his feet, and they forced him upon one of the beds. If he was too short to fit into it exactly, his six attendants pulled and wrenched his limbs until he filled it out; if he was too long for; it, they tried to jam him in with all their combined strength, until the victim was on the verge of death. Hit outcrles were met with the words, “Thus will be done to any man that comes into our land.”

After a while travellers avoided these cities, but if some poor devil was betrayed occasionally into entering them, they would give him gold and silver, but never any bread, so that he was bound to die of starvation. Once he was dead, the residents of the city came and took back the marked gold and silver which they had given him, and they would quarrel about the distribution of his clothes, for they would bury him naked.

Once Eliezer, the bondman of Abraham, went to Sodom, at the bidding of Sarah, to inquire after the welfare of Lot. He happened to enter the city at the moment when the people were robbing a stranger of his garments. Eliezer espoused the cause of the poor wretch, and the Sodomites turned against him; one threw a stone at his forehead and caused considerable loss of blood. Instantly, the assailant, seeing the blood gush forth, demanded payment for having performed the operation of cupping. Eliezer refused to pay for the infliction of a wound upon him, and he was haled before the judge Shakkara. The decision went against him, for the law of the land gave the assailant the right to demand payment. Eliezer quickly picked up a stone and threw it at the judge’s forehead. When he saw that the blood was flowing profusely, he said to the judge, “Pay my debt to the man and give me the balance.”

The cause of their cruelty was their exceeding great wealth. Their soil was gold, and in their miserliness and their greed for more and more gold, they wanted to prevent strangers from enjoying aught of their riches. Accordingly, they flooded the highways with streams of water, so that the roads to their city were obliterated, and none could find the way thither. They were as heartless toward beasts as toward men. They begrudged the birds what they ate, and therefore extirpated them. They behaved impiously toward one another, too, not shrinking back from murder to gain possession of more gold. If they observed that a man owned great riches, two of them would conspire against him. They would beguile him to the vicinity of ruins, and while the one kept him on the spot by pleasant converse, the other would undermine the wall near which he stood, until it suddenly crashed down upon him and killed him. Then the two plotters would divide his wealth between them.

Another method of enriching themselves with the property of others was in vogue among them. They were adroit thieves. When they made up their minds to commit theft, they would first ask their victim to take care of a sum of money for them, which they smeared with strongly scented oil before handing it over to him. The following night they would break into his house, and rob him of his secret treasures, led to the place of concealment by the smell of the oil.

Their laws were calculated to do injury to the poor. The richer a man, the more was he favored before the law. The owner of two oxen was obliged to render one day’s shepherd service, but if he had but one ox, he had to give two days’ service. A poor orphan, who was thus forced to tend the flocks a longer time than those who were blessed with large herds, killed all the cattle entrusted to him in order to take revenge upon his oppressors, and he insisted, when the skins were assigned, that the owner of two head of cattle should have but one skin, but the owner of one head should receive two skins, in correspondence to the method pursued in assigning the work. For the use of the ferry, a traveller had to pay four zuz, but if he waded through the water, he had to pay eight zuz.

The cruelty of the Sodomites went still further. Lot had a daughter, Paltit, so named because she had been born to him shortly after he escaped captivity through the help of Abraham. Paltit lived in Sodom, where she had married. Once a beggar came to town, and the court issued a proclamation that none should give him anything to eat, in order that he might die of starvation. But Paltit had pity upon the unfortunate wretch, and every day when she went to the well to draw water, she supplied him with a piece of bread, which she hid in her water pitcher. The inhabitants of the two sinful cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, could not understand why the beggar did not perish, and they suspected that some one was giving him food in secret. Three men concealed themselves near the beggar, and caught Paltit in the act of giving him something to eat. She had to pay for her humanity with death; she was burnt upon a pyre.

The people of Admah were no better than those of Sodom. Once a stranger came to Admah, intending to stay overnight and continue his journey the next morning. The daughter of a rich man met the stranger, and gave him water to drink and bread to eat at his request. When the people of Admah heard of this infraction of the law of the land, they seized the girl and arraigned her before the judge, who condemned her to death. The people smeared her with honey from top to toe, and exposed her where bees would be attracted to her. The insects stung her to death, and the callous people paid no heed to her heartrending cries. Then it was that God resolved upon the destruction of these sinners.

-The Legends of the Jews By Louis Ginzberg

19:6  And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

19:7  And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

19:8  Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

19:9  And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

In the Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg writes that this mob was caused by Lot’s wife

“The angels, who had accepted Abraham’s hospitality without delay, first refused to comply with Lot’s request, for it is a rule of good breeding to show reluctance when an ordinary man invites one, but to accept the invitation of a great man at once. Lot, however, was insistent, and carried them into his house by main force. At home he had to overcome the opposition of his wife, for she said, “If the inhabitants of Sodom hear of this, they will slay thee.”

Lot divided his dwelling in two parts, one for himself and his guests, the other for his wife, so that, if aught happened, his wife would be spared. Nevertheless it was she who betrayed him. She went to a neighbor and borrowed some salt, and to the question, whether she could not have supplied herself with salt during daylight hours, she replied, “We had enough salt, until some guests came to us; for them we needed more.” In this way the presence of strangers was bruited abroad in the city.

In the beginning the angels were inclined to hearken to the petition of Lot in behalf of the sinners, but when all the people of the city, big and little, crowded around the house of Lot with the purpose of committing a monstrous crime, the angels warded off his prayers, saying, “Hitherto thou couldst intercede for them, but now no longer.” It was not the first time that the inhabitants of Sodom wanted to perpetrate a crime of this sort. They had made a law some time before that all strangers were to be treated in this horrible way. Lot, who was appointed chief judge on the very day of the angels’ coming, tried to induce the people to desist from their purpose, saying to them, “My brethren, the generation of the deluge was extirpated in consequence of such sins as you desire to commit, and you would revert to them?” But they replied: “Back! And though Abraham himself came hither, we should have no consideration for him. Is it possible that thou wouldst set aside a law which thy predecessors administered?”

Even Lot’s moral sense was no better than it should have been. It is the duty of a man to venture his life for the honor of his wife and his daughters, but Lot was ready to sacrifice the honor of his daughters, wherefor he was punished severely later on.”

-The Legends of the Jews By Louis Ginzberg

There are a few tragic facts to look at in the life of Lot.

1. He moves into Sodom and eventually Sodom moves into him.
2. His family suffers from his need for prosperity
3. His own morals become carnalized
4. He looses his wife and all but two daughters in the destruction of the city
5. He unknowingly becomes the father of two of the worst and most despicable enemies of Israel

19:10  But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

19:11  And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

What can be claimed as the cause for this calamity in Lot’s life?

1. 1. Is it the type of example that Abraham shows at first as he tries to find his own way?

Our children and our younger loved ones are always watching. It has been said that sometimes the only Bible that people will read is you in your walk. We are to be ready at all times, we are to be instant in and out of season. We must be ready in all ways and situations to be considered blameless as much as we can help it because you never know who is looking

1. 2. Was Lot being a people pleaser?

Was he following the Lord only when he was with Abraham. Not that he was lying but that Abraham had become a crutch for Lot to the point where he did not know where he was with the Lord and he did not know how to act on his own. Sometimes we can rely on someone or a group more than we should and we soon become so reliant on them that we don’t know how to function on our own. We please only man when we act this way

Lot is called just lot. He is therefore referred to as a believer.

He can be a representative of what happens when the law of the flesh comes back to rear its ugly head. He lived in a desperately wicked place. A place full of degenerate sin and occupants. So much so that God could not allow it to continue and He destroys it

Now Peter states that Lot was a righteous man who was vexed by the unlawful deeds of the people of Sodom.

2 Peter 2:6-8

6And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

7And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

8(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

What we need to learn from this is that prosperity, needs, or wants shouldn’t cause us to choose something. Circumstances should not cause us to choose either.

Only complete and total reliance upon God should lead our direction and where we go and live for him. He might not be calling us to go to that neighborhood just because something has opened up for us. Sometimes we need to seek the Lord’s will regardless of circumstances, wants, or situations.

The outcome will decide whether we become just people or just…..people

And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Who is Abraham speaking too?

1. Some believe he is speaking to Michael and two other angels.

The Jewish legend claims that this speaking visitor is Michael.

The Legends of the Jews
by Louis Ginzberg

THE VISIT OF THE ANGELS

On the third day after his circumcision, when Abraham was suffering dire pain,[127] God spoke to the angels, saying, “Go to, let us pay a visit to the sick.” The angels refused, and said: “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? And Thou desirest to betake Thyself to a place of uncleanness, a place of blood and filth?” But God replied unto them, “Thus do ye speak. As ye live, the savor of this blood is sweeter to me than myrrh and incense, and if you do not desire to visit Abraham, I will go alone.”[128]

The day whereon God visited him was exceedingly hot, for He had bored a hole in hell, so that its heat might reach as far as the earth, and no wayfarer venture abroad on the highways, and Abraham be left undisturbed in his pain.[129] But the absence of strangers caused Abraham great vexation, and he sent his servant Eliezer forth to keep a lookout for travellers. When the servant returned from his fruitless search, Abraham himself, in spite of his illness and the scorching heat, prepared to go forth on the highway and see whether he would not succeed where failure had attended Eliezer, whom he did not wholly trust at any rate, bearing in mind the well-known saying, “No truth among slaves.”[130] At this moment God appeared to him, surrounded by the angels. Quickly Abraham attempted to rise from his seat, but God checked every demonstration of respect, and when Abraham protested that it was unbecoming to sit in the presence of the Lord, God said, “As thou livest, thy descendants at the age of four and five will sit in days to come in the schools and in the synagogues while I reside therein.”[131]

Meantime Abraham beheld three men. They were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. They had assumed the form of human beings to fulfil his wish for guests toward whom to exercise hospitality. Each of them had been charged by God with a special mission, besides, to be executed on earth. Raphael was to heal the wound of Abraham, Michael was to bring Sarah the glad tidings that she would bear a son, and Gabriel was to deal destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah.

2. Some believe he is speaking to Jesus Christ

Some claim that this is a Christophany, or an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. Perhaps this lead some to come to the conclusion that Jesus and the angel Michael are the same.

The text says three men and in the next chapter it tells of two angels coming to Sodom so we know that at least two of these visitors are angels, and whether it is a Christophany or the Angel of the Lord, Abraham calls him Lord (Adonay) and the Scripture calls him Lord (Yhovah) so we know that is is God speaking with him.

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Notice that the fact that Abraham will teach his children to keep the way of the Lord Stands out to God more than anything

And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

Classical Jewish texts do not stress the homosexual aspect of the attitude of the inhabitants of Sodom as much as their cruelty and lack of hospitality to the “stranger.” The people of Sodom were seen as guilty of many other significant sins. Rabbinic writings affirm that the Sodomites also committed economic crimes, blasphemy and bloodshed. One of the worst was to give money or even gold ingots to beggars, after inscribing their names on them, and then subsequently refusing to sell them food. The unfortunate stranger would end up starving and after his death, the people who gave him the money would reclaim it.

A rabbinic tradition, described in the Mishnah, postulates that the sin of Sodom was related to property: Sodomites believed that “what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours” (Abot), which is interpreted as a lack of compassion. Another rabbinic tradition is that these two wealthy cities treated visitors in a sadistic fashion. One major crime done to strangers was almost identical to that of Procrustes in Greek mythology. This would be the story of the “bed” that guests to Sodom were forced to sleep in: if they were too short they were stretched to fit it, and if they were too tall, they were cut up.

In another incident, Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, went to visit Lot in Sodom and got in a dispute with a Sodomite over a beggar, and was hit in the forehead with a stone, making him bleed. The Sodomite demanded Eliezer pay him for the service of bloodletting, and a Sodomite judge sided with the Sodomite. Eliezer then struck the judge in the forehead with a stone and asked the judge to pay the Sodomite.

The Talmud and the book of Jasher also recount two incidents of a young girl (one involved Lot’s daughter Paltith) who gave some bread to a poor man who had entered the city. When the townspeople discovered their acts of kindness, they burned Paltith and smeared the other girl’s body with honey and hung her from the city wall until she was eaten by bees. (Sanhedrin 109a) It is this gruesome event, and her scream in particular, the Talmud concludes, that are alluded to in the verse that heralds the city’s destruction: “So Hashem said, ‘Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has been very grave, I will descend and see…’” (Genesis 18:20-21).

The view of Josephus

Now, about this time the Sodomites, overwhelmingly proud of their numbers and the extent of their wealth, showed themselves insolent to men and impious to the divinity, insomuch that they no more remembered the benefits that they had received from him, hated foreigners and avoided any contact with others. Indignant at this conduct, God accordingly resolved to chastise them for their arrogance, and not only to uproot their city, but to blast their land so completely that it should yield neither plant nor fruit whatsoever from that time forward.

—Jewish Antiquities 1:194-195

and Josephus recounts that when angels came to Sodom to find good men they were instead greeted by rapists:

And the angels came to the city of the Sodomites…when the Sodomites beheld the young men, who were outstanding in beauty of appearance and who had been received into Lot’s house, they set about to do violence and outrage to their youthful beauty….Therefore, God, indignant at their bold acts, struck them with blindness, so that they were unable to find the entrance into the house, and condemned the Sodomites to destruction of the whole population.

—Jewish Antiquities 1:199-202

He says how beautiful it was before everything was burned up, and how rich the towns were in the area. Josephus described what had happened:

Now this country is then so sadly burnt up, that nobody cares to come to it… It was of old a most happy land, both for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all burnt up. It is related how for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the remainders of that divine fire; and the shadows of the five cities are still to be seen, as well as the ashes growing in their fruits, which fruits have a colour as if they were fit to be eaten: but if you pluck them with your hands, they will dissolve into smoke and ashes

—The Wars of the Jews, book 4, chapter 8.

And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.

And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.

And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

Abraham begins a dialogue with God concerning Sodom because his nephew Lot lives there. Lot has two unmarried daughters and two married ones which meant a total of 8 people at the very least living in Lot’s house or acquainted with him so perhaps this is why he stopped bargaining at 10.

How can God judge the earth?

How can God judge man and the world in the end?

1. Because we have no excuse to say that we don’t know Him!

We are surrounded by evidence that there is a God.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Rom 1:29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Rom 1:30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Rom 1:31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

2. Because we have Jesus Christ and the Spirit as His witness!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Joh 14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

We have no excuses and no exceptions to stand before the Lord and claim that we never knew Him. There are too many witnesses that He exists. Choose Him today before it is too late

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

That is a fairly simple question. Is anything too hard for Him?

What is anything?

Is it math problems?

Is it housework?

Our work?

Our job?

Our family?

Our relationships?

The answer is actually anything.

We can put a blank in the place of anything with respect of what God will do.

Many times God tells us who He is by these two words. “I AM”

and that can be an incomplete sentence for the believer because to a Christian,(one who is called according to His purpose) Romans 8:28 = All Things are possible. All things that we ask within His will and that pertain to His will for us.John 16:23-24.

We shouldn’t just sprinkle His name in prayer for just anything. This should mean that we mean business. This is something that we need. Something to honor God and help others, not for an expensive car, or a bigger house. “I Am” does not include “a genie” and we shouldn’t treat God this way. he is not our 24 hour wish granter.

Our anything can be something we don’t like to do

Our anything might hurt us

God will accomplish anything in our lives that we will allow Him to and we must remember that sometimes anything hurts, but it is for our greater good if we are in Christ.

Our anything can also be our mistakes.

Romans 8:28 says “With God, anything, everything, ALL THINGS are possible” even when we screw up, when we come to God with the right heart, He can make our wrongs right so we can’t dwell on that mistake we made all those years ago or that sin that we acted on last night. The important thing is this: “Did you make it right with the Lord?”

Our anything is nothing without God (Mark 10:27)

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

God asked this question in Genesis and we get the answer in the birth of Jesus(Luke 1:37)

With God NOTHING is impossible!!!!!!!

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Hebrews 13:2   Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

The Legends of the Jews
by Louis Ginzberg

Volume I

Bible Times and Characters from the Creation to Jacob

THE VISIT OF THE ANGELS

On the third day after his circumcision, when Abraham was suffering dire pain,[127] God spoke to the angels, saying, “Go to, let us pay a visit to the sick.” The angels refused, and said: “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? And Thou desirest to betake Thyself to a place of uncleanness, a place of blood and filth?” But God replied unto them, “Thus do ye speak. As ye live, the savor of this blood is sweeter to me than myrrh and incense, and if you do not desire to visit Abraham, I will go alone.”[128]

The day whereon God visited him was exceedingly hot, for He had bored a hole in hell, so that its heat might reach as far as the earth, and no wayfarer venture abroad on the highways, and Abraham be left undisturbed in his pain.[129] But the absence of strangers caused Abraham great vexation, and he sent his servant Eliezer forth to keep a lookout for travellers. When the servant returned from his fruitless search, Abraham himself, in spite of his illness and the scorching heat, prepared to go forth on the highway and see whether he would not succeed where failure had attended Eliezer, whom he did not wholly trust at any rate, bearing in mind the well-known saying, “No truth among slaves.”[130] At this moment God appeared to him, surrounded by the angels. Quickly Abraham attempted to rise from his seat, but God checked every demonstration of respect, and when Abraham protested that it was unbecoming to sit in the presence of the Lord, God said, “As thou livest, thy descendants at the age of four and five will sit in days to come in the schools and in the synagogues while I reside therein.”[131]

Meantime Abraham beheld three men. They were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. They had assumed the form of human beings to fulfil his wish for guests toward whom to exercise hospitality. Each of them had been charged by God with a special mission, besides, to be executed on earth. Raphael was to heal the wound of Abraham, Michael was to bring Sarah the glad tidings that she would bear a son, and Gabriel was to deal destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. Arrived at the tent of Abraham, the three angels noticed that he was occupied in nursing himself, and they withdrew.[132] Abraham, however, hastened after them through another door of the tent, which had wide open entrances on all sides.[133] He considered the duty of hospitality more important than the duty of receiving the Shekinah. Turning to God, he said, “O Lord, may it please Thee not to leave Thy servant while he provides for the entertainment of his guests.”[134] Then he addressed himself to the stranger walking in the middle between the other two, whom by this token he considered the most distinguished,- it was the archangel Michael–and he bade him and his companions turn aside into his tent. The manner of his guests, who treated one another politely, made a good impression upon Abraham. He was assured that they were men of worth whom he was entertaining.[135] But as they appeared outwardly like Arabs, and the people worshipped the dust of their feet, he bade them first wash their feet, that they might not defile his tent.[136]

He did not depend upon his own judgment in reading the character of his guests. By his tent a tree was planted, which spread its branches out over all who believed in God, and afforded them shade. But if idolaters went under the tree, the branches turned upward, and cast no shade upon the ground. Whenever Abraham saw this sign, he would at once set about the task of converting the worshippers of the false gods. And as the tree made a distinction between the pious and the impious, so also between the clean and the unclean. Its shade was denied them as long as they refrained from taking the prescribed ritual bath in the spring that flowed out from its roots, the waters of which rose at once for those whose uncleanness was of a venial character and could be removed forthwith, while others had to wait seven days for the water to come up. Accordingly, Abraham bade the three men lean against the trunk of the tree. Thus he would soon learn their worth or their unworthiness.[137]

Being of the truly pious, “who promise little, but perform much,”[133] Abraham said only: “I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart, seeing that ye chanced to pass my tent at dinner time. Then, after ye have given thanks to God, ye may pass on.”[139] But when the meal was served to the guests, it was a royal banquet, exceeding Solomon’s at the time of his most splendid magnificence. Abraham himself ran unto the herd, to fetch cattle for meat. He slaughtered three calves, that he might be able to set a “tongue with mustard” before each of his guests.[140] In order to accustom Ishmael to God-pleasing deeds, he had him dress the calves,[141] and he bade Sarah bake the bread. But as he knew that women are apt to treat guests niggardly, he was explicit in his request to her. He said, “Make ready quickly three measures of meal, yea, fine meal.” As it happened, the bread was not brought to the table, because it had accidentally become unclean, and our father Abraham was accustomed to eat his daily bread only in a clean state.[142] Abraham himself served his guests, and it appeared to him that the three men ate. But this was an illusion. In reality the angels did not eat,[143] only Abraham, his three friends, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, and his son Ishmael partook of the banquet, and the portions set before the angels were devoured by a heavenly fire.[144]

Although the angels remained angels even in their human disguise, nevertheless the personality of Abraham was so exalted that in his presence the archangels felt insignificant.[145]

After the meal the angels asked after Sarah, though they knew that she was in retirement in her tent, but it was proper for them to pay their respects to the lady of the house and send her the cup of wine over which the blessing had been said.[146] Michael, the greatest of the angels, thereupon announced the birth of Isaac. He drew a line upon the wall, saying, “When the sun crosses this point, Sarah will be with child, and when he crosses the next point, she will give birth to a child.” This communication, which was intended for Sarah and not for Abraham, to whom the promise had been revealed long before,[147] the angels made at the entrance to her tent, but Ishmael stood between the angel and Sarah, for it would not have been seemly to deliver the message in secret, with none other by. Yet, so radiant was the beauty of Sarah that a beam of it struck the angel, and made him look up. In the act of turning toward her, he heard her laugh within herself:[148] “Is it possible that these bowels can yet bring forth a child, these shrivelled breasts give suck? And though I should be able to bear, yet is not my lord Abraham old?[149]

And the Lord said unto Abraham: “Am I too old to do wonders? And wherefore doth Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?”[150] The reproach made by God was directed against Abraham as well as against Sarah, for he, too, had showed himself of little faith when he was told that a son would be born unto him. But God mentioned only Sarah’s incredulity, leaving Abraham to become conscious of his defect himself.[151]

Regardful of the peace of their family life, God had not repeated Sarah’s words accurately to Abraham. Abraham might have taken amiss what his wife had said about his advanced years, and so precious is the peace between hus band and wife that even the Holy One, blessed be He, preserved it at the expense of truth.[152]

After Abraham had entertained his guests, he went with them to bring them on their way, for, important as the duty of hospitality is, the duty of speeding the parting guest is even more important.[153] Their way lay in the direction of Sodom, whither two of the angels were going, the one to destroy it, and the second to save Lot, while the third, his errand to Abraham fulfilled, returned to heaven.[154]

And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

The Lord and two attending angels come to visit Abraham in the heat of the day. We know it is the Lord by looking at verses 1-3 and we know that the other two are angels by looking at Hebrews 13:2. Mamre was one of Abraham’s allies in the battle of chapter 14. This region came to be known as Hebron (Gen 13:18, 23:17)

The southern part of Negev (Gen 12:9) can become very hot in the summer, reaching above 110F. People usually worked early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Abraham is not afraid to approach the Lord.

Notice how this 99 year old man runs to meet his visitors. Abraham still runs to meet his Lord. This is my prayer for myself as well as everyone else is that we run the race that God has placed before us.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Abraham will finish his race for the Lord.

Abraham enjoys fellowship with the Lord

James 2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

They have fellowship with the Lord under the tree just as we now enjoy fellowship with Him under the tree of Calvary

1Peter 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Galatians 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

From Abraham’s perspective, God had waited a long time to fulfill His promise. Abe is now 99 years old. He was 75 years old when God told him to move out of Ur. He was 86 years old when he became the father of Ishmael, thinking he could help God out. Now 13 years had passed without a promised heir.

I am the Almighty God

This is the first time God uses the Name Shaddai for Himself. The word is similar to the word used for mountain and means “strength” and “endurance”

walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Abraham was to walk with God as Enoch and Noah had before him. This phrase means one of two things. “Walk before Me and be perfect or blameless” or “Walk before Me and I will make you perfect or blameless.” Either way, Abraham was to conduct his life as an open display for others with integrity. I would believe that the latter would be true in terms of meaning simply by the act of becoming righteous through Christ and by the next few chapters where we see that Abe still has from walking and growing to do.

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Abraham’s direct descendants are the Israelites, but he is also the father of the Arab peoples through Ishmael, as well as a number of other groups through Keturah, a concubine (Genesis 25:1-6)

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

You can tell that being human, Abraham is looking for the steps to be arranged one right after the other and from the Hagar story in the preceding chapters, he might have thought that God had forgotten him.

God’s first command, “Go ye, leave, go where I AM telling you to go!”

His commands from then on “WAIT!, Wait for ME!”

Many times God gives us direction in ways we won’t always see at first, or understand. We hear His direction, His moving, and then we might hear His from Him on the particular subject soon afterwards, or we might not hear from Him for a while. It all depends upon His divine and directed plan for our lives and for His will. We often expect all the steps to be laid out for us, the blue-prints ready, or the maps freshly printed for us, and when we don’t, we can loose our focus or direction and move out of His will and His way. We feel that God has stopped talking to us, that He has forgotten us, or that we have done something wrong. The next step is usually depression or we just stop whatever we are doing altogether and that is never what God wants as our reaction. Those in-between times are left for faith and prayer as we wait on the Lord for our next step.

The trick is for us to not give up. Wait on the Lord. Be patient and have faith. El Shaddai will take care of us. If He guides us He will provide for us no matter what or how long it takes.

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Here is some information on covenants in the Bible.

BIBLICAL COVENANTS

A. Definition of a covenant: an arrangement or agreement

B. Two Classifications

1. Conditional covenants

“One in which God’s action is made to be contingent upon some action on the part of those to whom the covenant is addressed.” – Chafer

2. Unconditional covenants

“A declaration on the part of God as to what He is going to do and is made without reference to human action, purpose, or merit.”– Chafer 11

C. Major Covenants in Scripture

1. ADAMIC covenant (Gen 1:26-31; 2:16,17) – This was a conditional covenant “with Adam in which life and blessing or death and cursing were made to depend on the faithfulness of Adam. Human failure followed and the terms of the covenant were executed in righteousness.” – Chafer

2. Covenant with FALLEN MAN (Gen 3:16-19) – “This is an unconditional covenant in which God declares to man what his lot in life will be because of his sin.” – Chafer

3. NOAHIC covenant (Gen 9:1-18 – esp. v. 9-11) – An unconditional covenant that promised mankind that the world would never again be destroyed by water.

4. ABRAHAMIC covenant (Gen 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-8) –

a. Provision:

i. Individual promise made to Abraham that he would become a great nation. Emphasis is on his seed.

ii. National promise to Abraham’s seed. Emphasis is on the land.

iii. Universal promise – blessing for all nations.

b. Character: It is an unconditional, eternal covenant (Gen 15:18; 17:7).

5. MOSAIC covenant (Ex 20:1-31:18) –A conditional covenant where God is basically saying to Israel that if they keep His commandments He would bless them, if they do not keep His commandments, He would curse them (see Deut 28:1-62, esp. 63-68).

6. PALESTINIAN covenant (Deut 28-30; esp. 30:1-10) –

a. Importance:

i. Reaffirms to Israel the title deed to Palestine. (Israel had been out of the land for over 400 years.)

ii. It pointed to the Mosaic covenant. This covenant did not set aside God’s promises to Abraham.

iii. It confirms and enlarges upon the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant.

b. Provisions of this covenant (Deut 30:1-10):

12

i. The nation will be removed from the land for unfaithfulness (Deut 30:1-3).

ii. There will be a repentance of the nation (30:1-3).

iii. Israel will be restored to the land (Deut 30:3-6).

iv. Israel will be converted as a nation (30:6, 8).

v. Enemies of Israel will be judged (30:7).

vi. Israel will receive her full blessing (30:9).

c. Character of this covenant:

i. Unconditional (Ezek 16:60)

ii. Eternal (Ezek 16:60)

iii. Conditional blessings (Deut 30:10)

iv. Amplification of Abrahamic covenant

7. DAVIDIC covenant (II Sam 7:4-17) –

a. Importance: Guarantees to Israel a King and a Kingdom.

b. Provisions:

i. David is promised an unending royal lineage, a throne, and a kingdom – all of which are to endure forever.

ii. Jehovah reserved the right to interrupt the actual reign of David’s sons if chastisement is required (II Sam 7:14,15; Ps 89:20-37).

iii. But the perpetuity of the covenant cannot be broken.

iv. Christ will yet sit on this Throne (Lk 1:31-33). This is an eternal, unconditional covenant (Ps 89; Isa 55:3; Ezek 37:25; Lk 1:31-33).

8. NEW covenant –

a. Guarantees Israel that God is going to yet work with them. God is going to give them a new heart – based on blood – anticipates the death of Christ (Jeremiah 30-33).

b. Provisions (Jeremiah 31:31-34):

13

i. God is going to give Israel a new mind and a new heart (31:33).

ii. Restoration to the favor and blessings of God (Hosea 2:19,20).

iii. Forgiveness of sin (31:34).

iv. Indwelling of the Holy Spirit (31:33 see II Cor 3:3,6).

v. Material blessing from the land (32:41).

vi. Sanctuary will be rebuilt in Jerusalem (Ezek 37:26,28).

vii. War will cease, peace will reign (Isa 2:4).

c. Character:

i. Eternal (Jer 31:36)

ii. Depends on God – not man (Jer 31:33)

iii. Unconditional covenant

Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael the command was issued to Abraham that he put the sign of the covenant upon his body and upon the bodies of the male members of his household. Abraham was reluctant at first to do the bidding of God, for he feared that the circumcision of his flesh would raise a barrier between himself and the rest of mankind. But God said unto him, “Let it suffice thee that I am thy God and thy Lord, as it sufficeth the world that I am its God and its Lord.”[123]

Abraham then consulted with his three true friends, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, regarding the command of the circumcision. The first one spoke, and said, “Thou art nigh unto a hundred years old, and thou considerest inflicting such pain upon thyself?” The advice of the second was also against it. “What,” said Eshcol, “thou choosest to mark thyself so that thy enemies may recognize thee without fail?” Mamre, the third, was the only one to advise obedience to the command of God. “God succored thee from the fiery furnace,” he said, “He helped thee in the combat with the kings, He provided for thee during the famine, and thou dost hesitate to execute His behest concerning the circumcision?[124] Accordingly, Abraham did as God had commanded, in bright daylight, bidding defiance to all, that none might say, “Had we seen him attempt it, we should have prevented him.”[125]

The circumcision was performed on the tenth day of Tishri, the Day of Atonement, and upon the spot on which the altar was later to be erected in the Temple, for the act of Abraham remains a never-ceasing atonement for Israel.[126]

The Legends of the Jews
by Louis Ginzberg

Volume I

Bible Times and Characters from the Creation to Jacob

The Abrahamic Three-Fold Covenant was foundational to all other Biblical Covenants between Yahweh and His people:

• The promise of land: Israel’s possession of the Promised Land — Deuteronomy 30:1-10
• The promise of kingly descendants in the Davidic Covenant through which the Messiah is promised — 2 Samuel 7:12-16
• The promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham is fulfilled in the New Covenant in Christ — Jeremiah 31:31-40; Luke 22:17-20

As New Covenant believers we become the heirs of Abraham: Romans 9:6-8 “For not all Israelites are true Israelites nor are all Abraham’s descendants his children, but as Scripture says, ‘through Isaac shall your descendants be called.’ That means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; it is the children of the promise who are to be considered descendants.”

The Latter-day Saint definition of the Abrahamic Covenant goes further than the common definition shared by most Christians and Jews. According to Jewish tradition, Abraham is the father of the Jewish people, bound by covenant to keep the laws of God and bless the earth with their knowledge and talent. As part of the covenant, Abraham was assured numerous descendants and the Land of Canaan as a legacy for them. The token of the covenant was circumcision. According to Christian belief, loyalty to God and personal righteousness qualify a person as a child of Abraham. Thus, when Christ was teaching among the Jews, He counted his dedicated followers as “children of Abraham,” and claimed that the unrighteous, no matter what their lineage, could not be accepted into Abraham’s family.

For Latter-day Saints the Abrahamic Covenant is the covenant God made with Abraham, the great patriarch of the Old Testament, promising him and his literal and adopted descendants throughout the world all gospel blessings, including the priesthood and eternal life, if they are faithful. The Abrahamic covenant includes celestial marriage, which enables people to form eternal families. Another part of this covenant involves the eternal possession of the land of Canaan by Abraham and his righteous posterity. It also includes the foreknowledge of God that Abraham’s posterity would eventually be spread throughout the earth and would have a spiritual inclination to accept the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to share the gospel with all of mankind.

The Abrahamic covenant is introduced in Genesis 12 and Abraham 2 in the Pearl of Great Price, when the Lord told Abram (Abraham) to leave the land of his father (Ur, then Haran) and go into the land of Canaan, where “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

When Abraham arrived in Canaan, the Lord told him: “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:7-8).

The Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price adds additional insight into the covenant promises Jehovah made to Abraham:

And thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2:9-11)

Mormonism teaches that Abraham was blessed with these covenant promises because he sought to regain the true priesthood and the true gospel possessed by his ancestors but lost through apostasy by his father’s people, and because he was willing to follow the Lord’s guidance and direction in all things, not withholding anything. Later, when he was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in similitude of the atoning sacrifice which God the Father offers to mankind through the sacrifice of His Beloved Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Abraham showed his willingness to obey that directive and his faith in the resurrection of his son, Isaac.

Abraham became, by example and by covenant, the “father of the faithful.” Mormonism explains that those who receive the “fullness of the everlasting gospel” and its covenants and priesthood have responded to spiritual promptings that Abraham was promised that his posterity and the Gentile nations among them would receive (See 3 Nephi 20:25-27).

The “everlasting possession” promised to Abraham’s seed is this earth, which will become the sanctified dwelling place of those who inherit eternal life through their faithfulness in all things (Doctrine and Covenants 130:9).

An interesting and inspiring insight gleaned from the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price is his “fore-ordination” to be a great prophet. In other words, the Lord knew Abraham in the pre-mortal world and chose him from His most illustrious spirit children for his calling on earth:

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. (Abraham 3:22-23)

www.mormonwiki.com

Abrahamic religions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Abrahamic religions (also known as Abrahamic faiths, Abrahamic traditions,religions of Abraham and semitic religions) are historically the world’s three primarymonotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which share a common origin and values. For some 1,300 years their histories and thought have been intertwined. They are considered inextricably linked to one another because of a ‘family likeness’ and a certain commonality in theology. They are faiths that recognize a spiritual tradition identified with Abraham. The sacred narratives of all three of these religions feature many of the same figures, histories and places in each, although they often present them with slightly different roles, perspectives and meanings.

Today, there are an estimated 3.8 billion followers of these three Abrahamic religions, accounting for more than half of the world’s population.

Recently, some have asserted that certain younger smaller religions qualify as Abrahamic, including the Bahá’í Faith.

Circumcision

This means “cutting around” and is considered a minor operation.

The oldest recordings of circumcision come from Egypt. There are also many myths and conceptions as to why different cultures would use circumcision.

1. A form of sacrifice to a god or goddess as an act of submission or for fertility
2. A mark of tribal identification
3. A rite of passage for adulthood
4. A means of humiliating or marking a slave or captured enemy

In Deuteronomy we learn that this is an outward sign that stood for an inward commitment

Deuteronomy 10:12-20

And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

Paul also backs this up by giving us the spiritual implications.

Romans 2:25-29

For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

So we see that is the Old Testament was a picture book for us to learn from and that circumcision as a physical act was not as important as an inward act. But what of the fact that this was a ritual that occurred from the time of the commandment from God and is still a ritual that takes place today.

It would also seem that God meant what He said when He gave this commandment to Abraham

And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Exodus 4:24-26

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

Moses had been sent by God to speak with Pharoah. Now this is after he learns that he is an Israelite but after he has children with Zipporah, a Midianite. They would only circumcise a male the night before marriage. The real truth is not known but it is speculated that Moses had not circumcised his son in order to appease his wife, yet this act of neglect was still deserving of death, which shows it’s seriousness to God.

4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

Noah and his family have been floating around for some time now but the boat has finally come to rest on the mountain of Ararat. At first glance, all of these dates seem needful, only so that we can understand how long they were in the ark, but here we see something spectacular. Here we see the ark coming to a stop, we see the storm pass on the seventh month, and on the 17th day of the month. What does this point too? Well I am glad that you asked.

The nation of Israel celebrates the Passover on the seventh month of the year and on the 14th day of that month.

The Passover is a celebration in memory of the Jews delivery from Egypt, as commanded in the book of Exodus (Exodus 11-12)

Exodus 12

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.
12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observethe Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the firstmonth, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

On the tenth the month every man was to take for himself a lamb for his family. This lamb was to be a male without blemish, and they were to keep it with them from the tenth to the fourteenth day of the month. This would make this little animal a member of the house because they were to keep it with them. This would make it hard to sacrifice this precious little part of the family. At twilight they were to sacrifice this lamb and take the blood applied to a hyssop branch and place it on the two doorposts and the lintel. The angel of the Lord would see this blood and pass over the house.

What a beautiful picture of the price Jesus paid, right there in the Old Testament.

A lamb bone is placed on the Seder plate. This signifies the sacrificial lamb and blood that was put on the doorposts as commanded by God. The Passover lamb is a picture of Jesus Christ

John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. Paul tell us that He is exactly the Passover Lamb.  He was the sacrificial Lamb of God. He was placed upon the cross. He died in our place and now He covers us through His blood.

Notice that the men of the household applied the blood from the lamb upon the two doorposts and the lintel or the top of the doorway. This would form a perfect cross and we see how this pictures our being covered by the blood of Jesus through His death on the cross.

Jesus was crucified on the 14the day of Passover.

Luke 22

1Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

2And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.

3Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

4And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.

5And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.

6And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.

7Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

8And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

God sees us through the blood of Jesus and now the wrath of God passes over us because we have His righteousness. We have a right standing with the Lord. We find grace in the eyes of God just as Noah did and we are saved from judgment.

He was in the tomb for three days. Matthew 12:40 tells us that Jesus had to be in the earth for 3 days and 3 nights:
“For as Jonas was 3 days and 3 nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth”.

The Jewish people have their day of rest on Saturday. They begin their Sabbath the night before on Friday evening. It was that way in Biblical times and is still that way today. Every Friday evening a candle is lit, prayers are said and no work is done till sundown Saturday evening. By Saturday evening the Sabbath is officially ended. The next day, Sunday, is called ” the 1st day of the week.”

Here is what Matthew 28:1 says:
“In the END of the Sabbath, AS IT BEGAN TO DAWN toward the first day of the week (Sunday), came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”

John 19:31 tells us that the Sabbath immediately following Jesus death was the Sabbath of their High Holy Day, the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-17), and that this was not to be confused with their 7th day Sabbath.
Luke 24:21 states “and besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done”. (Sunday Luke 24:1 and 24:13)

Jesus proved He was our Passover Lamb when He came from the Mt. Of Olives on a donkey on Palm Sunday , Nisan 10…..the day the lamb was to be identified as the Passover Lamb:
“In the 10th day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb…and ye shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”
The lamb was to be separated, just as Jesus kept Himself at Jerusalem from that day on.

Jesus not only identified Himself on Nisan 10 (fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9), but He separated Himself to the confines of Jerusalem for the remainder of His days, as did the sacrificial Lamb of the Temple.

But wait there is more…

All this is done on the fourteen day of the Passover Seder, and three days later, we find rest, just as Noah did in the salvation of the ark.

THROUGH THE RESSURECTION OF JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!!!!

During the Seder (Passover Meal) a very interesting ceremony takes place.
Three matzot crackers (bread) are placed in a bag of fine cloth.

These 3 pieces of bread represent the Trinity….
the Father, His Son Yeshua, and Yeshua’s Holy Spirit.
The matzah-bread in the center—the one representing Yeshua-Jesus —is then broken in two.

The larger of the two pieces is called the “afikomen”.
Afikomen generally means “after supper”, connoting dessert — saving the best for last.
This dessert-bread—- this which is to be rewarded last— is now wrapped in excellent cloth and hidden away in the house to be found later, after the Passover Meal….after REDEMPTION.

The significance of this afikomen is clear for all to see.
“The Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread (matzah) And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said:
Take, eat : this is My body, which IS broken for you.” 1 Corinthians 11:23, 24

MESSIAH IN THE PASSOVER

A story is told about a boy who returned from Sunday School class and his father asked him, “What did you learn today?” The son answered, “My teacher told us how Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

“How?” asked the father.

“Moses was a big strong man and he beat Pharaoh up. Then while Pharaoh was down, Moses got all the people together and they ran towards the sea. When they got there, Moses had the corps of engineers build a huge pontoon bridge. Once the people got to the other side, they blew up the bridge while the Egyptians were trying to cross.”

Quite shocked, the father inquired, “Is that what you teacher really taught you?”

The son replied, “No. But you’d never believe the story that he really did tell us.”

There are truly some remarkable events associated with Passover. But more importantly, there are many symbolic elements of Passover that reveal the life and ministry of Yeshua the Messiah. In particular, the L-rd’s Supper or Communion is derived from a pivotal part of the observance of Passover. By considering these symbolic elements in their original context, we are able to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to participate in the L-rd’s Supper.

Afikomen—The Coming of Messiah

You might ask, “How close is the modern observance of Passover to what was done in biblical days?” The elements of the Passover service, known as the Seder, have changed somewhat over time, but most of the modern practices were in place back in late Second Temple times. In other words, the manner in which Passover is kept today is very much like the way it was kept in the day of Yeshua.

When Yeshua and his disciples gathered for their last Passover together, they would have retold G-d’s deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt. They would have recited the phrase, “Every person in every generation must regard himself as having been personally freed from Egypt.” They would have chanted the Hallel (Psalms 113-118), and said the blessings over four cups of wine. They would have eaten bitter herbs and lamb, although lamb is not commonly eaten today.

They would also have eaten matzah (meaning unleavened bread). Another of the symbolic rites practiced both today and in biblical times involves a special piece of matzah that is broken and hidden, called theafikomen.

Early in the Seder, three pieces of matzah are taken and the middle one is removed. It is then broken in two and the larger piece is hidden somewhere. The celebration continues with other ceremonial elements. Then toward the end of the Seder, the children search for the afikomen, and when it is discovered, they hold it for ransom. The leader then redeems it by paying an agreed upon price to the children. A piece is distributed to all participants who then eat their portion.

This custom of the afikomen is not well understood today and has lost its original meaning. The most common rabbinic explanation is that it represents dessert, or the end of festivity. Unfortunately, that is an explanation that neglects its linguistic meaning.

Oddly, in the midst of a ceremony that is based on the Hebrew language, afikomen is a Greek word that means, “I came.” That is the way it is used in Passover Seders all around the world today. But in the times of the Second Temple, the word was actually phrased slightly differently. In that day, the name was not in the past tense, it was phrased in the future: aphikomenos – ”he is coming.”

The custom of naming objects and places is an important practice in the Jewish culture. For example, the gates of the city of Jerusalem were given names, as were the pillars of the Temple. And these names carried the meaning of the object or place. The name itself was a way of communicating a key spiritual concept.

He is coming? Now that kind of a name should prompt some very straightforward questions – who is He?And what is he coming to do?

Historically speaking, this word has direct messianic implications. During the Second Temple period theafikomen was a symbol of the expected Messiah. It became the custom at Passover that this special piece of matzah served as a reminder that the Messiah was coming. Each year, as the afikomen was redeemed and shared by everyone at the Seder, it was affirmed, “He is coming, he is coming.” It was a symbol that gave the people of ancient Israel a source of great hope.

And in a precise day ordained by G-d, Yeshua the Messiah did indeed come. Not everyone was willing to accept Him with open arms. But others were looking for Him to come.

An example of this kind of expectation is found in Matt. 11:3, where John the Baptist asks Yeshua: “Are You the Expected One (erchomenos), or shall we look for someone else?”

And again, as recorded in Matt. 21:9, on that day we know as Palm Sunday –

“And the multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the L-rd; Hosanna in the highest!’ “

The people were echoing the words of the 118th Psalm that were filled with messianic implications. Clearly, in biblical times, there was an expectation of the coming of Messiah, and it formed an important component in the celebration of Passover.

Incredibly, the custom of the afikomen is still part of the modern observance of Passover throughout Judaism. Each year, this emblem of messianic testimony is handled and eaten by Jews, but it is greatly misunderstood. Very few Jewish people are familiar with this history.

Undoubtedly, this background has been set aside as a response to the claim that Yeshua was the Messiah. When Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians continued with the practice of associating the Messiah with the afikomen, rabbinical Judaism shifted the meaning to that of dessert (since it was the last foot eaten during the seder). Ironically, it was a non-believing Jewish scholar from Oxford, David Daube, who completed the definitive work on the afikomen, both linguistically and historically, revealing its messianic origins.

However it is not just some Jewish people who misunderstand the identity of Yeshua. Many people around our world do not see him as the one who came to redeem them, and are looking for someone or something else.

The afikomen is a remarkable echo of the voice of Messiah, saying – “I came.” Did He come for you?

Matzah—The Sinlessness of Messiah

When G-d instructed the Israelites how to observer Passover, the people were told to eat only unleavened bread for seven days (Ex. 12:15).

You might be wondering, “Why is that bread called matzah?”

There is a simple answer to that question – because it is shaped like matzah. It has holes like matzah. It is dry like matzah. And it tastes like matzah. What else could it be but matzah?

Actually matzah is made from just flour and water. It has no yeast to make it rise. But it is not just ordinary flour; it is flour that has been carefully watched to insure that it never touches water until the time of baking. Then it is mixed and kneaded into dough quickly and baked within 18 minutes before any rising can take place. In addition to leaving out leavening, perforations are made with a sharp-toothed wheel to keep the dough from rising during baking.

All other foods made with ordinary grains are prohibited during the Passover holiday, such as wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Sephardic Jews (from the Mediterranean and the Middle East) limit the prohibition to the grains. Ashkenazi (European) Jews take it one step further and ban beans, peas, corn and rice. Basically the restriction refers to all grains that swell up when they come in contact with water.

There is a Second instruction regarding unleavened bread in Exod. 12:15. The people were to remove all leaven (chametz) from their homes before observing Passover. Because of this biblical ordinance, it has been customary to conduct major housecleaning projects just prior to the holiday. All rooms, especially the kitchen, are cleaned. So the search is made to remove leavened products prior to Passover—bread crumbs on the floor, tortilla chips behind the couch, forgotten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a backpack—all of these wayward foods are purged from homes.

As a final ceremonial act, the father of the house searches for the last remaining crumb of leaven. He scrapes it up using a feather and then destroys it, often in a bonfire. Finally the house is declared cleansed, and the family is ready to celebrate Passover.

In addition, many Jews will also use special pots, dishes, and utensils that have never come in contact with leaven. In Israel, large boiling pots are placed in neighborhoods for making kitchen items suitable for Passover. Grocery stores in Israel also set aside all leavened foods and cannot be purchased a week before Passover.

A few years ago, the drinking water of Jerusalem was declared not kosher for Passover because it primarily came from the Sea of Galilee, where fishermen used bread for bait. The Chief Rabbi, however, overturned the ruling and recommended filtering the water instead.

While some of the practices have changed, the basic concept of cleaning out leaven from homes dates back to biblical days.

It was this subject that the Apostle Paul used to convey the importance of spiritual purity in 1 Cor. 5:6-7, saying,

“Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.”

What was he saying here? In Scripture, leaven is consistently used as a symbol for sin (cf. Lev. 6:17; Hosea 7:4). Leaven works by starting out in a small amount and then spreading throughout the dough. Likewise, when we allow sin to start in our lives, it typically spreads within us. In other words, if we give in to one sin, we are more likely to commit another one.

Paul was using the metaphor of matzah to convey the importance of keeping our lives free of sin. And he bases that admonition on a very sobering fact. Continuing in 1 Cor. 5:7, he reminds us – “For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

It was this piece of matzah—the afikomen—that Yeshua took during that last Passover with His disciples and confirmed that He was the promised Messiah and redeemer of Israel. Just as every leader of everySeder was doing in Jerusalem in that day, Yeshua took the afikomen matzah and divided it into pieces for everyone to eat. As Matthew records,

“Yeshua took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples” (Matt. 26:26)

But unlike other families in that day, he alone was qualified to say that it represented himself. For he alone was without sin. Thus Matthew goes on to record Yeshua’s words in v. 26, saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

His body was sinless. His mind and His very being was sinless. This principle is depicted elsewhere in Scripture –

“And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.” (1 John 3:5)

Thus when we follow in His instructions to observe this memorial now known as the L-rd’s Supper, we are proclaiming the perfection of Christ. And as such, our symbol needs to represent that unique attribute of Christ. Not just any bread would suffice in the celebration of Passover. Likewise, when we celebrate the L-rd’s Supper, only unleavened bread accurately declares the sinless perfection of Christ.

Normally when people observe the L-rd’s Supper, there are some things that go unnoticed. Since Christians rarely receive the elements in the context of Passover, we don’t see the matzah being broken and hidden. We don’t notice that it was the second of three pieces of matzah, just as the Son is the second person of G-d’s tri-unity. Since the bread is usually broken into pieces for convenience, we miss out on the symbolism of the piercings and the stripes manifested on the whole wafers.

Yet the symbolism is powerful. As the prophet Isaiah recorded, “he was pierced through for our transgressions” (Is. 53:5). Both Isaiah and Peter observed that “by his stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:5; 1 Pet. 2:25). Like Messiah who was broken in death, the afikomen is broken during the Seder and later redeemed back by paying a price. And both the afikomen and the Messiah are hidden and then revealed. That is the way it is for all of us. At one point in our lives, we are unaware of who He truly is and what He has done for us. But a day comes when His true identity is revealed to us and through faith we become part of His everlasting kingdom.

The imagery is unmistakable – for us to be redeemed by G-d, sin must be removed from our lives. And ultimately the only way that can happen is through the forgiveness made possible by a Savior who gave His life for us, even though He Himself never sinned. The afikomen matzah is the symbol of that great gift.

The Cup—The Sacrifice of Messiah

So if the afikomen is the bread of the L-rd’s Supper, what is the connection between Passover and the Communion Cup?

During the Seder, the eating of the afikomen is followed by the drinking of the third cup of wine. It is traditionally called the Cup of Redemption. But in a broader sense, this was the cup, which Yeshua took and declared to represent the blood which he was about to shed, a sacrificial act that would allow our sins to be “passed over” in the Day of Judgment. According to Matt. 26:27-28,

“And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

Cups are often symbolic of judgment in Scripture. The prophets spoke of them frequently in that sense (Isa. 51:17; Jer. 49:12; Hab. 2:16) as did John in the book of Revelation (Rev. 14:10). And on the eve of his crucifixion, Yeshua referred to his imminent death as a cup (Matt. 26:39).

Redemption literally means in the biblical sense, “to pay a ransom.” In the same way that G-d delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Yeshua is able to deliver us from the slavery to sin. And quite literally, Yeshua paid the ransom with his very life.

Matt. 27:45 tells us Yeshua died between the 6th to 9th hour (in the way that time was reckoned in that day) which is 3:00-6:00 p.m. according to our measurement of time. What was happening at that time?

Thousands of his Jewish kinsmen were gathering in a designated area of the Temple in Jerusalem. Each one carried a lamb that was without spot or blemish—a visually perfect lamb. Each one laid his hands on the head of the animal, signifying his identification with it, and then sacrificed the animal and took it back to his home or where his family was staying to observe Passover. (Mishnah Pesahim 58a).

While this sacrificial ritual was taking place, a short distance away on another part of the same mountain top – a place called Golgotha, Yeshua was crucified. In other words, Yeshua’s death, in perfect divine timing, occurred at the very moment when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in Jerusalem. Surely He was the ultimate Passover lamb. As one who lived a sinless life, he was the perfect “lamb without spot or blemish.”

Amazingly, the method of His death on the cross was foreshadowed in the commemoration of Passover. The final plague that came upon Egypt was the death of the firstborn. As the Angel of Death passed over the land of Egypt during the night, only those homes that had the blood of a lamb placed upon the doorway were spared the plague. The Israelites were called to follow some very specific instructions -

“And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts.” (Ex. 12:22)

As G-d required, the blood was placed over the entrance to the home in the shape of a cross. So when the Angel of Death passed over those homes, it was the mark of blood in the shape of a cross that resulted in the sparing of their lives. Likewise, our sins are passed over eternally when our lives are “marked” with the blood of “the Lamb of G-d who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

During Passover, Jewish people are taught to consider themselves as having personally come forth from Egypt and as being eyewitnesses to the works of G-d. It is not just some distant ancestor who was passed over by the angel of death, and then marched across the Red Sea and received the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Every Jewish person in every generation is called to identify with this extended community.

In a similar fashion, may all of us who believe in Yeshua the Messiah consider ourselves as having come forth from Calvary and as being eyewitnesses to the works of the Savior. When He died on the cross, He died for me and for you.

For believers, these are days of true celebration—because our sins are forgiven, and our Messiah reigns from heaven. Yet He is still calling people from every tribe and language to receive His redemption. There is room for all of us beneath the Cross.

Dr. Galen Peterson
© 2003 American Remnant Mission

Jesus himself died (broken), was buried (hidden), and rose again (found) on the 17thday and we find deliverance through the glory of His resurrection!!!!!

Gen 17:2  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

Gen 17:3  And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

Gen 17:4  As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Gen 17:5  Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Gen 17:6  And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

Gen 17:7  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Gen 17:8  And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Gen 17:9  And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Gen 17:10  This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Gen 17:11  And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

Gen 17:12  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

Gen 17:13  He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Gen 17:14  And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Gen 17:15  And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

Gen 17:16  And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Did you know that grace began with the letter “H”?

Gen 17:5  Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Gen 17:15  And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

The letter “H” is the fifth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It is pronounced “he” or ‘hey” or “heh” and is translated as the word grace.

Abram’s name is changed to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah. Their names and the very meaning of them is changed to reflect their relationship to and with God. It can also represent the work of grace in our own lives. Notice that the “h” or grace is added to the middle of Abrahams name changing his name completely.

We are a new creature in Christ through grace.

2 Corinthians 5:16-18

2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Romans 8:14

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Ephesians 3:1-16

Eph 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

Eph 3:2  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

Eph 3:3  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Eph 3:4  Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Eph 3:5  Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

Eph 3:6  That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Eph 3:7  Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Eph 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Eph 3:13  Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Eph 3:14  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Eph 3:15  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

It is added to the end of Sarah’s name replacing the “i” taking me or myself completely out of the situation.

Grace is a gift of God

Ephesians 2:4-9

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 1:7

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins. He came to give us grace. Grace that we could not attain by ourselves. This grace that washes us clean. Grace that makes us whole and one with Him again. Grace that makes us a new heavenly creature and grace that is only a word away. If you don’t know Jesus as Savior, ask Him inot your heart today. Begin a relationship with Him. It won’t cost you anything and you will gain eternity.

Act 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Let us thank the Lord for His grace today and everyday.

And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

When we last saw Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, we found them involved in something straight out of the drama filled soap operas that you watch on T.V. during the day. Abraham and Sarah had been promised a child from God and a good amount of time has passed since that promise. So they decide to do what we all do as mortal humans who think we need to help God out because He is too slow and they come up with their own way to progress things along. Abe and Sarah are old at this point and they still can’t see just how God is going to give her loins the jump-start that they would need to produce children. Sarah tells Abraham to take her mistress, Hagar, an Egyptian, and to go into the tent with her and conceive a child with her. Well, as you would imagine, it all blows up in their face, because it was not the will of God and we see what usually happens. Abraham, Mr. Macho, blames it all on Sarah: “She’s your problem! Do whatever you want with her!” Sarah is jealous: “She is making fun of me and trying to take my spot as wife to Abraham!” and then there is Hagar: “These guys are crazy! I’m a strong woman and I am getting out of here!”

Now we find Hagar out in the wilderness, not knowing what to do and God comes to her

Through the Angel of the Lord and we see that He gives her some promises as well regarding this child

(v10)And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

God’s promise to multiply Hagar’s descendants is very similar to Abraham’s.

Gen 15:4  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 heir.

Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

(v11)And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

Ishmael means “God hears”

(v12)And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

This is something of a mixed blessing, although at the time, just to hear that he would survive was probably good news to Hagar. The term “wild man” suggests that Ishmael and his descendants would not be able to settle in one location. This passage also denotes that he and his descendants would be at war with everyone, yet endure.

Gen 25:12  Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

Gen 25:13  And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

Gen 25:14  And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

Gen 25:15  Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

Gen 25:16  These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.

Gen 25:17  And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

Gen 25:18  And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

The Qur’an states that Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son. The son is not named in the Qur’an (see Qur’an 37:99–113) and in early Islam, there was a controversy over the son’s identity[citation needed]. However the belief that the son was Ishmael prevailed, and this view is continued to be endorsed by Muslim scholars.[4] The argument of those Muslims who believed in the Ishmael theory was that “the promise to Sarah of Isaac followed by Jacob (Qur’an 11:71–74) excluded the possibility of a sacrifice of Isaac.”[4] The other party held that the son of sacrifice was Isaac since “God’s perfecting his mercy on Abraham and Isaac (in Qur’an 12:6) referred to his making Abraham his friend and saving him from the burning bush and to his rescuing Isaac.”.[4]

According to Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan, professors of Religious Studies, the circumcision of Muslims has its roots in the tradition that Ishmael was circumcised.[25]

The Bahá’í writings state that it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, who was the son that Abraham almost sacrificed.[26] However, the Bahá’í writings also state that the name is unimportant as either could be used: the importance is that both were symbols of sacrifice.[27] According to Shoghi Effendi, there has also been another Ishmael, this one a prophet of Israel, commonly known as Samuel.[28]

Ishmael’s descendants are considered the Arab peoples who populate most of the Middle East. The amazing thing is that the descendants of both Isaac and Ishmael are part of a very few groups of peoples to still exist today.

Perhaps this is the reason for such hatred between them that has lasted until our time. Both state the claim of being the true heir of Abraham, thus having the “Keys to the Kingdom” and being the true religion of God.

Both can’t be right.

Can both be wrong?

I can and will not give any judgment toward either group because I am not an expert of groups, mythology, history, or people. I can only state my belief as a Christian and as one, I am to side with Christ. To me then they don’t enjoy the full revelation of God, that being knowing the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Yet, at the same time, they would probably both look at myself and those like me as pluralistic God lovers who fell for some trick by some new age hucksters and a very poetic and powerful prophet.

How can we as Christians, shake our fists at them and tell them that they are dead wrong when they generally feel the same way I do toward their own beliefs as I do about mine?

I can’t judge them but I can stand up for my belief in Christ.

What do you think?

Also do you think that Hagar would identify with the God of Abraham and Sarah because of their actions? Could she have a different view of the God who came to her in the wilderness and possibly pass that along?

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?