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Genesis 15:1-17:27<\/strong><\/span> Genesis chapter 15:9-21 is the first Abrahamic Covenant.\u00a0 \u00a0It was an unconditional divine promise to fulfill the grant of the land to Abram and his descendants.\u00a0 Verses 5 & 6 in chapter 15 are powerful: \u201cThen the LORD brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, \u201cLook up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that\u2013too many to count!\u201d And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 And verse 6, the preceding sentence to this one I think is important for each of us to consider.\u00a0 Do we believe God\u2019s promises?\u00a0 What are God\u2019s promises for us?\u00a0 \u00a0Do we have faith that God\u2019s promises for us through his son Jesus are true?\u00a0 Even if we\u2019ve been walking with faith for a while now \u2013 are we still as \u201con fire\u201d with our faith as we once were?\u00a0 \u00a0Can we pray to God to show us his promises anew (or maybe for the first time) for our lives?\u00a0 Can we pray to God for faith like Abram\u2019s?\u00a0 It is believed that in the dark night sky of the ancient near east Abram could have seen up to 8,000 stars in the sky.\u00a0 Perhaps when God said the words above in verses 5 & 6 Abram saw a view of something like this below (image taken from NASA\u2019s Hubble Space telescope of the Sagittarious Star Cloud):<\/span><\/p>\n Today in Genesis chapter 16 we get another potential Jesus sighting in the OT!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 (Similar to our \u201cpotential\u201d with Melchizedek yesterday.)\u00a0 \u00a0I\u2019ll keep you posted on all our \u201cpotential\u201d Jesus sightings in the Old Testament \u2013 as seen by some commentaries.\u00a0 Some believe that the angel that appears to Hagar in the desert could be Christ pre-incarnate.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because the angel seems to be speaking in the first person, as if the angel is God \u2013 (and Jesus is God) \u2013 but yet the angel is not described as God the Father.\u00a0 \u00a0Check out verse 10 on this point \u2013 \u201cI will give you more descendants than you can count.\u201d\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Next point is that later in this chapter Hagar seems to be giving the angel a bit more credit of the angel \u201cjust being an angel\u201d, as you\u2019ll see here in verse 13: \u201cThereafter, Hagar referred to the LORD, who had spoken to her, as \u201cthe God who sees me,\u201d for she said, \u201cI have seen the One who sees me!\u201d\u201d <\/em>I guess I can see how some commentators go down this path\u2026\u00a0 Whaddya think?\u00a0 \u00a0Below is French painter James Tissot\u2019s watercolor \u201cHagar and the Angel in the Desert\u201d from the year 1896:<\/span> In Genesis chapter 17 we read about the second Abrahamic Covenant!\u00a0 This covenant was is a conditional divine pledge from God to be Abraham\u2019s God and the God of his descendents.\u00a0 The condition?\u00a0 Obedience and consecration to God as symbolized by circumcision.\u00a0 In verse 23 I think we see another example of Abraham\u2019s prompt obedience to God\u2019s will for his life: \u201cOn that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and every other male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, exactly as God had told him.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Abraham does not hesitate \u2013 does not wait one more day \u2013 he and every other male in his household get circumcised that very day!\u00a0 Are we prompt with our obedience to God\u2019s will in our lives?\u00a0 Or do we wait a day to move forward on what God is calling us to do?\u00a0 Or do we even wait a week?\u00a0 Or a year?\u00a0 Or a lifetime?\u00a0 What is God calling you to do?\u00a0 Will you be promptly obedient?\u00a0 Below is a stained glass image from England made in the year 1435 showing God giving this covenant to Abraham:<\/span> Bible.org\u2019s commentary on today\u2019s readings in Genesis titled \u201cThe Focal Point of Abram\u2019s Faith\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span> and \u201cGrasping the Great Truth of God\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video:<\/strong>\u00a0 Today\u2019s readings in Genesis 15:5 with God showing Abram the stars reminded me of The Afters song \u201cLight Up the Sky:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
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