GOD’S COVENANTS In our last article, we discussed the events at the Mountain of God Mount Sinai where Moses received God’s Ten Commandments—the Law, inscribed by the finger of God on Stone Tablets that the Israelites were to obey.  God’s next covenant is the Palestinian Covenant. This agreement concerns the Promised Land given to the Jewish people for permanent possession, and carries worldwide implications (Deuteronomy 30:1-10 NIV). While the term “Palestinian Covenant” is not found in Scripture, it is commonly used today. Because this covenant is unconditional, God alone will fulfill it perfectly.   A little background: The Israelites began as honored guests in Egypt but were eventually enslaved by the Pharaohs. After 430 years Moses, under God’s direction, led them…

In our last article, we covered Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to Mount Sinai, where he met with God on the mountain and was given 2 stone tablets with the Ten Commandments inscribed on them. After meeting 40 days with God, Moses returned to his people, with the tablets, and found them worshiping a Golden calf. Furious, he smashed the tablets, burned the Golden calf and disciplined the people. Moses returned to the mountain, where an angry God wanted to kill all the Israelites. Moses pleaded with God to spare the Israelites and He relented. (Exodus 32 NIV). Think about all the challenges that Moses faced while leading such a large contingent of Israelites through the wilderness; possibly…

In our last article, we covered the Abrahamic Covenant, God’s covenant of circumcision, whereby every Jewish male was to be physically circumcised as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. This covenant represents the Jewish people’s lifelong service to God and His law (Genesis 17:10-14 NIV). Even Jesus, who was Jewish, had to be circumcised, and He was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 2:21 NIV). “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in…

Many years have passed since Abram’s family came from Ur of the Chaldean nation into a new land. Abram’s wife Sarah has a son, Isaac, at a very old age, just as God promised. The Lord changed Abram’s name, which meant “high father,” to Abraham, which means “father of multitudes.” Remember, according to the Lord, Abram, now Abraham, will have many descendants that will continue to increase the population of this new nation, Israel, and they will bless the people of the world. One of their descendants will be the Messiah—the coming King. Now we come to what I would describe as a very delicate matter. God’s Covenant of Circumcision “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after…

In our last article God brought Abram and his family from Ur of the Chaldean nation, that was prosperous but steeped in idolatry, into a new land. God will make Abram’s people into a great nation (Israel), that will bless the entire world. (Genesis 12:1-3)Friends, imagine leaving your homeland and going to a new land. It must have been very exciting, but also somewhat frightening.Abram, being childless in His old age, wanted to know how God would fulfill His promise for descendants. The Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional in that God, Himself, will fulfill all of it, including giving Abram his own son. God fulfills this Covenant / Promise “The Lord said to Abram, “I am the Lord, who brought you…

Abrahamic Covenant / Part One God called Abram out from the land of Ur, a Chaldean nation located in what is today southern Iraq. This Chaldean nation was prosperous but steeped in idolatry.  “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Gen 12:1-3      Through Abram (later renamed Abraham) the Jewish nation, Israel, would be born.…

In Godʻs Covenant -1, we discussed the first of God’s seven Covenants/Promises He made with Mankind—the Adamic covenant: Mankind was created in God’s image and likeness Mankind was to rule over the animals. Mankind was to reproduce and inhabit the entire earth. During the next 1600 years, Mankind populated the earth, but they became exceedingly wicked—God regretted creating them. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the Earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So, the Lord said, ‘I will wipe from the face of…