Jesus Is Baptized and Begins His Ministry

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 1:1) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Mark began his retelling of the gospel, or good news, of Jesus Christ.  He acknowledged He was the Son of God.  Mark began by stating that what followed was the good news of Christ, not so much a life story, but the part that pertained to the salvation over death.

Mark was one of the extended group of disciples or followers of Jesus, a member of the early church.  The disciples met at his mother's home (Acts 12:12).  The early church leader Papias (c. 60-135 A.D.) wrote that Mark transcribed the teachings of Peter, so he had the eyewitness reports of Peter.  It is possible he witnessed the arrest of Jesus, as there is a veiled reference to that in his gospel account.  Called John Mark in references in the Bible, he probably wrote his account about 20 years after the death of Christ.

(2) As it is written in the prophets, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."

Mark began his gospel account with the prophecies in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, that God would send a messenger before Jesus who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

(3) "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'"

The rest of the prophecy speaks of a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.  This was, of course, John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah.  He did so in the wilderness that represented the lost world, and he made straight the crooked paths of false doctrine and faulty judgment.

(4) John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Mark went on to describe what John did in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord.  He preached repentance and performed baptisms as a sign of repentance for the remission of sins.

(5) And there went out to him all the land of Judea, and those of Jerusalem, and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

People from Jerusalem and all the region of Judea came out to see and hear John and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, after confessing their sins.

(6) And John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt about his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

John came very plainly, not in royal pomp and circumstance, but he lived an austere life in the wilderness, wearing animal skins and eating only what was readily available to him.  His only purpose was to proclaim the coming Messiah and prepare the way for Him.

(7) And preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen."

John preached about One coming after him who was much greater than he was, meaning, of course, the Messiah.  He described himself as being totally unworthy to even unstrap His sandals.

(8) "I indeed have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

It was as if John was saying not to rest solely in his water baptism.  His external water baptism was just a sign of a repentant heart, but the greater One coming after him would baptize the inner man with the Holy Spirit.

(9) And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

While John was preaching and baptizing in the wilderness, Jesus came to him for the expressed purpose of being baptized by him according to the account in Matthew (Matthew 3:13).  Jesus was indeed baptized by John in the Jordan River.

(10) And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.

As Jesus came up out of the water of His baptism, the heavens opened up, and the Holy Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove lighting on Him.

(11) And there came a voice from heaven, saying, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Matthew described it as the voice saying "This is My beloved Son..."  Mark described the voice as speaking directly to Jesus.  The point is that the three distinct persons of the Holy Trinity were represented here and well pleasing to God:  God the Father in heaven above, His Holy Spirit, and His Son in human form on earth.

(12) And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.

Immediately after His baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit deeper into the wilderness.  Matthew added in Matthew 4:1 that this was for the purpose of being tempted by the devil.

(13) And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Mark gave a very concise account of Jesus's temptations in the wilderness.  According to Matthew 4:2-11 Jesus was indeed there in the wilderness forty days and He was fasting, at which point Satan tempted our Lord when He was at His weakest as a human.  Of course, Jesus, having no sin in Him, did not give in to the temptations, and sent Satan packing, at which time the angels came and ministered to Him.

(14) Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

In the concise manner that Mark wrote this, it shows that when John's work was done and he was put into prison, then Jesus came into Galilee and began His ministry, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God.

(15) And saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel."

Jesus preached that the time of the Messiah, as foretold by the prophets, was at that time come.  He called the people to repent and believe His gospel.

(16) Now as He walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

As Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon, who was also called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, as they were fishermen.

(17) And Jesus said to them, "Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

Jesus called to Simon Peter and Andrew to come follow Him and He would make them fishers of men, surely a more excellent employment.

(18) And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Immediately they left the tools of their livelihood behind to follow Jesus.  There must have been some Holy Spirit guidance to have them give up all at Jesus's first call.

(19) And when He had gone a little further from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the ship mending their nets.

Jesus went a little further from where He had called Peter and Andrew, and He saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, also in the ship mending their nets.  Perhaps He had seen Peter and Andrew on one end of a ship casting their nets while James and John were mending their nets at the opposite end of the same ship, or perhaps also meant that they, too, were employed with nets for fishing.

(20) And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Jesus called James and John immediately upon seeing them, as you can be sure that they had been called long before their births for that time.  They also left their livelihoods and their father to join Jesus and follow Him.

(21) And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the sabbath day, He entered the synagogue and taught.

Jesus and His disciples went to Capernaum.  It seems it was on the Sabbath, and Jesus immediately entered the synagogue and taught.

(22) And they were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

The people were astonished at Jesus's teaching, for He taught as one with authority, one who really knew God and His doctrine, not as the scribes who would merely read off the pages.

(23) And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, (24) Saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God!"

There was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit, or spirits, as it appears from what they said to Jesus.  Perhaps rather the spirit was talking for all the other demonic spirits that possessed people all over the region.  The evil spirit recognized Jesus right away, even though the man it possessed probably did not up to that point.  If that doesn't prove Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against...spiritual wickedness..," I don't know what does!  If only we could remember that!  The spirit asked Jesus to leave them, all evil spirits, alone, saying they had nothing to do with Him, which of course they didn't, but He certainly had something to do with them as they destroyed men's souls.  The evil spirit asked if Jesus had come to destroy them, recognizing Him as the Holy One of God, who was quite capable of doing just that.

(25) And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Hold your peace and come out of him."

Jesus told the spirit to be quiet and commanded it to come out of the man it was possessing.

(26) And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried with a loud voice, it came out of him.

The evil spirit had to obey Jesus's command, but on its way out of the man, it caused the man to convulse and cry out in a loud voice.

(27) And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him."

The people in the synagogue were amazed and began to talk among themselves, wondering what they were witnessing.  They were hearing a doctrine spoken by someone who seemed to have authority, and they had never heard anything like that from the scribes.  He also had authority over unclean spirits that had to obey Him, and they had certainly never witnessed anything like that!

(28) And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region around Galilee.

Jesus's fame spread beyond Capernaum where He had taught in the synagogue and driven out the evil spirit, throughout all the region beyond Galilee, as people reported what they had witnessed.

(29) And immediately after they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

The sermon in the synagogue being over, Simon Peter and Andrew went home, and apparently invited Jesus, James, and John into their home, as well.

(30) But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and at once they told Him about her.

There in Simon Peter's home was also his mother-in-law who was sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her right away upon entering his house.

(31) And He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered to them.

Jesus came to the woman, took her by the hand, and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  She was so completely recovered that she then began to serve the men.

(32) And at evening when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were diseased and those who were possessed with devils.

In the evening, after the sun had set, and the Sabbath was over, when it was now seen as lawful to heal, they, either His disciples with Him at the time or more likely people hearing of his fame, brought to Jesus all manner of people who were diseased and those who were demon-possessed.

(33) And all the city was gathered together at the door.

All the inhabitants of the city of Capernaum were gathered at Peter's door to witness the healing of the people that had been brought to Jesus.

(34) And He healed many who were sick of diverse diseases, and cast out many devils, and did not allow the devils to speak because they knew Him.

Jesus healed many who were sick with various different diseases and He cast out many demons.  The verse does not mean to suggest He did not cure them all, but rather that the number who were cured was many.  The evil spirits who possessed people all knew Jesus, but He did not allow them to speak this time.  I believe the spirit was allowed to speak the first time to demonstrate to us that the spirit knew Jesus, but now it was not helpful to have all those demonic spirits testifying of Jesus, as it might seem to the people that He had a confederacy with them, as the Pharisees had suggested back in Matthew, that He worked miracles by the power of the devil.

(35) And in the morning, having risen a great while before day, He went out and departed to a solitary place and there prayed.

Very early the next morning Jesus left Peter's house and went to a solitary place to pray.  It is worthy to note how often Jesus prayed.  You would think as God, He didn't need to pray.  However, as man, He may have used prayer to strengthen Himself for the work at hand, or perhaps most importantly to teach us that we should pray about all things.

(36) And Simon and those with him followed after Him.

Simon Peter and probably just those who would have spent the night in Peter's house, certainly Andrew and perhaps James and John, followed after Jesus.

(37) And when they had found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for you."

It seems they may not have immediately followed after Jesus and seen where He had gone, but rather had to search for Him.  When they found Him, they told Him that everyone was looking for Him.

(38) And He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came."

Jesus was not concerned with the multitudes who were looking for Him, but rather suggested to His disciples that they go into other towns to also preach there, for that is the reason He had come into this world, to preach the Gospel.

(39) And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

Jesus indeed preached in the synagogues of the towns throughout Galilee.  Jesus also cast out devils.  Mark doesn't say here that Jesus healed people, but that He cast out devils.  I'm sure He did both, but it makes one wonder if many diseases are demon-caused?  Perhaps Mark was just making the point that Jesus came to destroy Satan and death.

I had to wonder at this point if Jesus was preaching throughout Galilee with just the four disciples He had called up to that time.  The answer can be found in Papias's description of Mark's writing, "Mark became Peter's interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done by the Lord."  Although Mark was accurate, he did not write events in the order that they occurred, so it is very likely that the twelve disciples were with Jesus by the time He taught throughout Galilee.

Another point of interest regarding the writings of Mark, is that Luke, when beginning his gospel account, wrote in the first verse of the first chapter that he would "set forth in order" the events in the gospel, and then again in verse 3, "It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you in order..."  It really does seem that Luke is making the point that his gospel would be in order, whereas others, probably particularly Mark, had not written the events in order.  That is not to say that Luke disputed anything that Mark wrote, as he appears to have quoted Mark more often than any other source.  Luke 1:2 acknowledges that "...those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us."  However, Luke set out to write it in a more orderly fashion.

(40) And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying to Him, "If You will, You can make me clean."

While Jesus was preaching in the towns throughout Galilee, there came to Him a leper on his knees begging Him to heal him.  The man had no doubt that Jesus could heal him, but he asked that He be willing to do it for him.

(41) And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean."

Jesus was moved with compassion for the man who had so humbly sought His help.  He reached out and touched the man, which was actually unlawful to do, to touch anything unclean.  He told the man He was willing to make him clean, and commanded so.

(42) And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

As soon as Jesus spoke the command to be clean, the leprosy left the man and he was cleansed.  It was not necessary that Jesus touch the unclean man; He could have just commanded he be healed.  I believe the reason is in the statement that Jesus was moved with compassion, with love for this poor man who had so long suffered, who had come to Him humbly, having faith He could cure him if He wanted.  Jesus loves all us poor sinners, and He came to be in the midst of our filthy sinful world to rescue us all.  I believe with His gesture, Jesus showed us that no sin is too unclean or too bad that He cannot forgive and heal us.  Another way to look at this is that Jesus saw the man as he was, as God created him to be.  He was not unclean; he was a victim of sin in a sinful world.  As Jesus touched him, he indeed was made clean.

(43) And He sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, (44) And said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Jesus sternly warned the man to say nothing about Jesus's healing of him, but to go immediately to the priest, make his offering as commanded by Moses in the law, and be pronounced clean by the priest as the law required, and that would be his public testimony.  Although he was completely cleansed by Jesus, at that time, Jesus wanted to have him obey the law and not bring unwanted attention too soon to Jesus's ministry.  It was not the time yet.  Besides, another reason might have been that people would not have judged him to be truly clean if they knew it came from Jesus and not from the priest's proclamation that he was genuinely cured.

(45) But he went out and began to publish it much and blaze the matter abroad, so much that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every quarter.

Despite Jesus's stern charge, the man went out spreading the good news of his healing far and wide.  I'm sure it was not with any bad intention to disobey Jesus, but he was so overjoyed, he could not contain himself.  However, the result was that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but He stayed out in more deserted places, but still the people came to him from all over.

In this first chapter of Mark, he tells how Jesus began His ministry.  He did not write about Jesus's birth and early years, as some of the other gospel writers did, but began with what he called from the beginning, "the gospel of Jesus Christ," His message and ministry.

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Part 2

Because Blogger only allows twenty labels per post, and all the names of Jesus's ancestors are important to note, I have divided this subject into three posts.  The genealogy began in the below linked post:

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Part 1

Continuing the list of ancestors:

(Matthew 1:6) And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her who had been the wife of Uriah.

David was the youngest of Jesse's sons, despised by his brothers, yet God chose him and anointed him to be king, and set him on the throne of Israel, which was symbolic of the coming king Messiah.  Other kings are named in this genealogy, but only David is noted as "the king", because to him was given the promise of the kingdom of the Messiah, Who was said to inherit the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32).  David had taken Bathsheba, the wife of another man, Uriah, and committed adultery with her.  The child from that first encounter died, but Bathsheba, as later David's wife, bore Solomon.

(7) And Solomon begat Rehoboam, and Rehoboam begat Abijah, and Abijah begat Asa.

Solomon's son Rehoboam succeeded him as king; then Rehoboam's son Abijah ruled; and Abijah's son was King Asa.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, pointed out there was quite a mixture of good and bad in the succession of these kings; wicked Rehoboam begat wicked Abijah, and wicked Abijah begat good Asa, and the good and bad continued down the line.  Henry noted, "Grace does not run in the blood, neither does reigning sin. God's grace is his own, and he gives or withholds it as he pleases."

(8) And Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Jehoram; and Jehoram begat Uzziah.

Good king Asa begat good Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat begat wicked Jehoram.  Then there were actually three names left out of the succession--Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah.  As with many instances in scripture, Jehoram said to beget Uzziah simply means Uzziah descended directly from Jehoram, which is all that is necessary to prove the lineage of David to the Messiah.  The commentators I study offer different explanations of this.  One plausible explanation is that they had been purposely omitted from the Jewish registers because of the curse denounced on Ahab's family, into which Jehoram married, whose idolatry was punished to the third or fourth generation.  Their omission doesn't change the fact that Uzziah was a direct descendant of Jehoram.

(9) And Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah.

From Uzziah came Jotham, and Jotham begat Ahaz, to whom was given a great prophecy of the coming Messiah, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).  The son of Ahaz was Hezekiah.

(10) And Hezekiah begat Manasseh, and Manasseh begat Amon, and Amon begat Josiah.

Manasseh, a wicked king, was the son of Hezekiah, and his son was Amon, very wicked, as well.  Amon's son was Josiah, a pious king who had been prophesied of by name hundreds of years before his birth (1 Kings 13:2).

(11) And Josiah begat Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

Jeconiah was actually the grandson of Josiah, his father being Josiah's son Jehoiakim.  His brothers were actually his uncles, sons of Josiah.  As often the case in scripture, because they all directly descended from Josiah, they are called sons.  The Babylonian captivity occurred during the lifetime of Jeconiah and his uncles.

Again because Blogger limits the number of labels per post, I will continue in the next post:

Part 3 of Genealogy of Jesus Christ, and His Birth

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Part 1

I have been challenged to stop my current chronological Bible study and study only what Jesus said.  Although I feel like God gave us the entire Bible for a reason, and those who pick and choose only the parts they like are "...according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).  The argument was that Jesus fulfilled the law, meaning there is no more law, and the letters can't be trusted because they were just written by men who were only writing their interpretation of what it was to follow Christ.  Only Jesus's words mattered, and Jesus never said anything about homosexuality or abortion or transgenderism or much of any of today's cultural issues.  (Never mind the fact that men wrote down what Jesus said.)  However, I accepted the challenge.  I know that regardless of any arguments, I will learn a lot from the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

(Matthew 1:1) The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 

The first verse of Matthew acts as a sort of title for what was to follow:  The genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, and Son of Abraham.  Jesus came from the line of David and Abraham.  It had been promised to Abraham that the Christ should descend from him, "...in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3), and, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice" (Genesis 22:18).  There is only One who could bless every family of every nation on earth, and that is Jesus Christ.  The prophecy was also made to David and by David, "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom" (2 Samuel 7:12), and, "The LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it, 'I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body'" (Psalm 132:11).

(2) Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers.

Abraham's son was Isaac, and from Isaac came Jacob, and from Jacob came Judah.  There were also prophecies about Jesus (Shiloh) being descended from Judah, one being, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10).  The meaning of Shiloh was "tranquility, safety" and both of those describe the Messiah who would make peace between God and men, and would save men from their sins.  Another prophecy is, "Yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the chief ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s" (1 Chronicles 5:2).  Jesus is called the Lion of Judah:  "And one of the elders said to me, 'Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose its seven seals'" (Revelation 5:5).  Also of note about Judah, as well as other of Jesus's ancestors like Jacob, David, and others, the ancestor was often a younger brother, demonstrating that the preeminence of Christ did not come from the primogeniture of His ancestors, as earthly princes did, but from the will of God.

(3) Judah begat Pharez and Zerah by Tamar, Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Aram.

Judah had twins Pharez and Zerah by Tamar, his daughter-in-law, and Jesus descended from Pharez through his son Hezron, and Hezron's son Aram, called Ram in the Old Testament.  It is interesting to note that Tamar was actually an adulteress and played a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law, although when you read her entire story, she was deemed more righteous than Judah.  Bathsheba, also in the line of Christ, as David's wife, was an adulteress.  Rahab, also an ancestor of Christ, was a Canaanite harlot.  In Deuteronomy 23, we just learned that descendants of an illegitimate child were forbidden from ever entering "into the congregation of the Lord", yet God sent "His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3). Additionally, Ruth, also in the line of Christ, was a Moabitess, and we were also told in Deuteronomy 23 that a Moabite was forbidden from entering into the congregation of the Lord.  However, there came Jesus Christ, the Messiah, as prophesied in Isaiah 56, through whom God would give to all such imperfect sinful people in His house and within His walls "a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters." 

(4) And Aram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat Salmon.

Aram's son was Amminadab, and Amminadab's son was Nahshon, who was named prince of the tribe of Judah in the book of Numbers.  Nahshon fathered Salmon.

(5) And Salmon begat Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed by Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse.

Salmon and Rahab, the Canaanite harlot who was justified by works when she received the Israelite spies into her house and sent them out a secret way (Joshua 2, James 2:25), brought forth Boaz.  Boaz married Ruth, the Moabitess, and they begat Obed, who was the father of Jesse.  John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, pointed out that "Salmon, Boaz, and Obed, must each of them have been near a hundred years old, at the birth of his son here recorded."  Wesley suggested that it was owing to "the providence of God (that) was peculiarly shown in this."  However, Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, wrote that "Jesse is thought to be, not the immediate son of Obed, but to be of the fourth generation from him; though no others are mentioned between them in Ruth, any more than here.  A Jewish writer observes, that 'the wise men of the Gentiles say, that there were other generations between them; perhaps,' says he, 'they have taken this from the wise men of Israel, and so it is thought.'"  Even if this were true, Jesse may be said to be begotten by Obed, just as others in scripture are said to be sons when in fact they might have been grandsons or great-grandsons.  We can be sure that Jesse was a direct descendant of Obed.

I will stop this post with this, as Blogger only allows twenty labels per post, and all these names of Jesus's direct ancestors are important to note.  The genealogy of Jesus is continued in the next post:

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Part 2

Departure From Egypt

Continuing a chronological Bible study with an order set forth by Skip Andrews:

(Exodus 12:40) Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

In actuality, it was not 430 years that the Israelites had lived in Egypt, but it had been exactly 430 years since God first made His promise to Abraham.  The "sojourning" of the people who had most recently been in Egypt was their dwelling in a land that was not theirs until the fulfillment of God's promise. This was confirmed by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:17, when he said, "And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect."  The Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, and others, expressed it the most succinctly:  "from Abraham's entrance into the promised land to the birth of Isaac, was 25 years; Isaac was 60 at the birth of Jacob; Jacob was 130 at his going into Egypt; where he and his children continued 215 years more; making in the whole 430 years."

(41) And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that very same day, it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. (42) It is a night to be much observed to the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt; this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Incredibly, according to this scripture, it was 430 years to the day from the time God made His promise to Abraham that He would make him a great nation.  I can't prove it, but I will take this scripture at its marvelous word that it would be so intentional of God to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt on the anniversary of His promise to Abraham.  It was a night to be much observed and continually remembered throughout their generations as the night the Lord brought the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt.

Now the chronological order takes me to Numbers 33:

(Numbers 33:1) These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. (2) And Moses wrote their goings forth of their journeys by the commandment of the LORD; and these are their journeys according to their goings forth. (3) And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. (4) For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them; upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.

This chapter of Numbers was written by Moses at the command of the Lord to be a record of the travels of the children of Israel through the wilderness.  These first verses tell how the journeys began; the children of Israel went out of the land of Egypt with their armies, suggesting their great numbers went out in an orderly fashion, under the command of Moses and Aaron.  It is said that the Israelites departed from Rameses, which will be confirmed when we return to the original history in Exodus.  They left in what was now the first month, Abib, on the fifteenth day, on the day after the first Passover.  They left boldly with their heads and hands held high in the sight of all the Egyptians, because the Egyptians were too busy burying their dead, their firstborn, whom the Lord of the Israelites had killed in judgment against their false gods.  Throughout all the plagues the Lord sent upon the Egyptians, their gods proved useless against the power of the Lord God of the Israelites.

(Exodus 12:37) And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot, besides children.

We were told repeatedly in scripture that the Israelites dwelled in the land of Goshen.  Here is confirmed in the original history that the children of Israel departed from Rameses, which according to Genesis 47:11, was a place in Goshen, or perhaps Goshen itself:  "And Joseph placed his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded."  They journeyed first from Rameses to Succoth, which meant "booths", and had been named by Jacob in Genesis 33:17:  "And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle; therefore the name of the place is called Succoth."  Ironically, it was the first place the Israelites camped, possibly in tents or booths.  What a vast army it was that left Rameses, 600,000 men, excluding children (and probably excluding women, as well)!  If the women and children were counted, it is not unreasonable to assume there could have been as many as two million people who departed Egypt.  No wonder Pharaoh fought so hard to keep them enslaved!

(Numbers 33:5) And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.

(Exodus 12:38) And a mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds, very much cattle.

Along with the 600,000 men who left Rameses on foot was a mixed multitude, which sounds like people other than children of Israel who chose to follow God's people.  You would hope they followed (and were allowed to follow) because they came to trust in the one true God of the Israelites, but as will be later pointed out, the "mixed multitude" would prove to be a snare to them (Numbers 11:4); so it is likely they left Egypt because their own country had just been laid waste by the plagues.  A great deal of livestock also came out of Egypt with the children of Israel.

(39) And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, nor had they prepared for themselves any provision.

Camping in Succoth, they baked unleavened cakes of the dough they had brought out of Egypt.  Interesting, the original word translated as "cakes", "uggah" literally meant "ashcake" and conjures up the picture of the people baking their cakes on top of the coals or in a pan on top of hot ashes.  Once again we are reminded they had to leave in a hurry and had no prepared provisions; they had only their livestock and their unleavened dough.

(Exodus 12:43) And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: there shall no stranger eat of it."

The Lord delivered to Moses and Aaron rules concerning how the Passover was to be observed.  No stranger was to eat of it.  The original words translated as "stranger" were "ben" and "nekar", which meant "son" and "foreign"; no son of a foreigner should eat of the Passover.

(44) “But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. (45) A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat of it."

However, every man's servant who had been bought with money and was therefore his "property", so to speak, once he had been circumcised, he was then allowed to eat of the Passover.  That was in keeping with what God had told Abraham back in Genesis 17:13, that any servant born in a man's house and any bought with his money needed to be circumcised, and that made him a true member of the family and entitled to all religious privileges.  However, continuing with verse 45, foreigners and hired servants were not allowed to eat of the Passover.  A different word was used for "foreigner" than was used for "stranger" in verse 43.  A "toshab", or "sojourner", denoted someone passing through for the purpose of travel or merchandise, but not someone who planned to stay.  No foreigner passing through, nor a son of a foreigner who had stayed, were allowed to eat of the Passover.  Nor could a hired servant, as opposed to one bought with money, eat of it.

(46) “In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones."

Another rule of the Passover was that it was to be eaten within one household and not carried over to another household.  That was in keeping with the initial command in Exodus 12:3-4 to take a lamb according to the size of the household and if one lamb was too large for one household, then they were to share with their neighbors.  But once two households were brought together under one roof to eat the Passover, it was to be eaten there, and none of it carried outside.  No bones of the Passover lamb were to be broken.  I can't really see a reason why this was to be the case in this first Passover lamb other than the fact it is an exact picture of the perfect Lamb of God sacrifice whose bones were not to be broken when He was crucified.  Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, suggested it might be because the Passover lamb was to be eaten in haste, and there was no time to cut and separate the bones, or break tender bones to get the marrow.  That could be, as other rituals of the Passover point to the haste of that first Passover night, but I do believe the fact that this first lamb was symbolic of the true perfect Passover Lamb of God, that alone provides the best explanation as to why no bones were to be broken.

(47) “All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. (48) And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land, for no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. (49) One law shall be to him who is homeborn, and to the stranger that sojourns among you."

All the congregation of Israel was to observe the Passover.  When a stranger among them wished to keep the Passover, then he and all the males in his household had to be circumcised, and then he would be joined to the congregation of Israel as one born in the land would be, and would have the right to join in the Passover.  I found it interesting that Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, wrote, "This was a mortification to the Jews, and taught them that it was their dedication to God, not their descent from Abraham, that entitled them to their privileges. A sincere proselyte was as welcome to the passover as a native Israelite."  The law would be the same for the native Israelite and to the stranger who dwelt among the Israelites; the Israelites were circumcised at eight days, and any stranger who wished to keep the Passover would also be circumcised, along with all the males in his household, and all would keep the same rules of the Passover that have been previously discussed.

(50) Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. (51) And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
 
On this very first Passover of the Lord, the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron.  It was the same day the Lord did as He had promised and brought the children of Israel out of Egypt as armies, in large orderly numbers marching with boldness, not in fear running for their lives.

(Exodus 13:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

All the firstborn of man and beast were to be separated and set aside for the Lord; they were the Lord's.  Actually, all are the Lord's anyway, but the firstborn specifically had been saved from destruction as all the firstborn of the Egyptians had been killed.

(3) And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place; there shall no leavened bread be eaten."

After the Lord spoke to Moses, he went to the people and began by reminding them that this was the day the Lord Himself, by His mighty hand that wrought the miraculous plagues, had brought them out of bondage.  No leavened bread was to be eaten on this day in its annual remembrance.

(4) "This day you came out, in the month Abib. (5) And it shall be when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month."

The day they came out was in their new first month of Abib, which was about April, or even parts of our March and April.  Rather than an exact match to one of our present Gregorian calendar months, Abib represented the beginning of spring, when the tender young ears of corn and wheat began to ripen.  "Abib" meant "a young ear of grain" and was actually used to mean "ear(s)" in a couple of other places in the Bible. When the Lord brought them into the land of Canaan, now inhabited by several other nations of people, that wonderfully fertile land plentiful in all things, they were instructed to keep this annual service in that particular month.

(6) “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. (7) Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with you, nor shall there be leaven seen with you in all your quarters."

Moses went on to remind the people about how to keep the annual service of the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord when they came to the land of Canaan.  For seven days they were to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day they would have a feast to the Lord.  Not only were they to eat unleavened bread for seven days, but no leavened bread should even be seen among them on their person or in any of their quarters.  I have read that the Jews took great care in searching out every corner of their houses to remove any leavened bread before the Passover.  The care and strictness of this command made sure that they really thought about what they were doing, and had another purpose indicated in the next verse:

(8) “And you shall show your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.’ (9) And it shall be for a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. (10) You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year."

One very important reason to keep a memorial with certain rules is that in performing the rituals it would provide an opportunity to teach the next generation about why they did the things they did because of what the Lord had done for them.  They were to keep the symbols of the first Passover at hand and the facts of it constantly on their minds so that they would be able to speak of it and teach with knowledge about how the Lord mightily brought them out of Egypt.  They were to keep the ordinance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread at this same time every year.

(11) “And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, (12) That you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, every firstborn that comes from a beast which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s."

Moses continued with further instructions from the Lord to the people.  When the Lord brought them into the land of the Canaanites as He had promised, they were to set apart to the Lord their firstborn.  Interestingly, the original word translated as "set apart" was "abar" and it meant "to pass over"!  The word has a multitude of applications and implications, but the primary definition is "pass over".  I find that fascinating!  The word translated as "open" was "peter" or "pitrah", and it specifically meant the first to open.  All that open the womb are the first ones to break through or open the womb for the first time.  All the firstborn of the Israelites, including the firstborn of their animals, specifically the firstborn males were to be the Lord's.  The Lord had passed over their firstborn when He sent the destroyer to kill all the firstborn in Egypt, and now they were to be set apart or passed over to the Lord.  All the firstborn were the Lord's, those He took away, and these He passed over and allowed to live, and now these should be dedicated to Him.

(13) "And every firstling of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem."

It was only to be the firstborn of clean animals that was to be set apart for the Lord.  Therefore, the firstborn of a donkey was to be redeemed with a lamb in its place.  If it was not redeemed, maybe because they didn't have a lamb, it was to be destroyed.  The firstborn unclean animal was still the Lord's and was not to be used by the owner, but more than that, it was a perfect picture of those who are not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, who are destroyed.  The animals who were set apart for the Lord were sacrificed to Him, so obviously He would not have the firstborn sons of the Israelites sacrificed, so they, too, had to be redeemed.  I need to point out that instead of "sons", the KJV translated the original word "ben" as "children".  Usually, I trust the KJV to be a more accurate translation than the newer NKJV and NIV, etc. (see this post on an explanation why), but in this case the KJV used the word "children".  Although the word meant "sons" or "children" either one, its primary definition and the one obviously meant here is "sons".

(14) "And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (15) And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast; therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’"

Once again, an important aspect of all these instructions was that it provided an opportunity to teach the next generation so that the Israelites would never forget what the Lord had done for them in delivering them from bondage by Pharaoh.  Because the Lord had slain all the firstborn of Egypt, but had delivered the Israelites, including all their firstborn, they now gave back to the Lord their firstborn.  The animals were given in sacrifice to Lord, but sons were redeemed with lambs.

(16) "And it shall be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets between your eyes; for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

These instructions pertaining to setting aside the firstborn for the Lord, and especially the remembrance of the history that led to it, would be as signs on their hands and conspicuous ornaments on their foreheads, never to be forgotten.

(17) And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” (18) But God led the people around through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

Moses had stopped giving God's instructions to the people, and now scripture returned to God's leading of the people out of Egypt.  God purposely did not lead them through what apparently would have been the most likely route.  If they met the Philistines who likely would have hindered their passage, they probably would have wanted to retreat back to Egypt.  God was leading them away from temptation to cut and run.  What a beautiful example of God's higher purposes and actions because of His omniscience!  How many times do we question "Why me?" when things are a little more difficult than we think they ought to be, when in fact, God may be helping us to avoid a worse situation?  Even if it's not to avoid something we would consider worse, we can still be sure it is for our benefit.  Perhaps we need the experience and spiritual growth that will come from our situation; we certainly should learn that we can trust God in all circumstances.  God instead led His children through the wilderness by the Red Sea; and they went out "harnessed" or "arrayed as soldiers", that is, not secretly, but marching out in an orderly fashion.

(19) And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you.” (20) And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, as Joseph had taken an oath recorded in Genesis 50:25, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”  The children of Israel journeyed from Succoth, where they had first camped when they left Egypt.  They next camped in Etham, at the edge of the wilderness.

(Numbers 33:6) And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.

Chronologically, the verse in Numbers 33:6 relates to the same time and event as recorded in Exodus 13:20--the children of Israel left their first camp at Succoth and camped at Etham, at the edge of the wilderness.

(Exodus 13:21) And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night. (22) He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

The Lord was now the Israelites' personal guide as He led them through the wilderness.  He was a cloud in the day which not only led them in the direction they were to go, but also shielded them from the hot scorching sun.  At night He was a pillar of fire which again led them, but also gave them light and warmth at night.  The pillars never left the people; they were their constant companions until they reached their promised land.  I have been fascinated to learn that the old commentators of the Bible believed that Jesus Christ was the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire in the wilderness.  They pointed to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:9, when he said, "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents."  That scripture referred to an incident that would occur while the children of Israel were in the wilderness.  Actually, when you consider the following that Christ was the Word of God, then I suppose every time the Lord spoke, Christ was present:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. - John 1:1-3

(Exodus 14:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea."

After they camped at Etham, the Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel to turn from their direct path and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the Red Sea.  They were to position their camp opposite Baal Zephon.  A lot of ancient places are named here, which are difficult for me to understand and place, but God was being very specific in directing the people away from their path toward Horeb, the place previously appointed for serving God.  I believe the point is that God was leading them toward the Red Sea with no other way out but through the sea.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, wrote, "...but, instead of going forward, they are ordered to turn short off, on the right hand from Canaan, and to march towards the Red Sea. Where they were, at Etham, there was no sea in their way to obstruct their passage: but God himself orders them into straits, which might give them an assurance that when his purposes were served he would without fail bring them out of those straits."  God was positioning His people for another mighty miraculous deliverance.

(Numbers 33:7) And they moved from Etham and turned again to Pi Hahiroth, which is before Baal Zephon; and they camped before Migdol.

Chronologically, this verse in Numbers, chapter 33, confirmed that the people did just as the Lord told Moses to have them do.  The word and words used to signify "before" in the preceding verses doesn't always mean specifically "before they reached the place named"; the words can mean "before", "near", "beyond", "facing", any number of words expressing "near", so I have no doubt that this verse in Numbers states that the people did exactly as God had instructed.  I am quite certain they were about to be hemmed in on all sides when the enemy came at their backs and there was only the Red Sea before them, but that is for the next study.

Jesus Christ in the Old Testament?

Continuing with a Bible study of Abraham:

(Genesis 15:1) After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram; I am your shield, and your exceedingly great reward."

I love this!  I love the message, but I also love pondering the vision itself.  How does a spoken word come in a VISION, something that is visible, something that is seen?  When it is the Word of the Lord, Jesus Christ!  This is the same Jesus who hasn't appeared on the earth in a physical human form yet, but the One who has been in existence since the beginning, as told beautifully in John, chapter 1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (v. 1-5)

Are those not the same words Jesus repeated throughout the New Testament?  "Fear not" anything, not even them who kill the body, because I (Jesus) am your salvation and your reward; My grace is sufficient for thee and my strength is made perfect in weakness; I am your shield.  I just love seeing glimpses of Jesus Christ and God's plan from the beginning in the Old Testament!

(2) And Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?" (3) And Abram said, "Behold, You have given to me no seed; and, lo, one born in my house is my heir."

God had already told Abram his seed would be as the dust of the earth, too numerous to be counted.  Abram's question here is, in a sense, "How will You accomplish it, seeing I go childless?"  Eliezer is, as the head steward of Abram's house, Abram's heir since he had no children.  How is this to be Abram's seed too numerous to count?  Abram has faith in His Lord, but he cannot understand how fulfillment of the promise can happen.

(4) And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who shall come forth out of your own body shall be your heir." (5) And He brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your seed be." (6) And he believed in the LORD, and He counted it to him for righteousness.

God reiterated His promise to Abram, and assured him that his heir would be his own child.  And Abram believed "IN THE LORD", and it was counted to him for righteousness.  It is probably no accident that the scripture is worded this way.  We assume that Abram believed what God had told him, but it was more than that.  From Abram's seed would come the Messiah, the One who would be the righteousness for all who believed in Him as Lord and Savior, the spotless sacrifice for their sins.  THAT is where our faith must be!  Not in the thing that is promised, as will become evident in future studies, but in the LORD.

(7) And He said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give this land to inherit it."

"I am the LORD who brought you out of"...insert any personal place or situation here.  The significance here is that the Lord brought Abram out of a lost world to save him.  Giving the land to him is just a part of the promise; the most important part is the salvation that will come from the seed of Abraham, in the form of Jesus Christ.

(8) And he said, "Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?"

It sounds as if Abram is asking for a sign, but I don't think that is really what is meant here.  Once again, Abram just can't understand how the Lord will accomplish His promise.  We are told more than once that Abram believed God, so I don't believe he is asking for a sign to prove anything.  He already believes, but he also knows he is past the age (or more importantly, his wife is past the age) of bearing children, so he can't fathom it will happen in the natural way, so he wonders how he will know when it happens. 

(9) And He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

Abram may have been expecting a sign from heaven, but God begins by asking for obedience.  I believe this is no accident; obedience to God is paramount.  It continues to play a part throughout the process of bringing God's plan to fruition.  God asks for three-year-old animals.  Dr. John Gill points out that the early Levitical law required creatures of only a year old to be offered for sacrifice.  The significance of God's asking for three-year-old animals is that these animals were at their full growth and full strength, and nearest their greatest perfection. God must be served with the best we have.

(10) And he took all these to Him and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece against another, but the birds he did not divide.

There is a general consensus among the old commentaries that the division of the animals refers to a covenant between two parties.  Adam Clarke took it a step further showing incidents in history where the separation of the animals also was symbolic of what would happen to the offending party if it broke the covenant, to submit to the punishment of being cut asunder.  One such incident is when Xerxes ordered one of the sons of Pythius to be cut in two, and one half to be placed on each side of the way so that his army might pass through between them.  There are scriptures that seem to suggest punishments like this, as well:  The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill." (Daniel 2:5); And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:51); The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:46).

The birds are two without being divided.  There are varying ideas on what this represented with some along the lines of the fact that Abram's people would be torn asunder, but would afterward be rejoined.  Some scholars suggest that the animals chosen represented idolatrous nations, as sometimes in scripture those animals are used to describe such nations, as in "Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me." (Psalms 22:12); "The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia." (Daniel 8:20); and "And the rough goat is the king of Greece". (Daniel 8:21); and the Israelites are compared to doves.  I'm not sure that latter interpretation totally works for me, although there are often many truths found in prophecy, I can't deny.  However, since this is a covenant between God and Abram's descendants, I believe that the animals cut in two do represent the two parties, and the Israelites are indeed often "cut asunder" when they break their part of the covenant and follow after idols, but a remnant is always preserved whole.  Also one of the whole birds is a dove, which is often used to represent God's Holy Spirit.  Abram's descendants will be made whole again and will live through Jesus Christ.  I can't help but think of the dove descending upon Jesus after He was baptized: "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him." (Matthew 3:16)

(11) And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

I love what Matthew Henry writes about this verse: "While God's appearing to own His sacrifice was deferred, Abram continued waiting, and his expectations were raised by the delay; when the fowls came down upon the carcasses to prey upon them, as common and neglected things, Abram drove them away, believing that the vision would, at the end, speak, and not lie. Note, a very watchful eye must be kept upon our spiritual sacrifices, that nothing be suffered to prey upon them and render them unfit for God's acceptance. When vain thoughts, like these fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we must drive them away, and not suffer them to lodge within us, but attend on God without distraction."  In a word - patience.  We must wait upon the Lord.  I love it!

(12) And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. (13) And He said to Abram, "Know certainly that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. (14) And also that nation whom they will serve, I will judge; and afterward they will come out with great substance. (15) And you will go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. (16) But in the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

As the sun was going down and Abram fell into a deep sleep, the Lord spoke in prophecy to him.  He told him that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and that they would have to serve and would be afflicted by that nation for four hundred years.  After that time God would punish the nation that enslaved them and they would come out with great riches.  But Abram would die in peace and not have to see the affliction of his descendants.  His descendants would return to this land in the fourth generation (four hundredth year), for then God would judge the iniquity of the Amorites in this land his descendants were to possess.

(17) And it came to pass, that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold (there appeared) a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

Surely the burning lamp represents God passing between those pieces cut in two, indicating He is a party to this covenant.  The smoking furnace may be the afflicted descendants of Abram.  John Wesley gives us a good analogy; they were in the furnace of affliction, their eyes so darkened by smoke that they could not see the end of their troubles.

(18) In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, (19) The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, (20) And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, (21) And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

Thus the Lord indicates this is a done deal.  He has given this land to Abram's descendants.  Before God had said He will give it to Abram; now He said He has given it, from the river in Egypt (probably the Nile) to the Euphrates, the land of the ten tribes named above.  This covenant is sealed and delivered; the possession of the land is as sure in due time, as if it were actually delivered to Abram's descendants now.

The Result of Rejection of God

I was very saddened to see celebratory comments about Obama's support of "full marriage equality" on Facebook recently.  I was equally saddened and even sickened by the excitement over Hollywood "stars" and their financial support for Obama and his endorsement of same-sex marriage.  This is just one more step in a further rejection of God and His righteous laws in this country.  There are countless reasons why it is not good for a society to promote homosexuality, but I don't even care to debate that.  When I first started this blog, I was very concerned about the social issues and the destructive direction of our country's laws.  But as time goes on, I have come to realize that we are nearing the end times and the salvation of this country is not what is important, but rather a person's salvation in Christ.  Oftentimes a person is brought to salvation because things are so bad and he is at the end of what HE can do and turns to God.  So things being bad in this country can actually bring about good things.  But to celebrate the bad?  There are people who really believe they are being loving and respectful of others by supporting homosexuality and elevating it to the status of God-ordained marriage with no regard to what God said about it.  It makes me sad for the people who do not realize what it is they do, for God made it very clear that it is nothing to be celebrated.  He called homosexuality an abomination (Lev. 18:22 and Lev. 20:13) and the Bible said that Sodom and Gomorrah were to be used as examples to those who would afterward live ungodly (2 Peter 2:6 and Jude v. 7).

The apostle Paul described at length the progression of a people who reject God in Romans 1.  They know God, but reject Him, and professing to be wise, change the truth of God into a lie and serve God's creation more than Him (verses 20-25).  When they reject God, their hearts are darkened (v. 21), and God turns them over to their unnatural same-sex affections (v. 26-27).  Then they become a people filled with all sorts of wickedness, "fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful" (v. 29-31), and even though they know the judgment of God, they do it anyway and enjoy the company of others who do it, too. (v. 32)  The book of Jude speaks of these things similarly. Growing depravity is not something to celebrate!  But for the first time, I think I am really seeing that this growing acceptance and celebration of homosexuality is the result of rejection of God and not in itself a sin that brings the wrath and punishment of God.  Homosexuality is a sin like any other sin or abomination to God.  God hates divorce; God hates pride.  There are many things that are abominations to God.  What is happening in our country is the natural progression of depravity foretold by God because we have rejected Him.

I couldn't help but notice that "debate" was among the wickedness above, and boy, does that speak to me!  I do realize that we seem to be in so much strife these days. Although it pains me to sit idly by while the country is hell-bent on destruction, I am beginning to truly see that fighting the symptoms does no good.  The reason this country accepts a president who voted to kill innocent babies born alive after botched abortions and cheers when he announces that homosexuals should marry, and can dismiss his blasphemous comments about Jesus Christ as "frivolous", is because they have first rejected God and his amazing gift of grace through Christ. It's not Obama we should be fighting.  There will always be ungodly and corrupt leaders.  It's not even the mainstream media that gives him a free pass.  It's not homosexuality itself (or abortion, or pornography, or any single immoral issue).  We won't get anywhere attacking sinners or even their sins.  We are all sinners and are only accepted by the grace of God when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are covered by His sacrificial blood.  While I am still deeply saddened by what I see happening, I can see that merely fighting the social issues battles will never solve the problems.  Changed hearts as a result of salvation in Christ is the only thing that will change this country.  Now that's real CHANGE in which we can all have hope and real faith!  Remember that long list of progressive wickedness above?  The apostle Paul gives a similar list in 1 Corinthians, chapter 6:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (v. 9-11)

"And such WERE some of you", but now they have been saved by Jesus Christ!  I also love this one from Deuteronomy, chapter 4, one of my scripture memory passages from the old KJV:

But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.(v. 29-31)

If you seek the Lord your God will all your heart and soul, and turn to Him and are obedient to Him, He will not forsake you....even in the latter days.  So it's not too late!  But there is one word of caution in another scripture:

Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

"WHILE He may be found" indicates there will come a time when He will no longer be found.  So we need to call on Him now!  And we don't have to be perfect and sinless before we call on Him.  Get our hearts fixed on Him and He will show us the way!

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Meanwhile, I will try to keep my debate to a minimum, and continue with my Bible study in this blog.  The Bible is the only source for truth and wisdom in this crazy mixed up world where right is called wrong and wrong is called right.  The Bible says there is NO wisdom apart from God, only foolishness, so I'd like to continue to study truth and wisdom, and share study notes from an in-depth word study and a few insights from some of the greatest Biblical scholars.

As part of my Bible study, I am using some great free resources I have found on the internet.  First, I decided to study the Bible chronologically, and am using a time-line created by Skip Andrews.  You can view that time-line here.  In addition, I use e-Sword, a wonderful software program by Rick Meyers, which allowed me to choose what Bible translations I wanted to study, even several for comparison if I so chose; it also has Biblical dictionaries and a variety of commentaries for insight.  It has a wonderful scripture memory tool that I have immensely enjoyed as I have never been very good at remembering scripture word for word.  I highly recommend both of these resources.

I spent so long in the book of Job, that I need to be reminded that this is a chronological Bible study. According to the last chapter of Job, he lived 140 years after his trial of patience, which means Job was alive during the time of Abraham and his family.

Stephen, speaking before a religious council, gives a synopsis of the lives of Abraham and his family, in Acts, chapter 7.

(Acts 7:1) Then the high priest said, "Are these things so?" (2) And he said, "Men, brethren and fathers, listen; the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, (3) And said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.' (4) Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. (5) And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on; yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him, when as yet he had no child.

I don't think I will do an in-depth word study on this recitation by Stephen of Abraham's life, but will wait until I begin the actual study of Abraham next time.  I would argue that Stephen talking about something that had already happened doesn't belong chronologically before it happened, but I have committed to this time-line, and wouldn't want to change now.  So far these verses are pretty self-explanatory. 

(6) And God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. (7) 'And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage I will judge,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.' (8) And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. (9) And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him,

The "patriarchs, moved with envy", almost seems like it should be an oxymoronic phrase, but it is a marvelous reminder that the Bible greats were human as we are and made many mistakes.  We'll get into details when I get back to the in-depth study of Abraham next time beginning in Genesis, chapter 12.

(10) And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. (11) Now there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction; and our fathers found no sustenance. (12) But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. (13) And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh. (14) Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. (15) So Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, he and our fathers. (16) And were carried over into Shechem and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

And now a word from Joshua:

(Joshua 24:1) And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. (2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river in old times, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. (3) And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants, and gave him Isaac. (4) And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

Like a whole episode flashback from a television movie or series, here ends the present, and next time we'll go back to study Abraham.