BEGINNING OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

The beginning of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

We must begin with a descendant of Shem, who for 99 years was an Arab and the Arab’s claim him as one of them, but then at age 99, God claimed Abraham for Himself and started a brand new race called the Jews.

Abraham was a Gentile who became a Jew when God started the Jewish race through him at age 99. He was born in the city of Ur about 2161 BC and this passage picks up Abraham around 2086 BC (where he had just entered Canaan or was about to).

The accounts about Abraham are found in GEN 11:26-25:11, with the focus on four important aspects of his life. First, his migration or his moving from one place to another. Abraham’s story begins with his migration with the rest of his family from UR of the Chaldeans in ancient southern Babylonia, GEN 11:31.

He and his family moved north along the trade routes of the ancient world and settled in the flourishing trade center of Haran, several hundred miles to the northwest. While living in Haran, at the age of 75 Abraham received a call from God to go to a strange, unknown land that God would show him.

The promise must have seemed unbelievable to Abraham because his wife Sarah (called Sarai in the early part of her life) was childless and he had no children, GEN 11:30-31; 17:15.

Terah was an Akkadian unbeliever, and in
JOS 24:2, he was an idolater.

His name Terah means “delayed,” and he is well named for he delayed Abraham from getting to the place where the Lord wanted him.

The city of Ur built the famous ziggurats, a system of terraced platforms on which temples were erected.

Ur of the Chaldees was a great powerful empire; however it was destroyed after Abraham left.

Abraham left Ur to go north and then south down to Canaan. On his way to Canaan Abraham passed the Amorites who were on their way to destroy his home area.

There were only three believers in Ur, Abraham, Sarah, and Lot, not enough to save Ur; the pivot was too small.

Abraham’s spiritual life was very limited in Ur, and he needed to get to a place where he could learn doctrine without being distracted.

You may find out that your spiritual life is limited because the place where you are or the people you are with become a stumbling block to your spiritual growth.

Geographical change is necessary for spiritual growth.

Abraham was one of the largest slave owners of the ancient world.

His father was also a priest of the moon-god who was called Ur, as well as one of the wealthiest men in this prosperous city.

Because TLJC controls history and since He knew what was going to happen to Ur, He got Abraham out. The only way to be sensitive to the leading and guidance of the Lord is to know Bible doctrine.

When Abraham left Ur, it was entering into the peak of its prosperity, and he appeared to be leaving a sure thing, a good thing, but it wasn’t.

This verse brings out the importance of resident doctrine in Abraham, positive volition and being motivated by doctrine before reaching spiritual maturity.

The change of geographical location was the basis for separating Abraham from his family and relatives. When family or relatives hold you back then family has to go and relatives have to go.

MAR 3:21 And when His own people [family] heard of this [He claimed to be the Son of God], they went out to take custody of him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”
JOH 7:5 For not even his brothers were believing in Him.

Per-act-ind - hestekasin = they have been waiting outside for Him for a long time.

TLJC taught that His followers are even closer to Him than His natural family and closest relatives.

1TI 2:4 He wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Relationship with God must have priority over relationship with people.
Emphasis on people over God must be set aside.
If we recognize that TLJC is our Lord, then we will put Bible Doctrine first in our scale of values.

The issue = Is Bible doctrine more important to you than the most intimate ties of life?
The greatest issue is always doctrine vs the details of life.

The glory road, which is saving grace, living grace, super-grace, dying grace, surpassing grace, was not open to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldea.

Abraham was uprooted in time so that he will be rooted forever in the eternal state.

To leave some environment where you’re appreciated, or in some cases, you think you’re appreciated, but your being appreciated is also keeping you from getting Bible doctrine.

Doctrine was available to him in Ur of the Chaldea, up to a point.

It ceased to be available when Abraham’s family and relatives and friends and social life and perhaps even his celebrityship - when these things got in the way of his advance down the glory road.

Wherever there is positive volition toward doctrine, God provides the spiritual food even if it means a change of residence.

The circumstances in Ur of Chaldea limited against Abraham from becoming a spiritual champion, invisible hero, and finally a visible one.

Abraham could only go so far in the environment of influence from family, friends, and social life.

When environment is not conducive to the persistent positive volition toward doctrine necessary to keep pressing on, then God uproots the believer who is positive.

God provided enough doctrine in Ur of Chaldea to give Abraham the inner doctrinal resources and strength to obey the command for a change of residence.

Separation “from” should be applied to both believers and unbelievers in the cosmic system.

It does not have to be physical separation.
1. Mental separation.

Your volition protects you from becoming antagonistic toward them by your use of impersonal unconditional love.

Mental separation emphasizes the integrity, honor, and doctrinal application of the believer residing inside the PPOG.

Impersonal love is not influenced by those loved ones who are residing in the cosmic system, who are apostate and antagonistic to doctrine.
Impersonal love functions on its own integrity and perpetuates its own priorities from the metabolization of doctrine.

Impersonal love emphasizes personal love for God while setting aside the functions of personal love for friends or loved ones.
Impersonal love does not compromise the believer’s status inside the PPOG.

Mental separation, in contrast to physical separation, avoids maligning, judging, hating, criticizing, seeking revenge, hurting those with whom you have been intimate in the past.

Mental separation not only emphasizes integrity and honor, but avoids destruction of the spiritual life.

2. Physical separation.