Tag: Abraham

Wise home builders — Sarah

The wisest of women builds her house, (she saves her household with her wisdom) but folly (lack of good sense or judgment) tears it down with her own hands”  ~ Proverbs 14:1

In this series of A Woman’s Purpose we are looking at how God created women.  What did it look like when His thought took on human flesh in the form of a woman.  Proverbs 31 is a beautiful look at how He sees all of us women.  The characteristics that He placed inside of all of us that manifest so uniquely in each of us.  All a beautiful expression of who He is in us.  He created us to be strong gate keepers of our families.  To be wise home builders…. legacy builders…. building and preserving faith in future generations.

There are so many women in Old and New Testament who were wise builders of their homes.  Yesterday we looked at Eve.  Through the naming of her children, she spoke forth her expectation for a Deliverer to rescue mankind from their hopeless state.  Over the next few blog posts we’ll look at several more women who I especially love…. Sarah, Rebecca, Abigail, Deborah, Huldah, Jael, Esther, the Unknown woman of Abel Beth Maacah and some women in the New Testament.  Hopefully these women will inspire you like they’ve inspired me.

In Wonder Woman (part 1 of this series) we learned that in order for a wise woman to build her house… to build her legacy IN CHRIST, it’s going to require discernment.  God put hostility or hatred between the serpent and the woman.  Between in the Hebrew comes from a word meaning discernment.  It’s going to take discernment on our part as women to recognize when the enemy is in our midst and trying to wreak havoc in our homes.

Sarah was such a woman who walked in discernment.

Go with me to two Scriptures… Genesis 21:8-12 and Galatians 4:29

  • Genesis 21:8-12:  When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.
  •  Galatians 4:29 Amp.  Yet [just] as at that time the child [of ordinary birth] born according to the flesh despised and persecuted him [who was born remarkably] according to [the promise and the working of] the [Holy] Spirit, so it is now also. 

The verse in Genesis 21 shows us the discernment that Sarah walked in which protected her family.    We all know the story of Genesis 16 of how Abraham was promised a son (a seed) and after awhile Sarah offered to let him lie with Hagar because perhaps that’s how she could have a son with Abraham… through Hagar giving birth.  So Hagar gives birth to Ishmael.  In chapter 17 God makes a covenant with Abraham… actually with Himself.  He tells Abraham that he will have a son with his wife Sarah and will name him Isaac.  Isaac not Ishmael is the son of promise… the seed of the Deliverer.  Jump ahead to chapter 21 and Sarah indeed gives birth to Isaac.

As Isaac is weaned from Sarah, Abraham throws a huge feast to celebrate.  During the celebration, Sarah sees Ishmael making fun of.. or mocking Isaac.  So she turns to Abraham and tells him to “cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.” (verse 10).  Seems like harsh treatment against Hagar and her son… after all, kids will be kids right?  But Ishmael wasn’t exactly a kid.  Isaac was probably 2 or 3 and that would’ve made Ishmael 16 or 17!

This was much more than just an older brother being jealous of a younger brother or two women competeing over which one of them is more important or which son is more important.  Ishmael’s mockery revealed that he didn’t have any spiritual insight and saw nothing special about Isaac as the promised son.  No spiritual insight….. carnal.  Similar to Esau or Cain.  Not a lover of righteousness.

Sending Hagar and Ismael away means divorcing Hagar and disinheriting Ishmael.  According to laws of the land (Code of Hammurabi) in Abraham’s day, the inheritance rights passed to the son that is “accepted” by the father and thus, Ishmael had to be sent away in order to pass the inheritance rights to Isaac.

While it’s pretty clear that God doesn’t consider Ishmael Abraham’s son…it looks like Abraham does consider him his son.  In chapter 17 (when Ishmael is 13 years old) God just refers to him as Ishmael but verse 23 it says Abraham took Ismael, his son, and and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.  Looks like he made a distinction between Ishmael as his son and everyone else in his house.   Even in chapter 21 when Sarah has Abraham send Ismael away, God refers to him as the boy and to Hagar as the female slave, maidservant.  

Sarah obviously didn’t view Ishmael as his son.  In chapter 21 he is referred to by her as the son of the slave woman.   Although in chapter 16 she fully expected to have a son with Abraham through Hagar… who would act as a kind of surrogate for them.  But Hagar.  Hagar after she conceives, rather quickly it appears, she then despises her mistress.  She looked upon Sarah as less than…. of no importance.  The root of despise is curse… she looked at her as being cursed because she couldn’t conceive.  Perhaps Hagar’s bitter, resentful attitude at not being the mistress carried over to her son…. who became hostile and offended towards Isaac, “the promised son”.

Galatians 4:29 gives us the reason for the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael… he despised and persecuted Isaac, the child of promise.  He pursued him with hostility.

She saw correctly and through her discernment she helped guide her husband in God’s plans for Isaac.  God told Abraham to listen to his wife and send Hagar and Ismael away. We have to be careful not to insert our own opinions into this story.  Sarah was not jealous or harsh.  She was protecting the lineage of the Deliverer.

She was being a wise builder of her home……

  • Sarah had Godly discernment

She saw correctly that Ishmael was a threat to Isaac’s destiny and respectfully opposed Abraham.  Guiding him in choosing between the son of the flesh or the son of the promise.  

God told Abraham to listen to his wife and send Hagar and Ismael away. Why should Abraham listen to Sarah’s voice this time when it was the wrong thing to do before (he listened to her in regards to sleeping with Hagar)? Because this time Sarah had realigned herself with the purpose of God. She chose faith over the power of the flesh to fulfill what God had spoken.

Are you properly discerning those who are coming against the promises of God in your life?

Are you taking a stand to protect your children from those who would speak against their call and destiny in God?

Are you properly aligned with the purpose of God for your family in faith so that your husband can trust your discernment….. your judgement in matters that help guide his destiny?

Discernment is keen perception or judgment.  It is to understand the plans, intent, thought or motive. Discernment goes beyond just the words spoken and hears the spirit behind things that are said or done.

To grow in discernment, we need to be renewing our minds in the Word of God… getting the mind of Christ functioning in our minds.. to be guided by His thoughts, purposes, and intents.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Rebecca……

~ Robin

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy”  ~  Psalm 107:2

I kept hearing this scripture all day in my spirit!  Such a timely scripture since we just entered into the Hebrew month of Nisan a week ago and one of the key things about Nisan is it’s a month of redemption.

blessing 3

Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy;”  One translation says “let the redeemed tell their story” and the NLT says “Has the Lord redeemed you?  Then speak out!!”  I did just that as I went for my afternoon walk.  I began speaking forth what His redemption purchased for me.

SLAVES SET FREE

What does it mean to be redeemed?  What does it mean to be slaves set free!

Slavery was a common institution in the ancient world… a man might be born into slavery,  he might be captured by an invading army and placed into slavery, or he might have fallen into debt with no way to pay and therefore sold into slavery.  Once a slave, he could gain his freedom again… but it was very costly.  

There are 3 Greek words for redemption…

  • agorazo which means a purchase made in the market place
  • peripoieo which means to acquire or purchase for oneself
  • lutroo which means liberated… the ransom price paid for loosing captives from their bonds and setting them at liberty.

When Jesus redeemed us, we were not just purchased from the market place of sin and death (agorazo).. or even purchased for Himself (peripoieo)…. we were purchased and our bonds were loosed, we were set free and given liberty in Him (lutroo)!!  We were redeemed by His blood (1 Cor 6:19-20; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelations 5:9).  He paid the ransom and declared “it is finished (John 19:30).”

IT IS FINISHED — PAID IN FULL

It is finished… or “teletesta” in Greek can also be translated “paid in full”.  It does not mean just to complete a task but to carry it out fully, to perfection.  His work of redemption is fully complete and nothing needs to be or can be added to it.   

Tetelesta was a legal term.  When a Roman prisoner had finished serving his sentence, the judge would inscribe the word “tetelesta” on the release paper which guaranteed his deliverance and liberty.  The charges for those crimes could never be brought against him again.   When Jesus cried “TETELESTAI” on the cross, He was saying that anyone who places his trust in His sacrificial death, receives in essence a “certificate of debt” with the inscription of “tetelestai”, indicating that all their “crimes” (past, present and future) against God have been PAID FOR IN FULL!

Christ has utterly wiped out or completely obliterated the condemning evidence of broken laws and commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it over His own head on the Cross.

And then He disarmed the powers against us, He publicly exposed them, shattered, shamed, emptied and defeated, completely stripped them of all power – Col 2:14-15

LAW OF FIRST MENTION — REDEEMED

Redeem is first mentioned in Gen 48:16 next to the names  of Jacob’s grandson’s Manasseh and Ephraim as Jacob is blessing them after he has adopted them.  The adoption of them by Jacob, made them sons with full inheritance rights equal to Joseph…. we have become sons with full inheritance rights equal to that of Jesus.  

We have been redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13).  The scripture does not say Christ has redeemed us from the law, as if to say the law is a curse. No, the law of God is not a curse, the law is holy, and just, and good (Romans 7:12). What Christ has redeemed us from is the curse of the law.. the penalty or punishment of disobedience!  ALL the curses!!

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 is a list of the curses.  He has redeemed us from sickness, pain, sorrow, depression, poverty and even death that came as a result for disobeying God.  We were redeemed from the curse so that the blessing of Abraham (Gen 12:2-3) might come upon us….. the Gentiles, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Gal 3:14)

He didn’t just redeem us and leave us to fend for ourselves in our new found freedom.  He redeemed us from the dominion of darkness and redeemed us (transferred us) into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

2 Peter 1:3 tells us that His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.  Below are some of the things His redemption purchased for us – this is not an exhaustive list.. definitely do your own study 

  • Col 1:19-22 – we were reconciled to God in Him and presented holy, blameless and without reproach; made righteous.
  • Col 2:13-15 – we were made alive with Him, forgiven our trespasses, canceled the record of debt with it’s legal demands, and completely stripped the enemy’s power over us.
  • 1 Thes 5:9-10 – we obtained salvation… Sozo: forgiveness of sins, healing, deliverance, and prosperity… made whole, complete, lacking nothing.
  • 1 Pe 2:24 – we are dead to sin, alive to righteousness, healed
  • Rom 6:6 – we are no longer slaves to sin
  • Galatians 4:5 – we received adoptions as sons
  • Isaiah 44:22 – our transgressions are blotted out
  • Romans 6:4 – we walk in newness of life
  • Ephesians 1:1-23 – we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
  • Rev 1:6 – we are made kings and priests
  • Titus 2:14 – we have become pure
  • Galatians 3:14 – we received the promise of the Spirit

When you know you are fully, completely redeemed, your walk with God will change.

You’ll see yourself in a brand new light. You will know God has placed such great value on you because He purchased you through the precious blood of His dear Son.  And you will tell others your story of redemption…. declaring that the Redeemer lives in you and that it is for freedom He set you free, never again to be subject to the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1)!

~ Robin

Nisan – 5776 (2016)

Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.  ~ Exodus 12:1-2

barley yeshua

Last year as we entered into the Hebrew month of Nisan I woke up to a song in my heart and on my lips… “it’s a new season, it’s a new day….a fresh anointing is flowing my way…a season of power and prosperity…..it’s a new season coming my way.”  And in prayer, I kept hearing God say “new day, new day!!”  Then He led me to Joshua 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all these people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.”   All of this happened in the Hebrew month of Nisan.  A new day had come for the children of Israel…  the old way of living (in the Wilderness) was over and it was now time to cross over into the Promise Land and receive all that God had promised them.

On this past Friday evening we entered into Nisan… on Saturday morning I woke up with an expectancy of something new.  It felt as if something in the atmosphere had shifted.  Saturday was also the day of Azusa Now in Los Angeles (which marked 110 years anniversary of the Azusa Street Revival) as well as United Cry DC in Washington DC.   East coast and West coast worshipping together and crying out to God on the same day for revival in our land!  A day of unity in the Body of Christ.

I believe we have entered into a new day… Saturday marked a day that everything changed… an historic day for us!  For our nation!  And not coincidentally it happened as we entered into the Hebrew month of Nisan.  The month of Passover… a time of liberation, personal change, going from slavery to freedom, and the emerging out of the old.

Saturday I believe we “passed over” into a new season… a season that has shifted us and positioned us for the next Great Awakening.  Rev. William Seymour, the leader of the Azusa Street Awakening, prophesied that in 100 years there would be an outpouring of God’s Spirit and His Shekinah Glory that would be greater and more far reaching than what was experienced at Azusa.

REVIVAL — A TIME OF GREAT AWAKENING IS UPON US!

Revival is defined as to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished.  Another great definition I read is “The Spirit of God working through the Word of God, in the lives of the people of God.”

Passover (which is in Nisan) is a time of revival and spiritual renewal, a restoration of the Power and Glory….a renewed interest in God!  In Nisan the children of Israel shifted into a new season… a season of liberation as they followed Moses, the revivalist, out of Egypt.  The children of Israel had been enslaved for 430 years and in Exodus 6 God told Moses that He heard their groanings….and He responded to their prayerful cries and to the hearts of His people… there was a revival of His covenant with Abraham.

Zech 10:1 tells us to ask the Lord for rain in the springtime…. this month is a time to ask for the rain of His presence.  I loved that on Saturday the 8th (Azusa now and United Cry DC) it rained here in California and also in DC…. in fact my Facebook post that morning was Hosea 6:3 “He comes like the rain”.  That day on Facebook I saw two different photos of rainbows… one over the colosseum in LA and two double rainbows a few days before over the Washington monument and the US capital.

It is also the month that the King had favor on Nehemiah and granted him permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall.  This was another time of revival for Israel…. in Nehemiah chapter 8 the people gather as Ezra reads the Word of God.  They stood listening to the Word for about 6 hours!! Then they began weeping, because they realized how much they had sinned against God…. they were repentant…  and worshipping God after it was read…. their hearts were revived and turned back to God.    Again, this happened in the month of Nisan.

It is also month to watch your speech.. be aware of what your confessions are.    Your Word confessions should “grab the wind” and change the atmosphere. Speak forth revival… in your life, your families, your city and your nation!  

 

~ Robin

 

Abraham’s Journey part 3….. from Abram to Abraham

abraham in hebrew

So in our last 2 blog posts, Abram has been on a journey with God… a journey towards his destiny… a journey of finding the Abraham that God created him to be.  This journey required that he leave behind his father, his family, and his country.  God wanted to be a Father to Abram and to transform Abram into Abraham, the father of many nations.  First, though he had to be taught what a true father is…. his father was not teaching him about a covenant relationship with God but rather covenant relationships with idols.  Abraham made the choice to leave and set out on this journey to Canaan.

Abraham made the choice to leave and set out on this journey to Canaan.

He took his wife Sarai with him and all their cattle and servants that they accumulated in Haran… and verse 4 says that Lot went with him.  In the Hebrew it says Lot walked (halak) with him…. halak means to live following a manner of life, to follow the precepts of God, to follow after.  Lot was following Abram who was following God… reminds me of 1 Cor 11:1 when Paul told the Corinthians to “follow him as I follow Christ” or “imitate me as I imitate Christ”.  

Jump ahead 5 chapters to chapter 17 and Abram is now 99. It’s here that God gives Abram a token… a sign of the covenant He made with him in chapter 15… after he rescued Lot and gave a 10th of all (tithe) to Melchizedek.  This was a covenant of grace…  Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness.    It’s here also that God reveals himself to Abram as El Shaddai….the God who is enough… Who is able and is everything we need.  It also comes from a root meaning “to pour out”…I am that God who pours out blessings, who gives them richly, abundantly, continually.”  

Then He tells Abram to walk before him and be blameless.  At first glance, this looks like God is giving Abram a command in order to reap the blessings of the covenant.  … to walk (halak), to follow after Him and to be complete, whole and if he can do that he can walk in the Blessing..   But remember back in chapter 15:17 “God caused Abraham to fall asleep, and then He came down in the image of a smoking

But remember back in chapter 15:17 “God caused Abraham to fall asleep, and then He came down in the image of a smoking fire pot and flaming torch and walked through the separated halves of the sacrificed animals by Himself”…… God was committed to upholding the covenant.. to blessing Abraham and his descendants whether they were faithful or not.   It was a covenant established on grace, not works.  God upheld both sides of the covenant… His and Abram’s.

God was telling Abraham to walk with him,  to follow after Him and He (El Shaddai) would make him complete and whole… and would pour out The Blessing on his life abundantly and continually.  

And finally, it’s here that he changes Abram’s name to Abraham.  God added the Hebrew letter “hei” to Abram’s name.  Hei is the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and is a number for grace, goodness, and favor.  It speaks of revelation and light.  It is also the wind, breath…the Spirit of God…blowing on us.  It is the divine breath of God breathed into Adam releasing His life into Adam.  Adding hei to the end of a noun allows it to be fruitful and productive – it is the transforming power of the Spirit.

All of this was added to Abram when he finally became Abraham at the age of 99.  God poured out on him… added to him... grace, goodness, favor, revelation, light and of course the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to be fruitful and productive.  Abram became Abraham – a man whose destiny is wrapped up in and made manifest through the work of God’s Spirit.

We also receive a new identity when we follow after God and walk in covenant with Him… we are now IN CHRIST…. we are then able to walk complete and whole, blameless before God…. in the completed, finished work of the Cross and Resurrection and we receive the Holy Spirit… Who transforms us, equips us, helps us, making us fruitful. We are new creatures IN CHRIST through grace and empowered by Holy Spirit to walk out our God given destinies….  Gal 3:14, Gal 5:22-23, Rom 8:14, 1 Cor 12:4-11, Eph 3:20 and Eph 3:1-16 just to name a few scriptures.   The letter “hei” is all about GRACE…..the infusion of the very BREATH or LIFE of God within us.

Today allow Him to introduce you to your new self… to the you IN CHRIST, a new creature that never existed before!

~ Robin

 

 

~ Robin

Abraham’s Journey part 2… lech lecha

genesis 12;1

Genesis 12:1 begins with God telling Abraham to  “Go for yourself, from your land, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.” and then He gives him a promise as a result of doing that….And I will make you a great nation, and bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.  

And of course we know that this promise… the Blessing… is ours also according to Galatians 3:9 “So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.”

God didn’t just tell Abraham to leave his land, relatives and father’s house.  He said to him “Lech lecha”.  Lech Lecha is a unique phrase that God only spoke in the Old Testament to Abraham.  To everyone else (Moses, Jacob, etc) He said “Kum” which means arise and is always spoken to those who need to come up to a higher level to follow God.  Lech Lecha, on the other hand is an invitation.

Literally it means “you go” but it means so much more.   Most biblical scholars say that adding Lecha to lech serves to make the verb more intense.  God is telling Abram that this is not just a command to leave home, it is an invitation to journey to himself.  Literally, it means “come to yourself”… find the you I’ve called you to be!  Go to the Land that I will show you – where I will make you VISIBLE – where your “potential being” will be realized in various and unpredictable ways.

In order to embark on this journey he had to first do 3 things… leave his birthplace, his

  • leave his birthplace
  • his relatives
  • and his father’s house.

His birthplace implies boundaries and he had to cross those boundaries and leave them behind…. leave his past behind.  He had to cross the “Euphrates” just like Eber did… to become a Hebrew (one who crosses over) on his own not on his ancestor’s merits.

His family implies influence.  Abraham’s family worshiped idols. God wanted to be Abraham’s influence and wanted to make Abraham an influence to the world around him.  He wanted to become the God of Abraham and through Abraham bless all the families of the earth.  He couldn’t do that if Abraham’s family were his influence.

His father’s house implies control.  Our fathers are our teachers whether for good or for bad. We are under their sphere of control for many years. As a result, it is difficult to separate from the need to seek our father’s approval. This is not to suggest that we should ignore, disrespect or dishonor our fathers. The simple fact is we must grow up. We must learn to seek God’s approval in place of our fathers’ approval.  Our fathers are our teachers. They protect, correct and provide for our needs. They are responsible to God to direct us and to use their influence to guide us in the Word.

However, Abram’s father was an idol maker. He was an idol worshipper…. he was not teaching Abram to worship the one true God.  Terah wasn’t guiding Abram to a relationship with God but rather a life without God.

God is also calling us… inviting us to journey to find ourselves in His Word. He is saying to each of us “Lech Lecha”.   An invitation… an adventure to find who we are IN CHRIST and to fulfill the destinies He has for…as His sons… to be who He created us to be…. made in His image and likeness.

In order to do that we first need to leave behind any boundaries that keep us from God and from crossing over into the fullness of who He is… the abundance of His grace towards us.  And also leave behind those things or people that influence and control us away from God.  Even our own ideas and beliefs that keep us from being all that we are IN HIM.

The next blog we will talk about Abraham’s name change and the next part of his true identity transformation……..

~ Robin

Abraham’s Journey part 1… leaving his father

Genesis 11:31-32 “One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 yearsf and died while still in Haran.”

the journey      Terah and his family (Abram, Sarai, and Lot) set out for Canaan from Ur but they never got there, leaving Nahor and Milcah behind.  We don’t know why  Terah left Ur… something motivated him to leave Ur.  We know that his son Haran had died but that’s all the Bible tells us.  What we do know is that Terah never made it to Canaan. He wanted to go…..he started in that direction. But the Bible says, in Genesis 11:31, “But when they came to Haran, they settled there.”

The Hebrew word for settled is yashab and means “to sit down.” The thing about “yashab” is it’s a perfect form verb tense.  A perfect form verb describes an action that is completed, done, finished.  It is also an active perfect form which implies purpose.  Terah purposed to sit down there.  He put his roots down in Haran, and there, according to Genesis 11:32, Terah died.  Terah had a dream to make it to Canaan but the dream died with him in Haran. He never completed his journey.

We don’t know exactly how long Abraham stayed in Haran… we do know he prospered there according to Gen 12:5, acquiring wealth – livestock and servants.  The rabbis believe that Abraham left his father in Haran and that Terah lived another 60 years before he died.  Some believe that he stayed in Haran and left after Terah died because of Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:4.   I tend to side with the rabbis on this one, believing he left his father while he was living.  I don’t think the command to leave your father’s house was necessary if his dad was no longer living.  My husband Steve’s dad died earlier this year and we no longer refer to the place where he lived as “his father’s house”… we now say “his mom’s house”.  Either way, it doesn’t matter because the Bible says he fully obeyed God (Gen 26:5 “Abraham obeyed Me and did everything I required of him.”

The word Haran means “crossroads”… it’s a place of decisions. Terah chose to “sit down” at the crossroads and go no further… he died there.   And it is here at this “crossroad” that Abraham has a decision to make…..a decision that will affect not only him but ALL of the families of the earth…. to leave his father’s house and follow God.

~ Robin

Abraham’s lineage

Genesis 12:1 (Youngs Translation) And Jehovah saith unto Abram, “Go for thyself, from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from the house of thy father, unto the land which I shew thee.”

call of abraham

One of the key things about the Hebrew month of Kislev is identity change.  Abraham was one of those individuals in the Bible that had an identity change in Genesis 12.  But before we jump into his identity change, let’s do a

Abraham was one of those individuals in the Bible that had an identity change in Genesis 12.  But before we jump into his identity change, let’s do a history review of Abraham’s family line in Genesis 11.

  • Abraham was the son of Terah
  • Terah was the great, great, great grandson of Eber
  • Eber was the great, great grandson of Noah
  • Noah, of course, was the great grandson of Enoch
  • Enoch was the great, great, great, great grandson of Adam.

Wow!  What an impressive spiritual family lineage…. I can honestly say mine does not look like that.  I am the faith pioneer in my family line.

Eber (Abraham’s great, great, great grandfather) was a faith pioneer as well.  He was the 14th generation from Adam. A special distinction is made in Gen 10:21 where it says “Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber”…… Eber was actually about 4 generations from Shem… but before Shem’s sons are mentioned, the Word introduces us to Eber.  It sounds to me like Eber was destined to be a carrier of the Blessing just like Shem was… Genesis 9 refers to Shem by mentioning his relationship with God….calling God, “the God of Shem.”

Jewish historians say that during the time of the building of the Tower of Babel, Eber crossed over the Euphrates River… distancing himself and his family from Babylon and Nimrod…..from a sinful land and embarking on a walk of faith.  Eber means “to cross over”.  The name Hebrew comes from Eber…. to be a Hebrew means to have “crossed over”.  Euphrates means “abundant” or “storage houses of heaven”.In

Euphrates means “abundant” or “storage houses of heaven”. In fact, he named his son Peleg which means “divided”… he placed a divider (the Euphrates River) between them and him.  Genesis 10:25 confirms that the world was divided when he was born. Through the name of his son the godly man Eber gives us a glimpse into his heart and character to live a holy life, separated and consecrated from the sinful world of Babylon.

Unfortunately, the generations after Eber (until Abraham) turned to idol worship and didn’t serve God (Joshua 24:2).  We don’t know much about Peleg except that he died young (even Noah outlived him by 10 years)…. he was the first to die among the 10 generations after the flood.  Likewise, we don’t know much about Reu, Seureg or Nahor (except he died early also and Noah outlived him as well).  All we know is that it’s probable that these 4 generations turned from God and worshiped idols.

Terah we know a bit more about.  Josh 24:2 mentions him specifically as having worshiped other gods.  However, Gen 11:31 tells us that he set out from Ur to go to Canaan.  It doesn’t tell us why he set out to leave his home in Ur, all we know is he never made it to Canaan.  He reached Haran, a place that was similar in many ways to Ur. A city where there was also a temple to the Ninnar, not as big as in Ur, but still similar. The city was smaller, and not as wealthy or important as Ur, but to someone from Ur, it would have all been very familiar, and probably felt like home. The customs and culture were similar.  Seems as if he settled in the familiar… what was comfortable.

Abraham was 20 generations from Adam. Genesis 14:13 refers to Abraham as a Hebrew, linking him to Eber.  The God of Shem became the God of Eber, and then became the God of Abraham.  Which brings us back again to Genesis 12:1……. which we’ll pick up in the next blog entry.

Today no matter what your spiritual lineage looks like, determine to be a faith pioneer…. going farther than those before you.  Grabbing hold of the promises of God for your future generations… making your ceiling their floor.

~ Robin 

Adar – 5776 (2016)

Genesis 24:1 says that Abraham was blessed “in all things”.. that means he was blessed in EVERY AREA  of his life.  Galatians 3:13-14 says that Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law and blessed us with the same blessing he promised to Abraham….  God wants you to walk in the Blessing… for it to be as full and complete (in all things) in your life as it was in Abraham’s.  We walk in this blessing by having a Hebrew mindset.  When you learn to think like God, you begin to prosper and walk in the blessing.  Studying the Hebrew months is one way we can begin to have a Hebrew mindset and think like God.  In April 2014, I began thinking about what the months of the year on our calendar mean to me.

In April 2014, I began thinking about what the months of the year on our calendar mean to me.  No coincidence since April is a month associated with the tribe of Issachar, who was the tribe anointed to understand times and seasons as well as what to do in those times.  To me, the months on our regular calendar reflect my life… birthdays, anniversaries, deaths, losses, and of course since we farm, our harvest seasons… some of these things are good and worth celebrating…. and some are sad remembrances.  This

This Gregorian calendar connects you to the earth realm. It is great for tracking our life events but to know God’s schedule of events it’s good to understand His calendar…. the Hebrew calendar.  His calendar is full of hope and causes us to reach for those higher things.. it causes us to be God focused… to be Kingdom minded.  Although some months on the Jewish calendar are designated as sad months, not full of hope at all!  But as you study them further, you begin to see God’s original plan for them and prophetically begin calling forth His redemptive plans for each month.  Adar is one of those REALLY good months… in fact so good, that the Jews designated it as the only double month on Leap Years (or pregnant years as it’s called in Hebrew)… those specific years (which is this year) we get Adar I and Adar II.

Adar I starts today Feb 10th and goes through March 10th.  And then we begin Adar II  on March 11th – April 8th.  The name Adar means “exalted“, “praised“, “power“, and “strength”  According to the rabbis, when Adar enters, joy and happiness enter with it.  It is the final month of winter and also the final month of the year (on the Hebrew feast calendar)… an end to a season.  It is a month of celebration as we celebrate Purim (March 23rd this year).  It’s a month of divine reversals, of curses overturned.  This is a time for evil decrees set against you to be broken.

This month walk in the revelation that IN CHRIST there has been a divine reversal… all curses have been overturned and evil decrees that were once set against you have ALREADY been broken.  

Naphtali is the tribe associated with this month.  The prophecies spoken over Naphtali are in Gen 49:21 “Naphtali is a free running doe, he speaks delightful words” and Deut 33:23 “Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing;”.

This month choose to walk in the joy that is yours in Christ…. in celebration … experiencing His divine turnarounds in our lives.  Walk in the freedom that Christ purchased for you, speaking “delightful words”… His words.. thereby enjoying the fullness of His abundant favor and full blessing.

We’re not trying to get these things but realizing that they are already ours IN CHRIST.

~ Robin