The End-Time Significance
Of The Two Covenants

Flesh-Born Religion Versus Spirit-Born Religion

In Isaiah 24:5, 6, the prophet Isaiah tells us that the curse will devour the earth for 3 reasons:

• the inhabitants have transgressed the laws
• they have changed the ordinance
• the ultimate reason - they have broken the everlasting covenant!

In Isaiah 24:1-6 and 19, 20 the prophet is in fact describing the terrible onslaught of the 7 last plagues. But the Revelator in Revelation 14:10 and 15:1 and 13:11-18 informs us that the curse, the wrath, the seven last plagues will be the direct end-result of enforcing the image and mark of the beast. Therefore we conclude, without fear of contradiction, that the mark of the beast will be the ultimate breaking of the everlasting covenant and since it will be enforced by religious zealots it will be the ultimate expression of the Old Covenant. But this should not surprise us because Paul enlightens us in Galatians 4:29 that flesh-born religion will persecute spirit-born religion. The final crisis will be nothing less than the final persecution of the New Covenant by the Old!

The shaking

Therefore the shaking in the Christian religion in general and Adventism in particular is a shaking which will see professed believers being fixed either in the old covenant or the new covenant! And remember the OLD persecutes the NEW.

Multiple forms of old covenant deception

The old covenant is a spiritual cancer, which can turn up in more than one form. For example, the form of the old covenant with which Satan sought to deceive the Galatians was a more deceptive and deadly form than that with which he ensnared Israel at Sinai. Israel at Sinai knew only the birth of the flesh and without ever knowing the birth of the Spirit they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, sought to establish their own righteousness by their own promises and their own efforts to obey the law of God. The immediate result was the golden-calf idolatry, which included sexual immorality of the most disgusting type and indeed transgression of all Ten Commandments.

The long-term results were failure to enter the Promised Land and a 40-year death-march in the wilderness. On the other hand the Galatians, like the Corinthians, were gentiles who had neither any previous knowledge of God nor His laws (moral, ceremonial or health). Paul preached to them Christ crucified and risen.

Paul explained to them that by His perfect faith, perfect obedience and perfect sacrifice Christ Jesus, the Saviour of the world, had more than satisfied all the conditions and requirements of God for mankind, and moreover, by His infinite sacrifice, had atoned for and taken away all their sins, all because of God's unconditional love for them!

Furthermore Paul told them that this great salvation was the fulfillment of a promise God made to Abraham, 15 centuries before, that in him, through his Seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed.

The Galatians believed the gospel! They put all their trust and confidence in Christ alone for salvation. There was nothing else they could depend on, they had not obeyed any laws or made any reforms, just as they were they truly believed in Jesus and Paul told them that they were justified, saved and had received the Holy Spirit all by faith in Christ.

And, amazingly, as they now studied the word of God and the teachings, the life and death of their Saviour they grew in grace and the righteousness of God was manifested in their lives. They were so overwhelmed with love and joy and gratitude for the free gift of eternal life and righteousness and the forgiveness of all their sins that they surrendered their lives fully to Jesus in genuine faith which worked to transform their lives while all the time their focus was not on their performance but on the Cross of Christ.

This was too much for Satan; he knows only too well that the soul that depends entirely and only on Christ in simple child-like faith is absolutely secure and safe in God's salvation.

And so Satan moved upon the Pharisees who "believed" in Christ to go down to Galatia and to tell the Galatians that it is alright to believe on the Lord Jesus to be justified and to be born of the Spirit, but now having begun in the Spirit, they were to be perfected by strict adherence to the rules, regulations and ceremonies of the Torah (law).

Therefore in Chapter 3 of his letter Paul not only deals with the problem directly but also makes it clear that the salvation of gentiles was provided for in the Abrahamic or NEW Covenant, not in the Sinaitic or Old Covenant! Let us read Gal. 3:1-9. We see therefore that the form of the Old Covenant with which Satan deceived Israel at Sinai was that they could have begun or could have initiated their salvation in and by the flesh.

But the form he infiltrated into Galatia was that Christian growth is begun in the Spirit by faith but matured and perfected by obedience to law (i.e. by the flesh).

And yet another form is to cause those who have started in the Spirit and are being sanctified by the Spirit to believe they can attain to a higher level of righteousness before God by meticulous adherence to man-made regulations regarding standards of Christian living, such as dress and diet. Others pay tithe, attend church, sing, preach, keep the seventh day or the first day and do all the right things under the delusion that they thereby earn merit in the sight of God. But we are saved entirely by the righteousness and sacrifice of Christ!

Opposition to the new

In the Christian era the reason for the opposition to the New Covenant truth has been consistently uniform. There is the argument, the fear, that standards will be lowered, that the law will be ignored, that the previous looseness of "gentile" living will spoil the high "standards" of the "Jews."

And ultimately to make the world a better place, to raise the standard of morals and to bring back God's blessings to the earth modern religious zealots will enforce Sunday sacredness by legislation to ensure that the masses go to church on Sunday. Sabbath keepers will not be tolerated. And worse still, these end-time Sunday-law zealots will declare themselves to be under the New Covenant! But the truth is that "the spirit of bondage is engendered by seeking to live in accordance with legal religion, through striving to fulfill the claims of the law in our own strength. There is hope for us only as we come under the Abrahamic Covenant, which is the covenant of grace by faith in Christ Jesus. The gospel preached to Abraham, through which he had hope, was the same gospel that is preached to us today through which we have hope. Abraham looked unto Jesus, who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith." (Y.I. 1892-09-22)

Righteousness by works can't work

Paul gives another masterful analysis of the difference between New and Old Covenants in Romans 9:30-33. Old Covenant Israel tried to keep the law by trying to keep the law and did not keep the law. Why? They sought for righteousness by works of law, and not by faith in the Promise.

Whereas the Gentiles who never tried keeping the law received genuine righteousness by faith in Christ and lived out the principles of the moral law in their spirit-filled and spirit-led lives by the word of God.

In the new covenant faith works by love

The written code of the moral law demands "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL." The genuine New Covenant person believes, claims and receives genuine HONESTY and BENOVOLENCE in Christ and His righteousness and rather than steal, he gives and shares his time, his means, his resources, because Agape love works his faith in righteousness.

The Christian standard in dress demands MODESTY. The genuine New Covenant child of God believes and claims and receives the promise of meekness, lowliness of heart, humility and crucifixion of the ego in and with Christ and therefore will neither expose her flesh nor wear the ornaments of idolatry. 1 Peter 3:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:9.

The written code demands, "thou shalt not kill." In the New Covenant the reign of Agape love produces a spirit of forgiveness and love even for our enemies! Matthew 5; Romans 12:17-21; 1 Cor. 13.

The formula for reaching the highest standards of Christian living is written down in 2 Cor. 7:1 and 2 Cor. 5:17. If in a congregation the God-given (not man-made) standards are falling, then after using the law to point out sin the only sure remedy is to preach Christ, His righteousness and His Cross ever more fully.

If a congregation is constantly pounded with laws, regulations and standards it may settle down into the Old Covenant syndrome of promising ---> failing ---> "repenting," promising again, failing again, "repenting" again. Or, even more deceptively, it may settle down into outward conformity devoid of living righteousness.

Appeal

Only the New Covenant has the divine power to separate the genuine believer from the flesh, the world and the devil!

Faith in God's promises brings the eternal righteousness, eternal life and eternal inheritance into the believer's soul thereby producing genuine transformation of character.

In contrast, the law, rules and regulations worketh wrath. The law cannot give life or righteousness. The law must be used correctly to point out sin and bring the sinner to Christ. But the secret of victory over sin is abiding in Christ through faith in God's promises.

Young man, young woman you are consistently listening to and enjoying Satan's music, the pleasures of the world, the dress of the world. What you need is to be in Christ, to be born of the Spirit. You are lost with either no covenant or the Old Covenant. You need a New Covenant experience. God gives the faith and it is your privilege to exercise that faith, to trust God, believe His promises and surrender your will-power to be controlled by His Agape love, truth, righteousness and life.

Conclusion

Let us read Hebrews 13:20, 21. The new covenant is the only one that will produce genuine holiness. And the secret of the new covenant success is faith in God's promises which are Yes and Amen in Jesus Christ!

"The thought that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, not because of any merit on our part, but as a free gift from God, is a precious thought. The enemy of God and man is not willing that this truth should be clearly presented, for he knows that if the people receive it fully, his power will be broken. If Satan can control minds so that doubt and unbelief and darkness shall compose the experience of those who claim to be children of God, he can overcome them with temptation. The simple faith that takes God at his word should be encouraged. God's people must have that faith which will lay hold of divine power. 'For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.' Those who believe that God for Christ's sake has forgiven their sins should not, through temptation, fail to press on to fight the good fight of faith. Their faith should grow stronger until their Christian life, as well as their words, shall declare, "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Faith is trusting God, believing that he loves us, and knows best what is for our own good. Thus instead of our own way, it leads us to choose His way. In place of our ignorance, it accepts His wisdom; in place of our weakness; His strength; in place of our sinfulness, His righteousness. Our lives, ourselves, are already His; faith acknowledges his ownership and accepts its blessing. Truth, uprightness, and purity have been pointed out as secrets of life's success. It is faith that puts us in possession of these principles. Every good impulse or aspiration is the gift of God; faith receives from God the life that alone can produce true growth and efficiency. " (R.H 1908-12-24).

Elder E. O. Douglin 2002-08-17

The Power Of The Promise Part I

The Power Of The New Covenant Call

God’s redemptive 7-fold promise to Abraham contained God’s call and God’s election according to His grace. In other words the Father’s eternal call and His eternal purpose are to be found in His promises. And all His promises are comprehended in the Promise.

“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of One, And to thy Seed, which is Christ.”

“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:16, 29.

“For all the promises of God in Him (Christ Jesus) are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” 2 Cor. 1:20.

Or as the TEV (Today’s English Version) puts it, reading from verse 19:
“ For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you by Silas, Timothy, and myself, is not one who is “Yes” and “No.” On the contrary He is God’s “YES;” for it is He who is the “Yes” to all of God’s promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our “Amen” is said to the glory of God.” 2 Cor. 1:19, 20.

Abraham’s response was “Amen.” The Hebrew word for “Amen” means “to believe” i.e. a heart-felt appreciation for and surrender to God’s love. Abraham’s faith, when eventually perfected, exercised complete and full confidence in God alone and therefore was a faith which stood, without wavering, upon the naked promise of God!

“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith giving glory to God; being fully persuaded that, what God has promised, He was able to perform” Romans 4:20,21.

The Power Of The Call In The Promise

The call is a call to come into the Promise by genuine faith. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. And all the power of the Promise is in the call.

“No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44.

“But there are some of you that believe not. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him) And He said: Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.” John 6: 64, 65.

Therefore it should be clear to everyone that the desire, the ability and the power to come into the Promise are all in the call. Moreover the faith required, to believe the Promise and to come into the Promise, is given by the Promise itself through the call!

“So then faith (cometh) by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom. 10:17.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Heb. 11:8.

We see in this text (Heb 11:8) that Abraham received the faith and the power to obey in the call itself and the call contained all the power of the promised inheritance which is God and His kingdom!

“For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11:10. “ After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I AM THY SHIELD, AND THY EXCEEDING GREAT REWARD.” Gen. 15:1.

The Call Is Based Entirely On God’s Eternal Choice

“According as He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6.

We should read this passage again, this time from the TEV.

“Even before the world was made God had already chosen us to be His through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without blame before Him. Because of His love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would make us His sons – this was his pleasure and purpose. Let us praise God for His glorious grace, for the free gift He gave us in His dear Son.” Eph. 1:4-6 (TEV).

Since the call is grounded in God’s eternal decision it cannot be changed, it cannot be defeated and those who oppose it do so not only in vain but to their own destruction! Not even God can rescind His call.

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Rom. 11:29.

Or as it is better translated in the TEV:

“For God does not change His mind about whom He chooses and blesses.” Romans 11:29. (TEV).

The Apostle Paul further deepens the sweetness of this mystery in Romans 9:10-13 which we shall read in the KJV before reading it in the TEV.

“And this is not all. For Rebecca’s two sons had the same father, our ancestor Isaac. But in order that the choice of one son might be completely the result of God’s own purpose, God said to her, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ He said this before they were born, before they had done anything either good or bad; so God’s choice was based on His call, and not on anything they had done. As the scripture says, ‘I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.” Rom. 9:10-13. (TEV).

Is Paul teaching that God has predestinated some individuals to be lost and some to be saved? Is God unfair?

NO! Absolutely not!

What then is the Apostle saying? How are we to understand such mysteries?

The Call Is Fixed Unchangeably In The Promise

The mystery unfolds when we understand that the calling and the gifts and the eternal decision and the promises are all in CHRIST the Promised Seed or, as He is indeed, the living Promise.

Individuals can accept the call by faith or reject the call by unbelief but with the call “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” James 1:17 because the call like the promise is fixed, eternally fixed, in the Seed, Jesus Christ! Read Romans 9:14-16 in the KJV. And listen to it in the TEV.

“Shall we say, then, that God is unjust? Not at all. For he said to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on anyone I wish; I will take pity on anyone I wish. So then, everything depends, not on what man wants or does, but only on God’s mercy.” Rom. 9:14-16. (TEV).

The soul that depends on God’s mercy and believes His promise is safe.

We see then the futility of Israel’s Old Covenant promises at Sinai.

We also see the absurdity of the bewitched Galatians trying to finish by their efforts what was begun by the Spirit.

Our promises are like ropes of sand. God’s promises are as eternal and as secure as His Godhead. God calls and God makes the promises, our response is to believe and therefore to receive His call and His promises in the Seed Christ Jesus. Let us read John 1:12, 13.

The Old Covenant Israelites exerted all their efforts to call themselves to God. Whereas the gentiles who were not trying to be called believed God’s call when they heard it and became the called of God! Let us read Romans 9:25-33.

Called To Be Children Of The Promise

“That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. Romans 9:8.

Children of the promise! Who are they? They are those who exercise the faith given by the Promise through the call and by exercising this faith they receive the Promise itself; eternal righteousness, eternal life, eternal inheritance. Yea rather they receive the Promise Himself – The Father in Christ by the Holy Spirit! John 17:21-24.

Opposition To The Call And The Promise Swept Away

The call need not vary and cannot vary because all the obstacles, anything or everything that can possibly stand between the transgressor and God is swept away in the sacrifice of Christ.

A T Jones:
“ He took the place of the transgressor: he became flesh, just as is the transgressor: he was made to be sin, just as the transgressor is sin: he bore the sins of men, ‘for the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ He took the condemnation, because the sins of the transgressor were imputed to him. And, as to the transgressor himself, the consciousness of sin is accompanied with the consciousness of guilt and condemnation; so when these sins were imputed to Him who knew no sin, it was the sin indeed, with its accompanying sense of guilt and condemnation. He bore the curse, for sin brings the curse; and he bore the curse even unto death, because sin brings the curse even unto death.

“Thus, ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.’ Thus he redeems them that are under the law. All the penalty, all the curse, all the wrath, all the condemnation, that the law can work upon the transgressor met upon him. And, in the divine sacrifice which he thus made, there was rendered all that the law can ever demand of the transgressor. So that everything that can possibly stand between the transgressor and God is swept away in the sacrifice of Christ.

“In this, God has reconciled the world unto himself so completely that he cannot impute their trespasses unto them (2 Cor. 5:19); and thus is extended freedom – absolute freedom – to every soul in the wide world. And every soul can have it, to the full and to all eternity, merely by accepting it. And, in accepting this redemption from under the law, every soul receives ‘the adoption of sons:’ for, ‘as many as received him, to them gave he power (‘the right, or privilege’ margin) to become the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.’ Gal. 3:26.

“And then, being sons of God, and ‘because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son then an heir of God through Christ.’

“Before this deliverance, we ‘were in bondage under the elements of the world.’ The only elements of the world that there are, are the elements of sin; for ‘all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.’ 1 John 2:16. But, when delivered into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, we ‘have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear,’ but ‘have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bearing ‘witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ:’ Romans 8:15 - 17.

“Joint heirs with Christ.’ That is, all that he had falls also to each one of the other sons. The inheritance is not divided up in equal shares among all the sons, as if they were equal heirs. No; all the inheritance belongs to each one of the sons, because they are joint heirs. This because God has no favorites among his sons; but all that belongs to any one, belongs equally to every other one. Accordingly, all that falls to Christ the son and heir falls also to each and every other son and heir. And this wonderful truth Jesus wants the world to know; for, in his great prayer for us all, he prayed, ‘That the world may know that thou has sent me and has loved them, as thou has loved me.” John 17:23.

“And, this wonderful fact: that God has no favorite nor preference among his sons, but that all are equal, and, therefore, that each redeemed soul is, in his estimation, equal to Jesus, and takes his stand on a plane, and in the reward, equal in all things to Christ: it is this wonderful fact that caused John, in beholding it, to exclaim: ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God….

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1, 2.” R.H May 8, 1900.

Christ therefore is the One who was called and who always responded to the call. He is the Seed in whom is the call and in whom is the promise. But even in His earthly ministry He had to choose to believe in and surrender to His Father’s word. In other words Christ as Representative Man accepted and endorsed God’s eternal choice for the redemption of Adam’s lost race. Therefore God’s eternal call has met its fulfillment in humanity in Christ! The Father therefore draws all human beings to Christ by the same Agapé love which sent Jesus to the Cross and whoever responds to the drawing power of that love by yielding his heart to it will come to Christ and receive Christ and by having Christ will have eternal life!

Only by being in Christ is anyone in God’s call. And only by remaining in Christ does anyone remain in God’s call. Individuals, nations, races or churches which claim that since they were called they must always be the only true people of God irrespective of their acceptance or rejection of gospel truth, deceive themselves.

“The Jews had misinterpreted God’s promise of eternal favour to Israel: ‘Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of host is his name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.’ Jeremiah 31:35-37. The Jews regarded their natural descent from Abraham as giving them a claim to this promise. But they overlooked the conditions which God had specified. Before giving the promise, He had said, ‘I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people…. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’ Jeremiah 31:33, 34.

“To a people in whose hearts His law is written, the favor of God is assured. They are one with Him. But the Jews had separated themselves from God. Because of their sins they were suffering under His judgements. This was the cause of their bondage to a heathen nation. Their minds were darkened by transgression, and because in times past the Lord had shown them so great favor, they excused their sins. They flattered themselves that they were better than other men, and entitled to His blessing.

“These things ‘are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.’ 1 Corinthians 10:11. How often we misinterpret God’s blessings, and flatter ourselves that we are favored on account of some goodness in us! God cannot do for us that which He longs to do. His gifts are used to increase our self-satisfaction, and to harden our hearts in unbelief and sin.

“John declared to the teachers of Israel that their pride, selfishness, and cruelty, showed them to be a generation of vipers, a deadly curse to the people, rather than the children of just and obedient Abraham. In view of the light they had received from God, they were even worse than the heathen, to whom they felt so much superior. They had forgotten the rock whence they were hewn, and the hole of the pit from which they had been dug. God was not dependent upon them for the fulfilling of His purpose. As He had called Abraham out from a heathen people, so He could call others to His service. Their hearts might now appear as lifeless as the stones of the desert, but His Spirit could quicken them to do His will, and receive the fulfillment of His promise.” D.A. p. 106-107.

New Covenant Appeal

“The birth of a son to Zacharias, like the birth of the child of Abraham, and that of Mary, was to teach a great spiritual truth, a truth that we are slow to learn and ready to forget. In ourselves we are incapable of doing any good thing: but that which we cannot do will be wrought by the power of God in every submissive and believing soul. It was through faith that the child of promise was given. It is through faith that spiritual life is begotten, and we are enabled to do the works of righteousness.” D.A. p. 98.

The Power Of The Promise Part II

The Height Of The New Covenant Call

God has a purpose; it works by a process of election; and it cannot fail. In other words, whatever happens, God’s purpose, which operates on the basis of election, stands firm. When viewed from the human side this means that not works but the call of God is decisive. Obviously and evidently calling and faith correspond; faith is the answer to God’s call – as the example of Abraham makes clear (Heb. 11:8).

Not works but faith leads to justification, and faith works!

Not works but God’s call admits to the promise and the faith, which answers the call, works.

These are different ways of expressing the same truth!

It is important to recall here that the seed of Abraham contracted until it became ultimately Christ, and was subsequently expanded to include those who were or are in Christ. This means that election does not take place (as might at first appear from Paul’s examples) arbitrarily or fortuitously; it takes place always and only in Christ. They are elect who are in Him; they who are elect are in Him.

It is failure to remember this fact that causes confusion over Paul’s doctrines of election and predestination.

The High Calling Of God In Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:8-14)

There are two distinct but inseparable dimensions of the call. The first is the call to come into the Promise. The second is the call to reach the highest height within the Promise. In both cases the drawing power is the power of God’s Agapé love and our response is to exercise our God-given faith to believe and surrender completely to Jesus.

The New Covenant principles are clear. God promises all and gives all because God is love. And the same divine self-sacrificing love, which promises all and gives all, calls us to believe and receive the promises and gifts and to let them work in us that miraculous transformation of character which will bring us to the measure of the stature of Christ!

Always remember that all the power of the promise is in the call. In other words; in the New Covenant, the call is the call of God; the drawing-power is the drawing power of God’s infinite Love; the promises are the promises of God; the work is the work of God; the gifts are freely given by God. And the believer’s response from start to finish is the faith-response which lets the call, the promises, the gifts and the works of God accomplish God’s will in the believer’s life.

In the Old Covenant people seek by their own calling, their own promises, their own devisings, their own works, to start (Israel at Sinai) or to complete (the Galatians error) the work of God both in their own lives and in the world. In either case it is the flesh and not the Spirit in control.

As A T Jones puts it:
“ The Old Covenant consisted, and ever consists, of the promises and the works, of the righteousness, of people who know only the birth and the mind of the flesh. The New Covenant consists forever of the promises and the works of righteousness of God in those who know the birth of the Spirit by the promise of God.” R & H. 1900-07-24

The 8 Characteristics Of The Call

1. It is a heavenly calling. Hebrews 3:1

2. It is a holy calling. 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Thess. 4:7

3. It is a high calling. Phil. 3:14; Rev. 3:21; Rom. 8:37

4. It is an unchangeable calling. Rom. 11:29

5. It is a call to liberty. Gal. 5:13

6. It is a call to peace. 1 Cor. 7:15

7. It is a call to glory and virtue. 2 Peter 1:3; 2 Thess. 2:14

8. It is a call to eternal life.1 Tim. 6:12

Our Responsibilities

1. To walk worthy of our calling. Ephesians 4:1

2. To work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Phil. 2:12

3. To make our calling and election sure. 2 Peter 1:10

But how do we walk worthy of our God-given calling? How do we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling?

We should fear and tremble less we take ourselves out of God’s hands and try, at any stage in our spiritual growth, to do the work ourselves.

“For it is god which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13.

Oh how easy it is, especially when God is doing a great work in our lives or in our Movement, to transfer our dependence from God to ourselves! The thought of this should make us fear and tremble.

The Apostle Peter tells us that we must always remember that God has already given us all things that are necessary for spiritual life and godliness through the knowledge of Jesus. And the “all things” He has given us, are in His promises! Let us read 2 Peter 1:3,4. Then in verses 5-7 the Apostle tells us that our responsibility is to claim and receive into our character building the following gifts: faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love.

Finally the Apostle gives his admonition in verses 8-12. Let us read these verses carefully.

Who Does The Work Is Of Crucial And Critical Importance

When God works, self is crucified and buried out of sight and there is rest in the soul. Let us read Galatians 2:20, 21; Romans 4:5; Matt. 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:3.

When self works, God is put out of sight and there is no rest. Romans 4:4; Hebrews 4:1, 2; 3:10, 11.

And yet when God works, the believer is worked by God’s Spirit to manifest good works in the life and to be busy doing God’s work in God’s way in the world. John 14:10; 1 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 3:16-21; 1 Thess. 1:3, 4.

Conclusion

"Know ye not . . . that ye are not your own? for ye are bought with a price." What a price has been paid for us! Behold the cross and the victim uplifted upon it. Look at those hands, pierced with cruel nails. Look at his feet, fastened with spikes to the tree. Christ bore our sins in his own body. That suffering, that agony, is the price of your redemption. Know you not that he loved us, and gave himself for us, that we in return should give ourselves to him? Why should not love to Christ be expressed by all who received him by faith, as verily as his love has been expressed for us for whom he died?

Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Christ the Word, the revelation of God, – the manifestation of his character, his law, his love, his life, – is the only foundation upon which we can build a character that will endure.

We build on Christ by obeying his word. It is not he who merely enjoys righteousness, that is righteous, but he who does righteousness. Holiness is not rapture; it is the result of surrendering all to God; it is doing the will of our Heavenly Father. Religion consists in doing the words of Christ; not doing to earn God's favor, but because, all undeserving, we have received the gift of his love. Christ places the salvation of man, not upon profession merely, but upon faith that is made manifest in works of righteousness. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Not those whose hearts are touched by the Spirit, not those who now and then yield to its power, but they that are led by the Spirit, are the sons of God.

To live by the word of God means the surrender to him of the whole life. There will be felt a continual sense of need and dependence, a drawing out of the heart after God. Prayer is a necessity; for it is the life of the soul. Family prayer, public prayer, have their place; but it is secret communion with God that sustains the soul-life. It was in the mount with God that Moses beheld the pattern of that wonderful building that was to be the abiding-place of God's glory. It is in the mount with God, – in the secret place of communion, – that we are to contemplate his glorious ideal for humanity. Thus we shall be able so to fashion our character building that to us may be fulfilled his promise. "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." R .H. Dec 31, 1908.

Appeal

God in Christ by His Holy Spirit is calling you into the Promise, into Christ. And within the Promise, in Christ, God is still calling you to the highest height of the measure of the stature of Jesus.

Look to Jesus. He is the beginner and finisher of our faith. Believe His promises, surrender to His call. Always be children of the Promise, always be driven by the call.

His love will never fail you.

Do not fail Him through unbelief.

Have faith in God!

The Power of the Promise – Part III

Jacob and Esau – Part I

In the early books of the Bible, after Genesis, God is frequently called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (e.g. Exodus 3:15). The Apostle Paul read and studied the life stories of those three great patriarchs. He understood the instruction given in the record of the life stories of the patriarchs as being both factual and allegorical.

In Galatians 4:21-31 Paul uses the story of Abraham and his two sons to explain the two covenants, the Sinaitic old covenant and the Abrahamic New Covenant. And in Romans 9:10-13 he uses the story of Isaac and his two sons to shed further light on the covenants including God’s calling and election.

In the account of Abraham’s life the pivotal point was the promised son. Abraham believed God’s 7-fold promise and was justified by faith (Rom. 4:1-3) and converted. Later on he listened to Sarai’s suggestion and lapsed into Old Covenant unbelief concerning the promised son. Eventually, through triumphant faith in God’s naked promise, they received the son of promise, Isaac.

Isaac married Rebekah. It was like a “dream” marriage at first but difficulties lay ahead. Rebekah gave birth to two sons. These two sons had the same father Isaac, Abraham’s son of promise, and the same mother, Rebekah, God’s chosen wife for Isaac. They received the same instructions, nay, rather Isaac reinforced Esau’s mind with the fact that, being first born, the birthright and covenant blessings were his. Only one of the two sons could receive the birthright and covenant blessings and the first-born was entitled to them. Which one would accept the call and become elected into the Promise? There are wonderful lessons in this story but before we go any further in the analysis let us learn from the account of the mysterious life-story from Patriarchs and Prophets chapter 16.

“Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac, present a striking contrast, both in character and in life. This unlikeness was foretold by the angel of God before their birth. When in answer to Rebekah's troubled prayer he declared that two sons would be given her, he opened to her their future history, that each would become the head of a mighty nation, but that one would be greater than the other, and that the younger would have the pre-eminence.

Esau grew up loving self-gratification and centering all his interest in the present. Impatient of restraint, he delighted in the wild freedom of the chase, and early chose the life of a hunter. Yet he was the father's favorite. The quiet, peace-loving shepherd was attracted by the daring and vigor of this elder son, who fearlessly ranged over mountain and desert, returning home with game for his father and with exciting accounts of his adventurous life. Jacob, thoughtful, diligent, and care-taking, ever thinking more of the future than the present, was content to dwell at home, occupied in the care of the flocks and the tillage of the soil. His patient perseverance, thrift, and foresight were valued by the mother. His affections were deep and strong, and his gentle, unremitting attentions added far more to her happiness than did the boisterous and occasional kindnesses of Esau. To Rebekah, Jacob was the dearer son.

The promises made to Abraham and confirmed to his son were held by Isaac and Rebekah as the great object of their desires and hopes. With these promises Esau and Jacob were familiar. They were taught to regard the birthright as a matter of great importance, for it included not only an inheritance of worldly wealth but spiritual pre-eminence. He who received it was to be the priest of his family, and in the line of his posterity the Redeemer of the world would come. On the other hand, there were obligations resting upon the possessor of the birthright. He who should inherit its blessings must devote his life to the service of God. Like Abraham, he must be obedient to the divine requirements. In marriage, in his family relations, in public life, he must consult the will of God.

Isaac made known to his sons these privileges and conditions, and plainly stated that Esau, as the eldest, was the one entitled to the birthright. But Esau had no love for devotion, no inclination to a religious life. The requirements that accompanied the spiritual birthright were an unwelcome and even hateful restraint to him. The law of God, which was the condition of the divine covenant with Abraham, was regarded by Esau as a yoke of bondage. Bent on self-indulgence, he desired nothing so much as liberty to do as he pleased. To him power and riches, feasting and reveling, were happiness. He gloried in the unrestrained freedom of his wild, roving life. Rebekah remembered the words of the angel, and she read with clearer insight than did her husband the character of their sons. She was convinced that the heritage of divine promise was intended for Jacob. She repeated to Isaac the angel's words; but the father's affections were centered upon the elder son, and he was unshaken in his purpose.

Jacob had learned from his mother of the divine intimation that the birthright should fall to him, and he was filled with an unspeakable desire for the privileges which it would confer. It was not the possession of his father's wealth that he craved; the spiritual birthright was the object of his longing. To commune with God as did righteous Abraham, to offer the sacrifice of atonement for his family, to be the progenitor of the chosen people and of the promised Messiah, and to inherit the immortal possessions embraced in the blessings of the covenant-here were the privileges and honors that kindled his most ardent desires. His mind was ever reaching forward to the future, and seeking to grasp its unseen blessings.

With secret longing he listened to all that his father told concerning the spiritual birthright; he carefully treasured what he had learned from his mother. Day and night the subject occupied his thoughts, until it became the absorbing interest of his life. But while he thus esteemed eternal above temporal blessings, Jacob had not an experimental knowledge of the God whom he revered. His heart had not been renewed by divine grace. He believed that the promise concerning himself could not be fulfilled so long as Esau retained the rights of the first-born, and he constantly studied to devise some way whereby he might secure the blessing which his brother held so lightly, but which was so precious to himself.

When Esau, coming home one day faint and weary from the chase, asked for the food that Jacob was preparing, the latter, with whom one thought was ever uppermost, seized upon his advantage, and offered to satisfy his brother's hunger at the price of the birthright. "Behold, I am at the point to die," cried the reckless, self-indulgent hunter, "and what profit shall this birthright do to me?" And for a dish of red pottage he parted with his birthright, and confirmed the transaction by an oath. A short time at most would have secured him food in his father's tents, but to satisfy the desire of the moment he carelessly bartered the glorious heritage that God Himself had promised to his fathers. His whole interest was in the present. He was ready to sacrifice the heavenly to the earthly, to exchange a future good for a momentary indulgence.

"Thus Esau despised his birthright." In disposing of it he felt a sense of relief. Now his way was unobstructed; he could do as he liked. For this wild pleasure, miscalled freedom, how many are still selling their birthright to an inheritance pure and undefiled, eternal in the heavens!

Ever subject to mere outward and earthly attractions, Esau took two wives of the daughters of Heth. They were worshipers of false gods, and their idolatry was a bitter grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau had violated one of the conditions of the covenant, which forbade intermarriage between the chosen people and the heathen; yet Isaac was still unshaken in his determination to bestow upon him the birthright. The reasoning of Rebekah, Jacob's strong desire for the blessing, and Esau's indifference to its obligations had no effect to change the father's purpose.

Years passed on, until Isaac, old and blind, and expecting soon to die, determined no longer to delay the bestowal of the blessing upon his elder son. But knowing the opposition of Rebekah and Jacob, he decided to perform the solemn ceremony in secret. In accordance with the custom of making a feast upon such occasions, the patriarch bade Esau, "Go out to the field, and take me some venison; and make me savory meat, . . . that my soul may bless thee before I die."

Rebekah divined his purpose. She was confident that it was contrary to what God had revealed as His will. Isaac was in danger of incurring the divine displeasure and of debarring his younger son from the position to which God had called him. She had in vain tried the effect of reasoning with Isaac, and she determined to resort to stratagem.

No sooner had Esau departed on his errand than Rebekah set about the accomplishment of her purpose. She told Jacob what had taken place, urging the necessity of immediate action to prevent the bestowal of the blessing, finally and irrevocably, upon Esau. And she assured her son that if he would follow her directions, he might obtain it as God had promised. Jacob did not readily consent to the plan that she proposed. The thought of deceiving his father caused him great distress. He felt that such a sin would bring a curse rather than a blessing. But his scruples were overborne, and he proceeded to carry out his mother's suggestions. It was not his intention to utter a direct falsehood, but once in the presence of his father he seemed to have gone too far to retreat, and he obtained by fraud the coveted blessing.

Jacob and Rebekah succeeded in their purpose, but they gained only trouble and sorrow by their deception. God had declared that Jacob should receive the birthright, and His word would have been fulfilled in His own time had they waited in faith for Him to work for them. But like many who now profess to be children of God, they were unwilling to leave the matter in His hands. Rebekah bitterly repented the wrong counsel she had given her son; it was the means of separating him from her, and she never saw his face again. From the hour when he received the birthright, Jacob was weighed down with self-condemnation. He had sinned against his father, his brother, his own soul, and against God. In one short hour he had made work for a lifelong repentance. This scene was vivid before him in afteryears, when the wicked course of his sons oppressed his soul.

No sooner had Jacob left his father's tent than Esau entered. Though he had sold his birthright, and confirmed the transfer by a solemn oath, he was now determined to secure its blessings, regardless of his brother's claim. With the spiritual was connected the temporal birthright, which would give him the headship of the family and possession of a double portion of his father's wealth. These were blessings that he could value. "Let my father arise," he said, "and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me."

Trembling with astonishment and distress, the blind old father learned the deception that had been practiced upon him. His long and fondly cherished hopes had been thwarted, and he keenly felt the disappointment that must come upon his elder son. Yet the conviction flashed upon him that it was God's providence which had defeated his purpose and brought about the very thing he had determined to prevent. He remembered the words of the angel to Rebekah, and notwithstanding the sin of which Jacob was now guilty, he saw in him the one best fitted to accomplish the purposes of God. While the words of blessing were upon his lips, he had felt the Spirit of inspiration upon him; and now, knowing all the circumstances, he ratified the benediction unwittingly pronounced upon Jacob: "I have blessed him; yea, and he shall be blessed."

Esau had lightly valued the blessing while it seemed within his reach, but he desired to possess it now that it was gone from him forever. All the strength of his impulsive, passionate nature was aroused, and his grief and rage were terrible. He cried with an exceeding bitter cry, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?" But the promise given was not to be recalled. The birthright which he had so carelessly bartered he could not now regain. "For one morsel of meat," for a momentary gratification of appetite that had never been restrained, Esau sold his inheritance; but when he saw his folly, it was too late to recover the blessing. "He found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." Hebrews 12:16, 17. Esau was not shut out from the privilege of seeking God's favor by repentance, but he could find no means of recovering the birthright. His grief did not spring from conviction of sin; he did not desire to be reconciled to God. He sorrowed because of the results of his sin, but not for the sin itself.

Because of his indifference to the divine blessings and requirements, Esau is called in Scripture "a profane person." Verse 16. He represents those who lightly value the redemption purchased for them by Christ, and are ready to sacrifice their heirship to heaven for the perishable things of earth. Multitudes live for the present, with no thought or care for the future. Like Esau they cry, "Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die." 1 Corinthians 15:32. They are controlled by inclination; and rather than practice self-denial, they will forgo the most valuable considerations. If one must be relinquished, the gratification of a depraved appetite or the heavenly blessings promised only to the self-denying and God-fearing, the claims of appetite prevail, and God and heaven are virtually despised. How many, even of professed Christians, cling to indulgences that are injurious to health and that benumb the sensibilities of the soul. When the duty is presented of cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, they are offended. They see that they cannot retain these hurtful gratifications and yet secure heaven, and they conclude that since the way to eternal life is so strait, they will no longer walk therein.

Multitudes are selling their birthright for sensual indulgence. Health is sacrificed, the mental faculties are enfeebled, and heaven is forfeited; and all for a mere temporary pleasure--an indulgence at once both weakening and debasing in its character. As Esau awoke to see the folly of his rash exchange when it was too late to recover his loss, so it will be in the day of God with those who have bartered their heirship to heaven for selfish gratifications.” P.P. Chapter 16.

Unreserved Surrender

“God will accept nothing less than unreserved surrender. Half-hearted, sinful Christians can never enter heaven. There they would find no happiness; for they know nothing of the high, holy principles that govern the members of the royal family.

The true Christian keeps the windows of the soul open heavenward. He lives in fellowship with Christ. His will is conformed to the will of Christ. His highest desire is to become more and more Christlike, that he may say with Paul: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

Earnestly and untiringly we are to strive to reach God's ideal for us. Not as a penance are we to do this, but as the only means of gaining true happiness. The only way to gain peace and joy is to have a living connection with him who gave his life for us, who died that we might live, and who lives to unite his power with the efforts of those who are striving to overcome.

Holiness is constant agreement with God. Shall we not strive to be that which Christ so greatly desires us to be--Christians in deed and in truth,--that the world may see in our lives a revelation of the saving power of truth? This world is our preparatory school. While here we shall meet with trials and difficulties. Continually the enemy of God will seek to draw us away from our allegiance. But while we cleave to him who gave himself for us, we are safe. The whole world was gathered into the embrace of Christ. He died on the cross to destroy him who had the power of death, and to take away the sin of every believing soul. He calls upon us to offer ourselves on the altar of service, a living, consuming sacrifice. We are to make an unreserved consecration to God of all that we have and are.

In this lower school of earth we are to learn the lessons that will prepare us to enter the higher school, where our education will continue under the personal instruction of Christ. Then he will open to us the meaning of his word. Shall we not, in the few days of probation remaining to us, act like men and women who are seeking for life in the kingdom of God, even an eternity of bliss? We can not afford to miss the privilege of seeing Christ face to face, and of hearing from his lips the story of redemption. Shall we put our whole souls into the work of preparing for admission into the higher school, or shall we trifle away the gracious opportunity, wasting the months and years so rapidly passing into eternity?” R.H. 05-16-1907.

The Power of the Promise – Part IV

Jacob and Esau – Part II

In our last lesson we saw that both Esau and Jacob were initially unconverted but yet had different attitudes to God’s call and election. Esau’s attitude was one of total indifference. His father Isaac had drilled into him the importance of the spiritual blessings of the Birthright and Covenant promises and had emphasized that these blessings were his by virtue of the fact that he was firstborn. But Esau couldn’t care less. He felt that the responsibility required would be too much of a burden and therefore he refused to respond positively even to the call.

Jacob, on the other hand, cherished the desire to have the birthright and covenant blessings. In contrast to Esau, who couldn’t care less, Jacob couldn’t care more. Day by day one thought, and only one, occupied his as yet unconverted mind. He wanted the spiritual blessings of the Promise more than anything else.

Undoubtedly God’s spirit appealed strongly to both hearts. Esau resisted the Spirit’s call until all was lost, whereas Jacob cherished the Spirit’s call and was slowly yielding to the Spirit’s drawing.

The mystery of human choice is mind-boggling. Why would Esau reject the call? One thing is clear, every one has freedom of choice and everyone can choose to believe. There is no explanation for the origin of unbelief just as there is no explanation for the origin of sin. The Bible calls it the mystery of iniquity.

But there is a practical lesson here for us. According to tradition the firstborn should have been the one, but here God shows that His purpose, which works by the process of election and which cannot fail, transcends all human devisings and traditions. The firstborn who was elected by human tradition was not elected by God’s purpose. Why? He refused God’s call into the Promise and rather than making his calling and election sure he made his non-election sure! And therefore the mysterious prediction came true.

That is, they which are children of the flesh these are not the children of god: but the children of the promise are counted for seed. Romans 9:8.

How?

But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of God. John 1:12,13.

Therefore:

… when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;). It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau have I hated. Romans 9:10-13.

To Reject The Call Is To Commit The Unpardonable Sin

Paul calls Esau a profane person, a person who prefers the “so called” fun and pleasures of this world (eat, drink, be merry; indulge the night club life; wine, women and music) to the new covenant blessings of eternal righteousness, eternal life and the eternal throne of God!

Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

For ye know how afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance (no way to change his mind), though he sought it carefully with tears. Hebrews 12:16, 17.

God is calling you at this very moment! Are you resisting or are you yielding?

And the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Rev. 22:17.

Esau could not repent because repentance is given by the promise through the call. To reject the call is to reject the gift of repentance.

Old Covenant Devisings To Obtain New Covenant Blessings?

Jacob’s as yet unconverted heart cherished the call but had not yet reached that level of surrender to be born again. And so, knowing only the birth of the flesh and the carnal mind, he was always scheming and devising ways of obtaining the birthright and New Covenant blessings.

God had promised that the younger Jacob would have had the preeminence over the older Esau and the promise would have been fulfilled by God, in God’s time and in God’s way! But whereas the new covenant experience is characterized by patience, faith, and righteousness (Rev. 14:12), the Old Covenant experience is characterized by impatience, unbelief and unrighteousness!

Jacob’s first piece of scheming is described in Gen. 25:29-34. He bargained with the hungry Esau and managed to get Esau to sell him the birthright, as a matter of fact, scripture says that “Esau despised his birthright.” Gen. 25:34.

In the second piece of scheming Jacob’s mother, Isaac’s wife, Rebekah devised an unrighteous carnal scheme to obtain the birthright New-Covenant blessings by fraud. This parallels Sarah’s scheme in which she told Abraham to go into Hagar to get Ishmael.

The difference between the two old covenant schemes was that Sarah’s scheme produced the wrong result by the wrong method whereas Rebekah’s scheme produced the right result by the wrong method.

In Paul’s analysis of Abraham’s family story he uses Hagar as a symbol of the covenant from Sinai – the Old Covenant (Galatians 4:21-31). In the analysis of the Isaac’s family story who is the symbol of the covenant from Sinai? Undoubtedly the answer is Jacob the fraud, the “con-man”, the schemer. In the Abraham family story Hagar had to go away from the family. Similarly, in the Isaac family story, Jacob, the deceiver, had to go away from the family and when he should later return it would not be Jacob, the Old Covenant deceiver or supplanter, but rather Israel, the New Covenant Victor! Therefore between the going away and the return there would have to be a radical conversion, with a thorough cleansing from Old Covenant methodology and complete commitment to New Covenant principles by faith in the naked promises of God.

In being purged from his Old Covenant sins Jacob would have to undergo much suffering in order to learn the obedience of faith. The suffering would not be arbitrarily inflicted it would be the result of the outworking of the law of sowing and reaping. The same deception be practiced on Isaac to obtain the birthright would be practiced on him by Laban, his uncle, when he, Jacob, sought to marry his true-love Rachel. The Old Covenant definitely produces bondage, suffering, pain, and separation but the suffering is used by God to purge us of Old Covenant unbelief and Old Covenant devisings.

Let us now continue to follow the story in Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 17.

“ Threatened with death by the wrath of Esau, Jacob went out from his father's home a fugitive; but he carried with him the father's blessing; Isaac had renewed to him the covenant promise, and had bidden him, as its inheritor, to seek a wife of his mother's family in Mesopotamia. Yet it was with a deeply troubled heart that Jacob set out on his lonely journey. With only his staff in his hand he must travel hundreds of miles through a country inhabited by wild, roving tribes. In his remorse and timidity he sought to avoid men, lest he should be traced by his angry brother. He feared that he had lost forever the blessing that God had purposed to give him; and Satan was at hand to press temptations upon him.

The evening of the second day found him far away from his father's tents. He felt that he was an outcast, and he knew that all this trouble had been brought upon him by his own wrong course. The darkness of despair pressed upon his soul, and he hardly dared to pray. But he was so utterly lonely that he felt the need of protection from God as he had never felt it before. With weeping and deep humiliation he confessed his sin, and entreated for some evidence that he was not utterly forsaken. Still his burdened heart found no relief. He had lost all confidence in himself, and he feared that the God of his fathers had cast him off.

But God did not forsake Jacob. His mercy was still extended to His erring, distrustful servant. The Lord compassionately revealed just what Jacob needed--a Saviour. He had sinned, but his heart was filled with gratitude as he saw revealed a way by which he could be restored to the favor of God.

Wearied with his journey, the wanderer lay down upon the ground, with a stone for his pillow. As he slept he beheld a ladder, bright and shining, whose base rested upon the earth, while the top reached to heaven. Upon this ladder angels were ascending and descending; above it was the Lord of glory, and from the heavens His voice was heard: "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac." The land whereon he lay as an exile and fugitive was promised to him and to his posterity, with the assurance, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." This promise had been given to Abraham and to Isaac, and now it was renewed to Jacob. Then in special regard to his present loneliness and distress, the words of comfort and encouragement were spoken: "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

The Lord knew the evil influences that would surround Jacob, and the perils to which he would be exposed. In mercy He opened up the future before the repentant fugitive, that he might understand the divine purpose with reference to himself, and be prepared to resist the temptations that would surely come to him when alone amid idolaters and scheming men. There would be ever before him the high standard at which he must aim; and the knowledge that through him the purpose of God was reaching its accomplishment, would constantly prompt him to faithfulness.

In the vision the plan of redemption was presented to Jacob, not fully, but in such parts as were essential to him at that time. The mystic ladder revealed to him in his dream was the same to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nathanael. Said He, "Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." John 1:51. Up to the time of man's rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker. Yet the world was not left in solitary hopelessness. The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of communication. Had He not with His own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels could have held no communion with fallen man. Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness with the source of infinite power.

All this was revealed to Jacob in his dream. Although his mind at once grasped a part of the revelation, its great and mysterious truths were the study of his lifetime, and unfolded to his understanding more and more.

Jacob awoke from his sleep in the deep stillness of night. The shining forms of his vision had disappeared. Only the dim outline of the lonely hills, and above them the heavens bright with stars, now met his gaze. But he had a solemn sense that God was with him. An unseen presence filled the solitude. "Surely the Lord is in this place," he said, "and I knew it not. . . . This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

" And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. "In accordance with the custom of commemorating important events, Jacob set up a memorial of God's mercy, that whenever he should pass that way he might tarry at this sacred spot to worship the Lord. And he called the place Bethel, or the "house of God." With deep gratitude he repeated the promise that God's presence would be with him; and then he made the solemn vow, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee."

Jacob was not here seeking to make terms with God. The Lord had already promised him prosperity, and this vow was the outflow of a heart filled with gratitude for the assurance of God's love and mercy. Jacob felt that God had claims upon him which he must acknowledge, and that the special tokens of divine favor granted him demanded a return. So does every blessing bestowed upon us call for a response to the Author of all our mercies. The Christian should often review his past life and recall with gratitude the precious deliverances that God has wrought for him, supporting him in trial, opening ways before him when all seemed dark and forbidding, refreshing him when ready to faint. He should recognize all of them as evidences of the watchcare of heavenly angels. In view of these innumerable blessings he should often ask, with subdued and grateful heart, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" Psalm 116:12.

Our time, our talents, our property, should be sacredly devoted to Him who has given us these blessings in trust. Whenever a special deliverance is wrought in our behalf, or new and unexpected favors are granted us, we should acknowledge God's goodness, not only by expressing our gratitude in words, but, like Jacob, by gifts and offerings to His cause. As we are continually receiving the blessings of God, so we are to be continually giving.

" Of all that Thou shalt give me," said Jacob, "I will surely give the tenth unto Thee." Shall we who enjoy the full light and privileges of the gospel be content to give less to God than was given by those who lived in the former, less favored dispensation? Nay, as the blessings we enjoy are greater, are not our obligations correspondingly increased? But how small the estimate; how vain the endeavor to measure with mathematical rules, time, money, and love, against a love so immeasurable and a gift of such inconceivable worth. Tithes for Christ! Oh, meager pittance, shameful recompense for that which cost so much! From the cross of Calvary, Christ calls for an unreserved consecration. All that we have, all that we are, should be devoted to God.

With a new and abiding faith in the divine promises, and assured of the presence and guardianship of heavenly angels, Jacob pursued his journey to "the land of the children of the East." Genesis 29:1, margin. But how different his arrival from that of Abraham's messenger nearly a hundred years before! The servant had come with a train of attendants riding upon camels, and with rich gifts of gold and silver; the son was a lonely, footsore traveler, with no possession save his staff. Like Abraham's servant, Jacob tarried beside a well, and it was here that he met Rachel, Laban's younger daughter. It was Jacob now who rendered service, rolling the stone from the well and watering the flocks. On making known his kinship, he was welcomed to the home of Laban. Though he came portionless and unattended, a few weeks showed the worth of his diligence and skill, and he was urged to tarry. It was arranged that he should render Laban seven years' service for the hand of Rachel.” P.P. 188.

Conclusion

God is merciful. He does not forsake his own because they are in the Old Covenant condition but He patiently, tenderly works with them to bring them into the beautiful victorious New Covenant experience. Both Abraham and Jacob had to learn the lessons of implicit faith in God’s promises. And they learnt the hard way. We have their example. Shouldn’t it be easier for us?

Faith is the victory!

Appeal

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." Let no one try to carry his own sins, for they have been atoned for by the great sin-bearer. The only begotten Son of God voluntarily met the claims of God's violated law. He was stricken of God and afflicted in our behalf. One with the Father, he was fully able to bear the penalty of our disobedience. By connecting his divinity with our humanity, Christ has exalted the human family. His divinity grasps the throne of the Infinite in behalf of man. As our substitute, he took our sins upon himself, and now he intercedes before the Father in our behalf. "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of his people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted."

It is impossible for us to save ourselves. Only by the efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ can we be saved. He died on Calvary's cross for us, and we may be complete in him; for his sacrifice is all-sufficient. Why will you keep your eyes fastened on self, when your Saviour stands beside you, saying, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"? "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Lay your sins on me.

Satan will come to you, saying, "You are a sinner;" but do not allow him to fill your mind with the thought that because you are sinful, God has cast you off. Say to him, Yes; I am a sinner, and for that very reason I need a Saviour. I need forgiveness and pardon, and Christ says that if I will come to him, I shall not perish. In his letter to me I read, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." When Satan tells you that you are lost, answer, Yes; but Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. "A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench." The greater my sin, the greater my need of a Saviour.

The moment you grasp God's promises by faith, saying, I am the lost sheep Jesus came to save, a new life will take possession of you, and you will receive strength to resist the tempter. But faith to grasp the promises does not come by feeling. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." You must not look for some great change to take place; you must not expect to feel some wonderful emotion. The Spirit of God alone can make a lasting impression on the mind.

Christ longs to see his people resist the adversary of souls; but only by looking away from self to Jesus can we do this. Cease to bemoan your helpless condition; for your Saviour is touched with the feeling of your infirmities, and to-day he says to you, Be not discouraged, but cast your burdens upon me. I will take them all, and will bring to pass that which is good for your soul. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, we shall be inspired with hope and shall see the salvation of God; for he is able to keep us from falling. When we are tempted to mourn, let us force our lips to utter the praises of God; for he is worthy of praise. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." "Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

Never has a soul that trusts in Jesus been left to perish. "I, even I, am he," the Lord declares, "that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance; let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified." "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain; I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. . . . Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." Respond to the calls of God's love, and say, I will trust in the Lord, and be comforted; for he has loved me. I will praise the Lord, for his anger is turned away.” R.H. 15-09-1896.

The Power of the Promise – Part V

Lessons from Esau and Jacob – Part III

Twenty years had passed since Jacob had left the house of his father Isaac and had repented of his sin at Bethel. The life-experiences he enjoyed and endured in Padan-aram were the outworking of the principles of sowing and reaping but were overruled by God’s mercy. The years of toil and labour amidst the selfish scheming of his uncle Laban had taught Jacob precious lessons of faith, discipline, patience, endurance and, above all, absolute dependence upon God’s word.

But, like Abraham before him, he had to undergo one last terrible test to forever fix and confirm his mind and heart in the New Covenant.

We continue now with the story from Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 18.

The Night Of Wrestling

“Though Jacob had left Padan-aram in obedience to the divine direction, it was not without many misgivings that he retraced the road which he had trodden as a fugitive twenty years before. His sin in the deception of his father was ever before him. He knew that his long exile was the direct result of that sin, and he pondered over these things day and night, the reproaches of an accusing conscience making his journey very sad. As the hills of his native land appeared before him in the distance, the heart of the patriarch was deeply moved. All the past rose vividly before him. With the memory of his sin came also the thought of God's favor toward him, and the promises of divine help and guidance.

As he drew nearer his journey's end, the thought of Esau brought many a troubled foreboding. After the flight of Jacob, Esau had regarded himself as the sole heir of their father's possessions. The news of Jacob's return would excite the fear that he was coming to claim the inheritance. Esau was now able to do his brother great injury, if so disposed, and he might be moved to violence against him, not only by the desire for revenge, but in order to secure undisturbed possession of the wealth which he had so long looked upon as his own.

Again the Lord granted Jacob a token of the divine care. As he traveled southward from Mount Gilead, two hosts of heavenly angels seemed to encompass him behind and before, advancing with his company, as if for their protection. Jacob remembered the vision at Bethel so long before, and his burdened heart grew lighter at this evidence that the divine messengers who had brought him hope and courage at his flight from Canaan were to be the guardians of his return. And he said, "This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim"--"two hosts, or, camps."

Yet Jacob felt that he had something to do to secure his own safety. He therefore dispatched messengers with a conciliatory greeting to his brother. He instructed them as to the exact words in which they were to address Esau. It had been foretold before the birth of the two brothers that the elder should serve the younger, and, lest the memory of this should be a cause of bitterness, Jacob told the servants they were sent to "my lord Esau;" when brought before him, they were to refer to their master as "thy servant Jacob;" and to remove the fear that he was returning, a destitute wanderer, to claim the paternal inheritance, Jacob was careful to state in his message, "I have oxen, an asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight."

But the servants returned with the tidings that Esau was approaching with four hundred men, and no response was sent to the friendly message. It appeared certain that he was coming to seek revenge. Terror pervaded the camp. "Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed." He could not go back, and he feared to advance. His company, unarmed and defenseless, were wholly unprepared for a hostile encounter. He accordingly divided them into two bands, so that if one should be attacked, the other might have an opportunity to escape. He sent from his vast flocks generous presents to Esau, with a friendly message. He did all in his power to atone for the wrong to his brother and to avert the threatened danger, and then in humiliation and repentance he pleaded for divine protection: Thou "saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children."

They had now reached the river Jabbok, and as night came on, Jacob sent his family across the ford of the river, while he alone remained behind. He had decided to spend the night in prayer, and he desired to be alone with God. God could soften the heart of Esau. In Him was the patriarch's only hope.

It was in a lonely, mountainous region, the haunt of wild beasts and the lurking place of robbers and murderers. Solitary and unprotected, Jacob bowed in deep distress upon the earth. It was midnight. All that made life dear to him were at a distance, exposed to danger and death. Bitterest of all was the thought that it was his own sin which had brought this peril upon the innocent. With earnest cries and tears he made his prayer before God. Suddenly a strong hand was laid upon him. He thought that an enemy was seeking his life, and he endeavored to wrest himself from the grasp of his assailant. In the darkness the two struggled for the mastery. Not a word was spoken, but Jacob put forth all his strength, and did not relax his efforts for a moment. While he was thus battling for his life, the sense of his guilt pressed upon his soul; his sins rose up before him, to shut him out from God. But in his terrible extremity he remembered God's promises, and his whole heart went out in entreaty for His mercy. The struggle continued until near the break of day, when the stranger placed his finger upon Jacob's thigh, and he was crippled instantly. The patriarch now discerned the character of his antagonist. He knew that he had been in conflict with a heavenly messenger, and this was why his almost superhuman effort had not gained the victory. It was Christ, "the Angel of the covenant," who had revealed Himself to Jacob. The patriarch was now disabled and suffering the keenest pain, but he would not loosen his hold. All penitent and broken, he clung to the Angel; "he wept, and made supplication" (Hosea 12:4), pleading for a blessing. He must have the assurance that his sin was pardoned. Physical pain was not sufficient to divert his mind from this object. His determination grew stronger, his faith more earnest and persevering, until the very last. The Angel tried to release Himself; He urged, "Let Me go, for the day breaketh;" but Jacob answered, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." Had this been a boastful, presumptuous confidence, Jacob would have been instantly destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who confesses his own unworthiness, yet trusts the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.

Jacob "had power over the Angel, and prevailed." Hosea 12:4. Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had fastened his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite Love could not turn away the sinner's plea.

The error that had led to Jacob's sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud was now clearly set before him. He had not trusted God's promises, but had sought by his own efforts to bring about that which God would have accomplished in His own time and way. As an evidence that he had been forgiven, his name was changed from one that was a reminder of his sin, to one that commemorated his victory. "Thy name," said the Angel, "shall be called no more Jacob [the supplanter], but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."

Jacob had received the blessing for which his soul had longed. His sin as a supplanter and deceiver had been pardoned. The crisis in his life was past. Doubt, perplexity, and remorse had embittered his existence, but now all was changed; and sweet was the peace of reconciliation with God. Jacob no longer feared to meet his brother. God, who had forgiven his sin, could move the heart of Esau also to accept his humiliation and repentance.

While Jacob was wrestling with the Angel, another heavenly messenger was sent to Esau. In a dream, Esau beheld his brother for twenty years an exile from his father's house; he witnessed his grief at finding his mother dead; he saw him encompassed by the hosts of God. This dream was related by Esau to his soldiers, with the charge not to harm Jacob, for the God of his father was with him.

The two companies at last approached each other, the desert chief leading his men of war, and Jacob with his wives and children, attended by shepherds and handmaidens, and followed by long lines of flocks and herds. Leaning upon his staff, the patriarch went forward to meet the band of soldiers. He was pale and disabled from his recent conflict, and he walked slowly and painfully, halting at every step; but his countenance was lighted up with joy and peace.

At sight of that crippled sufferer, "Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept." As they looked upon the scene, even the hearts of Esau's rude soldiers were touched. Notwithstanding he had told them of his dream, they could not account for the change that had come over their captain. Though they beheld the patriarch's infirmity, they little thought that this his weakness had been made his strength.

In his night of anguish beside the Jabbok, when destruction seemed just before him, Jacob had been taught how vain is the help of man, how groundless is all trust in human power. He saw that his only help must come from Him against whom he had so grievously sinned. Helpless and unworthy, he pleaded God's promise of mercy to the repentant sinner. That promise was his assurance that God would pardon and accept him. Sooner might heaven and earth pass than that word could fail; and it was this that sustained him through that fearful conflict.” P.P. Chapter 18, page 195-201.

The Keeping Power Of God's Love

"Now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. . . . Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore I will give men for thee, and people for thy life. . . . I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him."

The Lord loves every one of those for whom he gave his Son, and he does not wish us to spend our days mourning over our sins. Everything that God could do he has done to manifest his great love and mercy to us. He "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Then rest in the assurance of the love of God. Open the door of your heart, and let the sunbeams of Christ's righteousness drive away the shadow of sadness and grief.

Not because we first loved him, does God love us; but "while we were yet sinners," Christ died for us, making full and abundant provision for our redemption. Although by our disobedience we have merited God's displeasure and condemnation, he has not forsaken us; he has not left us to grapple with the power of the enemy in our own finite strength. Heavenly angels fight our battles for us; and co-operating with them, we may be victorious over the powers of evil. Trusting in Christ as our personal Saviour, we may be "more than conquerors through him that loved us."

"Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles: to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." This precious assurance of God to Christ embraces all who receive Jesus Christ; for John says, "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." As we draw nigh to him by faith, he draws nigh to us, adopting us into his family, and making us sons and daughters of the Most High.

By disobeying the commands of God, man fell under the condemnation of his law. This fall called for the grace of God to appear in behalf of sinners. We should never have learned the meaning of this word "grace" had we not fallen. God loves the sinless angels, who do his service, and are obedient to all his commands; but he does not give them grace. These heavenly beings know naught of grace; they have never needed it; for they have never sinned. Grace is an attribute of God shown to undeserving human beings. We did not seek after it, but it was sent in search of us. God rejoices to bestow this grace upon every one who hungers for it. To every one he presents terms of mercy, not because we are worthy, but because we are so utterly unworthy. Our need is the qualification which gives us the assurance that we shall receive this gift.” R.H. 1896-09-15.

The Power of the Promise – Part VI

Esau and Jacob – Part II

Tests Of Faith

God’s people in their anxiety to receive His promises have always been prone to rely on their own devisings and schemes and works to achieve what can only be received and achieved by faith in the naked promise of God. God must permanently cure his people of this tendency, the tendency to either slip into, or deliberately adopt, Old Covenant devisings rather than develop and exercise strong faith in the naked promises of God.

Abrahams's Final Test in Genesis 22:1-18.

“Returning to his tent, he went to the place where Isaac lay sleeping the deep, untroubled sleep of youth and innocence. For a moment the father looked upon the dear face of his son, then turned tremblingly away. He went to the side of Sarah, who was also sleeping. Should he awaken her, that she might once more embrace her child? Should he tell her of God's requirement? He longed to unburden his heart to her, and share with her this terrible responsibility; but he was restrained by the fear that she might hinder him. Isaac was her joy and pride; her life was bound up in him, and the mother's love might refuse the sacrifice.

Abraham at last summoned his son, telling him of the command to offer sacrifice upon a distant mountain. Isaac had often gone with his father to worship at some one of the various altars that marked his wanderings, and this summons excited no surprise. The preparations for the journey were quickly completed. The wood was made ready and put upon the ass, and with two menservants they set forth.

Side by side the father and the son journeyed in silence. The patriarch, pondering his heavy secret, had no heart for words. His thoughts were of the proud, fond mother, and the day when he should return to her alone. Well he knew that the knife would pierce her heart when it took the life of her son.

That day--the longest that Abraham had ever experienced-- dragged slowly to its close. While his son and the young men were sleeping, he spent the night in prayer, still hoping that some heavenly messenger might come to say that the trial was enough, that the youth might return unharmed to his mother. But no relief came to his tortured soul. Another long day, another night of humiliation and prayer, while ever the command that was to leave him childless was ringing in his ears. Satan was near to whisper doubts and unbelief, but Abraham resisted his suggestions. As they were about to begin the journey of the third day, the patriarch, looking northward, saw the promised sign, a cloud of glory hovering over Mount Moriah, and he knew that the voice which had spoken to him was from heaven.

Even now he did not murmur against God, but strengthened his soul by dwelling upon the evidences of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. This son had been unexpectedly given; and had not He who bestowed the precious gift a right to recall His own? Then faith repeated the promise, "In Isaac shall they seed be called"--a seed numberless as the grains of sand upon the shore. Isaac was the child of a miracle, and could not the power that gave him life restore it? Looking beyond that which was seen, Abraham grasped the divine word, "accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead." Hebrews 11:19.

Yet none but God could understand how great was the father's sacrifice in yielding up his son to death; Abraham desired that none but God should witness the parting scene. He bade his servants remain behind, saying, "I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." The wood was laid upon Isaac, the one to be offered, the father took the knife and the fire, and together they ascended toward the mountain summit, the young man silently wondering whence, so far from folds and flocks, the offering was to come. At last he spoke, "My father," "behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Oh, what a test was this! How the endearing words, "my father," pierced Abraham's heart! Not yet--he could not tell him now. "My son," he said, "God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering."

At the appointed place they built the altar and laid the wood upon it. Then, with trembling voice, Abraham unfolded to his son the divine message. It was with terror and amazement that Isaac learned his fate, but he offered no resistance. He could have escaped his doom, had he chosen to do so; the grief-stricken old man, exhausted with the struggle of those three terrible days, could not have opposed the will of the vigorous youth. But Isaac had been trained from childhood to ready, trusting obedience, and as the purpose of God was opened before him, he yielded a willing submission. He was a sharer in Abraham's faith, and he felt that he was honored in being called to give his life as an offering to God. He tenderly seeks to lighten the father's grief, and encourages his nerveless hands to bind the cords that confine him to the altar.

And now the last words of love are spoken, the last tears are shed, the last embrace is given. The father lifts the knife to slay his son, when suddenly his arm is stayed. An angel of God calls to the patriarch out of heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" He quickly answers, "Here am I," And again the voice is heard, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me."

Then Abraham saw "a ram caught in a thicket," and quickly bringing the new victim, he offered it "in the stead of his son." In his joy and gratitude Abraham gave a new name to the sacred spot--"Jehovah-jireh," "the Lord will provide."

On Mount Moriah, God again renewed His covenant, confirming with a solemn oath the blessing to Abraham and to his seed through all coming generations: "By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice."

Abraham's great act of faith stands like a pillar of light, illuminating the pathway of God's servants in all succeeding ages. Abraham did not seek to excuse himself from doing the will of God. During that three days' journey he had sufficient time to reason, and to doubt God, if he was disposed to doubt. He might have reasoned that the slaying of his son would cause him to be looked upon as a murderer, a second Cain; that it would cause his teaching to be rejected and despised; and thus destroy his power to do good to his fellow men. He might have pleaded that age should excuse him from obedience. But the patriarch did not take refuge in any of these excuses. Abraham was human; his passions and attachments were like ours; but he did not stop to question how the promise could be fulfilled if Isaac should be slain. He did not stay to reason with his aching heart. He knew that God is just and righteous in all His requirements, and he obeyed the command to the very letter.

"Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: an he was called the friend of God." James 2:23. And Paul says, "They which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7. But Abraham's faith was made manifest by his works. "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect.?" James 2:21, 22. There are many who fail to understand the relation of faith and works. They say, "Only believe in Christ, and you are safe. You have nothing to do with keeping the law." But genuine faith will be manifest in obedience. Said Christ to the unbelieving Jews, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." John 8:39. And concerning the father of the faithful the Lord declares, "Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." Genesis 26:5. Says the apostle James, "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17. And John, who dwells so fully upon love, tells us, "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5:3.

Through type and promise God "preached before the gospel unto Abraham." Galatians 3:8. And the patriarch's faith was fixed upon the Redeemer to come. Said Christ to the Jews. "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he should see My day; and he saw it, and was glad." John 8:56, R.V., margin. The ram offered in the place of Isaac represented the Son of God, who was to be sacrificed in our stead. When man was doomed to death by transgression of the law of God, the Father, looking upon His Son, said to the sinner, "Live: I have found a ransom."

It was to impress Abraham's mind with the reality of the gospel, as well as to test his faith, that God commanded him to slay his son. The agony which he endured during the dark days of that fearful trial was permitted that he might understand from his own experience something of the greatness of the sacrifice made by the infinite God for man's redemption. No other test could have caused Abraham such torture of soul as did the offering of his son. God gave His Son to a death of agony and shame. The angels who witnessed the humiliation and soul anguish of the Son of God were not permitted to interpose, as in the case of Isaac. There was no voice to cry, "It is enough." To save the fallen race, the King of glory yielded up His life. What stronger proof can be given of the infinite compassion and love of God? "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32.

The sacrifice required of Abraham was not alone for his own good, nor solely for the benefit of succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction of the sinless intelligences of heaven and of other worlds. The field of the controversy between Christ and Satan--the field on which the plan of redemption is wrought out--is the lesson book of the universe. Because Abraham had shown a lack of faith in God's promises, Satan had accused him before the angels and before God of having failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant, and as unworthy of its blessings. God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant before all heaven, to demonstrate that nothing less than perfect obedience can be accepted, and to open more fully before them the plan of salvation.

Heavenly beings were witnesses of the scene as the faith of Abraham and the submission of Isaac were tested. The trial was far more severe than that which had been brought upon Adam. Compliance with the prohibition laid upon our first parents involved no suffering, but the command to Abraham demanded the most agonizing sacrifice. All heaven beheld with wonder and admiration Abraham's unfaltering obedience. All heaven applauded his fidelity. Satan's accusations were shown to be false. God declared to His servant, "Now I know that thou fearest God [notwithstanding Satan's charges], seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me." God's covenant, confirmed to Abraham by an oath before the intelligences of other worlds, testified that obedience will be rewarded.

It had been difficult even for the angels to grasp the mystery of redemption--to comprehend that the Commander of heaven, the Son of God, must die for guilty man. When the command was given to Abraham to offer up his son, the interest of all heavenly beings was enlisted. With intense earnestness they watched each step in the fulfillment of this command. When to Isaac's question, "Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham made answer, "God will provide Himself a lamb;" and when the father's hand was stayed as he was about to slay his son, and the ram which God had provided was offered in the place of Isaac-- then light was shed upon the mystery of redemption, and even the angels understood more clearly the wonderful provision that God had made for man's salvation. 1 Peter 1:12.” P.P. 148 – 155.

End-Time Application Of Jacob’s Test Of Faith

“Jacob's experience during that night of wrestling and anguish represents the trial through which the people of God must pass just before Christ's second coming. The prophet Jeremiah, in holy vision looking down to this time, said, "We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. . . . All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." Jeremiah 30:5-7.

When Christ shall cease His work as mediator in man's behalf, then this time of trouble will begin. Then the case of every soul will have been decided, and there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin. When Jesus leaves His position as man's intercessor before God, the solemn announcement is made, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Revelation 22:11. Then the restraining Spirit of God is withdrawn from the earth. As Jacob was threatened with death by his angry brother, so the people of God will be in peril from the wicked who are seeking to destroy them. And as the patriarch wrestled all night for deliverance from the hand of Esau, so the righteous will cry to God day and night for deliverance from the enemies that surround them.

Satan had accused Jacob before the angels of God, claiming the right to destroy him because of his sin; he had moved upon Esau to march against him; and during the patriarch's long night of wrestling, Satan endeavored to force upon him a sense of his guilt, in order to discourage him, and break his hold upon God. When in his distress Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and made supplication with tears, the heavenly Messenger, in order to try his faith, also reminded him of his sin, and endeavored to escape from him. But Jacob would not be turned away. He had learned that God is merciful, and he cast himself upon His mercy. He pointed back to his repentance for his sin, and pleaded for deliverance. As he reviewed his life, he was driven almost to despair; but he held fast the Angel, and with earnest, agonizing cries urged his petition until he prevailed.

Such will be the experience of God's people in their final struggle with the powers of evil. God will test their faith, their perseverance, their confidence in His power to deliver them. Satan will endeavor to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless; that their sins have been too great to receive pardon. They will have a deep sense of their shortcomings, and as they review their lives their hopes will sink. But remembering the greatness of God's mercy, and their own sincere repentance, they will plead His promises made through Christ to helpless, repenting sinners. Their faith will not fail because their prayers are not immediately answered. They will lay hold of the strength of God, as Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and the language of their souls will be, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me."

Had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God could not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life. So in the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they will have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins will have been blotted out by the atoning blood of Christ, and they cannot bring them to remembrance.

Satan leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in the minor affairs of life; but the Lord shows in His dealing with Jacob that He can in no wise sanction or tolerate evil. All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain upon the books of heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan. The more exalted their profession, and the more honorable the position which they hold, the more grievous is their course in the sight of God, and the more certain the triumph of the great adversary.

Yet Jacob's history is an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto Him with true repentance. It was by self-surrender and confiding faith that Jacob gained what he had failed to gain by conflict in his own strength. God thus taught His servant that divine power and grace alone could give him the blessing he craved. Thus it will be with those who live in the last days. As dangers surround them, and despair seizes upon the soul, they must depend solely upon the merits of the atonement. We can do nothing of ourselves. In all our helpless unworthiness we must trust in the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour. None will ever perish while they do this. The long, black catalogue of our delinquencies is before the eye of the Infinite. The register is complete; none of our offenses are forgotten. But He who listened to the cries of His servants of old, will hear the prayer of faith and pardon our transgressions. He has promised, and He will fulfill His word.

Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His experience testifies to the power of importunate prayer. It is now that we are to learn this lesson of prevailing prayer, of unyielding faith. The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power.

Those who are unwilling to forsake every sin and to seek earnestly for God's blessing, will not obtain it. But all who will lay hold of God's promises as did Jacob, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." Luke 18:7, 8. P.P. 201 – 203.

Comparison And Contrast Between The Two Stories

The Abraham–Sarah Story	The Esau-Jacob Story
The Call: Abram heeded	The Call: Jacob heeded, Esau rejected
The Promise: Abram believed, converted	The Promise: Esau sold it, Jacob “bought” it, but not yet converted.
The Delay: Sarai’s scheme	The Delay: Rebekah’s scheme.
The Old Covenant: Hagar obtains Ishmael	The Old Covenant: Jacob the supplanter obtains blessing.
Family Troubles Begin: Hagar flies in the face of Sarai	Family Troubles Begin: Esau determines murder, Jacob flees.
Renewal of the Promise: Names changed; Abram to Abraham; Sarai to Sarah. Circumcision given.	Renewal of the Promise: At Bethel Jacob repents. God renews Abrahamic Covenant to him.
The Promise Given: Isaac is born.	The Promise Given: Repentant Jacob has the promise.
Family Trouble Comes to a Head: Ishmael mocks Isaac. Hagar and Ishmael expelled.	Family Trouble Comes to a Head: Esau marches with 400 men to attack Jacob.
The Supreme Test and the Triumph of Faith: The command to sacrifice Isaac Abraham sealed in victorious New Covenant righteousness.	The Supreme Test and the Triumph of Faith: The night of wrestling; Jacob’s name changed to Israel. He will not let go until he is blessed and sealed in victorious New Covenant righteousness.
End-Result: Isaac is the sole heir, in complete possession of the New Covenant.	End-Result: New Covenant Israel returns home. Esau leaves. Jacob, now Israel, is sole heir in complete possession of the New Covenant.

Conclusion

“Abraham had greatly desired to see the promised Saviour. He offered up the most earnest prayer that before his death he might behold the Messiah. And he saw Christ. A supernatural light was given him, and he acknowledged Christ's divine character. He saw His day, and was glad. He was given a view of the divine sacrifice for sin. Of this sacrifice he had an illustration in his own experience. The command came to him, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, . . . and offer him . . . for a burnt offering." Gen. 22:2.

Upon the altar of sacrifice he laid the son of promise, the son in whom his hopes were centered. Then as he waited beside the altar with knife upraised to obey God, he heard a voice from heaven saying, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me." Gen. 22:12. This terrible ordeal was imposed upon Abraham that he might see the day of Christ, and realize the great love of God for the world, so great that to raise it from its degradation, He gave His only-begotten Son to a most shameful death.

Abraham learned of God the greatest lesson ever given to mortal. His prayer that he might see Christ before he should die was answered. He saw Christ; he saw all that mortal can see, and live. By making an entire surrender, he was able to understand the vision of Christ, which had been given him. He was shown that in giving His only-begotten Son to save sinners from eternal ruin, God was making a greater and more wonderful sacrifice than ever man could make.

Abraham's experience answered the question: "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Micah 6:6, 7. In the words of Abraham, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering," (Gen. 22:8), and in God's provision of a sacrifice instead of Isaac, it was declared that no man could make expiation for himself. The pagan system of sacrifice was wholly unacceptable to God. No father was to offer up his son or his daughter for a sin offering. The Son of God alone can bear the guilt of the world.

Through his own suffering, Abraham was enabled to behold the Saviour's mission of sacrifice. But Israel would not understand that which was so unwelcome to their proud hearts. Christ's words concerning Abraham conveyed to His hearers no deep significance. The Pharisees saw in them only fresh ground for caviling. They retorted with a sneer, as if they would prove Jesus to be a madman, "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?"

With solemn dignity Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am." D.A. 468-469.

The Power of the Promise – Part V

Lessons from the Life of Joseph - Part I

Abram’s slide into the Old Covenant led to trouble, discord and bitterness in his family. Eventually Hagar and Ishmael had to depart leaving Isaac, the son of promise, as the sole heir. Both Abraham and Isaac were eventually sealed in New Covenant faith by the terrible test at Mount Moriah.

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” Hebrews 11:17-19.

Jacob’s Old Covenant scheming led to even more horrible consequences. He had to depart from his father’s tent and during his absence he suffered under the law of sowing and reaping and was thereby purged of the Old Covenant and sealed in the New Covenant as Israel the conqueror!

The children of Israel (Jacob’s sons and daughters) knew the history of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob but in general learnt nothing. We say in general because there were individuals in each succeeding generation who demonstrated outstanding New Covenant faith.

In Paul’s list of the outstanding heroes of New Covenant faith he mentions Joseph next after Jacob in Hebrews II.

“By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.” Hebrew 11: 21, 22.

Whereas in the stories of Abraham and Jacob, Sarah and Rebecca respectively sought by human devising to obtain, what God had promised, by their own works of the flesh, in the story of Joseph his own brothers sought to prevent a promise from being fulfilled by their iniquitous evil devising and sinful works of their carnal minds. But before we examine this lowest level of religious unbelief we need to consolidate the new Covenant straight–line of truth.

The Abrahmaic Covenant Is The New Covenant

God’s promise to Abraham was God’s covenant with Abraham and is the everlasting covenant! God’s promise or covenant with Abraham being the New Covenant was confirmed of God in Christ and was, infact, is unalterable and could not be displaced or replaced by any other covenant! Let us and Galatians 3: 1