Lesson date: 05/07/5858AA
Verse 1- Thirteen years have passed since Yishma’el’s birth. And Abram is now 99 years old. I have had many men in my family live to be 99 and beyond but none of them fathered a child at that age. Also, we see, once again, the use of the word וַיֵרָא – vayyerah like we did in Chapter 12. It comes from the root word H7200 – ראה – râ’âh – which is being translated as “appeared” but actually means “to make visible.”
“I am Ěl Shaddai – walk before Me and be perfect.” ((I AM the Almighty walk before my face/H6440/paneem and be without sin. This is the literal translation of this phrase.)) Where have we seen this before?
Mat 5:48 “Therefore, be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect.
Psa 119:1 Blessed are the perfect in the way, Who walk in the Torah of יהוה!
1Jn 2:5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
1Jn 3:6 Everyone staying in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning has neither seen Him nor known Him.
Heb 6:1 Therefore, having left the word of the beginning of the Messiah, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of belief toward Elohim,
Mic 6:8 He has declared to you, O man, what is good. And what does יהוה require of you but to do right, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your Elohim?
Deu 18:13 “Be perfect before יהוה your Elohim,
1Ki 8:61 “Let your heart therefore be perfect to יהוה our Elohim, to walk in His laws and guard His commands, as at this day.”
Let’s look at the word for ‘perfect’ = tameem – in the pictographic Hebrew:
t = sign of the covenant
m = water, power, chaos, people
I = strong arm, power, overcome
m = water, power, chaos, people
The covenant people are an overcoming(powerful) people. Or, The covenant people can overcome chaos.
Verses 2-5 – This is a very arbitrary division because this is a covenant but I want to show how important it is for us to grasp the nature of the covenant. Some people make the case that changing his name from Abram to Abraham was like telling Danny to start being called Daniel instead. This is not the case. Abram means “high father” and Abraham means “father of a multitude” But neither of these “titles” had happened. YHVH or 10-5-6-5 meaning the 10th letter of the Hebrew aleph bet, then the 5th letter, then the 6th letter and then the 5th again. YHVH took part of His Own Name and placed it as a sign of His Covenant with Abraham to identify him for the rest of the world. Remember, if we know Yah’s Mark we cannot be fooled by the beast’s (Hasatan) mark.
Exo_13:16 “And it shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim.”
Deu_6:8 and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Deu_11:18 ‘And you shall lay up these Words of Mine in your heart and in your being, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Remember, it is not a coincidence that the mark of the beast (Hasatan) is to be found at the very same location as Yah’s mark. It is what we think(head), say(head) and do(hand).
Please stop and think about what is being said in Verse 4, “you shall become a father of many nations.”
The word employed here is “goyim” which represents pagan or heathen nations, Gentiles. Abram is not being promised that he will become the father of just Yisr’ael but also many nations other than Yisra’ael. Now, stop and think about where believers in YHVH’s covenant can be found. Exo 12:48 “And when a stranger sojourns with you and shall perform the Pěsaḥ to יהוה, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and perform it, and he shall be as a native of the land. But let no uncircumcised eat of it.
Exo 12:49 “There is one Torah for the native-born and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, have been grafted in among them, and came to share the root and fatness of the olive tree,
Rom 11:18 do not boast against the branches. And if you boast, remember: you do not bear the root, but the root bears you!
Rom 11:19 You shall say then, “The branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”
Rom 11:20 Good! By unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by belief. Do not be arrogant, but fear.
Verses 6-14 – More covenant. Note verse 14. Are you circumcised? You bet: Deu_10:16 “And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and harden your neck no more.
Deu_30:6 “And יהוה your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that you might live,
Rom 2:26 So, if an uncircumcised one watches over the righteousnesses of the Torah, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned as circumcision?
Rom 2:27 And the uncircumcised by nature, who perfects the Torah, shall judge you who notwithstanding letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the Torah!
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Yehuḏite who is so outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
Rom 2:29 But a Yehuḏite is he who is so inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in Spirit, not literally, whose praise is not from men but from Elohim.
Col 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Messiah,
Col 2:12 having been buried with Him in immersion, in which you also were raised with Him through the belief in the working of Elohim, who raised Him from the dead.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Col 2:14 having blotted out the certificate of debt against us – by the dogmas – which stood against us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the stake.
1Co 7:19 The circumcision is naught, and the uncircumcision is naught, but the guarding of the commands of Elohim does matter!
Wow! Sha’ul (Paul), the very man that everyone uses as proof that we do not have to follow Torah says WHAT? But guarding the commands of Elohim does matter. As believers in Yeshua Messiah our obedience in keeping of Torah is outward proof of our circumcision. It is Yah’s Mark on our foreheads and hands. It is what sets us apart for the rest of the world.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands of Elohim and possessing the witness of יהושע Messiah.
Rev. 14:12 Here is the endurance of the set apart ones, here are those guarding the commands of Elohim and the belief of Yeshua.(ISR Scriptures)
Rev. 22:14 Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates of the city. (ISR Scriptures)
Verse 15-16 – Look at what happens; Sarai becomes Sarah. Once again YHVH takes part of His Name and places into this “new” person. We cannot enter into a covenant with YHVH and remain the same old person.
Verse 17 – Now, Abraham laughs because he has placed a limit on YHVH’s power and in his mind what has been promised is humanly impossible. Our Yah is not human nor is anything too difficult for Him to do. As I have mentioned in the past, when Von was in the hospital in February, no less than 5 doctors mentioned that it was impossible for a “doctor” to do anything to help her. It was out of their hands. That is usually when YHVH shows or reveals a miracle to those that will receive it. We received it and continue to “Praise His Name” for that miracle.
Verses 18-20 – Abraham asks that Yishma’el be given his inheritance but YHVH says no. Why? Yisham’el was conceived while Abraham was still uncircumcised and therefore outside of this part of the covenant. Notice that Yishma’el will have 12 “princes” as well. We now see the plan which was spoken of to Hagar at the spring that a counterfeit people will “spring” up from Yishma’el and will run wild and become established.
Verses 21-27 – We see the promise of Yishaq being born at “this” appointed time next year. What appointed time do you think that it might be? Also, we see that the circumcision began in all of Abraham’s house. The word for circumcision is “mul” – H4135 and the word for ‘to be circumcised’ is “himol” and yes, that is a Hey in front of “mul”.
There is much more in this chapter that I hope we will get to discuss.
Ahavah vberakhot,
CahalTx 