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Israel
Greek: adjective Possible Definitions: 1) 2) a name of the posterity of 3) Christians, the Israel of God (Gal 6:16), for not all those who
draw their bodily descent from Israel are true Israelites, i.e. are those whom
God pronounces to be Israelites and has chosen to salvation. (Greek &
Hebrew Lexicons) The beginning: Jehovah made a promise to Abraham that all the inhabitants of the
earth who would ever receive the blessings of salvation would do so through his
seed and authority. The meaning of this is that they must belong to the
posterity of Abraham, and belong to his God-given leadership (Abraham = “father of a
multitude” or “chief of multitude”). This leadership of a multitude was his priesthood
leadership awarded him of God, whom he met personally; 1 AND when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD
appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me,
and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will
multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be
a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name
shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. (Genesis
17:1-5) Abram – “Exalted Father”, was a name just as prophetic as the new
name, Abraham, that he was given on the day when he received the Covenant of
the Lord God Almighty. But notice the importance of receiving a new name in
connection with the entering into the covenant with God. Abram received it,
Sarai, his wife, received it from God via her husband, and later, Jacob, their
grandson received a new name and the covenant from God. It is not mentioned
that his wife received a new name, but she more than likely did. We will look
at the importance of this later on this page. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy
seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God
unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. (Genesis 17:6-7) Note that God promises that he will make the same covenant with
Abrahams seed (his posterity) after him, by generation. We will see this promise
fulfilled in Isaac and Jacob, and we must suppose that it has been fulfilled in
every worthy generation of the posterity of Abraham in an unbroken line who has
come unto God. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the
land wherein thou art a stranger, all the 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant
therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you
and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
(Genesis 17:8-10) Circumcision was not the
covenant of the Lord! The old Hebrew texts did not have any punctuation marks,
so whatever such marks you find in the Old Testament is what the translators decided
would emphasize what they thought were the meaning of the text. A covenant is a
contract with the Lord. We make solemn promises to him, that we do everything
we can to fulfill. In return, God makes his promises to us. This is the covenant
of the Lord: Abraham’s part of the contract:
God’s part of the contract:
Circumcision was but the
sign of the covenant between God and man. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it
shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you,
every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought
with money of any stranger, which [is] not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy
money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an
everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin
is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken
my covenant. 15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt
not call her name Sarai, but Sarah [shall] her name [be]. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I
will bless her, and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall
be of her. 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his
heart, Shall [a child] be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall
Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before
thee! 19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed;
and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him
for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed
him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah
shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from
Abraham. 23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in
his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of
Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame
day, as God had said unto him. 24 And Abraham [was] ninety years old and nine, when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son [was] thirteen years old, when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought
with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. (Genesis 17:11-27) Now, think of the promise of God to Abraham, that everyone who
would receive the gospel blessings would do so as the posterity of Abraham, and
under the eternal leadership of Abraham. Those who are not of his posterity who
will receive the gospel will have to be adopted into the family of Abraham. Not
into the family of Abram, for he was the man without the covenant, but into the
family of the covenant, that is, the family of Abraham. Abraham is a funnel, so
to speak, through which gospel blessings flows. The same covenant was entered
into by Isaac, who became a second funnel, into which the funnel of Abraham was
placed. Then came Jacob, who received the Abrahamic covenant, becoming the
third funnel, into which the Abraham and Isaac funnels fits, and through which
all gospel blessings flows. But it was not Jacob
who was that third funnel, since Jacob was the man before he entered the covenant!
At the time when he received his covenant with God, he received his new name,
which was 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you
on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for
all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy
nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of The posterity of True Christians will receive all the gospel blessings through
obedience to the Abrahamic Covenant, and be counted as true Israelites.
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