Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People.
Speaker 2: Tell me more about this visitor at the perimeter. Did
Speaker 2: you learn his name?
Speaker 3: He calls himself Melchizedek, King of Salem.
Speaker 2: King Melchizedek, you honor us with your visit. Tell us
Speaker 2: what have you come to say?
Speaker 4: I am a king, yes, but I am also a
Speaker 4: high priest.
Speaker 3: A priest of what God.
Speaker 4: El Elion, the one and only true God. There is
Speaker 4: the one who created both the heavens and the earth.
Speaker 4: He has many names, but he is one God, The
Speaker 4: God most High, is what I call him before you. Now,
Speaker 4: this is the God of Abraham, the God who has
Speaker 4: given him favor in his land. He is the god
Speaker 4: who blesses his friends and curses his enemies. This is
Speaker 4: the God who is granted you your victories and destroyed
Speaker 4: your enemies before you.
Speaker 1: Melchizedek then stood gently, placing his hands on Abram's shoulders,
Speaker 1: closed his eyes, and began his blessing.
Speaker 4: Blessed be apron by God most High, creator of heaven
Speaker 4: and earth. In him, you and your great nation.
Speaker 5: Will have a protector and provider.
Speaker 1: The King of Sodom wore a dark robe with crimson
Speaker 1: threads woven into an image of a three headed serpent.
Speaker 3: Do not fear, Abram, call off your amorite god. Docs
Speaker 3: I told you had come to make a generous offer.
Speaker 3: I see you have all our possessions in people, but
Speaker 3: I will allow you to keep all the possessions. Call
Speaker 3: it an act of gratitude, a good will, even for
Speaker 3: destroying our enemies and avenging noosity.
Speaker 1: Abram smiled. There it was this was what the king wanted,
Speaker 1: giving up the possessions he lost in a raid to
Speaker 1: gain a friend, to curry favor with Abram and the Emirates.
Speaker 1: King Bearer was looking to own Abram through this gift.
Speaker 2: As my friends know, I have devoted my life to
Speaker 2: the God most High. All I have is his, and
Speaker 2: all I do is in his name. My victories are
Speaker 2: his and not my own. So it is to him
Speaker 2: that you should be grateful, and not me. My possessions
Speaker 2: are the same. Everything I own is his. I'm not
Speaker 2: a self made man. Therefore I have little taste for
Speaker 2: ambitious friendships, and I would not take even a thread
Speaker 2: or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you. I
Speaker 2: see the invisible strings attached to them. I will sever
Speaker 2: them now and give you what is yours. I will
Speaker 2: not allow you or anyone to say I made Abram rich.
Speaker 2: I cannot be owned because I am already under the
Speaker 2: lordship of another.
Speaker 6: In the stillness of the desert night, a voice called
Speaker 6: out to the wanderer, and the divine promised lit up
Speaker 6: the darkness with the fire of an eternal covenant. Shallo,
Speaker 6: my friends from here in the holy land of Israel,
Speaker 6: i'm ya l Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians
Speaker 6: and Jews. Welcome to the Chosen People. Each day we'll
Speaker 6: hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, stories filled
Speaker 6: with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life.
Speaker 6: Through Israel's story, will find this truth that we're all
Speaker 6: chosen for something great. You already know what to do.
Speaker 6: If you've been impacted by these stories, we'd love to
Speaker 6: hear from you. So leave a review and share with
Speaker 6: us how the Bible has enriched and inspired your faith.
Speaker 6: I love to read about it. Now, let's begin. Imagine
Speaker 6: a man standing alone in the quiet desert, his heart
Speaker 6: filled with questions as endless as the sky above him.
Speaker 6: Abram is a wanderer, a seeker, a dreamer. He is
Speaker 6: called by a voice that echoes through time, promising him
Speaker 6: a future that seems as far away as the stars
Speaker 6: that he gazes upon. It's here where God meets Abram
Speaker 6: and offers him a covenant, as we say in Hebrew
Speaker 6: a brit But what is this breat this covenant? And
Speaker 6: how could a divine promise shape the destiny of nations
Speaker 6: and alter the course of history? As we journey into
Speaker 6: this dramatic retelling of Genesis fifteen, let's ask ourselves these questions.
Speaker 6: What does it mean to trust in a promise that
Speaker 6: seems impossible? How do we hold on to faith when
Speaker 6: evidence is scarce? And what can we learn about the
Speaker 6: nature of a God who binds himself to humanity through
Speaker 6: a solemn, sacred oath.
Speaker 7: Then you told Berra that you would never be all
Speaker 7: by him. Ha ha, that's insight. I hoped never to forget.
Speaker 5: I will allow you nor anyone to say I made
Speaker 5: Abram rich.
Speaker 8: Oh Abram, that was masterful. I should say that King
Speaker 8: Bira would not soon forget it either.
Speaker 1: Abram and his three emirate companions had finally returned home
Speaker 1: to Hebron. They dine together and toasted their recent adventures.
Speaker 1: Everyone had heard of their exploits and learned of their victories,
Speaker 1: piling them as mighty warriors. They soon found themselves something
Speaker 1: akin to celebrities. The Emirates returned wealthier than ever, while
Speaker 1: Abram declined his share of the rescued plunder from Sodom.
Speaker 3: I may not understand this god you follow, Abramam. I
Speaker 3: certainly don't understand your strange devotion to him, but I
Speaker 3: appreciate how rich he's made me here.
Speaker 8: Perhaps I too shall worship this God of money.
Speaker 7: If he makes us say any richer, one of our
Speaker 7: sons will be blotting our demise to take control of
Speaker 7: our fortunes faster.
Speaker 8: If I had known how rich I would become, I
Speaker 8: never would have had any.
Speaker 2: I do not expect you to understand, but be careful
Speaker 2: how you speak of such things. I have seen the
Speaker 2: power of God most high hand, and in direct ways
Speaker 2: you have as well.
Speaker 5: I'm sorry, we need no disrespect.
Speaker 3: Okay, But but what of the wealth and influence you
Speaker 3: have amassed. You may have turned down your share of
Speaker 3: King Bear's possessions, but you are still a very wealthy man,
Speaker 3: and you speak often or your legacy and the nation
Speaker 3: you're building. I do not mean to overreach. But how
Speaker 3: do you plan to secure your line of inheritance without
Speaker 3: a son or any children for that matter? Have you
Speaker 3: named an heir.
Speaker 7: Or easy to be our man, Eliezer. Isn't it a
Speaker 7: custom among you Hebrews that the most senior servant in
Speaker 7: your household stands to inherit if there is no heir
Speaker 7: of your own flesh and blood.
Speaker 2: Yes, that is a tradition among my people. We call
Speaker 2: them the possessor, heir or son of possession. But no,
Speaker 2: I will not pass on what has been given to
Speaker 2: me to Eliezer. My God has promised me that Sarah
Speaker 2: and I will have a son.
Speaker 7: Or really, Sir, I imagine he's become quite accustomed to the
Speaker 7: idea at this point.
Speaker 8: But how Abram? Forgive me, but you are over eighty
Speaker 8: years old and Sarah is only ten years younger. She
Speaker 8: is certainly fair, But I don't think even an Egyptian
Speaker 8: fertility ritual could summon an air from her womb at
Speaker 8: this late stage in her life.
Speaker 2: I hear your concern, ainair Escole, I really do. I
Speaker 2: do not know how it will come to pass, but
Speaker 2: my God has promised it, and I've yet to see
Speaker 2: anything he tells me, not come to pass.
Speaker 3: Brothers, Let's not push Abram on this matter. Let us
Speaker 3: talknandrink of other things.
Speaker 1: He The hour was late when Abram at last departed
Speaker 1: from Memory's household, and despite the lateness of the hour
Speaker 1: to walk around the long way home through the now
Speaker 1: deserted streets of the city. He did not want to
Speaker 1: admit it, but the conversation with his friends had shaken him.
Speaker 1: He knew his friends meant well, and they did not
Speaker 1: mean to offend him. But it had been almost ten
Speaker 1: years since his God had promised him a son, and
Speaker 1: though the God Most High had not specified a time
Speaker 1: in which this was to happen, and though he did
Speaker 1: not doubt the words, he still wondered at the mechanics
Speaker 1: of how Abram had never expected others to have the
Speaker 1: same faith as him. But he was surprised to find
Speaker 1: how alienating it was for his friends to vocalize their doubts.
Speaker 1: Would he spend the rest of his life defending this promise?
Speaker 1: His friends had been gentle. He could only imagine what
Speaker 1: his enemy said of him behind his back, but he
Speaker 1: could not deny that their lack of belief was a blow.
Speaker 1: Was he to carry this legacy alone. Just then, as
Speaker 1: had happened all those other times before, the quiet city
Speaker 1: went utterly still and silent, and Abram knew that his
Speaker 1: God was about to speak to him. Abral steadied his
Speaker 1: breath and heartbeat. He turned his face toward the hills.
Speaker 1: The breeze blew from behind him, as if to nudge
Speaker 1: him forward.
Speaker 5: Abraham, do not be anxious, and do not worry about
Speaker 5: the opinions of others, For you are not alone. I
Speaker 5: am your shield. Your friends seek only temporal rewards riches
Speaker 5: of this world, but your reward will be far greater.
Speaker 5: I have not forgotten about the promise I have made.
Speaker 2: You, God Most High, I know what you have promised me.
Speaker 2: But how can you blame my friends for questioning? I
Speaker 2: have no children. Will I truly need to settle with Eliezer,
Speaker 2: a mere servant becoming my heir? Is that how what
Speaker 2: you have said will come to pass.
Speaker 5: No, this man will not be your heir. You will
Speaker 5: have a son who is your own flesh and blood,
Speaker 5: and he will be your heir. I want you to
Speaker 5: listen to me. Go outside the city walls, meet me
Speaker 5: in the quiet under the canopy of stars. There I
Speaker 5: shall speak to you.
Speaker 1: Abram obeyed, hurrying beyond the city's boundaries. The verdant fannies
Speaker 1: darkened under the velvet skies. Abram knelt down, bawling the
Speaker 1: grass in his fists. He was anxious to hear more
Speaker 1: from his God. He strained to listen, thirsty for an
Speaker 1: ounce of clarity. He gazed up at the heavens, the
Speaker 1: stars shining with a cold, distant light.
Speaker 2: What is my destiny?
Speaker 5: What will be my you see? Do you see the
Speaker 5: stars spread across the heavens far above your head?
Speaker 1: Abram nodded, his brows creased upward, desperation painted on his
Speaker 1: starlit face.
Speaker 5: Can you count the stars, Abram?
Speaker 1: Abram shook his head uncertain.
Speaker 5: You cannot, for there are too many. It is impossible.
Speaker 5: It is to be the same with your offspring. The
Speaker 5: great nation I shall make through your air would be
Speaker 5: as innumerable as the stars in the night sky.
Speaker 1: Abram could again sense the certainty, the absolute and unexplainable peace,
Speaker 1: that accompanied his God's words. Abram believed, although he was
Speaker 1: still uncertain about how these things would come to pass.
Speaker 5: I am the God most High, the God who brought
Speaker 5: you out from Er. I have laid out my plans
Speaker 5: for you and have been your advocate since before you
Speaker 5: even heard my voice. I called you and was with
Speaker 5: you in Haran, Egypt, and Canaan, everywhere you have ever
Speaker 5: set foot, and I say, I will give you this
Speaker 5: land to possess.
Speaker 2: Elle Leon, God Most High. I believe the words you
Speaker 2: have said to me. But how am I to know
Speaker 2: that I will possess it?
Speaker 5: But you also believe I will do as I say.
Speaker 5: Your faith will be credited to you as righteousness. You
Speaker 5: ask for more than a contract. You ask for a
Speaker 5: covenant in your common tongue. A covenant is between us
Speaker 5: that would signify a permanent, everlasting agreement between us. This
Speaker 5: I will gladly do. Come to me here in this
Speaker 5: place tomorrow before sunset, and bring the following with you
Speaker 5: so we may make our covenant. A three year old cow,
Speaker 5: a three year old female goat, a three year old ran,
Speaker 5: a turtle, dove, and a young pigeon. Our covenant will
Speaker 5: be between the God of all creation and you my creation.
Speaker 5: I will come down to cut a covenant in the
Speaker 5: ways of your people, but this will be something else entirely.
Speaker 5: This covenant between us would be something new, the likes
Speaker 5: of which humankind has never seen before.
Speaker 1: Abram did exactly as his God said. He acquired the
Speaker 1: sacrificial animals required to cut the covenant between them, and
Speaker 1: brought them back to the place and time the God
Speaker 1: Most High had specified. Abram had seen his God do
Speaker 1: incredible things, but that he would enter into this agreement
Speaker 1: with him was truly remarkable. As the agreement required, Abram
Speaker 1: sacrificed the ovens and cut them in half from head
Speaker 1: to tail. The blood dripped down the blade and down
Speaker 1: his forearm. The blood was wrong and unsettling on his skin.
Speaker 1: The gore was significant. The lives of innocence were given
Speaker 1: as a symbol of the purity of their covenant. The
Speaker 1: only animals he did not cut in half with the birds.
Speaker 1: He then laid the pieces, the bloody side, facing upwards
Speaker 1: on either side. Abram knew this ritual, Shadows of it
Speaker 1: were passed down since the ancient days. The crimson stained
Speaker 1: space between animals was the symbolic walkway for their covenant,
Speaker 1: the walk unto death. Once the ritual began, the representatives
Speaker 1: would circle the halved pieces and go through the walkway
Speaker 1: to signify that if either representative were to break the covenant,
Speaker 1: something similar would be done to them. Abram had not
Speaker 1: seen his God take a form, so he wondered how
Speaker 1: this portion of the ritual would be achieved. As he
Speaker 1: dragged the animals into place, would milkies at deck return?
Speaker 1: Would an angel descend from above? Abram stood back from
Speaker 1: his work and watched the blood from the carcassus seep
Speaker 1: into the earth, some of it flowing into the middle
Speaker 1: of the walkway. As he waited for his God, birds
Speaker 1: of prey began to circle above. They grew bold in
Speaker 1: hunger and dove before Abram for the sacrificed animals. Their
Speaker 1: talons and beaks hungrily picked at the.
Speaker 4: Carcasses Where will you yet?
Speaker 1: Abram ran at the birds like a fool, flapping his
Speaker 1: arms and screaming. The birds, relatively unperturbed, retreated to a
Speaker 1: nearby tree and waited. Abram laughed and shook his head.
Speaker 1: He stretched and yawned, wondering if God would show himself.
Speaker 1: He laid back and waited, his eyes sinking with each blink.
Speaker 1: As the sun slipped beyond the horizon, A terrible and
Speaker 1: unnatural darkness swirled around him, far darker than it should be.
Speaker 1: At dusk. Abram was then pulled into a deep sleep
Speaker 1: and fell to the ground. Abram saw nothing, but heard
Speaker 1: the voice of his God from the depths of his dream.
Speaker 5: I will give you a new vision of what is
Speaker 5: to come. For four hundred years. Not unlike you, your
Speaker 5: descendants will be strangers in a country that is not
Speaker 5: their own. But unlike you, they will be slaves backs
Speaker 5: bruised by their oppressors. Do not fear.
Speaker 9: Them, for I am a just God, and I will
Speaker 9: wield my judgment and punish the nation they served as slaves.
Speaker 5: After this trial, they will come out with many possessions
Speaker 5: and be restored. Just as you feared that the birds
Speaker 5: would alter the workings of our covenant, I tell you
Speaker 5: nothing can all to my judgment and restoration, and so
Speaker 5: despite oppression and mistreatment, the covenant will be fulfilled. All
Speaker 5: that I have said will come to pass. But do
Speaker 5: not fear what is to come. You, Abram, will go
Speaker 5: to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a
Speaker 5: good old age. Do not fret over the sins and
Speaker 5: wickedness of the people in Canaan. I see it and
Speaker 5: will judge. In the fourth generation, your descendants will come
Speaker 5: back here, for the sin of the Amorites, the Canaanites
Speaker 5: alike has not yet reached its full measure. I will
Speaker 5: wait until the proper time, but rest assured my judgment
Speaker 5: will come.
Speaker 1: The God Most High's voice dissolved into nothing the darkness.
Speaker 1: A smoking firepot, an oven, and a flaming torch appeared.
Speaker 1: The light emitting from the pair of objects cast a
Speaker 1: warm glow. Abram watched the shadowy outlines of the halved
Speaker 1: animal carcasses in the walkway between them. The oven and
Speaker 1: the torch together as one passed through the pieces, completing
Speaker 1: the walk unto death. As they drew near to Abram
Speaker 1: where he lay, he could feel the heat of their
Speaker 1: cleansing purifying flames from within his dream.
Speaker 5: Again, I say to you, you are to take this
Speaker 5: as a blessing to signify the beginning of our former
Speaker 5: covenant to your descendants. I give this land from the
Speaker 5: Wadi of Egypt to the great River the Euphrates, the
Speaker 5: land of the Kenites, Kenesites, Calamanites, Hittites, Perizites, Raphaelites, Amorites, Canaanites, Gergoshites,
Speaker 5: and Jebucyites.
Speaker 1: Despite witnessing all of this in a dream, he knew
Speaker 1: that the items were meant to represent his God to
Speaker 1: his human mind. His God had completed the ritual alone,
Speaker 1: releasing Abram from any responsibility beyond his faith. He wondered
Speaker 1: at a God who would go to such lengths to
Speaker 1: fulfill the most profound gesture to his Hebrew culture, just
Speaker 1: so that he would feel reassured of the promises made
Speaker 1: Ava marveled at what this meant for himself and the
Speaker 1: generations that would come after him.
Speaker 6: Living here in Israel, each day, I am part of
Speaker 6: a story. I'm part of a legacy that stretches back
Speaker 6: to the dawn of time. Each stone and each ancient
Speaker 6: path tell us this story that connects us to our ancestors,
Speaker 6: the chosen people who walk this land with faith and purpose.
Speaker 6: In Genesis fifteen, God brought Abram outside and said, look
Speaker 6: up at the sky and count the stars. If indeed
Speaker 6: you can count them, and then God promises, so shall
Speaker 6: be your offspring. But this promise wasn't just for Abram. No,
Speaker 6: it was a covenant, a breach for all of Israel,
Speaker 6: a divine guarantee that the children of Abram would be
Speaker 6: as numerous as the stars in the sky. Walking through
Speaker 6: Jerusalem today or gazing at the hills of Judea, I'm
Speaker 6: constantly reminded of this promise. Each star in the sky
Speaker 6: is a symbol of God's unwavering faithfulness to the Jewish people.
Speaker 6: And as we stand on this sacred soil, we are
Speaker 6: surrounded by the stars of our history, figures like David
Speaker 6: and Solomon, Esther and Deborah, whose stories light up the
Speaker 6: night of exile and remind us of our eternal bruit,
Speaker 6: our eternal covenant with God. And this story gives us
Speaker 6: the moment that changed everything, when God made his bruit,
Speaker 6: his covenant with Abram. I can't shake the image from
Speaker 6: my mind, the vast expanse of the night sky, stars
Speaker 6: shimmering like diamonds, scattered across the heavens, Abram standing there,
Speaker 6: looking up into the night, his heart pounding with anticipation
Speaker 6: and wonder. And then God, the creator of everything, speaks.
Speaker 6: He doesn't just speak, He promises to Abram, to countless
Speaker 6: lines of descendants and the land to call their own,
Speaker 6: just as God told Abram to look at the heavens.
Speaker 6: I'm reminded that even today, as long as we still
Speaker 6: look to the heavens, look to God. Our special relationship
Speaker 6: with Him as His chosen people still endures, and as
Speaker 6: His people, we are and will always be present in
Speaker 6: this land, this holy land of Israel, that God promised
Speaker 6: Abram in this covenant. To better grasp the magnitude of
Speaker 6: this moment and this brit, this covenant, let's look at
Speaker 6: that Hebrew word. Let's look at the Hebrew word for covenant, brit.
Speaker 6: In the cultural context of Abram's time and place, a
Speaker 6: breait wasn't just a contract. It was a relational agreement,
Speaker 6: more like a marriage than a business deal. Two people
Speaker 6: making a covenant a briat didn't just sign a piece
Speaker 6: of paper and shake hands. No, they exchanged vows, They
Speaker 6: shared a meal, they declared their commitment in front of witnesses.
Speaker 6: Is binding themselves to each other with promises meant to
Speaker 6: be forever unbreakable. That's the heart of a breat It's
Speaker 6: deeply personal. It's relational. It's a commitment that involves not
Speaker 6: just actions, but the very essence of the individuals involved.
Speaker 6: And here in Genesis fifteen we witness God making a
Speaker 6: brit with Abram. This is a relational bond. God isn't
Speaker 6: just promising land and descendants. He's pledging himself to Abram
Speaker 6: in a profound and intimate way. The cultural context of
Speaker 6: covenant making in ancient times adds layers of meaning to
Speaker 6: this event. When God made a covenant with Abram, he
Speaker 6: was inviting Abram into a relationship forever, and this brit
Speaker 6: was a testament to God's desire for a personal relational
Speaker 6: bond with his people. The gravity of God's covenant with
Speaker 6: Abram is immense. It's a solemn, sacred moment, sealed by
Speaker 6: a ritual that may seem foreign to us today, yet
Speaker 6: is relevant and enduring to us today. There's Abram standing
Speaker 6: before sacrificed animals. The air is thick with the weight
Speaker 6: of what's happening. This isn't a casual agreement, to my friends,
Speaker 6: it's a breet. It's a covenant. It's sealed with blood.
Speaker 6: Cutting animals and laying them out in has may seem
Speaker 6: archaic to us today, but in Abram's time it was
Speaker 6: a symbol. It was a dramatic representation of the seriousness
Speaker 6: and commitment of God's promise. You see, in Abraham's time,
Speaker 6: people would walk between the pieces of the sacrificed animals
Speaker 6: essentially saying, if I break this covenant, may what happen
Speaker 6: to be these animals happen to me. It's a vow
Speaker 6: marked by life and death. But here's the thing about
Speaker 6: the scene in Genesis fifteen. Abram doesn't walk between the pieces.
Speaker 2: God does.
Speaker 6: God, represented by a smoking firepot and a blazing torch,
Speaker 6: passes between the pieces alone. God himself is saying, I
Speaker 6: take full responsibility for this covenant. I will fulfill my
Speaker 6: promises no matter what you see. It's a unilateral covenant.
Speaker 6: What a thing, what a statement. God is making an
Speaker 6: unbreakable promise that isn't even dependent on Abram's actions, but
Speaker 6: solely on God's faithfulness. God is his own name, his
Speaker 6: own honor on the line with a binding, blood sealed promise.
Speaker 6: And all the while Abraham is actually passive, he is sleeping,
Speaker 6: but God is very much awake and very much active.
Speaker 6: And isn't this how our relationship with God still is today.
Speaker 6: We don't earn God's promises, but rather his convenidant is
Speaker 6: made with us simply because He loves us. This covenant
Speaker 6: continues into the pages of the Christian Bible, and to
Speaker 6: speak more on this is our good friend, Bishop Paul Linier.
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, I tell you, I can't express to you
Speaker 10: just how grateful I am for the opportunity of talking
Speaker 10: about this remarkable passage of scripture, this Genesis fifteen. And
Speaker 10: I'm not exaggerating when I say to you that it's
Speaker 10: absolutely one of my favorite passages of scripture in all
Speaker 10: the Bible. And I'll tell you why. It seems like
Speaker 10: God is determined with even greater specificity to reveal to
Speaker 10: us this remarkable redemption he has assigned to all of us. Yes,
Speaker 10: I know he's talking to a man, but he's actually
Speaker 10: speaking of a movement. I realize he's speaking to a person,
Speaker 10: but God's thinking about a people. Remember God said too,
Speaker 10: that Abraham, through you, all the nations of the world
Speaker 10: will be blessed, all the nations of the world.
Speaker 9: Wow.
Speaker 10: And that's what God is expressing to Abraham in the
Speaker 10: very first verse. He says to him, Oh, your reward
Speaker 10: shall be great. You're going to be blessed. And we've
Speaker 10: seen me talks about herds and flocks and over in
Speaker 10: gold and Abraham, you know, he has already been in
Speaker 10: this conversation for a while with God.
Speaker 1: And so it is.
Speaker 10: But why God, why are you blessing me? Why? Why
Speaker 10: are you extending all of them? What good is prosperity
Speaker 10: without posterity. Maybe you're including Eliezer, that servant maybe Abraham
Speaker 10: purchased when he was traveling through Damascus.
Speaker 5: I don't know.
Speaker 10: Maybe he's even thinking about his nephew Lot. And of
Speaker 10: course you know that Ishmael is a part of this conversation.
Speaker 10: God says, no, no, no, no. I am the Covenant God,
Speaker 10: and I'm speaking to you as the covenant man, and
Speaker 10: your wife, Sarah's the covenant woman, and I'm going to
Speaker 10: extend and you're going to experience that covenant personally. You
Speaker 10: don't have to fix this situation for me. I know
Speaker 10: what I'm doing. Come here, Abraham, I want you to
Speaker 10: see something, and they go outside. God says to Abraham,
Speaker 10: I want you to look up there. I want you
Speaker 10: to look towards me through this mighty expanse of the
Speaker 10: stars that blink at you at night. You know the
Speaker 10: heavens declare his hand where you know that verse, It's remarkable.
Speaker 10: I want you to count the stars, Abraham. Can you
Speaker 10: imagine the look on Abraham's face when he heard those
Speaker 10: words from the Lord count the stars one, two, three, four, five, six, twelve, seventeen,
Speaker 10: forty three, one hundred inver. I don't know where he
Speaker 10: was in the counting when he finally realized I can't
Speaker 10: count any higher, or that there's just too many. And
Speaker 10: God didn't tell Abraham to count all those stars because
Speaker 10: he could, but because he couldn't. And God was trying
Speaker 10: to say to this man, I know you're obsessed with
Speaker 10: your nursery, but I'm thinking about the nations that are
Speaker 10: going to flow through your nursery. We do that, don't we.
Speaker 10: Sometimes we can become so preoccupied with a particular situation
Speaker 10: in our heart and our life and our family, and
Speaker 10: we are completely oblivious for all the great things, even bigger,
Speaker 10: more extraordinary, that God is determined to bring into our lives.
Speaker 10: How is this? And God responds to him with a
Speaker 10: statement that some of us would probably have a difficult
Speaker 10: time with. But God says, if you want to know,
Speaker 10: then you need to sew. If you're searching for a revelation,
Speaker 10: I'm waiting for an offering.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 10: I know a lot of people that would have a
Speaker 10: problem with that statement. But Abraham didn't wait, and he
Speaker 10: didn't argue a debate. He just gave God the offering
Speaker 10: he required. And then in verse twelve he says, God
Speaker 10: put Abraham in a sleep. And you know, yeah, we
Speaker 10: look back in this book of Genesis ad another time
Speaker 10: when a man was longing for his posterity. Didn't know
Speaker 10: what that meant, But what's my next? Look Like God
Speaker 10: himself had said, it's not good for man to be alone.
Speaker 10: God put this Adam to a deep sleep. The Bible
Speaker 10: says that from Adam's side God took and from it
Speaker 10: came Adams, next, his wife, his generations, his eve. And
Speaker 10: for Christians, we look over in the Christian scriptors, of course,
Speaker 10: at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and we look at
Speaker 10: that story where the Roman soldiers inflicted upon Jesus the
Speaker 10: Roman penalty for rebellion. That's what crucifixion was all about.
Speaker 10: And in those Christian Gospels reread that a Roman soldier
Speaker 10: took a spear and pierced the side of the Jesus
Speaker 10: while he slept. It actually passed and from that side
Speaker 10: came blood and water. And as Christians, we see those
Speaker 10: as baptisms. From his side was coming his bride we
Speaker 10: later called in the Christian scriptures the Bride of Christ
Speaker 10: or the Bride of Jesus. So we're understanding that this
Speaker 10: is not the first time nor the last time that
Speaker 10: from a sleeping man that God has put to sleep,
Speaker 10: something extraordinary comes. And while Abraham is asleep, God begins
Speaker 10: to reveal and speak this profound word about a people,
Speaker 10: not just a person. And God says, centuries from now,
Speaker 10: your posterity will be great. Your generations will be like
Speaker 10: those stars, incalculable, innumerable. And I'm going to tell you something,
Speaker 10: this tragic and painful, but I need you to hear me.
Speaker 10: This coming a moment when your generations will be imprisoned,
Speaker 10: and they will suffer unimaginable pain and anguish and heartache
Speaker 10: through slavery, inhumanity, brutality, and bones will be broken and
Speaker 10: flesh will be torn. But I'm telling you, as the
Speaker 10: covenant God, I'm making a covenant with you to them.
Speaker 10: This coming a moment, I'm going to deliver them. And
Speaker 10: as they leave their bondage, they will carry all the
Speaker 10: silver and gold of their captors.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 10: Now, later on in the book of Exodus, we're going
Speaker 10: to study and will see what happened. Of course, what
Speaker 10: you know we know as to be the Passover. God
Speaker 10: had instructed them to stay in their house. It was
Speaker 10: blooded by the lamb, the hissop that they took, and
Speaker 10: they painted the doorposts with the blood of the lamb.
Speaker 10: And I'm convinced that while they were in there, God
Speaker 10: was healing them from the broken bones, the torn flesh,
Speaker 10: and all of the anguish they had endured from the
Speaker 10: brutality of slavery. He had to heal them because they
Speaker 10: had to be strong enough to carry the silver and
Speaker 10: the gold. Sometimes God has to heal us before he
Speaker 10: can deliver us from a thing, and sometimes he has
Speaker 10: to deliver us from something so he can heal us.
Speaker 10: While at verse twelve thirty is just extraordinary, all of
Speaker 10: that passage, but I tell you something else, and I'm
Speaker 10: about to do with this. In verse fifteen, God begins
Speaker 10: to more explicitly speak of those nations that he sees
Speaker 10: as part of the Holy Land. And you know, in
Speaker 10: the Hebrew scriptures, the Christian scriptures, and since nineteen forty
Speaker 10: Israel has never truly occupied all the spaces places that
Speaker 10: God has specifically assigned as Holy land as covenant to
Speaker 10: his people. And when we don't fully occupy what God
Speaker 10: has promised, someone else will and they will become a torment,
Speaker 10: a problem. Boy has Israel suffered that? Well, I'm about
Speaker 10: finished with this chapter, but I want to pray with you, Oh,
Speaker 10: my dear God. I thank you. I thank you that
Speaker 10: Yai Elle and I are able to talk about this
Speaker 10: remarkable passage of scripture. And I thank you for the
Speaker 10: people who are listening to me now. And I'm asking
Speaker 10: you to help us to more fully understand all you
Speaker 10: have assigned to us in the Covenant Blessing. May we
Speaker 10: not settle at a place where we've settled. May we
Speaker 10: not settle for less than you've promised, than you have
Speaker 10: given in your word. May we passionately pursue every.
Speaker 5: Part of it.
Speaker 10: For you are that great God who dreams great dreams
Speaker 10: for us.
Speaker 5: And for all of this we thank you, Lord. Amen.
Speaker 6: God's promises are trustworthy and true, But it isn't always
Speaker 6: easy to see that truth. Is it? Abraham had to
Speaker 6: wait years before God's promises actually came to fruition, and
Speaker 6: he had to endure so much pain as he waited.
Speaker 6: We have to remember this and know this, my friends,
Speaker 6: that we must have faith as we wait for God's
Speaker 6: promises to be fulfilled and the beauty the light to shine.
Speaker 6: And as we hold on to these promises, our faith
Speaker 6: will only grow stronger and we will only get closer
Speaker 6: to God. Here's a final blessing and benediction for you
Speaker 6: from Numbers Ivre Hashem vishmerechra yeah heer hashimpanave ele y
Speaker 6: sa hashempanavelelch shellon. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Speaker 6: May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May
Speaker 6: he be gracious to you, Made the Lord turn his
Speaker 6: face towards you and give you peace.
Speaker 1: Amen. You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle
Speaker 1: Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the prey
Speaker 1: dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only
Speaker 1: made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
Speaker 1: Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive
Speaker 1: producers of the Chosen People with Yil Eckstein, edited by
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bish, Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin,
Speaker 1: Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot
Speaker 1: com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on
Speaker 1: the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you
Speaker 1: enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and
Speaker 1: leave a review.