Scripture Reading: Genesis 22:15-17a, 18-19
“And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: ‘By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, 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 sea-shore;…'”
“‘And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.'” (Genesis 22: 15-17a)
We see here two distinct lineages of people coming from the loins of Abraham — one is the seed of the Heavens (the Star-Seed), and the other is the seed of the earthly, the (Sand-Seed), which refers to the millions of Jews who are direct flesh and blood descendants of Abraham. They have filled the earth.
The Haftorah says, “As the sand has been placed as a boundary for the sea, and though the waves thereof roar and toss themselves, yet can they not prevail (Jeremiah 5:22); so would multitudes of enemies strive in vain to destroy Abraham’s descendants; but thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies.”
When God speaks a blessing upon you all the curses of all the devils and demons cannot prevail against you. God’s Word stands firm. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
The second seed is the Star-Seed. These are the Children of Abraham by faith. Galatians 3:7-8 says, “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
Because we love the Jews, we may wish to be Jewish, but according to Paul we already are Children of Abraham.
We are Star-Children.
Romans 4:16 says that Abraham is “the father of us all,” and that includes the Gentiles who are believers in the Jewish Messiah. Through our acceptance of Him and faith in Him we have been grafted into Israel. “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;” (Romans 11:17).
Let us seek to bring honour and blessing to our father Abraham. Do not cut yourself off from Israel. God has called you to be one with Israel.
Jesus prayed that we might all be one (John 17:20-23). We are called to be one loaf, one body, with Israel (1 Corinthian 10:16-17).
How can those who do not love Israel claim that they love the God of Israel? Our Saviour was born of a Jewish mother, in a Jewish town, raised by a Jewish family, spoke the Jew’s language, taught the Jewish people, died in the Jewish capital, was laid in a Jew’s tomb, and founded the Church with Jews.
We Gentiles have been grafted into Israel through our faith in the Jew, Jesus.
We have been adopted into Abraham’s family (Galatians 3:7,29)
How can we ever say that we do not need our roots? We have been cut out of the wild olive tree and are now coming alive with the sap of the new tree, even the tree of Abraham and Sarah. And all the promises that were given to Abraham are ours (Galatians 3:9).
I am a joint heir of the promises of God to Israel.
Hallelujah! — All because a Jew loved me enough to die for me!
In the Beginning by Gwen Shaw
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