Dev Ramcharan - Class 3: I Have Made You a Father of a Multitude of Nations

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   This is day three of the Rocky Mountain Bible School 2019. Our second period class is Brother Devram Shram from Toronto West and his overall theme is Abraham Believed God and today's topic I have made you a father of a multitude of nations. Well good morning brothers and sisters. Good morning. I made the decision this morning I'm going to put my watch in front of me which is almost indecipherable that way and that I would be able to keep time and arrived in the room five minutes late. So things have not gone well. A little bit of additional information that was supplied just in discussion yesterday. Some great points by people but one that stuck out that I wanted to share with you is this. Lot makes this progression from pitching his tent towards Sodom to dwelling in Sodom and eventually Lot is a city councilor in Sodom sitting in the gate of the city. So what you have is a traveling sojourning pilgrim who becomes a landed immigrant or what you call a resident alien a resident alien and then he becomes a city councilor. And one of the reasons that was suggested was perhaps the same kind of brokered arrangement that occurred between Abraham, Abram at the time and those people around him from the Amalekites who became his well his allies in the war that occurred. They had a mutual self defense treaty or arrangement with each other occurred likewise in Lot's case. Lot must have had quite a retinue of people.

2. 1:53

   Remember from the group of people that Abraham had 318 were chosen born in his house as servants with enough time to grow up to full adult adulthood to become fighting men trained fighting men. And there were so many of them in both families and the extended retinues that the land could not support them. So it could have been a sizable group of people that Lot had with him.

3. 2:21

   Lot, his immediate family and then an extended group of servants which if we said conservatively was three or four hundred people only three survived that Ecclesia. Only three. Only Abraham was thinking as he negotiated with the angel that represented Yahweh. Well look, let's go with the ridiculous number. If there's ten, if there's ten, will you spare the city?

4. 2:49

   And in all of his compassionate empathy? And in all of his compassionate empathy the angel says yes, if there are ten. Knowing full well there aren't even that many. There aren't even that many. All right? And so that descent into Sodom led to the loss of a generation. I want to tell you a little bit about my generation just briefly.

5. 3:12

   I am the end of the baby boom generation. A generation that experienced decade by decade exponential increases in prosperity as their parents and grandparents after the second world war rebuilt and saw flourishing economies around the west. We were a generation that was used to getting new things all the time. There were so many kids born in that generation they couldn't build the schools fast enough.

6. 3:47

   You may recall that those of you of that generation. You'd be bussed all over the place because the schools were full up. And people moved out and out, built the suburbs, built their homes with the picket fences and the prosperity increased and increased and increased. To the point that the generation that was raised in that milieu of prosperity became used to it being the norm. They should always have what they want.

7. 4:16

   They should always be able to get and acquire whatever they desire. Credit became so cheap that something our grandparents could never ever have imagined became reality for us. You didn't have to have money to get things. You just needed a credit card. Or you needed whatever kind of account you needed to have so that out of it, with no money, you could purchase things.

8. 4:45

   You needed to have money to buy things. Thereby putting the entire western world economy based on that system, no longer built on gold, bullion, sitting in a room in a vault somewhere, but just based on printing more money, printing more money. We built a pack of cards of gold, printing more money. We built a pack of cards of an economy and our lives likewise. For us as baby boom kids growing up, we, without ever wanting to, without realizing what we were doing, had the life of lots, most of us.

9. 5:21

   Now many didn't. And many of those are here. And many of those have their children in the truth. But for the rest of us, me included, we had one foot planted in the ecclesia, the other foot planted in the world, in its entertainment, in its luxuries, in its travel, in all the accoutrements that come with the prosperous life of that generation in this world.

10. 5:52

    Many of us have been leveraged with debt up above our eyeballs. We can barely breathe, but you would never know it looking at us. Our parents know. You don't. That's our generation. What did our kids see? What did our kids see? What did the children see? They saw mummies and daddies with one foot planted in Sodom.

11. 6:19

    One foot planted in the ecclesia. What do you reckon they were going to choose eventually? What was going to be the easier choice for them? And for most of us, we've experienced children who walked away from the truth into the world. Many of them irretrievable. So that when we go to our children and say, God is going to destroy this city, they look at us as if we're making a joke.

12. 6:55

    We are like Lot. Those of us that are like what I just described. So these are not stories about people walking around in robes speaking the poetry of the King's English in the period of Shakespeare and Company. These are real life people making decisions that looked like they were common sense decisions at a moment in time.

13. 7:22

    But were entirely and completely spiritually the wrong things to do. And their children paid the price. And so Lot makes that progression. It's really a kind of a regression, isn't it? A retrogression. He goes deeper and deeper down. Now something that I can say with honesty is, the generation after us has it right in many, many ways.

14. 7:55

    They've been raising their children much closer to their kids. Much more. Absolutely involved in keeping them engaged with brothers and sisters, with their children, with activities around the Ecclesia, as much as possible. Whereas for us there was that thing we thought was a kind of balance between the fun of this world, the life of this world, thinking we could survive it unscathed, and the life of the Ecclesia.

15. 8:26

    Never fully addressing the disconnects and inconsistencies of that half worldly, half ecclesial, spiritual life. It's a struggle that we, many of us as boomers, will take to the day that we die or the day that the kingdom comes. But it is our struggle and we have to keep on struggling. And just keep in the truth.

16. 8:51

    No matter how small the remnants are. The vestiges of what is left of our families after all the mistakes that we've made. And so chapter 15 begins, or chapter 14, goes into that part of the narrative that talks about the end of the battle, everything being brought by Abram that was taken away from Sodom.

17. 9:18

    And it says, verse 18, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God. Wow. Man whose name means king of righteousness. Whose city's name is peace. So he's the king of righteousness and the king of peace as a consequence. So what do we have all together?

18. 9:46

    We have a king. We have righteousness. We have a peace. We have a priest. We have El Elyon, the Most High God. The title seems to imply that God is a being around whom are other high beings, but he is the Most High. And of course, God is with the angels. Now he's with the angels and the Lord Jesus Christ, but he is the Most High God.

19. 10:15

    In the story we have bread. We have wine. We have a blessing. We have deliverance from enemies. So many echoes that remind us of the Lord Jesus Christ. The atonement that was achieved by his Father and by him. The faith in the middle of all of those elements of the Gospel, of how God has engineered and worked out salvation that he might save those of mankind willing to respond.

20. 10:52

    Melchizedek brings forth bread and wine. And so the commentaries say outside, well, it's just a regular meal. There's nothing that associates this with the bread and wine of Christ. Of course, that's stupid exposition, isn't it? That is precisely what this is. It is a pre-echo. It points forward. Paul, writing the Hebrews, talks about the fact that Melchizedek was made like unto Christ.

21. 11:26

    Now, note, it doesn't say Christ was made like unto him. It says he was made like unto Christ in his priesthood. His priesthood. So this man, without father, without mother, etc. In other words, God is the parent of the Lord Jesus Christ, ultimately. This individual comes and he blesses him. He blesses him.

22. 11:58

    The greater blesses the lesser. The lesser. Now, Abram had just beaten a bunch of incredibly powerful kings. Like Gideon, he had come rolling by night time with his two little teams. And conquered and delivered his brother. And all of the people that were with him. And he has all this power. But he submits and humbles himself before Melchizedek.

23. 12:32

    And the point that the writer in the Hebrews makes is, Melchizedek as a priest was superior and prior to the Levitical priesthood. He was outside of the law and above the law. The Levites were in the loins of Abram. Generations yet to come. And they, with Abram, bowed down to and humbled themselves before Melchizedek.

24. 13:01

    Melchizedek, king of righteousness, king of peace. Who is analogous to Christ, outside of the law and superior to the Levitical priesthood. And all of the rituals and all of the details that are associated with their work. He is above all of that, as was Melchizedek. Melchizedek. And Abraham, your forefather, acknowledged that when he submitted to be blessed by the one greater than him.

25. 13:37

    Melchizedek. And so, it goes on and it says, he blessed him. And he says, blessed be Abram. Of the most high God. And of, really is by. By the most high God. Possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God. Which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And so, Melchizedek articulates the right balance.

26. 14:11

    No, it's not that you were a superior general. Who were able, as a guerrilla warrior. To outfox superior forces. Using your mind. God delivered you. God delivered them. Into your hands. God made you victorious. It was God who had the victory. And it says, he gave him a tenth of all. Tithes of all.

27. 14:44

    Now, Brother John Carter in his commentary on Hebrews writes the following words. Abram's oath. This is the oath that he's about to make. In the presence of Melchizedek. This is what it's about. It is clear from Abraham's words. That in the worship of God. In company with Melchizedek. Abraham had made a solemn dedication of service to God.

28. 15:09

    Some intimate words. Had passed between priest and worshiper. And some great resolve registered. The meeting had set Abraham's course. And given him the moral earnestness to follow it through. It meant refusing the overtures of the king of Sodom. And offering a repulse to him. That could make him an embittered enemy.

29. 15:40

    When Abraham rejects Sodom's offer of goods. Effectively. He's put himself in this world. In an absolutely tenuous position. But he did it. He nailed his spiritual colors to the mast. And so it says. The king of Sodom said unto Abram. Give me the people. And take the goods to yourself. Because that's what the custom was.

30. 16:16

    That is what was done. And think of what that meant. All the money. All the gold. All the silver. All the jewelry associated with the people that had come back. Whatever they had taken. In the way of flocks. Herds. All of that. Which was vast wealth. Would have been Abraham's. Think of the material security.

31. 16:50

    In this world. That that would have given him. In the world. What would Lot have done with that decision? Abram makes a different decision. And this is what Abram says.

32. 17:14

    I have lifted up my hand. Unto Yahweh. El. Elyon. Possessor of heaven and earth. And so he makes this decision. To the wicked. Disgusting. King of Sodom. He makes this decision. All about. His God.

33. 17:43

    And by doing that. He's not just insulting the king. By saying. No to his offer. Of money. He's saying. To the king. Your gods are nothing. I.

34. 17:56

    Have made a vow. To the one. Existing God. Who is the possessor of everything. So now. Now. What he has done. Is an egregious insult. To a pagan king. Telling him. Your religion is all rubbish. Everything you believe. Is nothing. My God. Is everything. And I have promised him. I will not take a thing from you.

35. 18:27

    Not. One. Thing. It goes on and he says. That I will not take. From a thread. Even a shoe latchet. That I will not take. Anything that is. Yours. So what he's just said to the king of Sodom. Remember. You are the proud. Horrendous. King of Sodom. And this foreigner. Looks at you and says.

36. 18:57

    I want nothing of you. At all. Not even a piece of string. I want nothing to do with you. Well what would you think? How safe would that be man. That man. And after you were over the shock. Because nobody had ever talked to you like that in your life. Not once. Not once.

37. 19:20

    Not even once. What would you be thinking to do to that man after? But Abraham says what he says. And Abram then. It says. Lest thou should say. I have made Abram rich. Because that's how vast the wealth was. Sodom could have said that.

38. 19:48

    I made him rich. We. Made him rich. Save only that which the young men have eaten. And the portion of the men. Which went with me. Aner. Whose main name means. Boy. Eshkol. You'll remember Levi Eshkol. Whose name means cluster. And Mamre. Whose name means. Strength. Let them take their portion. And then.

39. 20:18

    There's that moment of quiet. And Abraham has some separation. Between the event. And where he is at the beginning of Genesis 15. Enough time. For him to become anxious. Enough time. For him to realize. The potential implications of what he said. To the king of Sodom. The level of safety and security that he has.

40. 20:45

    Enough time to reflect on. If I had only taken that money. Think of what I could do with it. And God says. Unto him in a vision.

41. 21:00

    Don't be afraid. Abram. I. Am your shield. And he's echoing in a way. The sentiment. Of what Melchizedek had said. When he said to him. Blessed be. God. Who has given you the victory.

42. 21:22

    Who put your enemies in your power. Who delivered them into your hands. God is underscoring that. And saying. Look. I am your shield. Don't be afraid. Why would he say don't be afraid? Because he was afraid.

43. 21:38

    Abram. The man of faith. Was afraid. Men and women of faith. Have times. When they are afraid. It doesn't mean. You're not a believer. Or a brother or sister in Christ. Of substance. It just means you're human. And he was afraid. God reassures him. And says look. I am your shield. And then he goes on.

44. 22:04

    And he says. And you know all that money. You walked away from. I am your exceeding great reward. And what does that word reward mean? Well the word reward means. Payment of contract. It can mean. Salary. It can mean. Compensation. Benefit. Hire. Reward. The word is used. In different places. In chapter 31.

45. 22:36

    Verse 18. Jacob is told. The ring straight shall be. Thy hire. And the word hire is. Reward. In numbers 18. At verse 31. And ye shall eat it. Every place. In every place. Ye and your households. For it is your reward. For your service. In the tabernacle of the congregation.

46. 23:06

    So the reward. The eating. Of the sacrificial offerings. Well that was the reward of the men. Who had that benefit. Same word. And the word. Is also used in. Zachariah. In that terrible passage. Where it says. So they weighed. For my price. The word price. Thirty pieces. Of silver.

47. 23:34

    And Psalm. 127. In verse 3. Talks about. The fruit of the womb. Is his reward. God. And so what God is saying to him. Is everything you lost. Everything you walked away from. In this world. So that you could be faithful to me. I will compensate you for. I'll compensate you for.

48. 23:56

    And Abraham said. Abraham said. Behold. To me. You've given no seed. And somebody born in my house. Is my heir. Behold. The word. Of Yahweh. Came unto him. Saying. This man. Shall not be your heir. But he that shall come forth. Out of thine own bowels. Shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad.

49. 24:19

    And said. No. I want you to look at the sky. So it's night time. Tell the stars. That doesn't mean speak to them. It means count them. You know. Bank teller. Tell the stars. Just to count the stars. Count them. And of course. It's not possible to do that. Even scientists today. With the biggest telescopes.

50. 24:41

    Can only mathematically infer. How many stars there might be. Out there. And they still don't know. You can't count them. So shall your seed be. Now. This is the measure of the man. This is the measure of us as believers. No matter what our eyes tell us. Remember Lot. Through the veil that obscured his vision.

51. 25:10

    Lot. Meaning veil. Saw the land. And it looked lovely. To his naked human eyes. But with the eyes of faith. Abram. Here's what he just said. He doesn't laugh cynically. He believed in the Lord. And he counted it. To him. For righteousness.

52. 25:35

    Now it wasn't. It wasn't some kind of a. Quid pro quo. You believe in me. And then I'll give you. X amount of righteousness.

53. 25:43

    Brother Jim has been at pains. To show us. That there isn't that kind of accounting. That God is doing. There isn't a balance sheet. That he works with like that. It's about faith. Abram believed him. And God looked at him. And made the choice. To see him as righteous. He counted that. To him.

54. 26:09

    As righteousness. The word counted. The Hebrew word chassab. Means. To think. To regard. To compute. The Greek equivalent. Is logizomai. And it means to reckon. To count. To compute. To calculate. So yes. All of those words. Sound like accounting. But ultimately. What happens is this. God sees you. His child. Trusting and believing in him.

55. 26:34

    No matter how desperate. No matter how tenuous. Your circumstances may be. He loves you for it. And he sees you. As righteous. For your faith. And. For the sake of his son. To whom you have. Connected yourself. Through baptism. Into his act of faith. His crucifixion. His death.

56. 27:02

    And then. Through the process. Obtaining the hope of the resurrection. Which was the result. The consequence of his. Perfect obedience. In faith. Abram. Believed. God. And he counted it to him. For faith. Now this is the man. Of tremendous faith. Showing his faith. But still. Having. A margin. Of needing to be shown.

57. 27:28

    And encouraged. To believe. With something more. And so he says. Lord God. Whereby shall I know. That I shall inherit it. Well it just said. He believed him.

58. 27:42

    But it's just like Gideon. With the fleece. Just. Give me something. To hold on to. And God does not say to him. Listen. I just told you. Didn't I? Didn't I help you in that battle? That just occurred? Haven't I led you all this way? He doesn't do any of that. God's not like us.

59. 28:07

    He doesn't rail. We're told. The angels do not rail. Instead. He meets him where he is. And he puts things in terms of. What people did. Then. Now when people were going to have a very. Serious. Binding agreement. Agreement. Where they were willing to stake their lives. On the agreement. What would happen is.

60. 28:33

    They would sacrifice animals. They would take animals. They would divide them down the middle. Now you might take a calf for instance. And you would literally. Split that animal. From the nose. All the way down. To the tail area. For a precise division. Into two pieces. Meaning. Both sides. Have an equal stake.

61. 28:59

    In this promise. Then the. Then. The halves of the animals. Would be organized on both sides. The animals would be. The fires would be lit. The people. The men. Would come from either side. Of the dividing. Open area. Between the animals. That had been split. And would meet. In the middle. They would then.

62. 29:27

    After they had made. Their promise. Their covenant. Eat. Of the offerings together. That was serious business. Very serious. And what they were saying. Effectively is. If. I break this agreement.

63. 29:45

    And you could just. With the ellipsis. Dot dot dot. Work out the consequence. And so what does God do? Knowing that's what happens. Culturally. Knowing that is what happens. In the society. In which they live. And knowing also. The. Pre-echo. To. The Lord Jesus Christ. What he would do. His accomplishment. And what that would entail.

64. 30:09

    It says. Take me a heifer. Of three years old. And a she goat. Three years old. Turtle dove. And a young pigeon. And he took out to him all these. And divided them in the midst. And laid each piece. One against the other. But the birds divided he not. They were too small.

65. 30:31

    And when. The fowls. And. And sorry. And when the fowls. Came down upon. The carcasses. Abram. Drove them away. And when the sun was going down. A deep sleep. Fell upon Abram. And lo. And horror. Of great darkness. Fell upon him. And he said unto Abram. No. Of a surety. Thy seed shall be a stranger.

66. 30:57

    In a land. It is not theirs. And shall serve them. And they. Shall afflict them. Four hundred years. But also. That nation. Whom they shall serve. Will I judge. And afterward. Shall they come out. With great substance. And thou shalt go. To thy fathers. In peace. Thou shalt be buried. In a good.

67. 31:18

    Old age. But in the fourth generation. They shall come hither again. For the iniquity. Of the armorites. Is not yet full. And it came to pass. When the sun went down. And it was dark. Behold. A smoking furnace. And a burning lamp. That passed between those pieces. So imagine the one man. Coming from the one end.

68. 31:46

    Of those arranged sacrifices. So that he. Could make his commitment. To that promise. That covenant. And who's the one man? The same thing. That they saw in the wilderness. The pillar of fire. The pillar of cloud. That fiery thing. That was upon Mount Sinai. That incredible glow. And fire. Associated with God. And here he is.

69. 32:17

    Here is the angel. Manifested. In this. This torch. This flame. Coming through. Demonstrating. God's commitment. To the covenant. God's commitment. But. But Abraham. Abraham doesn't get to do that yet. He does that. Effectively. Symbolically. In chapter 17. When God will say to him. As for. Your. Part. This is what you will do.

70. 32:50

    And that effectively is. Is. Is. Is. Abram. Walking from his. Side. Through. The sacrificial offerings. And agreeing with. Yahweh. So that they both. Are together. In disagreement. Now. It says. That. For a period of time. Abram. Drove away the birds. And you remember that. Wonderful session. We had last night. On the eagles.

71. 33:19

    You will not soon. Forget that. Will you? And that image of the end. That dramatic image. Of the double headed eagle. Not easily forgotten. The eagles. For the carcasses. There will the eagles be gathered. Matthew would write. God through Matthew. Harry Whitaker says. The following words. The exposure of the carcasses. Attracted the attention.

72. 33:44

    Of hungry birds. Of prey. But Abraham. Kept watch. And repeatedly. Drove them off. Suggestion. Has been made. Here was symbolized. The frequent. Ignorant. Attempts. That have been made. Over the centuries. By Gentile nations. To thwart. God's purpose. With Israel. During the long period. That that nation. Has been. Like a slaughtered carcass. In a figure.

73. 34:16

    Abraham has continued. To keep watch. Over his own. Israel. Continues to be a nation. Beloved. For the father's sake. The symbolism. The symbolism. Of Daniel 4. Verse 12. Where again. The birds of heaven. Symbolize the polyglot. That's multilingual. Multilanguaged. Nations. Of the world. Appears to support. This interpretation. And then he. He points.

74. 34:49

    To some. Other cross references. We can look at. And of course. There's Matthew 24. Verse 28. There's also. Habakkuk 1. Verses 6 to 8. Which brother Roger. Showed us. Last night. And also. Deuteronomy chapter 28. Verse 49. And so. Abraham. Driving away the birds. Is like the effect. Of the promises. As a protective.

75. 35:15

    Canopy. To some degree. Through. Through. The ages. Over the Jewish people. Horror. Of great darkness. If you. If you are a Jew today. You might look at that. And see something. Which. Interpretatively. Reminds you. Of the Holocaust. Which was a horror. Of great darkness. And then the torch. And the furnace. Would have different echoes.

76. 35:43

    For you. But for us. As Bible students. Christadelphians. In a room. Together. This horror. Of great darkness. Well. It could be typical. Of the darkness. Which. Which. Which. Which is descended. Over the land. On the day of the crucifixion. As Christ was dying. On the cross. David. David. Uses the same word. Translated.

77. 36:10

    Horror. In. Psalm 55. In verse 4. Where he says. The terrors of death. Are fallen on me. The horror. Of great darkness. Of course. It. It could also refer to the fact. That. The falling asleep. The darkness. Is going to entail death. And a resurrection to life. For Abram. And all those. That are his.

78. 36:35

    You see how God. In his loving. Kindness. And compassion. Meets. Abram. Where he is. With ideas. And concepts. That he can understand. As a man. Living in his world. At a particular point. In time. God doesn't. Say to him. Well just believe me. Because I said so. He could have said that. And there would have been.

79. 37:01

    Times for that. To be absolutely appropriate. In Jewish history. But in this instance. The gentleness. The compassion. The empathy. He demonstrates. To the. To the one who. Is his friend. Who. Who is all of us. All of us. Because. It wasn't just the Levites. That were in his loins. We were in his spiritual loins.

80. 37:26

    As it were. All the seed. The adopted seed. The grafted in branch. God has that same loving care. And concern. For us. Wherever we are. And whoever we might be. Well. We move on then. And. It says. Verse. 18. The same day the Lord made a covenant. With Abram. Saying. Unto thy seed.

81. 37:56

    Will I give this land. From the river of Egypt. All the way. To the river Euphrates. That massive piece of land. Are going to give it to you. And to your seed. And to your seed. And so there's. There's. There's a sense of the scale. Of what is being given by God. To Abraham.

82. 38:18

    Now we're going to skip chapter 16. Because we'll look at that. When. We get back together. Tomorrow. And deal with. The situation of Abimelech. But just a very. Very. Very quick. And cursory glance. At Genesis 17. We're going to do five minutes worth of that. When Abram was 90 years old. And nine.

83. 38:39

    Yahweh appeared to Abram. And said unto him. I am. El Shaddai. El Shaddai. El. God. Strength. Might. Might. Might. Right. Elohim. Mighty ones. Right. Eloah. Mighty one. El. Strength.

84. 39:00

    Shaddai. The word Shaddai. Is founded on. Well two potential words. One that means. Breast. And Shaddai means. Breasts. One that means. Power. Destructive force. Might. And of course. Both of them. Are appropriate. For Yahweh. For Yahweh. Both. And both. Are engaged. In the loving protection. Of Abraham. And his seed. The nurturing. Loving.

85. 39:36

    Motherliness. Of God. Well. Where does the motherly instinct. Of women come from? From God. From God. God. Because God created both male. And female. All the attributes that we have. Anything that is worthwhile in us. Comes from him. So we shouldn't be at all trouble. To hear God. Referring to himself. With a title.

86. 39:58

    That is talking about. What we would. Associate. With our moms. And us as babies. I am. El Shaddai. He says. He says to him. Walk before me. And be thou perfect. Jim Cowen. Suggests that. Walk before me. Could be translated literally. Walk as though you are in my presence. As though you are in my presence.

87. 40:32

    Noah walked with God. Walk with me. And be thou perfect. And we look at that word. And we get frightened. Because we know what we are made of. And we already think. Well that's it. Story's over for me. But the word perfect. Does not mean sinless. That's not what it's talking about. It's not talking about.

88. 40:57

    Sinlessness. That's not what it means. That word. Perfect. Has to do with blamelessness. Don't be an individual. Who lives in the world. Like a sodomite. Like somebody who is. From Gomorrah. Live in the world. Like someone. Who has faith. In me. You know. You go to Bible schools. And they have a multitude.

89. 41:24

    Of rules. And regulations. This one wisely. Makes it harder. It's like law and grace. Law is ritual. Ritual. Ritual. Ritual. Details. Right? Because then you know. Exactly what you have to do. And then you work out. All the bypasses. And process overflows. And inflows. And how to get around the rules. The more you have.

90. 41:44

    The better you get. At bypassing them. But when the rules are. Do what you ought to do. You are in a vice. Because now you know. Well I have to act like a grown up.

91. 41:59

    Right? I have to behave. In an orderly and responsible fashion. That's what this is like. Walk before me. And be an accountable. Responsible. Mature. Faithful. Believer.

92. 42:18

    And so. He says. I will make a covenant with you. Well didn't he just make a covenant? Well what do you mean? I will make a covenant with you. As if one is already not made. It must mean. I will now implement the covenant. Taking it to that stage. Where now it's moving forward.

93. 42:37

    Now it has been. 13 years. Since God. Last spoke to him. Or at least 13 years. Since Ishmael has been around. It's a very long time. Isn't it? 13 years. Now for you to be a man of faith. Continuing. Without that. Connection. Of the voice of God. For 13 years. Is a measure of the faith.

94. 43:04

    Of Abraham. And he talks about. Multiplying his seed exceedingly. He says in verse 4. As. For. Me. And these are the things. That he's going to be doing. I'm going to make you. A multitudinous seed. You're going to be a father of. Not just one nation. That is multitudinous in itself. But a multitude.

95. 43:25

    Of nations. So you're going to be. A father of Gentiles. Not just your own descendants. Everybody. Everybody. Is going to be your children. Who are tied to your seed. And we'll stop there. Pick it up briefly tomorrow. And continue forward. Weekend. Thank you.