Israel - God's Blessing to the Earth
Volume 1, Number 20Vol 1 - No 20, November 25, 2004Faith and The Children of Israel:As has been observed, God promised Abraham the land of Canaan; that his offspring would be numbered as the sand of the sea and that they would be a blessing to the earth. His son Isaac was the immediate answer to the promise of progeny and blessing and he was a type of and pointed to God's own son Jesus Christ. God then chose Isaac's son Jacob as the vessel through which the blessings would flow. God changed Jacob's name to Israel and thus the descendants of Abraham,... Continue reading →
Joseph - A Type of Jesus Christ
Volume 1, Number 19Vol 1 - No 19, November 12, 2004The Faith of Joseph:God answered the prayers of Jacob's wife Rachel and she bore a son named Joseph (Genesis 30:22 - 24) but the Word of God does not introduce him until he was 17 years old and feeding his father's flocks (Genesis 37:2.) The record of Joseph's life forms a remarkable type of Christ. As Joseph fed his father's flocks Christ fed His father's sheep, the multitudes. Joseph was loved by his father and clothed so as to show his equality with his father. The "coat of many colors" was said to... Continue reading →
Jacob - Israel's Faith
Volume 1, Number 18Vol 1 - No 18, October 24, 2004Jacob's (Israel's) faith:The last two studies summarized some of what the Word of God reveals about Jacob's life, as found in Genesis 25:24 - 34 and from 27:1 through 35:29. Jacob contended with Esau for the birthright and succeeded - Genesis 25:29 - 34. He contended with Esau and Isaac for the blessing and succeeded - Genesis 27. He contended with Laban and succeeded - Genesis 31. In all his contentions with men he succeeded but when he contended with God he failed. God crippled his hip and changed his name to Israel.... Continue reading →
Jacob - The Ladder to Heaven - Rachael
Volume 1, Number 17Vol 1 - No 17, October 2, 2004Jacob becomes Israel:God promised to bless Jacob and he was intelligent and talented, a winning combination for success. He prospered greatly and his wealth increased but time after time he became embroiled in conflicts with others. However, God protected, reassured and pulled him through each crisis.After Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessing instead of to Esau to whom it belonged, Esau purposed to kill him. As a result Jacob had to flee Beersheba and go to Heran. He stopped to sleep at a place called Luz, which means "separation." There,... Continue reading →
Jacob the Supplanter
Volume 1, Number 16Vol 1 - No 16, September 22, 2004Jacob the supplanter:Jacob is the most controversial, humanly speaking, of all the men examined in these Faith Studies to date. Conflict, deceit and contradiction filled his life but God chose and blessed him and he responded by faith in God's Word.God's election and plan for Jacob's life was evidenced before he was conceived. His mother Rebekah had no children after 19 years of marriage. Isaac prayed for her, the Lord answered his prayer and Rebekah conceived twins, Esau and Jacob. The grasping and conflict that marked Jacob's life started before he was born... Continue reading →
Isaac - Abraham's Son of God's Promise
Volume 1, Number 15Vol 1 - No 15, July 27, 2004Isaac, Abraham's son of God's promise.Genesis 21 records Isaac's miraculous conception and birth to 90-year-old Sarah, a woman who had been barren all her life. Isaac grew up to be gentle and meek in nature as evidenced by; 1) his willingness to submit as a sacrifice offered by his father (it turned out that God provided a substitute ram for the sacrifice - Genesis 22); 2) his closeness to his mother to the point that he did not marry until age 40, after she died - Genesis 25:20; 3) his willing acceptance of... Continue reading →
The Trial of Job's Faith by the World, the Flesh & the Devil
Volume 1, Number 14Vol 1 - No 14, June 17, 2004The trial of Job's faith by the world, the flesh and the devil.According to "The Student's Commentary" Job probably lived after Abraham and possibly during Moses' early life, so they could have been acquainted. The book of Job is believed to be the oldest book in the world and could have been written by Job himself, or by Moses. The lesson therein has applied to God's people since then and will apply until the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,... Continue reading →
Sarah & Abraham's Faith
Volume 1, Number 13Vol 1 - No 13, June 10, 2004The Word of God to Abraham, the father of all that believe-Romans 4:11- Part Seven: Conclusion of The faith of Sarah and Abraham.Genesis 23:1 - 2 "And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her."Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age, death and burial are recorded. God chose her for a special ministry... Continue reading →
Abraham's Faith Tested - A Type of God's Gift of His Son
Volume 1, Number 12Vol 1 - No 12, May 23, 2004The Word of God to Abraham, the father of all that believe-Romans 4:11- Part Six:Abraham's faith tested and the sacrifice of God's son pictured in type."And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." - Genesis... Continue reading →
Abraham - the Father of Isaac & All Who Believe
Volume 1, Number 11Vol 1 - No 11, May 10, 2004The Word of God to Abraham, the father of all that believe-Romans 4:11- Part Five:The promised son.Immediately after making the covenant of circumcision God promised Abraham a son born to Sarah and that she would be the mother of nations and kings - Genesis 17:16. Abraham's reaction to this news was joy - "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?" - Genesis 17:17. It was... Continue reading →