Exodus 3:2-4 "And the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I." This is a key moment in Bible history of Redemption, when Moses encounters God through the miraculous sight of “the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”  This passage marks the beginning of God's direct call to Moses, setting the stage for the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Moses was a type of Christ the Mediator sent by God the Father to save His spiritual people yet in bondage of their sin and condemnation under the law. As Moses tended to his flock in the wilderness near Mount Horeb, he witnessed a bush that burned but was not consumed. Intrigued, he approaches, and God calls out to him by name from within the flames. This encounter signifies both the revelation of God to Moses and God's commissioning of him as the leader who would bring His chosen people out of Egypt to freedom. What lessons do we learn, then, from Moses’s encounter with God in the burning bush? “The Angel of the LORD appeared unto him...”  Was this a created angel, or was this the Messenger of the Covenant, the LORD Jesus Christ Himself appearing to Moses in a pre-incarnate appearance? Doubtless, this was the LORD Jesus Himself, as He would often appear in mercy to His people or His prophets even before He came in the flesh. This was an extraordinary revelation of God through the mediation of His Eternal Son. Notice that it says, “the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him,”   and then, “the LORD saw that he turned aside to see.”  The Angel (Messenger) of the LORD is the same LORD who saw Moses turn aside. The word " angel " means " messenger,"  and Christ is the Angel (Messenger) of God the Father for the salvation of His chosen ones (Judges 6:22, Zechariah 3:1-10). “A flame of fire out of a burning bush...”  The flaming fire represents the holiness and justice of God, Who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). When Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was promised to Abraham, he saw a burning lamp, which signified the light of joy that the deliverance would bring (Genesis 15:7) . But now, it shines even brighter as a flame of fire, for in that deliverance, God brought terror and destruction to His enemies, light and warmth to His people, and displayed His glory before all (Isaiah 10:17). “The bush burned with fire but was not consumed.”  This fire was not in a tall and stately cedar, but in a bush—a thorny bush, as the word means. Here, we see a beautiful picture of the work of God in pouring out His wrath on His Son in the flesh. The LORD Jesus would bear the wrath and justice of God for His people, but He would not be consumed. As the God-Man,  He did not appear as a tall, stately tree to be admired. Rather, He was like this insignificant thorny bush in the middle of the desert, something that Moses and others would easily pass by unnoticed—until the LORD revealed Himself from the midst of the bush as the living God and a consuming fire. The bush represents the human nature of the LORD Jesus. The prophet Isaiah compared Him to “a tender plant and a root out of dry ground,”  in which, to the eye of the world, there was “no form, comeliness, or beauty”  (Isaiah 53:2). The flame of fire typifies His divine nature, which is evident when we consider how often fire, in Scripture, is an emblem of God. “Our God is a consuming fire”  (Hebrews 12:29, Deuteronomy 4:24). The union of the flame of fire with the bush denotes the union of the Godhead with human flesh in Christ. Moses was caused by the Spirit of God to see the God-Man  in the burning bush when, in his dying benediction, he declared “the God who dwelt in the bush” (Deuteronomy 33:16). Does this not show that the flame of fire in the bush, which continued to burn for a short time, was a type of the fullness of the Godhead dwelling forever in the Man Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:9) ? As the bush was in the fire, and the fire was in the bush—yet they remained distinct things, though joined in one—so it is with the Man Christ Jesus: He is in God, and God is in Him, though both natures, so mysteriously united, retain their distinct persons. Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight.”  When God first reveals Himself to one of His chosen ones, there is a curiosity about who He is. Being drawn by His Spirit, we come to see that He is an inapproachable God because of His holiness. This is the central attribute of God. It is not His love that is foremost, but His holiness (Isaiah 6:1-4), and none can approach Him without a proper Mediator (1 Timothy 6:16). Moses could not draw near apart from God in Christ (the Angel) drawing him. Yet even then, he was not to approach rashly. It was God, in the Person of the Angel (Messenger), who called Moses to draw near—but with caution, because he was on holy ground (Exodus 3:5) . He had to draw near, yet with care, lest he come too close without reverence. God gave Moses a gracious call, to which he returned a ready answer: “Here am I” (Exodus 3:4) . This is very similar to God's call to Isaiah through the revelation of His holiness, which caused him to cry out, “Woe is me, I am undone”  (Isaiah 6:5). Just as God sovereignly called Isaiah to declare His glory to the people, so too did He call Moses, and each responded, “Here am I.”  Before God ever commissions a servant to preach Christ to others, He must first reveal Himself in them (Galatians 1:15) . Anyone who has not had an encounter with God, a revelation of His holiness, and an utter emptying of self before Him—being cast entirely upon Christ the Mediator—has never been sent by God and is not His servant. “The LORD saw that he turned aside to see.”   The LORD God saw that Moses took notice of the burning bush and turned aside to see it—yet it was the LORD Himself who drew him aside. So it is for all whom the LORD has chosen. He directs their steps to Himself and then reveals Himself in them with all His glory, in the face of Jesus Christ. There is no other way for any sinner to draw near. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." What was it that was sinful about Adam and Eve eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It became their god, their idol. It was not even when they ate of the fruit that they fell: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food," (Genesis 3:6) Eve thought it good, even though God had said it was not good, and Adam must have agreed that it was good because he didn't stop her and ate of it himself. "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5) They wanted to be gods. You hear people saying, "Well, I think that God ought to leave the choice up to man." But look what happened when He did! The example of free will was when Adam and Eve, in that upright state, chose to go against God's Word, and I will tell you that the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' today represents all of false religion, which is idolatry. People can change from one congregation to another, one denomination to another, but that is only jumping from one branch of that idolatrous tree to another. Men still run around in circles trying to figure out what is good and what is evil. Every congregation by their bylaws or by what is preached are telling people what is good and evil. But I will tell you this: if it is not the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus alone then it is evil! It does not matter what men say. What God says, His Word, is Good and believing anything else is evil. But you have people out there, right now that are looking at their own morality, looking at their own faith, looking at their own personal obedience, looking at their own progressive sanctification. The bottom line is that they are looking everywhere but Christ and His finished work. Someone had their Bible out this past week and said, "Well, I'm working on defeating temptation this week." Evil is looking to methods and ways of trying to figure out how to be righteous which makes God's Word a lie. That is how they read the Bible. "It's all about me!" If you say, "Well what about Christ?" They will say, "Yes, him too." But that is the idolatry. They do not believe God. The 'christ' they see is a failure. They do not believe Christ has finished the work. They think they must finish the work. They think they can finish the work and in blindness become their own idol. "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the Light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ, Who is the Image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:4) There is only One Image of the Invisible God that He has ever purposed and that is His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ: "the Image of the Invisible God," (Colossians 1:15) Only God can give eyes to see Christ and His finished work! ALL Glory to God in Christ alone! "So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him." (Matthew 20:34)

Genesis 16: 7-13 "And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?" In the quiet wilderness, by a fountain on the way to Shur, a lonely, desperate woman was met by the Angel of the LORD. Hagar, the Egyptian servant, had fled from affliction and reproach, carrying with her only sorrow and fear. Yet there, in her lowest estate, the LORD sought her out. The passage before us is among the first in Scripture where the Angel of the LORD appears, and it records one of the most tender revelations of God’s heart. To the outcast, He shows Himself as the God Who sees. Genesis 16:7–13 directs us to consider both the condescension of God's grace and the nearness of God in the midst of affliction. It is not Hagar who finds Him, but He who finds Hagar. The fountain becomes a meeting place between misery and mercy, between human weakness and divine compassion. And the name that Hagar gives— El Roi , “Thou God seest me”—is a testimony for every believer who has felt forgotten, forsaken, or cast aside. Hagar fled into the wilderness, having been despised, mistreated, and cast off. Sarai’s cruelty collided with Hagar’s pride, and with nowhere to go she simply ran. Yet in running from her mistress, she could not run from the LORD. “The angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness”   (Genesis 16:7). This angel was no mere messenger. The Angel of the LORD is none other than the LORD Himself — a pre-incarnate appearance of the LORD Jesus Christ. We see Him later in Genesis 22 with Abram, in Exodus 3 with Moses, in Judges with Gideon, and even with Samson’s parents. Over and over, the Angel of the LORD  comes to meet His people. And here, He comes to Hagar — alone, weak, hopeless. This gracious manifestation of Christ Himself reveals Him as the One Who comes to the weary and heavy-laden, and speaks life to the soul. Here is a well of comfort in the desert of our need as outcast sinners, where we may drink deeply Christ the Water of Life and that our God both sees and knows us, and in Christ, remembers us with mercy. Isn’t that just how the LORD Jesus Christ comes to us? Not when we are strong, but when we are weak. Not when we have something to offer, but when we are at our lowest. As the LORD Jesus said, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”  (Mark 2:17). The LORD asked her, “Whence comest thou? and whither wilt thou go?”   (Genesis 16:8) . He knew the answer already, but He drew it out of her, just as He drew confession from the woman at the well in John 4 . Hagar admits, “I flee from the face of my mistress.”   How often our own hearts do the same — fleeing instead of submitting, resisting instead of trusting. But the LORD’s Word to her is both hard and merciful: “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands” (Genesis 16:9). Repentance means turning back. Her mind was going one way — away — but the LORD called her to turn around. That is grace, not punishment. To return, to submit, to quit taking matters into her own hands. And with the command came a promise: “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude”  (v. 10). “Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction”  (v. 11). Ishmael — “God will hear.” Before this child was even born, God named him, showing His sovereignty. Just as He named Isaac before his birth, and just as He named His own Son Jesus — “for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Yet even in the promise, God foretold Ishmael’s nature: “He will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him”  (v. 12). Nations would war, conflicts would last for centuries. And still, the LORD was directing every step. Nothing was out of place. And here is the wonder: Hagar, an Egyptian servant woman, far from home, despised and despairing, is the first in Scripture to give God a name. She called Him El Roi  — “Thou God seest me”   (v. 13) . She testifies, “Have I also here looked after Him that seeth me?”   She thought she was forgotten, but the LORD had His eye on her all along. The God Who sees. The God Who knows the end from the beginning. The God Whose foreknowledge is not passive sight but sovereign decree. Our steps and our stops are ordered of the Lord . Even in her flight, He purposed mercy. And so, we see how this passage draws us to Christ. He is the Angel of the LORD Who meets sinners in the wilderness. He is the God Who sees us in our weakness. He is the sovereign One Who directs every step — even the missteps — for His purpose. And He is the merciful Savior Who names us His own before we are born, Who calls us not to flee but to return, not to despair but to trust. Let us rest in Him today. For the LORD Who saw Hagar sees you. And the God Who met her by the spring meets us in Christ Jesus, with mercy, with direction, and with unfailing sovereignty.

Genesis 15:12-17   "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And 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 old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces." In this portion of God's sacred, inspired Word, we are brought into a solemn and awe-inspiring scene where the LORD confirms His covenant with Abram—not by mutual agreement, but by sovereign declaration. As Abram falls into a deep sleep, God alone walks between the divided pieces, signifying that the fulfillment of His promise rests solely upon Himself. This passage is a glorious picture of the everlasting covenant of grace in Christ Jesus. The darkness and horror that fell upon Abram points us to the suffering and judgment Christ would endure on behalf of His elect. And the smoking furnace and burning lamp declare the presence of God, passing through the judgment in the place of His people. Here, we behold a shadow of the cross, where the LORD Jesus bore the curse, securing the salvation of those chosen in Him. This is not a covenant of works, but of grace—unconditional, unbreakable, and fulfilled by Christ alone. These Scriptures come from a passage where God has revealed to Abraham in a dream, a view of the covenant of redemption in type and picture. It says that a horror of great darkness fell upon Abram. In this dream there were five animals sacrificed including three livestock and two birds. A total number of eight pieces were laid out during this horror of great darkness. A burning lamp and a smoking furnace passed between the pieces which signified the ratification of the covenant, "And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof” (Jeremiah 34:18-19). The parties to the covenant passed between the parts. In Abraham's dream, the horror of great darkness symbolizes the suffering of Christ on the cross to pay for the sins of God’s elect ones and thereby justify them once and forever, ( Matthew 27:45-49). The smoking furnace symbolizes the judgment of God the Father and the burning lamp symbolizes His holy wrath poured out upon the sacrifices; types of Christ the Lamb of God. The animals sacrificed were a symbol of the redeeming work of Christ. Eight is associated with ‘new beginnings’ in the Scriptures. Through the blood of the LORD Jesus shed unto death, a new beginning was made since the cross for every elect child of God, (Romans 5:9-11). The law was satisfied and they were therefore justified when He died. Joel 2:31 reads, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." This is quoted in Acts 2:20 as fulfilled in what Christ endured on the cross. The sun represents ‘the Son of Righteousness’ Who is Christ. This would agree with 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The sun being turned into darkness would be equivalent to Christ enduring the judgment of the Father FOR His people on the cross. The moon being turned to blood represents Christ's sacrificial death in the place of His covenant people. Christ having made satisfaction by His obedience unto death, the hour of darkness is now passed for Him and His people. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). So complete was His work accomplished, that there remained no more sin to judge and nothing but righteousness (just satisfaction) to impute to the account of each of the elect there at the cross! " It is finished", (John 19:30). Christ our LORD God be praised!

Genesis 28:12-15 "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." Jacob, fleeing from Esau, lies down in the wilderness with a stone for his pillow. As he journeys toward Haran, God intercepts him with a dream (v. 12). Though Jacob fled under fear, not faith, God graciously reveals Himself, not because Jacob sought Him, but because God had purposed it. In his sleep, he receives a vision from God—a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending, and the LORD Himself standing above it. The ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending is a glorious type of Christ, the only Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). God speaks, “I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac” (v. 13) —not because Jacob had proven himself, but because of God’s covenant mercy. This vision finds its ultimate fulfillment in the coming of Christ. In John 1:51, our LORD declares, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”  Christ is the true and living Ladder—the Mediator between God and elect sinners that He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3,4). The earthly ladder Jacob saw was but a type and shadow, pointing forward to the real and abiding entrance to heaven found only in the Person and finished work of Jesus Christ. Here, amid isolation and uncertainty, God confirms His covenant of sovereign grace, which was given to Abraham and Isaac, and is now bestowed upon Jacob. The LORD affirms that Jacob is heir to the promise, not by works, but by grace (Romans 4:16). He assures him of His Presence: “I am with thee, and will keep thee...for I will not leave thee” (v. 15). This unconditional language reflects the eternal security of all who are in Christ—kept by the Power of God through faith (1 Peter 1:5) . It is not Jacob’s strength or faithfulness, but God that assures the promise. This covenant promise is not merely of earthly land or national increase but the promise of a Seed—Christ Himself—through Whom “ all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Galatians 3:16).   This is the Gospel of God's sovereign grace: that in Christ, not just one nation but elect sinners out of every nation are gathered, justified, and made heirs of eternal glory by that righteousness imputed that the LORD Jesus earned and established in coming in the flesh, and laying down His life on the cross (Revelation 5:9). The LORD’s assurance to Jacob— “I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” —echoes the steadfast faithfulness of God to perform all that He has purposed in Christ (Isaiah 14:27). The work of redemption was never dependent on the worthiness of the sinner, but entirely upon the grace, promise, and power of God in, by, and through the LORD Jesus Christ. The vision of the ladder declares that Salvation is from heaven, not from earth, and that Christ alone bridges that infinite gap. We who trust in the Christ of Scripture, by God's grace, have this same assurance. God's covenant of grace has been fulfilled. Christ has come. The blessing to all nations is not future—it is present in the preaching of the gospel and the salvation of His elect. The LORD has not left His people. He has finished the work in Christ and will bring us, through Him, safely into glory. In Christ, heaven is opened. In Christ, God is with us, and in Him all the promises of God are Yea and Amen. Though we are like Jacob—wandering, weak, and unworthy—God's grace in Christ remains sure and steadfast. He will not leave us until He has done all that He has spoken. Blessed be God, Who has joined heaven and earth in His Son and given us this vision of sovereign, saving grace in Christ Jesus our LORD.

Genesis 22:8 "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." Genesis 22 is one of the most significant and profound chapters in all of Scripture, in terms of its narrative, power, and place in redemptive history. It records God's command to Abraham to offer up his beloved son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. This account reveals the heart of the Gospel long before its full manifestation in Jesus Christ. It proclaims God's sovereign will, His gracious provision, and His redemptive purpose—even through trial and suffering. God commands Abraham to take Isaac, His only son, the son of promise, and offer him as a burnt offering. Isaac is not merely any child; he is Abraham’s "only son" ( Genesis 22:2) , the one whom he loves, and the one through whom the covenant promises were to be fulfilled (Genesis 21:12). The command is staggering. Yet, we must understand that God is never arbitrary in His dealings. In His sovereignty, He ordains even the most painful trials for His glory and the good of His people. Despite the severity of the command, Abraham rises early, prepares for the journey, and begins the long trek to the land of Moriah. The narrative records that he took “two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son” (Genesis 22:3), showing Abraham’s prompt and unwavering obedience to the word of the Lord. This reminds us that God never tests without purpose, and never without first preparing His servant. Abraham had walked with God for many years and had witnessed His faithfulness time and again. His trust in God's promise and character had been shaped through trial and God's particular revelation of Himself to Abraham. The journey to Moriah took three days—a detail that foreshadows the time between the death and resurrection of Christ. In Scripture, the number three often speaks of divine completeness and fulfillment. Moriah was also the mount on which Solomon would later build the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1) , the mount where the LORD Jesus would lay down His life on the cross, outside the camp (Hebrews 13:13). Abraham’s statement to his young servants is remarkable: “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you” (Genesis 22:5). Abraham fully believed that Isaac would return with him. Though commanded to offer his son, the LORD kept Abraham believing the promise that through Isaac his Seed would be called (Genesis 21:12). The inspired Word tells us: “Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” (Hebrews 11:19 ) As they ascend the mountain, Isaac notices something missing. He says, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7). This question is central to the narrative and deeply important in what is vital to God the Father . It echoes through redemptive history and finds its ultimate answer in the words of John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Abraham’s response is both immediate and prophetic: “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). Abraham not only declares the sufficiency of God’s provision, but the sureness of Him providing for Himself what is satisfactory to His law and justice. This is not a vague hope, but a confident trust in Jehovah-Jireh , "the Lord who sees and provides." God's provision is not dependent upon our understanding or effort—it is rooted in His sovereign grace. In verses 9 and 10, we witness Abraham’s obedience come to full expression. He builds the altar, lays the wood in order, binds Isaac, and places him on the altar. This was a moment of unspeakable agony, yet Abraham proceeds in faith, trusting in God's promise and purpose. He believes that even if Isaac must die, God would raise him again (Hebrews 11:19). Isaac’s role here must not be overlooked either. He is not a helpless child. He is old enough to carry the wood and question the absence of a lamb. His submission points us to Christ, Who “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Isaac is a type of Christ—the willing Son, obedient unto death—though ultimately spared. Christ, the true Son, was not spared but delivered up for us all (Romans 8:32). At the critical moment, the Angel of the LORD calls out: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad” (Genesis 22:12). Abraham’s God-given faith is affirmed, and God provides a ram caught in a thicket—a substitute in Isaac’s place. This substitution is not incidental; it is central. It points to the heart of the Gospel: the Lord Jesus Christ taking the place of guilty sinners, bearing their judgment, satisfying divine justice, and reconciling them to God (Colossians 1:22). Abraham calls the name of the place Jehovah-jireh , meaning “The LORD will provide” (Genesis 22:14). The Lord’s provision was not only for Abraham, but for all His elect people throughout redemptive history. The Lamb was foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:19–20), and in the fullness of the time, He came to give His life as a Ransom for many (Galatians 4:4-6). Finally, God reaffirms His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 22:15–18) . As Abraham believed God and acted in faith, the Lord confirms His promise: that Abraham’s seed would be multiplied, and that through his seed all nations of the earth would be blessed. This promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the true Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16), through Whom salvation has come to the ends of the earth. Genesis 22 is a glorious picture of sovereign grace. It teaches us that God is sovereign in His tests, faithful in His promises, and gracious in His provision. It foreshadows the cross of Christ, where the Father gave His only begotten Son as the sacrifice for sinners. In Christ, we behold the true fulfillment of Abraham’s words: “God will provide himself a lamb.”  Let us, like Abraham, trust in God's provision, knowing that He Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will also freely give us all things (Romans 8:32).

Genesis 8:21 "And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite anymore every thing living, as I have done." In this verse, we behold a moment of divine satisfaction—a sweet-smelling savor ascending from Noah's altar after the flood. It is the first mention in Scripture of an offering bringing pleasure to the LORD’s heart. But this sacrifice, though offered by Noah, was accepted not for the sake of the man, but because of Who it represented—the Lamb slain from (since) the foundation of the world, Christ Jesus our Lord. Noah’s offering was a burnt offering, wholly consumed, picturing substitutionary atonement. In the Old Testament, these sacrifices were but a covering for sin until the LORD Jesus came and fulfilled all righteousness by His obedience unto death. The first use of the word in the Bible is in Genesis 6:14 , where it is translated by the word pitch —a type of tar used by Noah to cover the ark inside and out. From this, then, comes the idea of a covering , which is a good representation of what the Old Testament sacrifices signified. Hebrews 10:4  says, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Therefore, the meaning of atonement  as a covering is a more accurate understanding of the word in its Old Testament usage, rather than using it, as is often done, to refer to the expiation, satisfaction, or canceling of sin, which only the LORD Jesus' death accomplished. Those animal sacrifices were but types and figures of the one true Sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ would make in laying down His life. Christ's sacrifice was not an atonement—a mere covering for sin—but the actual putting away of sin, as stated in Hebrews 9:26: “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Nonetheless, Noah's sacrifice prefigured the offering of Christ, who gave Himself “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor” (Ephesians 5:2). The fire of divine justice fell on Him as the Divine Substitute. God was forbearing with Noah—as with all those of the Old Testament who were God’s elect—not because their offerings had any merit in themselves, but because they typified the perfect righteousness and obedient sacrifice of His Son, who would pay for Noah’s complete sin debt and that of all God’s elect people throughout the Old Testament era until the cross, when the LORD Jesus came and fulfilled all Righteousness as declared in Galatians 4:4–6: “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Note the wonder of the Lord’s declaration in Genesis 8:21 : “I will not again curse the ground anymore for man’s sake.” Why? Because of some improvement in man? No! “For the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” God’s determination to withhold judgment is not based on man’s reformation, but on the satisfaction of Divine justice through the satisfactory Substitute. This is sovereign grace—God’s gracious disposition toward sinners, not because of anything in them, but entirely because of what He sees in the Sacrifice. God smells a sweet savor, not in man, but in Christ. Justice is satisfied, wrath is turned away, and mercy flows freely because the Offering has ascended and been accepted. Noah’s altar points us forward to Calvary’s cross, where the true Burnt Offering was made. Christ gave Himself willingly, and His Sacrifice rose to God as a sweet savor, perfect in love, spotless in obedience, the complete redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction before God for those sinners whom the Father chose. And God, seeing the travail of His soul, was satisfied, as it is written in Isaiah 53:11: “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” If we are in Christ, we know this: God sees us not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in Him Who gave Himself in the place of chosen sinners. The curse is lifted, judgment is past, wrath is gone—because Christ has made Satisfaction of God the Father. We are “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). His offering is ever before the Father—a perpetual sacrifice that gives us complete peace and pardon forever. May this Truth ever be settled in our hearts, and our hearts ever settled and established in this Truth —Christ and Him crucified. The ground of our depravity and sin debt is no longer cursed for Christ’s sake. The fire of judgment has already fallen on Another. And now, from the cross, a fragrance rises eternally before the throne— a sweet-smelling savor.

Genesis 18:14 "Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." In this verse, we encounter a powerful moment of divine revelation that poses a question with profound implications: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” This question is spoken by God Himself to Abraham and Sarah, in the context of a promise that defies human logic—a promise that, in their strength, seemed utterly impossible. At the age of ninety, Sarah had long passed the years of childbearing, and Abraham, though still alive, was also well beyond the time when he could expect to father a child. Yet God, who is not limited by the natural laws He created, declares that, in His perfect timing, Sarah would indeed bear a son. The question posed by the LORD is not merely rhetorical; it is meant to stir something deep within the heart of the believer. In this single question, we are reminded of God's sovereign power and His ability to accomplish the impossible. Consider the significance of this question. God is not asking for our opinion, “Can I do this?” He is reminding us of His nature: He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the One who spoke the world into existence from nothing. As His creatures, we have limitations—whether they be physical, mental, or emotional. Not only are we created beings, but we are also fallen creatures. Our wills are not free but are bound by our depraved nature, so that, as Paul declared, “For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:19) . Knowing our limitations, we could never say, “Is there anything too hard for our will to achieve?” contrary to the false thinking of the "Law of Attraction"—"Believe to achieve." In reality, there is only one Being who has free will, and that is God Himself, who is not limited by anything but His Sovereign will and what He has purposed. Only He cannot deny Himself. But with God, no situation is beyond His reach, no promise too grand, and no circumstance too dire. The phrase "nothing is impossible with God" expresses the truth that God, being all-powerful and all-knowing, has no limitations in what He can do. It suggests that, regardless of how challenging or impossible a situation may seem from a human perspective, God has the power to bring it to pass. This truth is rooted in Scriptures such as Luke 1:37 ("For nothing will be impossible with God") and Matthew 19:26 ("With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible"). It speaks to God's sovereignty, His ability to bring about His will, and the belief that God directs all things and grants faith to sinners of His choosing, who rest in His power to accomplish what He has purposed, with nothing hindering His will. As Daniel 4:35 declares: "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" How does this apply to God's promise to Abraham concerning the birth of his promised child? The Context of the Promise: God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah was not just an ordinary promise; it was the fulfillment of a long-awaited hope. Through them, the covenant of God’s elect people in Christ would continue, despite their old age, infertility, and the impossibility by human standards. God's promise, therefore, came against the backdrop of the impossibility of either Abraham or Sarah contributing, other than being instruments in God's hands to accomplish His will through them. What is impossible with man is not impossible with God, should He will and purpose it. This is the essence of what makes God sovereign in the salvation or condemnation of sinners. It's not that God is waiting for sinners to come to Christ by some fictitious "free will." Sinners are just as dead as Abraham and Sarah were in their ability to reproduce. God had to reverse their deadness, not only reinstating the ability to conceive and produce a child, but also renewing their desire for one another to bring it to pass. It is His grace that reaches down to the most hopeless of sinners and draws them to Christ, making a way when there would be none. The Assurance of God’s Timing: Notice that God also says to Abraham, “At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” God’s timing is always perfect. In our impatience, we may long for the fulfillment of His promises in our time. But God assures Abraham that His promise would be kept at the appointed time. Just as God did not forget His promise to Abraham and Sarah, we can take comfort in knowing that God’s promises for us will be fulfilled in His perfect time, even if it requires waiting. God does not operate on our timelines. His sovereignty over time means that He will bring about His eternal purpose in a way that is not only best for His glory but also for our good (Romans 8:28). How often do we find ourselves in situations where we question God’s timing? But we are to trust that His appointed times are always perfect. What we deem impossible today may be the very thing that God has purposed for us tomorrow. The Revelation of God’s Power: The question, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” is not just about our circumstances; it’s a revelation of the power of God. We see this truth revealed in the life of Jesus Christ. God's will from eternity in the creation of the world is to the honor and glory of Christ as the Creator, Sustainer, Savior, and Judge. In the New Testament, the LORD Jesus asked the same rhetorical question when speaking to His disciples about the impossibility of salvation for sinners: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God demonstrated that He has the power to overcome sin, death, and the grave—things that seemed utterly impossible for those who languished under the condemnation of God’s law and justice. As we have considered the question, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” we must respond as the LORD Jesus has taught His disciples to pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We therefore trust in His Sovereign power, His perfect timing, and His boundless Grace. There is nothing beyond His ability to accomplish. Whether we are facing physical, emotional, or spiritual challenges, we are not alone. The God Who spoke the stars into being, the God Who made a way for Sarah to conceive, is the same God Who works in our lives today. In those moments when doubt creeps in, when our limitations weigh heavily upon us, let us remember the Word of the LORD: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Let us bow and respond according to His gift of faith: "No—nothing is too hard for our God," for He has purposed to accomplish what He wills. We respond with hearts full of Faith, knowing that the answer is no—nothing is too hard for our God.

Genesis 17:1-14 "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. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 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. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 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. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 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. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 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. 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. 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." When Abram was ninety and nine years old, the LORD appeared to him. Thirteen years had passed since his last recorded word from God. He had lived on the promise that God had revealed, waiting for the LORD to fulfill what He had said. Yet God had not forgotten. The covenant still stood, unbroken, and the LORD appeared again in Grace and Mercy. “I am the Almighty God,” He said — El Shaddai . The One Who has His hand on everything. Not merely in control, but ordering all things. The One by Whom we live and move and have our being. The One Who gives breath and causes even a sneeze or a cough. Here was the LORD revealing His name, His character, and His covenant purpose. Whenever the LORD has something to say to a sinner by way of Grace, it is always through the LORD Jesus Christ. This appearance to Abram was no mere vision. It was, as throughout the scriptures, a manifestation of the LORD in the person of Jesus Christ before His incarnation — the same Who walked in the garden, Who spoke to Hagar by the well, Who would later come in the flesh. He is the Almighty, the Eternal I AM, revealing Himself as the covenant LORD (John 1:1,14). “Walk before Me and be thou perfect.” Not sinless perfection, but completeness — to be whole in His presence. The call of God to Abram was not to produce something, but to be something as he walked before the Almighty. So too, Christ Himself, the true Seed, walked before His Father in perfect obedience, the fulfillment of all Righteousness. Abram is a type — a foreshadowing — of Christ. The father of many nations, as Christ is the Father of the redeemed seed given to Him by the Father before the foundation of the world. The LORD said, “I will make My covenant between Me and thee.” Those words echo through eternity. The covenant of Grace was not the work of man, but of God Himself. Abram could not produce it; he could only believe it. It was God’s “I will,” not Abram’s “I shall.” And here we see Christ again — the One with Whom the Father made an everlasting covenant before the world began. Abram’s life was a shadow of that eternal purpose. Then the LORD changed his name — from Abram to Abraham. From “father” to “father of many nations.” Though he had no child according to the promise, yet God declared what He would do. “A father of many nations have I made thee.” In Christ this is fulfilled, for as Paul said in Galatians 3:16 , “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” Through Him, nations and kings would come forth — a kingdom of priests, redeemed by His blood. “I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant.” That everlasting covenant finds its fullness only in Christ. He is the Seed. He is the Everlasting Possession. The land of promise, and the inheritance is His — and all Who are in Him are heirs together with Him. And God gave a sign — the sign of circumcision. “This is My covenant, which ye shall keep… every man child among you shall be circumcised.” On the eighth day, every male child was to bear this sign, pointing forward to that day when Joseph and Mary would bring the child Jesus into the temple, and Simeon, by the Spirit, would behold the true fulfillment (Luke 2:21-39).  There He was — the Man-Child of Promise, the Seed of the woman, the One Who would bruise the serpent’s head. Circumcision is a painful cutting away of the flesh, a shadow of the greater circumcision to come in the death of the LORD Jesus on the cross, where the flesh of sin was cut off of His people and cast away as a foreskin, never more to be seen. For Christ Himself bore the circumcision of suffering — the cutting away of sin in His flesh upon the cross. The ceremony of the circumcision of the flesh was never salvation. It foreshadowed the suffering of Christ — the baptism of His death. There on the cross, He bore the sin of His people, and it was cut away and cast aside forever. The covenant was sealed in His blood. So when God said, “My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant,” He was pointing to Christ. The covenant in His flesh, pierced and broken, by which every promise is fulfilled. El Shaddai — the Almighty God — still speaks the same word today: “Walk before Me and be thou perfect.” In Christ we are made whole. In the Mediator of the Covenant we are saved! And in His seed — the LORD Jesus Christ — we are counted among the nations of promise, the everlasting family of faith.

Genesis 7:2 "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female." Most of us know about God bringing the animals into the ark two by two, but what were these extra, clean beasts Noah was to take in by sevens, male and female? Here are several lessons we can draw from this. The distinction between clean and unclean beasts, being before the flood, was due to the sacrifices that Noah would need to offer to the LORD upon exiting the ark after the waters subsided (Genesis 8:20). Although Noah found grace [eternal, electing grace] in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8) , and God prepared the ark to preserve Noah and his family alive through the judgment of the world (a type of salvation in Christ), it all could not be without the shed blood of innocent victims—typical of the sacrifice of the LORD Jesus, and the justification of the elect in His death. "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). Why clean animals? While some proclaim loudly today that in 2 Cor. 5:21, “...made Him to be sin for us...” means that He became guilty with the sin charged to Him and died guilty of the sin of His people, NOTHING could be more foreign to the Scripture types and teachings. Why the importance of CLEAN animals? It is because they typified Christ, the SPOTLESS LAMB: “... Who did NO sin, neither was guile found in His mouth...” (1 Peter 2:22). Scripture says that He died "THE JUST FOR THE UNJUST:" "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (1 Peter 3:18 ). It does not say that He died the GUILTY One for the unjust. He was made an offering for sin only by imputation, and not by personal experience- "who knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21). The LORD Jesus was made sin (legally and judicially CHARGED with the sin of His people BY IMPUTATION, not infusion). If Christ died for our sins: He was affected BY our sin, not infected with it (Isaiah 53:3) He died FOR our sin, not IN it  (Isaiah 53:5). It was laid on Him, not put in Him (Isaiah 53:6). His soul was made an Offering for sin, not made sinful (Isaiah 53:10) He was numbered AMONG the transgressors; He was NOT a transgressor (Isaiah 53:12). It was for this reason that God was pleased to bruise Him because He was the Just, Holy, and PERFECT SACRIFICE, and thereby the JUST God and Savior. "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the LORD? And there is no God else beside me; a Just God and a Savior; there is none beside me" (Isaiah 45:21). " The clean animals were to be taken into the ark by sevens. Isn't seven the number of perfection, pointing to the perfect work of the LORD Jesus in His death on the cross, perfectly redeeming and justifying ALL of His elect once and for all? “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...” (Romans 3:24)

Genesis 6:14 “Make thee an ark of gopher wood: rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch,” The word pitch appears only twice in the entire Bible, both times in the same verse: Genesis 6:14. The ark is a type of Christ, but what is the significance of the pitch, and why is it mentioned twice in the same verse? Interestingly, two different Hebrew words are translated as pitch. While they share the same root, they have distinctly different meanings. The first occurrence is the Hebrew verb kaphar, which means “to cover” or “to make atonement.” This in itself is a profound blessing. As a type, those in the ark were in Christ, and the application of the pitch symbolized making atonement for their sins. But what exactly be was this pitch that was to be applied? The second use of the word pitch is the Hebrew noun kopher , which means “the price of life” or “ransom.” The atonement was made with the blood of an unblemished animal sacrifice. However, this was only a temporary covering until the LORD Jesus Christ came to put away sin through the sacrifice of Himself, once for all. His death was not merely an atonement but a complete satisfaction of God’s law and justice, something the blood of animals could never accomplish ( Hebrews 10:4 ). Those on the ark were protected by this covering and were to look ahead to the day when our LORD Jesus Christ would make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. By His death, He justified those whom His Father had given him ( Hebrews 10:10,14 ).

Genesis 13:13 "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." Where would we have to look if we really wanted to have a good idea of how a Holy, Just God looks upon sin? You know, there are some that would say Sodom and Gomorrah was the ultimate picture of the wrath of a Holy God against sinners, in how He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, "But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:29) Others would go back to the days of Noah, how the LORD destroyed the whole world sparing only eight people, as the ultimate indication of the wrath of God seen in 2 Peter 2:5, "And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of Righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly." Certainly that is a chilling picture of His wrath. But, my friends, if we want to have the most vivid picture, the clearest view of how holy and just God is and how sinful we are, we must consider that He spared not His own Son, "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all." (Romans 8:32) Our LORD Jesus Christ suffered beyond what any can imagine physically, "As many were astonied at Thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." (Isaiah 52:14) But more so spiritually, "And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44) Christ willingly sacrificed Himself in the place of His chosen ones, suffering their agony, for their sins without one complaint, "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth." (Isaiah 53:7) May the Spirit keep these blessed Words in our hearts, and when we think we can't go one step further in this evil world, may He cause us to sing to Him: "Hallelujah! What a Savior!"