(Key sections in Genesis for this discussion: Gen 12:4-5; Gen 12:9-10; Gen 13:1-11; Gen 14:1-16; Gen 19:1-38)

[Study Posted July 24, 2014]

God’s revelation of Jesus begins with the unveiling of our old man or the things in the natural and their purpose in the plan of God (Rev 1:1; 2Th 2:1-5). Although the natural things are the total opposite of the spiritual things of God, it is through the spiritually dead things we are first introduced to the invisible spiritual things of God as we live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (1Co 15:45-46; Mat 4:4):

Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

In our discussions on the foundational theme of faith we know that God used Abraham to typify what the faith of Christ is about (Eph 2:16; Php 3:9; Gal 3:6-9). It is only through the gift of the faith of Christ that our justification and sanctification are worked so we become the righteous spiritual sons of God:

Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

By the redemptive work of God’s chastening grace, all will be saved through “the law of faith”, and that is indeed not a work of our flesh and our will, but it is the gift of God, as God alone works all things after His will (Eph 2:8-10; Tit 2:11-12; Heb 12:6; Eph 1:11):

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

The life of Abraham is shown to us to learn how this gift of faith is given and how that develops as Abraham sojourned with his tent and his altar always looking for the true city of God:

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 1
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Mankind was never in spirit or perfect, but made flesh first (“of the ground”) and is in a process of being made or conformed in spirit after the image of God, even Jesus Christ (Gen 1:26-27; Gen 2:7; Gen 3:19; Psa 51:5; Jer 18:4; Joh 3:5-6; Rom 8:20; Rom 8:29; 1Co 15:22-28; 1Co 15:50). We all start off in the house of our old man, the first Adam, as Abram (only later called Abraham) started in the house of his father, Terah, in Ur in the land of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia. From here Abram’s family started the journey together on their way to go to the land of Canaan. Terah and his family stopped halfway in a place called Haran – which was still in Mesopotamia (“on the other side of the flood” or river Euphrates) – where Terah eventually died (Jos 24:2; Act 7:2-4). As our old man dies, we are driven forward by God.

It is a painful and humiliating process to be separated from our physical attachments. Every physical thing we attach to ourselves serves a purpose on our journey to spiritual perfection, even though we will lose it all in the end. Sarai, Abram’s wife, was barren at first, and they took Lot, Abram’s dead brother’s son to live with them (Gen 11:30-31). This barrenness of Sarai typifies our own carnal barrenness in the flesh even when we are given the gift of faith as one of the first principles of the doctrine of Christ (Heb 6:1-2; 1Co 1:7; 1Co 3:1-4). However, this foundation, even faith, needs expansion and growth as that is how we all will get to spiritual maturity, which is the end purpose of faith, even the salvation of our souls (1Pe 1:9). This first stage of immature faith is also represented by Abram’s connection to his nephew Lot:

Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Gen 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Lot’s name means “covering” or “veil” as we all initially cannot see that the principles of the doctrine of Christ are not the perfection or maturity in Christ. The false doctrine of having spiritual perfection or maturity when we first encounter Christ in the flesh is an evil stronghold few can escape from in this age (Joh 6:26-27; 2Co 5:16; Gal 3:3). This deceit also applies to faith, and this is what the life of Lot typifies for us. Lot is even referred to as “just” and “righteous” in the scriptures:

2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
2Pe 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2Pe 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

This righteousness of Lot was not the righteousness of Christ, as Lot and all people in the Old Testament (including all Gentiles) lived under laws which are after carnal or outward commandments. These laws did not clean the inside or the heart and mind of mankind (Mat 23:25-28). There are many examples in the scriptures of this outward righteousness – the cleaning of “the outside of the cup and of the platter” (Gen 6:8-9; Luk 18:9-25; Php 3:4-6). Paul, who also once was deceived by this self-righteous spirit sent by God, calls this type of righteousness “dung” because no one will be justified before God with it (Gal 2:16; Php 3:8-9). This is what Isaiah called this righteousness:

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

It is only by the faith of Christ, which was typified by Abram, that anyone will be made righteous inside and acceptable to God (Heb 11:6). Lot moved around under the leadership of Abram and grew a type of faith in his own moral judgements, which proved to be devastating to him and his whole family in the end. Through the life of Lot we learn how to discern this counterfeit faith in ourselves and how to move and grow away from that, if God permits (Heb 6:3). Lot also represents our immature stage as a carnal Christian who is unable to endure the severity of the fiery trials of faith and needs protection and a hedge around. Lot’s development and trials also typify the process of our leaving of Babylon and its constant pulling to return to the womb and the familiar territories when we are given a clear command to “come out of her my people” and trust God alone to deliver (Psa 22:8-10; Psa 71:6; Isa 66:9; Rev 18:4). Spiritually Egypt and Babylon play their roles as the earthly womb or a hedge of protection for our old man and his natural spirit of lust for the things of the world at different stages of this developing maturity (Job 3:1-23; Rev 17:1-5):

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Jas 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

When Abram and his family arrived in Canaan it was not long after that when a famine caused them to move south, and they eventually ended up in Egypt where they all, Lot included, were increased with worldly goods:

Gen 12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Gen 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

This is our time of spiritual compromise when we think we can sidestep the inevitable judgment of God on our flesh – the famine in our land. It is under these conditions that Abram convinced Sarai to lie to the Pharaoh to save his own life (Gen 12:11-20). This reveals how our first deadly wound inflicted by the sword of God is healed as we want to save our life again (Rev 13:1-3). The healing of this spiritual wound and prosperity of our flesh is not good for our spiritual growth as that brings us back to worldly desires as we again admire and worship the beast in us (Mat 13:20-22; Rev 13:4-18). Going south is to avoid the trials (the spiritual famine) which are actually meant for good, but our natural mind cannot receive this seeming contradiction:

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

To complain about our trials betrays our spiritual immaturity, even when we are deceived to believe we are strong or mature in faith, as Job also openly expressed as coming from his self-righteous state of mind (Job 10:7-9; Job 27:5-6). However, trials and tribulations are good to the development of the spirit man in us because they take away the life or blood of the old man. This was typified by the blood of the animal which was drained at the north end of the altar (Lev 1:4, 5,11; Lev 3:2, 8; Lev 6:25; Lev 7:2). Judgment comes from the north spiritually, and that is why we all go south to avoid the killing of our beast (Jer 6:22-23):

Eze 1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

When Abram and his family left Egypt, he and Lot were increased with goods:

Gen 13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Gen 13:5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

The riches and blessings, with the accompanying cares of this world, always bring a spirit of lukewarmness regarding spiritual matters, and we are taken to a deeper delusion not to see our miserable Laodicean condition:

Rev 3:15 I know thy [the church in Laodicea] works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

This lukewarm situation always brings about strife and contentions, even with our own spiritual family as represented by the herdsmen of Abram and Lot:

Gen 13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
Gen 13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

When he was prompted by Abram to choose a separate route and dwelling place, Lot “lifted up his eyes” and from his physical perspective and desires he was attracted to the well-watered areas of “all the plain of Jordan” (Rom 8:5-8; 1Jn 2:16):

Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Gen 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan [Hebrew: “yardên” = “descender” (as it descended to the Dead Sea)/ “river of judgment” (according to Hitchcock’s Bible Names)]; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

All of these confirm the meaning of Lot’s name and his desire to return to the protection and immaturity of natural man in “the garden of the Lord”, as far as Zoar, which means “little” or “insignificant”. From God’s spiritual perspective, the first man Adam and all physical things are relatively insignificant because that is what spiritual death is all about – even the river Jordan (Rom 8:5-8). Journeying east is always in the wrong spiritual direction as God’s light always starts or rises in the east and moves westward, as the entrance of the physical tabernacle and temples in the east also typified. We must move with the Sun (of righteousness) because that is when we get healing, as our faith gets stronger within the heat of His “oven” – God’s burning fiery furnace (Dan 3:16-30; 1Co 3:13-15). This is how our wicked old man is turned into ashes:

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mat 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mat 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Lot started in his tent which he pitched “toward Sodom”, but eventually he and his family settled in the city (Gen 14:12; Gen 19:2). While Abraham remained a sojourner with his tent and his altar, Lot had no place for a tent anymore; even less did he need an altar (sacrificing self and earthly desires). In this state of mind we make choices and say things which will open us up to deeper evil spiritual levels. This is what happened to Lot and his family:

Gen 14:1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
Gen 14:2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

Gen 14:12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

As the kings in our flesh will always want to have control and rule, we are captured by their strong wiles as we fall seven times to be humbled completely in that process (Eph 6:11; Pro 24:16). Nevertheless, God will send His angels to rescue us, and in this case Abram heard about Lot’s capture. Abram interceded and was in fervent chase to rescue Lot and his family. Abram and his three hundred and eighteen trained servants pursued these kings and their armies up to Dan. Dan means “north” and north is associated with judgment as earlier explained, and this again confirms that forgiveness and salvation are always accompanied by judgment (Lev 1:4-5,11; Lev 3:2,8; Lev 6:25; Lev 7:2; Jer 6:22-23; Eze 1:4; Jer 1:14):

Gen 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
Gen 14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained [Hebrew: “chânı̂yk” = experienced / disciplined / exercised] servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

A next level in Lot’s life is revealed when he and his family returned again to live in Sodom and get even more involved there. Now Lot wanted to be more relevant to play a more significant role in his community, even as Lot sat as a judge to point out the problems of Sodom to prevent being taken captive again. He wanted to save the flesh from its inevitable fate. In this stage of our spiritual growth we not only want to expose the world’s evil, but even employ our efforts to improve the doomed cities of flesh and corruption. The gate of a city is a place of importance in the scriptures, and this is the position to which Lot also aspired (Deu 21:18-21; Rut 4:1-11; 1Sa 4:18; 2Sa 18:1-5; Est 2:19-23; Job 29:7-25; Psa 69:12; Pro 1:21; Isa 28:6). Lot sat in a prominent position, even as a judge at the gate of Sodom, where the two angels of God eventually came to pronounce God’s true judgment on the evil cities in that region (Gen 19:9). The two angels also represent the true witness or the true church of God and the doctrine of Christ. God’s judgment overrides the subjective judgment within the gates of brass (our own carnal mind) as His judgment alone can make “the crooked places straight” (Psa 107:16 Isa 45:2; Isa 26:9):

Gen 19:1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.

Lot is now more spiritually awakened to see where his loyalties should be, even as the world questions his preference to protect the two angels rather than his two daughters (Gen 19:1-11; Mat 10:36-40). In all his labors to help Sodom, Lot failed miserably as all his efforts fell on deaf ears as even his sons-in-law mocked him when he told them of what the coming judgment of God entailed:

Gen 19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Lot and his family were eventually dragged from the city by the two angels – they did not leave of their own free will because no person was ever given such a will by God (Gen 19:16). Every step of every creature is from the Lord, and He alone is the Saviour of every person at their appointed time (Jer 10:23; Pro 20:24; 1Ti 2:3-4; 1Ti 4:9-11; 1Co 15:22-28). Lot was not saved from Sodom because of him being just and righteous, but because “God remembered Abraham”. It is because of the work and the faith of Christ that the earthly cities in us all will be overthrown through the fire of God’s word:

Gen 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

Lot was told to flee to the mountain, but because of fear of death he did not want to go there:

Gen 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
Gen 19:20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

This reminds us of the Israelites who also sent Moses up into the mountain “less they die” (Exo 20:18-21). It is indeed on the mountain of the Lord where all flesh will die and the spirit will be saved (Gen 19:18-23; Mic 4:1-2; Oba 1:21; Mat 24:16):

Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Lot was unable to see that mountain of salvation as he preferred Zoar instead:

Gen 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I [the angel of the Lord] cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
Gen 19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

Lot’s hesitation to leave Sodom was also much stronger in the hearts of his family. Although Lot’s wife left physically, her emotional attachment to Sodom was her downfall. Lot’s wife could not let go of her entanglement with the things of the world, and she deliberately disobeyed God’s commandment not to look back and was turned into a pillar of salt (Gen 19:26). At the end of the day it will be in the application (the “keeping”) of God’s word that spirit and the savour of life is made manifest. Spirit life is not in the “sayings of the book” (the letter) or the quoting of scripture verses, which is a savour of death – even Satan and devils believe and tremble, but they cannot “keep the sayings of the book” (Mat 4:6; Luk 4:10-11; Mat 7:24-27; Rev 1:1-3; Mat 5:13; Luk 14:33-35; 2Co 2:15-17; Jas 2:19; Rev 22:9):

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest [“he who does the will of My Father”] the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

God promised Lot protection in Zoar, yet Lot moved from Zoar because he was afraid yet again:

Gen 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

Lot did not fear the Lord in respect of obeying and doing the word of the Lord at any stage. It is in this dark cave of fear to let go of earthly things and obey God’s commandments where other evils are being birthed. The word for cave in Hebrew is “me‛ârâh” which comes from the root word “ûr” which means naked. When there is no fear of God in us, we are exposed to the attacks of fleshly evil (Gen 3:1-5; Psa 51:5; Jer 18:4; Rom 8:20). This is Lot’s story and the story of all flesh from start to finish (Gen 1:2; Job 1:21; Ecc 5:15; Rev 3:18; Rev 17:16). Lot’s two daughters made their father drunk and slept with him to produce an offspring for them without Lot even having knowledge of this (Gen 19:30-35; Job 38:2; Isa 5:13; Hos 4:6). This is how the nations of the Moabites and Ammonites came about, and these tribes were usually closely associated with each other in their evil role in causing many problems for the physical nation of Israel, including the sexual seduction of their women, (Num 22-24; Deu 2:8,9; Jdg 3:12-30; 2 Ki 3; Deu 2:37; 1Ki 11:33; 2Ch 20:1; Neh 13:1-2; Psa 83:5-7; Jer 48; Zep 2:8):

Gen 19:36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
Gen 19:37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
Gen 19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Our own sins will testify against us, and our own wickedness shall correct us (Isa 59:12; Jer 2:19). Even through the evil God produces good as only He can do, when He brought the physical line of Jesus through a Moabite woman, called Ruth (Gen 50:20; Mat 1:5; Rth 4:21-22). God also caused king David to subdue the Moabites to become his servants typifying the judgment and rulership of Christ over all flesh and evil, even with the waters of the Word that will overflow every cave of fear and hiding place of evil (Rev 6:12-17):

2Sa 8:2 And he [David] smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.

Isa 28:17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

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[Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:]

Job 1:1-3 “That Man Was Blameless and Upright”

Revelation 11:7-14

Revelation 11:7-14

“Base Metals In Scripture – Copper (The Best Flesh Has To Offer – The Judgment Of The Flesh) – Part 2

Audio Links

Video Links

In part 5 of the “Awesome Hands” of God study, we have learned that though the Lord comes to us and we call on His name in the wilderness, it is during this time that we really don’t have much faith to begin with.

We always want to get the show on the road and do something for God once we know He is working in our lives. However, because we want to do it in our way and our time, we will reap what we sow.

Through all of this, it is the Lord who directs our steps to bring good from it because while we are yet not in the fullness of faith, the Lord can and will use us to save our brethren. We are called behind in no gift, but we have yet to move on to have our seed come to fruition.

As we have seen with Abram, we are to go to war and battle those who are our enemies. They will be delivered into our hands but unlike a tenth that was instituted as type and shadow; the promise will be given to those who are completely the Lords …. and that is when we take on His new name… being renamed in Abraham and Sara.

Last study in part 6, we saw how we continue to move towards “getting things done quickly” in our lives but ultimately the Lord will bring about whatever He wills so that “good” can come to us and “those with us”, later.

We also saw that as the type and shadow shows us, we like Abram tithe only what we need to, but we make sure that the “3 brothers” that helped us free Lot get paid in full.

These three brothers who help us free our brother’s son are paid and we see a vision sent of the Lord that leads us asking the Lord what He is going to do for us!

In our vision of the Lord we ask for proof that the Lord will do what He says, so the Lord gives us a clear example of us being separated from our brethren.

As we believe on the Lord, we are given to know what the Lord has planned for us and our seed but of course we want proof and we are going to get it!

Gen 15:7 –  And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Gen 15:8 –  But he said, “ O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

Gen 15:9 –  He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

See, the Lord is going to separate us from our brethren SO CONCRETELY that the flame of the Word of God will be the great divide. It will be the flame of the Word of God which will separate us, the beast.

This is the proof, sacrifice and covenant the Lord is making with Abram and the seed of promise. Abram will be RENAMED though and is just now learning what this coat of many colors means.

Gen 15:10 –  And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.

Gen 15:11 –  And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Gen 15:12 –  As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

It is in the deep sleep of the night that the Lord marks out the steps we will take. It is when we are in the darkness, yet to arise into newness of the day that we are given our instruction. It is a done deal. It is accomplished and here is your proof you seed of promise.

Gen 15:17 –  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.

Gen 15:18 –  In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Gen 15:19 –  The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

Gen 15:20 –  And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

Gen 15:21 –  And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

The Lord will separate us in the midst, in the middle. He will thoroughly and succinctly do His work but it is the vision that gets us all excited again.

In our youthfulness, we as Abram start listening to our wife and want to once again get the show on the road and this is so that we can have the perfection of the flesh in everything it has to offer…. which IS NOTHING to the Lord.

What we have to offer to the Lord is not sacrifice but obedience and that is why Ishmael is not the seed whom will be taken to the altar to test our faith.

In this study, we will be moving quickly through the happenings between our last occurrence of “hands” mentioned in Gen 16 to now seeing Lot in a very tight spot.

New Name

At the end of chapter 16, we see Ishmael being born.  With the birth of Ishmael, we see the division being born that the Lord has told us He is going to use to prove to us with HOW we are going to possess the land.

Hagar has been told that her son and his seed will be blessed and this sets the tone for chapter 17.

Gen 17:1 –  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.

Gen 17:2 –  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

Gen 17:3 –  And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

Gen 17:4 –  As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Gen 17:5 –  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.

Gen 17:6 –  And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

Gen 17:7 –  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.

Of course, after hearing all of the blessings that the Lord is giving Abraham and his seed, Abraham laughs at the Lord and tells the Lord that he prefers Ishmael.

Gen 17:15 –  And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

Gen 17:16 –  And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Gen 17:17 –  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?

Gen 17:18 –  And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

So, the Lord hears Abraham’s petitions and blesses Ishmael’s seed as well:

Gen 17:19 –  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Gen 17:20 –  And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Gen 17:21 –  But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

Gen 17:22 –  And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Heat of the Day

Now that we are getting closer to the word hand or “yad” as it is in the Hebrew text for this study, we will see a very interesting story building up in chapter 18 leading into Chapter 19 verse 10.

Abraham has thus far gone through a lot of trials, wars, visions, children being born, etc. and now he is about to see three strange men.

Gen 18:1 –  And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

Gen 18:2 –  And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Gen 18:3 –  And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

Gen 18:4 –  Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

Gen 18:5 –  And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

Now, Sarah is told she is going to have Isaac and she laughs in her heart about it. Unlike Abraham, she denies it and this denial can be linked to Lot’s wife being turned to salt after looking back. Here we are, laughing at the Lord who is supernaturally speaking to us and then we DENY it to the same…what nerve we have to speak to our Lord!

It is in the heat of the day that we have started this part of our walk with the Lord, and now in this heat we will draw near to the Lord and presume to speak against His actions.

Gen 18:19 –  For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Gen 18:20 –  And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

Gen 18:21 –  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

Gen 18:22 –  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

Gen 18:23 –  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

If you have been following the studies up until this point, then you will remember a point that was emphasized in another study or two back about Abraham and Lot being separated.

Abram asks the Lord how will know that he will possess the land and the Lord responds to Abram with a vision and a sacrifice. The sacrifice is interesting because the beast is cut down the middle and fire separates the two sides. This was talked about in type and shadow as being the old and new man, natural flesh versus the spiritual new Adam.

Now, we have a similar concept in type and shadow because as Abraham goes about speaking with the Lord about what the Lord is about to send these three men to do to Sodom and Gomorrah.

This of course is where Lot is and Abraham is now going to save his brethren again in type and shadow by being used of the Lord to be put in the place to “question God”.

How many of us are familiar with looking back and seeing our behavior and reflecting on just how child like it is compared to how we know to act now?

Well, this is all appointed for its purpose and the Lord uses this time to prepare us to do His work.

It is actually going to be these same men going down to meet Lot that save him from the carnage and wrath that is about to hit these places and people. However, as we already know that the Lord is going to not even find 10 that are righteous. We know this is the case because we read:

Gen 18:16 –  And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

Gen 18:17 –  And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

 

Sodom at Even

As this entire study builds up to verse 10 of chapter 19, we can now see a large scenario having been played out all at the hands of the Lord so that now we have His messengers ready to deliver judgment to Sodom of Gomorrah and all that dwell there.

The Lord has hid this from Abraham and answers Abraham according to Abraham’s questions and level of understanding because as the Lord states, “I know Abraham and that he will command his children and his household after him [ follow me as I follow Christ]” but rest assured that the Lord has everything in His hands in perfect control and that includes the impending doom on coming.

Now, starting in chapter 19 we see the messengers of God who are about to deliver judgment but they have one last thing to do and it starts at the evening.

Gen 19:1 –  And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

Gen 19:2 –  And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

Gen 19:3 –  And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

With Abraham, the one half of the beast which will be domesticated, the Lord speaks with the new Adam and answers his questions.

He knows this new Adam has judgment as typified in Abraham but with Abraham’s brother in the type and shadow, the other side of the sacrificed beast, we see that we meet the servants of the Lords, the angels coming to the GREAT AND TERRIBLE CITY.

We now have these two angels, these two witnesses coming to see if the cries of the cities are true and coming with the wrath of God in tow. Where else have we seen two witnesses in the street?

Deu 17:6 –  At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

Rev 11:3 –  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

With Abraham, we had three messengers come in the heat of the day to deliver the will of the Lord. We feed them, bath their feet their very walk and we see the process of judgment in their numbers.

With Lot, we see death coming in the evening, in the night where the two witnesses will lay dead or LAY DEATH in their wake and Lot was in the gate to meet these men.

As the evening started well with Lot, it quickly turned bad as the “heat of the night” increased.

Gen 19:4 –  But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

Gen 19:5 –  And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

Sodom was so wicked that as the night came to the point where it is time to go to bed, those “of the city” wanted to have “know” these witnesses of God. This is the same “knowing” or the Hebrew word “yada” that we see here:

Gen 4:1 –  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

So, Lot wants nothing of the sort to happen and then goes about trying to remedy this problem on his own by offering up his two virgin daughters.

Gen 19:6 –  And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

Gen 19:7 –  And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Gen 19:8 –  Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

Gen 19:9 –  And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

Alas, these men of Sodom are having nothing of it and actually intend to do worse to Lot than they were going to do to the men staying with Lot. They say to Lot, “who are you to judge us just being a sojourner”.

I would think it is about time to go, but as the Lord willed it, Lot was scooped back up into the house just in time for them to blind everyone outside. The hands of the Lord are being used in via the messengers of God to save those who are righteous.

Gen 19:10 –  But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

Gen 19:11 –  And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

Gen 19:12 –  And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

Gen 19:13 –  For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

Gen 19:14 –  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

I don’t know about all of you, but I know exactly how Lot must have felt. Probably the same as Noah felt when he preached to everyone that a flood is coming.

Here is Lot letting everyone in his family know it is time to go and surely letting them all know what just happened to him at this house. His sons in laws just mock him though. Talk about thick heads the Lord give us all!

In the end, only 4 folks are going to be saved from this destruction…. half of those on the arc…because this is half of what was saved on the arc. The BEASTS are saved with NOAH and his family, the old man is saved with the new man.

The wheat is saved with the tares until the harvest, but this is all a process because even at the beginning of this process we have one casualty early because we have Lot’s wife looking back having actually gotten past the first wave of destruction.

Gen 19:15 –  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Gen 19:16 –  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

Gen 19:17 –  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

At this point in our walk, we are told NOT to look behind us but why could that be? Let us see what Sodom and Gomorrah represent and see if we can glean anything from this.

Rev 11:8 –  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Did you notice a few minutes ago that the angels of the Lord told Lot that they must abide in the street all night? Do you think that witness has anything to do with the Revelation of Jesus Christ?

The very reason we aren’t to look back is that we are being delivered from the evil the Lord has willed on those around us and we are not to want to go back to what we have been rescued from just as Israel…the wife of God, wanted to go back to Egypt. There are reasons the Lord “calls His Son up out of Egypt”.

Rev 11:9 –  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

Rev 11:10 –  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

Rev 11:11 –  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

Rev 11:12 –  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Rev 11:13 –  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Our enemies will look upon this spectacle and see that the Lord will tell His witnesses to to STAND upon their feet and ascend to heaven…. just the Way Christ shows us.

We are not to look back and long after this time in our life when there was so much of the Lord Christ lacking in it. That is WHY the city is being destroyed, so DON’T LONG to look back towards that from which you have been called and chosen to be saved from.

Gen 19:24 –  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

Gen 19:25 –  And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Gen 19:26 –  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

 

Conclusion of Awesome Hands Part 7

Gen 19:18 –  And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

Gen 19:19 –  Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

Gen 19:20 –  Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

Gen 19:21 –  And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

Gen 19:22 –  Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither.

Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Even with all that the Lord has done for us up until the point, even after sending deliverers to save us from the coming destruction, we want to plead with the Lord that we are gonna die.  He is going to deliver us, but each time we contend with the Lord about saving us it is interesting to note that He then allows us to reap what we sow. Out doubt, our lack of Faith, leads towards more death….. in this case, the death of our wife.

Gen 19:23 –  The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

Gen 19:24 –  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

Gen 19:25 –  And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Gen 19:26 –  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

At different parts of our walk with the Lord, we can see Him working His will so that when we don’t have judgment He sends His messengers to dwell with us in “our house” so that we can be saved from the inhabitants of the land that are going to be destroyed.

During the heat of the day, and while we dwell in the door of the tent, we see the Lord working His judgment in us so that we can later have the fruits of the promised covenant be born in us.

All of these types and shadows happen in us and to us so that we can go through the process of bearing the fruit that leads to aionion life and not towards reaping what only decays.

Next study, we will continue to look at the work of the awesome hands of the Lord in Gen 20:5  as He continues to work with us in our lives and as we continue to do everything in our power to preserve ourselves even given all that the Lord has done for us thus far.>

No need to answer this e- mail. Just wanted to encourage you. Your work as servants of Jesus Christ has impacted many lives, of this I am sure.

What powerful teachings have come from you in being obedient to Christ to disciple all men.

I have saved ALL of the documents from your web site (e- mails too) on my computer and backed them up on a CD. It has taken many months, but I have read all of your teachings, some 4 or 5 times, and each time they get deeper and richer into the truths of God. Have also read Andrew Jukes’ and William Law’s teachings as posted on your website.

I am truly blessed that God has used Internet technology and given you the spiritual ability to scripturally unveil the truth. Praise His Holy Name!

When you stand before Him, perhaps Our Lord will show you a vision, the size of a huge continent, full of scales, and then say something like “these are the billions of scales I removed, through your faithful service, from the eyes of those who desperately needed the light of truth during a very dark age.”

Much love and gratitude,

S____

Thank you for your kind words. As for the number of ‘scales,’ that we remove from peoples eyes, we may well see such a vision after the great white throne judgment. I most assuredly will not be before then:

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

There was no great revival “in the days of Noe.” Neither was there a great day of repentance in the days of Lot:

Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
Luk 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [ them] all.
Luk 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

All of these words of our Lord are in responses to the disciples’ question,

Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

My guess is that Christ knew whereof He spoke. Here is how He summed up these times we live in:

Luk 18:8 … When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

I have said it many times before: IF Christ had said ‘Remember Nineveh,’ Then I too, would say ‘Remember Nineveh.’ But that is not what He said. Instead he tells us “Remember Lot’s wife.” There was no great revival in the days of Noah or in the days or Lot. Many were called but few were chosen. So it is today.

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

This is all bad news for the flesh. But it is good news for the spirit and for all who are faithful to God’s Word. It is good news for the human race as a whole because when all is said and done, God “will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the Truth.”

I hope this gives you a realistic and scriptural perspective on what to expect in these last days.

Mike