The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-26
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IllEABER[NACLEJ,
The Oath Bound Covenant
- Bible ssTUDYsON 60

Genesis 15N-1S-Mareh . 'IIe is faith
ful that promised. Hebrews 1928.
In various terms the Lord repeated
eight times His covenant to Abraham.
foday's study directs our attention to
Gods oath, whereby that covenant was
confirmed to Abraham. st. Paul calls
attention to the fact that these repeti-
tions of the covenant as we'll as Gods
oath attesting, were intended for spiritual
israel-that 1--WE might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to
lay hold upon the hope set before us in
the Gospel which hope Expressed in the
Abrahamic covenant and confirmed with
ar OATH we have as an anchor of the
soul, both sure and steadfast Hebrews
616-19.
Thus the apostle declares that the cove
nant has not yet been fulfilled; and that
Christians are vtally interested in its full
fllment. When we see that this promise
contains the entire plan of God for hu-
man restitution, as an acorn an oak it
explains why this promise made to Abra-
ham is continually referred to by the
apostles, in their presentation of the hope
for both church and world.
Although Gods providence led Israel
into Canaan, this did not fulfil the condi-
tons of the promise. Israel did not have
permanent possession of the land. Time
and again II passed into the hands of
Philistines, Egyptians, Assyrians, Baby
lonians, etc; and now for centuries it
has been under the Turks
The Jews now have no more right to
that land than had the Canaanites and
ether nations whom they drove out, ex-
cept through this great oath-bound COW
enant made TO Abraham. How foolish,
therefore, do those intellectual Jews ap-
pear who disclaim Abraham as a myth
ical character, and who wholly distrust
| God and the promise which He made to
| Abraham, but who, nevertheless, claim
! the Land of Promise. 1t is not their
| Land of Promise, and will never belong
to any except those who hold to the
| promise See Romans 4:11-14
Abraham's Three Wives
While Abraham and his wives were real
! personageS, their affairs We're so super
yised by the Almighty that they became
! types. Abraham was a type of God, Isaac
of Messiah. and Abraham's three wives
| were types of three great covenants,
| through which all of Gods blessings will
| come by and by. st Paul explains that,
as Sarah was barren, so the chief cove
I
while, Hagar representatively became the
| wife, and attempted to bring forth the
| heir of promise, but failed.
st. Paul declares that in this, Hagar
| typifed the covenant made with Israel
at Sinai, which failed to bring forth the
real seed of Abraham, competent to bless
all the families of the earth. As Hagar
was a bondWoman, she typitied the bond
age of the law; and her child 1shmael
| typiiied the Jews. They were indeed re-
| lated to God, but as children of a cove
rant of bondage. As later on. the barren
Sarah brought forth the son of promise,
so Gods original covenant in due time
brought forth the true ~IIeir Jesus-Mes-
sish.-Galatians 422-S1
Abraham's All Given to Isaac
In the type Abraham gave all that he
bad TO Isaac, through him making provi-
sion for Ishmael and for Keturah's chill
dren, In the antitype God bestows all
His fillness upon Christ, the Messiah, and
through Him makes provision for natural
| Israel and for all the families of the
earth, according to the promise.
J Hagar and Sarah We're types of the law
covenant and our covenant of this gospel
age. This gives us assurance that Abra-
hams third wife, Kethrah. who was taken
after Sarahs death, and who bore him
many children, typified the new cove
\ Jdfll, WHICH tnt flDle utcldItS Will DG III
augurated at the close of this gospel age
| Under that new covenant and at the
hands of the spiritual seed of Abraham,
the Christ, during the thousand years OF
| the Messianic reign, all the families of
the earth will be blessed.
THUS seen, Gods promise to Abraham
had only a partial beginning at Mount
AIorah, and the development of the real
seed of Abraham had only4 its start in
Jesus The real seed which is to bless
tne world, according to Gods promise is
not yet complete. Our hope is that this
spiritual seed Will soon be completed by
the first resurrection. Then the second
ary part of the promise. which relates to
the world in general, will begin to be full
filled. d.-Galatians 3:s, 16 %.
As the Stars and as the Sands
Only of late have Bible students dis
cerned that Abraham is to have two
seeds, exclusive of the Ishmaelites of the
Jaw, or Hagar, covenant. Thy seed shall
be as the stars of heaven and as -the
sards of the seashore. The stars Of hea-