When one reads the first eleven chapters of the Bible there are very few bright spots especially from chapters three through eleven.  It seems as though God is incorrigible due to the straying of His Judgments with immediate consequences to Adam & Eve, their descendants and all of creation due to their indiscretion.  With those famous judgments came the infamous curses.  God first cursed the serpent making him subject to the seed of the woman.

 

So the Lord God said to the serpent:  "Because you have done this, you are more cursed than all the cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between you seed and her seed: He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Genesis 3:14-15 NKJV

 

Our dominion over satan is his judgment.  His cursed is as sure as the one placed upon women, men, and the ground.  Satan and the evil serpent have become more cursed than all the cattle or any other beast.  They are incapable of being blessed.  No wonder there is enmity between him and the woman, for her seed rules over him. His wicked head will be bruised by the heal of the woman's seed.  I like the odds of that fight.

 

To the woman He said "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." Genesis 3:16 NKJV

 

            Every healthy woman has this cycle we all fear to talk about.  Even now men are chuckling as they read this but would deny it from fear if asked why they were laughing.  Women feel a certain anger and disgust at the subject.  There is a shame associated with it because it is a curse.  I fear to say more because of the delicate nature of the subject.  However, this curse will not be lifted until the time when Christ returns to this earth.  Then all will be restored.

 

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.  Genesis 33:17-19

 

God cursed the ground and made life a struggle for man until finally the testimony of our struggle is completed by us decaying back into the matter from which we were created,  an unthinkable end signifying the insignificance of our lives due to sin.  We are finally rendered worthless by even just one sin.  The scientists and moviemakers call it the circle of life but would be better titled ?The Line of death'.  God is serious about sin and carries our His just judgments with vengeance. 

            The judgments continue in chapter four when Cain murdered Abel.  Again God demonstrated His intolerance for evil when he shortened mans days to 120 in chapter six.  Chapter seven is the story of how God destroyed most of the earth with a flood.  Only Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives were spared by the ark.

            In Genesis nine Ham's descendants were cursed because of the disrespect for his father.  All the descendants of Noah would later be cursed because they endeavored to build a city a make a name for themselves.  They were building a tower that would reach into the heavens when god came down and cursed the languages and scattered mankind over all the earth forever divided by the inability to communicate.

            The whole earth was thrown in to confusion and frustration because of their inability to communicate.  The world was now subject to frustration because of the judgments and curses that had been put in place by God. 

 

HOPE

 

Now the Lord had said to Abram:  "Get out of your country, from your family and your father's house, to a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great;  and you shall be a blessing, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV

 

Can you imagine?  First of all just to hear the voice of God, much less to hear that voice speaking of blessing.  For generations and centuries the word was cursed and suddenly from the heavens comes the promise of a blessing to a single member of the rebellious and hopeless species that was reeling under the weight of multiple curses that had been released in our fragile planet.

With Abram a new hope arises for mankind. God actually said he would bless all the families of the earth.  The promise is not for only one family but all the families of the earth.  If you are from earth you can be blessed.  With so many curses it must have been very difficult for Abram to believe.

At the age of seventy-five Abram set out to see this land God had promised.  With high faith he knew God would use him to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.  The hope of the world rested firmly on the steady  shoulders of Abraham.

Likewise, the same responsibility rests upon our shoulders.  We must position ourselves to be blessed so we can be a blessing. 

 

HE HEARD THE VOICE

 

There are so many voices speaking these days it is difficult to hear the small still voice of the Father over the roar of life's demands.  The quiet voice can only be heard in the peaceful relations faith brings.  It is not a skill you learn but is a gift given from God and depends upon Him revealing Himself to you.

 

"I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and am known by my own.  John 10:14 NKJV

 

Sheep cannot choose the shepherd but rather it is the shepherd that chooses the sheep.  Therefore, we know the voice of the good shepherd because we have been chosen.  He found us, He bought us, and revealed himself to us.  It is our choice to submit to His voice.  I personally believe to the extent we surrender is the extent we hear.  We are led in and out of the pasture by his voice.  This requires a surrendering of the right to go in and out as you please.  It is at this point of surrender that we are able to hear the voice of God.

 

HE BELIEVED THE VOICE

 

            Few would admit to not believing God, but rather we excuse ourselves from obedience by saying how do you know it's God or just yourself talking crazy.  There is no real answer to that question to that except if you Know God you know His voice.  I do believe, however, that this knowledge is strengthened by firstly being one hundred percent surrendered to the will and ways of God.  Secondly, spending time and fellowship with Him through prayer, worship, and meditation also increases that knowledge.  Thirdly, one must be willing to be led, because God's voice is a voice of leading.  His voice almost always brings direction.  This is what it means to walk in the spirit or by faith.  Almost all instances of God speaking in the scripture show Him giving direction or leading.

 

HE OBEYED THE VOICE

 

            To fulfill the destiny God has placed upon your life you must obey God regardless the cost.  Once you have heard or discerned His voice the proof of faith is in the obedience.  When Abraham first heard the voice of God, he left his father's country and house, however, he did not leave his father and even took his nephew Lot and they got as far as Haran and they lived there until Abram's father, Terah passed away.

            Interestingly the word Terah means delay.  Partial obedience will delay the blessing.  How many times are the plans of God delayed because of our unwillingness to obey?  We continue with our own plans and responsibilities causing the purpose of our life to be delayed. 

            Finally, in his old age he came to Canaan land that was occupied by the cursed descendants of Ham.  God is able to make what is cursed to be a blessing to the other. Our ground is cursed to the world but to those who hear believe and obey, even that which is cursed can be blessed.

            Remarkably, our ground is cursed, our language is cursed, even our people are cursed, yet those who believe are blessed by faith in His promise.

 

THE PROMISE

While Abram dwelt many years in Canaan there was a long wait for the first promised son, Isaac.  As a result of the wait Abram and Sarah lost patience and decided to take the matter into their own hands. 

Sarah sent here servant, Hagar to Aram and she conceived and bore Abram a son.  They called him Ishmael.  It is true that Ishmael was a son of Abram and was born out of sin and unbelief rather than promise and faith.  Ishmael was not to become the blessed one even though his father would as to do it for him.  Ishmael's legacy would become Sinai and he was symbolic of the law and sin.

 

For it is written that Abraham had two sons:  the one by a bondwoman, the other by a free woman.  But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic.  For these are the two covenants: the one from the Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar-for this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.  Galatians 4:22-25 NKJV

 

The covenant God made with Abram was one for blessing not bondage.  The other son Isaac was born of a free woman.  Isaac was the child of promise and corresponds with the church.

The first thing promised to Abraham was the land that God would show Him.  Again, interestingly it was the land that belonged to the cursed Canaanites. 

Ham was the youngest son of Noah who had seen his father naked and drunk.  He failed to cover his father's nakedness and exposed Noah to his older brothers.  They in turn backed into the tent unwilling to view their father in a shameful way.  They then covered his nakedness.  The result was that Canaan, Ham's son and descendants were to serve Japheth and Shem. 

The laws exposure always brings a curse while the grace of father and son always brings a covering and blessing.  I believe one of the reasons many are cursed in a blessed land is because they have wrongly exposed the sins of our fathers rather than covering them. 

It is intriguing that Abram was shown the land of the cursed.  When God chose to bless all the families of the earth he chose the land of a cursed people to begin.  In reality these cursed people received the first opportunity to receive the blessing of Abram.  All they had to do is bless him.  God is able to bless you no matter where you live or your ancestry.

In the case of Ham, Japheth, and Shem, Ham represented the law which exposes sin and always brings a curse while Shem represents grace which covers sin and brings a blessing.  Amazingly the land of Canaan represented both a curse and blessing.

The birth of Isaac, however, was the beginning of the fulfillment of a Promise God had made to Abraham.  The promise was in essence to make Abraham's name great and to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.  These descendants would not come through Ishmael who was born of the flesh but rather from Isaac who was born supernaturally. 

Everyone born from the promised Isaac would be known as God's people.  It would be through this chosen race of people that God would bless all the families of the earth and fill the earth with those who live and reign with Him. 

 

PROMISE VS THE PROVISION

 

To receive the promise the hand has to empty of the provision.  We often work so hard to provide what has been promised that we create undesirable circumstances.  Like Abraham we are too willing to produce the dream the promise created through the flesh.  Ishmael was the fruit of unbelief and the determination to see the dream to come to pass.  The promise comes from the Spirit and I believe that is why it often comes from an unlikely source like a one hundred year old barren woman that has failed in producing a child for more than eighty years. 

 

;"Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman," says the Lord;" Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.; For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited" Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. Isaiah 54:1-5 American Standard Version

 

The promise that has been given to us does not come because we are great but because He is great.  The promise is not according to our abilities but according to His, and usually the promise is even a testimony of our inability.

 

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10 KJV

 

As a result of Isaac's impossible birth Abram could now be called Abraham, the father of many nations.  It was through the blessed birth of Isaac that he was given a new name   The same is true for all who receive the precious promises of God.  Without exception it will change your identity from what men or devils say about you to what God says about you.  You will find while everyone else says you are cursed man living in a cursed land that God can give you a new identity with one simple act.

Isaac represented so much to Abraham.  He was his namesake, but also he represented Abraham's faith.  He was evidence that Abraham had correctly heard the voice of God those many years prior.  All Abraham had lived for was now tied up in the destiny of that child, when suddenly the voice who knew to be God spoke to him.

 

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah- Jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.  Genesis 22:1-14 KJV

 

What a crisis!  I can't imagine the emotions that Abraham must have felt.  I am not sure I could even hear God clearly enough to believe it was Him.  I am not sure I know the voice of God well enough to act upon a command like that.  But Abraham did, and he obeyed.

He and the boy set out for the mount Moriah where the offering would be made.  The curious son was laden with the wood while the faith filled father carried the knife and fire that would destroy the promised son.  Abraham with rare confidence declared to his servants "we will come back to you". 

As they journeyed up the hill the son became suspicious as he ask "where's the lamb" and his suspicions were confirmed when he was tied and placed upon the altar and His loving father raised the knife high ready to plunge it into the body of his promised son.  Just as the unthinkable was about to become reality an Angel stopped him and provided a ram in the thicket.

When the day had ended not one drop of blood left Isaacs body and the altar was satisfied with blood of a ram and Abraham received another promise from the voice of God.

 

And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.  Genesis 22:16-18 KJV

 

IN BLESSING I WILL BLESS YOU

 

It is one thing to receive a blessing and quite another to be blessed with a blessing.  To receive a blessing is to simply receive a good but to be blessed with blessing is a perpetual blessing that affects everyone around you.  They are blessed because of you or even cursed because of you.  There is no middle ground.  God deals with all mankind based upon their dealings with Abraham's seed giving favor and the power to be a blessing that will never cease.  

The ram was a great provision that spared the life of Abraham's only son but the promise would spare all his descendants who were going to be a great number unable to be counted.

God has sworn to do this thing all by Himself and when God swears you can count on it.  Abraham would not work for what God was promising but he would simply receive it from the hand of God.  He was blessed by God's ability not His own or even Hagar's, but I say again Only God's.  Too many are saying today that they are doing something for God.  Give it up.  You can't do anything good for God.  He will do what He wills through you and for you but make no mistake it is not you.  Your ambition will only cloud the matter and make a flesh son called Ishmael and that will bring only pain, while the promise brings Isaac or laughter.

The new promise also declared that Abraham's descendants would posses the gates of their enemies.  No army, no enemy can stand against the children of promise. 

 

Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.  Psalm 127 KJV

 

This Psalm is declaring the very promises God made to Abraham and is a reassurance that God can build the house and protect his family.  However, the promises are not just for Abraham but for his seed.  It is referring to the work God would do through His son.  These promises do not come through the blood of Isaac as it was never shed but these promise of victory come through the blood of Jesus. 

It is God and God alone that will cause his children to speak with their enemies in the gate.  God made a covenant with Abraham based upon his willingness to sacrifice his only son. 

God conceived a son with a virgin.  It's a bit of a contrast but this woman could not know the carnal and Jesus would be born of the Spirit.  The son grew into a man who would find himself in the same place as Isaac carrying the wood up mount Moriah to be sacrificed.  Like Isaac He too was His father's only son and Just as Isaac was bound to the wood of the altar Jesus was nailed to the cross he had carried, but he would not be spared.  They mercilessly drove the steel stakes through his meaty hands as blood spattered, sputtered and flowed from the thorns on his head and the wounds on his back.  Just as the blood of a ram soaked the wood on an altar the blood of the lamb soaked the cross.

The earth shook, graves opened, and the veil was torn as the only son of God cried out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  with that the man made by God gave up and died.

The Father had done it.  He had fulfilled the promise to Abraham all by Himself.  He made a Son, sacrificed the Son, and raised the Son up and now He has sent His spirit to live in and to bring many sons into glory.  He has blessed us all with blessing.

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  Ephesians 1:3 KJV

 

And for us to be multiplied as the stars of the sky.

 

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10 KJV

 

We will posses the gates of our enemies because they are His enemies.

 

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Matthew 16:16-19 KJV

 

We will not fail.  We do not have to fret for we have the promise that God will do it.  We have been given the keys to the Kingdom.  We can unlock everything whether on earth or in heaven.  We have all the keys. 

You can be sure of this not because you sacrifice but because He has sacrificed.  His blood secures the promise for you.  If God honored his covenant with Abraham all these years because the blood of a ram and an almost sacrifice, how much more will He honor the covenant ratified by the blood of His own son.

We should have not fear but rather run to all the families of the earth proclaiming the blessing. 

 

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  Matthew 18:18-20 KJV

 

The Greek word for nations is ethnos, meaning peoples rather than political boundaries.  We get the word ethnic from it.  Therefore we can be assured that the promise is not for the political nations but for family.  This directive for us to go to all peoples is evidence that now what was being promised to Abraham is being fulfilled in his seed.

 

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16 KJV