Seasons of Life: From the Garden of Eden to the New Heaven and New Earth

By Tom Monroe

Promises fulfilled...mysteries and miracles; God's hand at work from creation to the New Jerusalem.

• God created Light on the first day and rested on the seventh day to establish the first week, time, and His calendar.
• Moses delivered Israel from the bondage of slavery; Jesus delivered us from the bondage of sin.
• God

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637690192

Book preview

From The Tree of Life to Sin

Bless the LORD, O my soul…Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever (Psalm 104:1, 5).

That day is referred to over one hundred times in Scripture, beginning with Exodus and ending in Revelation. In all cases, it speaks of the coming of Messiah Jesus as King of kings, and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). He came first as our Savior, the Lamb of God (John 1:29). We now look forward to His second coming to earth when He will come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David (Revelation 5:5).

At the outset God said, Let there be light (Genesis 1:3). Then about 4,030 years later, Jesus said, I am the light of the world (John 8:12). Following six days of creation came the Sabbath day when God blessed the seventh day (Genesis 2:3a). He then formed man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7a) and breathed life into him, thus creating a living soul (Genesis 2:7b), man-made "in our image, after our likeness (Genesis 1:26). This speaks of the Devine nature of the Godhead, which is His emotion, intelligence, moral reason, will, and everlasting life. Now that man is in the Garden of Eden among the plants He created, particularly the two trees, which are the tree of life…and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9b). Then came the first command, of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it" (Genesis 2:17a), otherwise you’ll die.

After He gave this commandment, God created animals, which Adam named. But something was missing, a help meet for him (Genesis 2:20). Rather than using dust of the ground, the Lord God gave Adam a Holy sedative, and then he took one of his ribs [and] made he a woman, and brought her unto the man (Genesis 2:21b-22). This is a picture of marriage between a man and a woman, and of His Son Jesus the bridegroom and His bride the church. God said, they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24c).

It didn’t take long for the serpent, the Devil, to show up. Temptation is introduced by the deceiver when he convinces Eve with his smooth talk to eat the forbidden fruit. And she did. But the earth wasn’t corrupted until Adam also violated God’s commandment not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9d). As the consequence of Adam’s disobedience, the Devil took possession of the title deed of the earth, which brought corruption on the earth resulting in the death of all living creatures. It would take seven millennia for God to buy it back.

Immediately, Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness, as evidenced by covering themselves with fig leaves. Save this thought for later, that the fig tree is the symbol for God’s wife, Israel. There was nothing Adam could do to cover their sin from God’s eyes, so He provided the first blood sacrifice. So, God covered them with the skins of animals. Concerning sin, Scripture says, without shedding of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22c).

Time Created

When God introduced light, it divided the light from the darkness. This established evening and morning, thus making it the first twenty-four-hour day and night. On the second day, God created the heavens and the earth with grass and plants that yielded fruit and seeds. On the third day, God created lights in heaven not only to divide day and night, but also for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years (Genesis 1:14c).

With time established marked by lights from the sun, moon, and stars, God completed His creation over the following three days. He rested on the seventh day, thus marking the end of the first week and establishing the day of Sabbath rest. The Lord God finished laying the foundation of His plan.

Dispensation

Without wading through a lot of theology, dispensation is simply God’s orderly plan, or administration, of the way He deals with man during seven distinct ages as revealed in the Bible. Seven is the biblical number for Completion and Perfection. Ages of the Bible are: Innocence, conscience, government, promise, law, grace, and kingdom.

Innocence, 6000–4004 BC

Adam’s life spanned two dispensations. It began with the Age of Innocence. He only knew to do good in his heart. However, after the temptation of Eve, Adam also ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Age of Innocence ended, and the Age of Conscience began. Death and the inclination to do either good or bad entered into humankind, and all of the earth became corrupt.

Conscience, 4004–2350 BC

God evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden and brought death into the world. This resulted in the Age of Conscience, which is having the knowledge of good and evil, which entered into the hearts of his children and his children’s children. However, this change didn’t take place without God placing the serpent on notice.

After cursing the serpent, God spoke of putting "enmity between thee and the woman (Genesis 3:15a). The woman is Israel from whom God selected a virgin, Mary. In the genealogy of Jesus Christ, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1:18c), not by a man, to give birth to the Son of God (1 John 5:20a). Further, God went on to say, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15b). This speaks of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that would take away the sins of the world as spoken of in John 1:29.

Things didn’t go well outside the Garden. Man then had free will to choose between good and evil. More often than not, he chose to do evil. This is illustrated by the first two born of man, the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain, the firstborn, then Abel.

Abel was a keeper of the flock, and Cain was a gardener. When the two offered sacrifices to the Lord, Cain took from his garden, and Abel took from his flock. God favored Abel’s offering over Cain’s. As a result, Cain was angered, and he killed Abel, spilling his blood on the ground. God did cover his parents’ nakedness in the Garden; this event is the foreshadowing of Christ’s sacrifice, the beginning of the crimson thread that winds its way through the Old Testament. The New Testament confirms this in what is known as the hall of faith by saying, By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts…he being dead yet speaketh (Hebrews 11:4). And by faith Enoch, a picture of the church, was translated (as in raptured) that he should not see death" (Hebrews 11:5).

As man began to multiply and populate the earth, it was as though two voices spoke to them as illustrated by the cartoon depicts of the devil speaking in one ear and an angel speaking in the other, or the fleshly spirit in one ear and a Godly spirit in the other. More often than not they were more inclined to choose the way of the flesh when they looked around and saw the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair (Genesis 6:2a).

The wickedness of man had grown so bad that it grieved the Lord. He, therefore, decided to destroy man whom I have created (Genesis 6:7a). Fortunately, there was Noah, a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9b). So God told Noah to build an ark according to His specific plans that he built with gopher wood and sealed with pitch, which is a symbol of atonement, sealed by the blood of Christ. And as the story goes, the flood water saved Noah, and his family, and animals of each kind he brought into the ark were the same waters that destroyed all living flesh. These waters also changed the entire topography of the earth, formed mountains and canyons, established the four seasons, and created clouds that watered the earth.

An interesting story that illustrates shadows and types are the lives of Enoch and Noah. Just as Enoch was translated from earth to heaven and didn’t see death, Noah and his family were lifted up with water to escape death 700 years later. In the same order Christians will be carried up into heaven (Luke 24:51), then approximately seven years later, survivors who in Judea will be lifted up on two wings of a great eagle (Revelation 12:14)" and taken to a place where they will be cared for. Note: Seven is a common number to both times, a number that signifies Completion and Perfection.

As in the Days of Noah

In His Olivet Discourse Jesus uses the example of Noah to illustrate what will happen to believers and unbelievers in a corrupt world prior to the time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) troubles (Jeremiah 30:7). This is also Daniel’s seventieth week described in Daniel 9:27-34. He said, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as in the days of Noah were so also shall the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:36-37).

The Lord then established a covenant with mankind through Noah by placing a sign, a rainbow in the clouds. He said, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake…as I have done (Genesis 8:21b). It will be different the next time God unleashes His wrath on mankind. This last time it will be as John saw done to the Devil and his followers, fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them (Revelation 20:9c).

Nations, Man’s Authority, 2350–2000 BC

Eight humans were on the ark, Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives were the only humans left on earth. The number eight is significant as it represents a new beginning. Significant also are the numbers seven and one, whose sum is eight. They represent perfection and God, respectively.

Immediately after Noah and his family set their feet on dry ground, he built an altar and offered burnt offerings…And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and…said in his heart, I will not curse the ground again for man’s sake… (Genesis 8:20c-21). After acknowledging evil was in the heart of men, the Lord made a covenant with Noah that He would not again smite any more every thing living, as I have done (Genesis 8:21). After this, God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 9:1).

Following this command, the process of procreation began anew with God’s creation of seventy nations. At this point, God changed His administration on earth by ushering in His third dispensation, which was to give man authority to govern his affairs on earth.

However, rather than replenishing the earth, the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their families stayed together and traveled east, which was the direction God cast Adam out of the Garden. Rather, God intended man to multiply and go west. As for why this was, the Lord "placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). There would be no access to the Garden of Eden for 4,000 years from the time Adam and Eve were sent out until God the Father would provide a sacrifice, Jesus His son, who is the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

After multiplying to a large number of people having a common language, the people conspired under the leadership of Nimrod, a son of Ham. He was a hunter and a builder. Nimrod was a hunter of men’s souls, and he was against God as will be the Antichrist.

The only people on earth traveled east to a place in Shur. It is located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, an area then known as Mesopotamia, which is now modern Iraq. Shur would become the seat of evil in the world over 1,700 years later…ancient Babylonian.

Under the leadership of this strong man Nimrod they built a huge structure of man-made bricks rather than unhewn stones we know as the Tower of Babel. The single purpose of this tower was for man to reach heaven by their own efforts, which foreshadows the last-days world order led by the Antichrist. This didn’t happen without God’s attention. His foreknowledge to see it before it happens, declaring the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10a).

About hewn stone, it is an abominable thing to the Lord. As for what abominable is, briefly, it is anything done that is disgusting or despicable in God’s sight. Altars are a perfect example. So man building a tower with bricks fashioned by man and not by God is an abomination.

God’s action was swift. He scattered them abroad upon the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:4). As a result of seeing this, "[the Lord said] let us go down, and there confound their language…[and] the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth" (Genesis 11:7a-8a). Not only could they not communicate with each other, also the Lord scattered the people over the face of the earth into seventy nations, races, and languages.

Three Dispensations Done, Four to Go

I cover the four reaming dispensations/ages in the following chapters. These are God’s general road map to the new heaven and earth.

Why should we adhere to God’s doctrine of dispensation? For the simple reason that by doing so, not to be ashamed, [by] rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15b).

God’s Seven Administrations/Dispensations

Innocence, 6000–4004 BC.

Conscious, 4004–2350 BC.

Man’s Government, 2350–2000 BC.

Promise, 2000–1500 BC: Abraham, father of faith.

Law, 1500 BC–AD 37: Moses, a friend of God.

Grace, AD 37–?: God’s managers of this age, a mystery, which is the Body of Christ, the church, made up of Jews and Gentiles.

The Kingdom/Day of the Lord: begins after the rapture, catching up, of the church. Christ Jesus sits on David’s throne to the final judgment.

Chapter 2

Abrahamic Covenant

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country (Genesis 12:1).

Abram

With all people scattered over the face of the earth, God chose Abram, who was accounted to him for righteousness (Galatians 3:6b), whose paths He would direct. Abram, a Chaldean, was a man who walked with God by faith.

So, God entered into an unbreakable unilateral covenant relationship with Abram. As a result, God established the third dispensation…the Promise that he, Abram, would become the father of a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3).

With this promise Abram, with his father Terah, takes Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, their wives, and all they had in Ur and set out to the north-northwest along the Euphrates River on their journey as commanded by God to the land of Canaan. Abram stopped at Haran, where he pitched his tent, meaning he stayed there for a while. Haran was in the approximate location of Babel, or over 500 miles from Ur, where he began his trip.

When the Lord spoke to him, Abram got up and continued his journey to Canaan. Upon his arrival at Shechem, the Lord reaffirmed His covenant with Abram saying, unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar (Genesis 12:7b). Later God affirmed the land covenant with Moses prior to their crossing the Jordan into Canaan. And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers (Deuteronomy 30:5).

Once in Canaan, Abram walked through the land to establish the boundaries with his footsteps promised to him, but not venturing beyond these boundaries almost without exception. Not only were the patriarchs, also his sons Isaac and Jacob, and all of the children of Israel would adhere to this edict from the Lord.

After crossing the Jordan River, Abram built an altar at Shechem and made a sacrifice to the Lord. He would do this at specific locations as he walked through Canaan. He would be known as a man of altars. Abram’s walk through the land established the way of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

From Shechem, Abram journeyed south to Beth-El, meaning house of God. He built an altar there, which symbolized a new vision for his life. But Abram didn’t stay there long, but continued his journey southward. Due to a famine in the land, he continued on toward Egypt. Rather than trusting the Lord for help, Abram showed his humanity and continued into Egypt, where he would encounter trouble.

Abram feared for his life in Egypt because Sarai was an attractive woman. He feared the Egyptians might kill him if they knew he was her husband. So, he worked out a scheme with Sarai, which was to tell them she was his sister. And so, it happened, Sarai was taken into Pharaoh’s house. Abram was given cattle and goats of great value as a result. But because Sarai was Abram’s wife, Pharaoh’s house was afflicted with great plagues. When Pharaoh discovered Sarai was Abram’s wife, he told Abram to take Sarai and leave with all that he had accumulated in Egypt. Abram was now a rich man and back in the South, that being in the southernmost part of Canaan, which is the Negev desert.

With Lot and all that he had, Abram traveled back to Beth-El, where he had pitched his tent at the beginning. At the altar he built there, Abram called on the name of the LORD (Genesis 13:4c). Lot had a large herd. This created a problem between Lot’s and Abram’s people as the land was not large enough to accommodate both of them.

Lot and Sodom

To alleviate the problem, by faith, Abram let Lot choose between the field in Canaan and the fertile plain of the Jordan to the east known as the Arabah. After looking at the two, Lot chose that which was fertile. He then left with all he had and traveled east. He pitched his tent toward Sodom. Abram remained in Canaan. Unbeknownst to Lot, he was going to a place where the men were exceedingly wicked.

What Abram did pleased the Lord, what with the separation by faith from his nephew, Lot. Abram set his tent at Beth-El toward Sodom. The Lord then told Abram to look now to the north and the south, to the east and the west. "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever (Genesis 13:15). Further, He tells Abram his seed will be like the dust of the earth" that can’t be numbered even though the Lord will number them.

As an example of the power of the land covenant, the prophet Amos confirmed this promise when he spoke of the Jews being replanted in their land after being scattered throughout all nations in 70 AD "I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land…saith the LORD thy God" (Amos 9:15).

To make a long story short, the battle of the kings at Sodom and Gomorrah resulted in Lot and his family and all they had being taken captive. They fled north to Dan. But one of his men escaped and ran to Abram to tell him what had happened. So, Abram took 318 of his best men that were sheepherders that didn’t have the fighting skills of those they would encounter.

But the Lord was with them, Abram and his men defeated the kings that kidnapped Lot, they brought back all he had. The king of Sodom met Abram, as did the king of Salem, the priest of the most high God, El Elion. He, Melchizedek, the one who had no beginning and end, brought out wine and bread to feed Abram and his men, then blessed Abram, saying, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth…which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand (Genesis 14:19-20b). Abram then gave Melchizedek tithes of all of the spoils from the battle that he had.

As for the king of Sodom, Abram told him he would not take anything as payment for defeating the kings and rescuing Lot lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham rich (Genesis 14:23c). Instead, he gave all the glory to God and not to man.

King and High Priest

Melchizedek translated means king of righteousness. He is mentioned later in Scripture. Specifically, in Genesis 14:18-20 before the law was given, and in Hebrews 5:6-10; 6:20; 7:1-3 after the law is fulfilled. Salem, meaning peace, was renamed Jerusalem, or City of Peace, in 1400 BC according to early Hebraic writings. This tells me Melchizedek was the visible manifestation of Jesus Christ.

Oddly, Jerusalem has rarely known peace except during King Solomon’s reign. This explains the prayer of Psalm 122:6a, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, which is more literally praying for the coming of The Prince of Peace, or Sar Shalom, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. It is important to know they shall prosper that love thee (Psalm 122:6b).

The bread and wine Melchizedek brings out for Abram and his men foreshadows the first two of the seven feasts God gave the Jews, as detailed in Leviticus 23. They are the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread. God gave these feasts to be celebrated once a year as a remembrance of the sacrifice of the Pesach lambs whose blood was put on the lentils and doorposts through which the people entered their homes. It is no coincidence they applied the blood using the motion of a cross. Doing this protected their firstborn sons of those in Egypt, specifically Goshen, from the judgment of the death angel as it passed over their homes.

In their haste, God commanded the Israelites to cook bread without yeast over fire, which would give them the provision they would need for seven days.

These events began Israel’s flight from bondage in Egypt. Jacob/Israel came into Egypt with seventy men and departed with 600,000 men 430 years after Abram built the first altar at Shechem. This event has been observed as the Feast of Passover, which foreshadowed the Last Supper and our salvation.

The Lord then came to Abram in a vision to confirm he would have a son from his seed. That and from his seed would be as the stars in the sky. Because he believed, the Lord counted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6b). He then reminded Abram that He was the one who brought him out of Ur to give him the land of Canaan for an inheritance.

Cutting a Covenant

To confirm the land covenant with Abram, the Lord cut a covenant with him. He did this by having Abram sacrifice a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram, all three-years-old and cutting them in half, laying the halves so they could be walked between. In addition, a turtle dove and a pigeon would be there, but not divided. This made for a bloody scene that didn’t go unnoticed by the birds. Abram was kept busy all day as he chased them away. At night time, Abram fell into a deep sleep.

This must have been a terrible dream by the way it is described, which was an horror of great darkness fell upon him (Genesis 15:12a). The Lord then interpreted the dream with a prophecy that his seed would be enslaved 400 years in a land that was not theirs. This, of course, is a prediction of Israel’s time of bondage in Egypt. And as for the Egyptians, they would be judged by keeping Israel in bondage.

Not only was this fulfilled, so was the promise to Abram that he would be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again (Genesis 15:15c-16a). This speaks directly of the Exodus of God’s chosen people and foreshadows the rapture of the church followed by judgment on earth.

The Lord confirmed His unilateral land and seed covenants with Abram after dark, as detailed in Genesis 13:14-15. He appeared as a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between the pieces (Genesis 15:17b). Note that in the verses in chapters 12:7 and 13:15 of Genesis, the Lord said will I give this land while He said, I will give unto thee in verse 17:8.

What is missing? After ten years in Canaan, a time of testing, Abram had yet to have the son the Lord promised him. Abram and Sarai were nearing the end of their child-bearing years. That and Sarai was barren. She said, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing (Genesis 16:2b). So, things are not looking good from this perspective.

Based on Assyrian law, Sarai suggested to Abram to take her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar. He did just that, and Hagar conceived, then the trouble began. First, Hagar despised because she was with a child, and Sarai was barren. And, although it was Sarai’s idea, she blamed Abram. Consequently, Abram told Sarai to do to her as it pleaseth thee (Genesis 16:6b). She did so, which caused Hagar to run away. But an Angel of the Lord, which I believe was Jesus, intercepted her at the well Beer-Lahai-roi, meaning God seest me (Genesis 16:13b). This well in the southern Canaan was on her way with the child to Egypt by way of Shur, an area in the northwestern Sinai. To establish God’s order, the angel told her to go back to Sarai and submit to her. Hagar did as she was told.

Illustrated here is a biblical precept. Getting ahead of providence, as an old saint once said, is a fool’s errand, as such as what Abram and Sarai did. The result in doing so will always have negative consequences. On the other hand, patience is always a right considering the Lord said, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46:10c).

Even though it seemed logical to do what they did, the consequences of their action are with us to this day. Even though he is the father of faith, a righteous man, Abraham was fully man. There was no one nor will there ever be other than the Son of Man who is worthy enough to let him first cast the first stone at her (John 8:7c). After all, Abram and Sarai were only trying to help the Lord as they were getting along in years, but they lacked patience. So, because they didn’t Wait on the LORD (Psalm 27:14a), they violated an important biblical precept, and all of their children would have to pay the consequences.

Hagar is back under Sarai’s submission. The Angel of the Lord promised Hagar she would have a son and his name will be Ishmael…he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him… (Genesis 16:12). Abram named the boy Ishmael. At that time, Abram was ninety-six years old.

Three years later, where the is the number of divine completion, Almighty God came before Abram to say, walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly (Genesis 17:1b-2). A change took place as Abram fell on his face. God talked with Abram, repeating His covenant and confirming it in three ways: a name change, saying, I will, five times, and requiring circumcision. The number five represents grace and God’s goodness.

God changed Abram’s name at the time He breathed life into him and inserted an h, the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, into Abram’s name. Abram became Abraham, or father of a multitude of nations to Father of great multitudes, respectively. The significance of this change is in the letter h. It is pronounced hey, which is God’s breath denoting grace through His power. Both Abraham’s and Sarah’s names are God-breathed, making their names complete righteousness.

The Lord introduced circumcision as a sign of the everlasting blood covenant He made with Abram. He then said, "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…the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God" (Genesis 17:7-8). Every man that’s from the seed of Abraham, including Gentile, bought with a price and those born after eight years old, a number for a new birth or new beginning. Ishmael was circumcised when he was 13 years old, the number for rebellion. Males not circumcised were cut off from their people.

A Sign

Circumcision, cutting the flesh of a male’s foreskin, is painful and bloody, a covenant. The phrase cutting a deal comes from this and what the Lord did to confirm His covenant with Abram when He walked as a burning lamp between the animals that were cut in half. Both foreshadow the Passover feast, but ultimately the final bloody and painful sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us. Specifically, circumcision looks forward to That Day when I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10a).

As for Sarai, the Lord changed her name to Sarah as God breathed life into her. She could then birth a son from Abraham’s seed. The Lord then made a covenant with her that she would become the mother of many nations. Hearing what God said, Abraham fell on his face and laughed in his heart, not out loud, not knowing what the name changes meant. At ninety-nine years old and Sarah at eighty-nine, they both were beyond child-bearing age. But God promised them they would have a child, the son of promise, a year later. There was more laughter to come.

Abraham revealed his love for Ishmael. God expressed his concerns that Abraham had given up on having the son He promised by confirming Sarah would have a son and to call him Isaac, a name that has a significance: laughter. This shows God has a sense of humor. He knew that in their own minds, they thought it was not possible for them to have a child at their ages. God commanded them to give their son the name Isaac. This was to be done not to laugh at any of God’s promises, but to have faith He would do what He said so we must not laugh For with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37).

God told Abraham that the covenant would be established with Isaac for an everlasting covenant, and his seed after him (Genesis 17:19d). As for Ishmael, God said, I have blessed him…twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation (Genesis 17:20b). Although the promise to Ishmael was he would become a great nation that would have twelve princes or leaders, God emphasized that His covenant would be established "with Isaac…at this set time next year" (Genesis 17:21c), thus a blessing, a covenant and a set time that no man can change albeit many having evil intent continue to do at their own peril.

Separate Lands

After Sarah died, Abraham took Ketura as his wife from his concubines. As for the sons Abraham had with Ketura and their sons, "He gave gifts, and sent the away from Isaac his son…unto the east country" (Genesis 25:6b). As for Isaac, Abraham gave everything he had to him, his promised son.

This illustrates God’s omnipotence by keeping the nation of Israel the smallest among nations to show that when they depend on Him, they will prevail against all other forces. To illustrate this, consider that Abraham was promised all the land bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, the river of Egypt, Lebanon, and the Euphrates River. The beginning of this was fulfilled here even though the promised son would not receive all of his inheritance until That Day, the second coming of the Messiah.

Abraham’s sons from Hagar were given the area in the Sinai desert known as Paran. As for sons of Ketura, they were given the remainder of the land except for that small sliver on the Mediterranean Sea that Abraham walked, that being Israel. This land, which was approximately the size of New Jersey, was bordered on the north by Lebanon and Syria, on the east by the Golan Heights and Jordan Valley down to the southern tip of the Dead Sea and turned westward to Kadesh-barnea and along the River of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The answer to how a small country such as Israel can survive while being surrounded by enemy nations bent on destroying them is because he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep (Psalm 121:4).

A perfect example of God’s protection is when He reduced Gideon’s forces from 32,000 to 300 that would defeat 135,000 Midianites. This shows that If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31b).

A Visitation

Three men, the Lord, and two angels came from the east to visit Abraham at Mamre, a place just north of Hebron where Abraham set up his tent. There, he saw the two men, and then he rushed to meet them. As a show of hospitality, Abraham invited them to sit under a tree. After washing their feet, Abraham had Sarah prepare a meal for them, similar to Jesus preparing a meal at the Sea of Galilee following His resurrection. The meal Abraham had with the three men is significant because of the breaking of bread, which verified a covenant.

After eating, the men asked Abraham where Sarah was even though the Lord knew she was behind Him in the tent. Abraham confirmed this when he answered, in the tent (Genesis 18:9c). While Sarah listened, the Lord said He "will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life…Sarah thy wife shall have a son (Genesis 18:10a), meaning when Sarah conceived Isaac, which was nearly 1,900 years before Mary conceived Jesus. Hearing this, Sarah did as Abraham when he heard the same promise, she laughed within herself" (Genesis 18:12), knowing they were too old to have a child.

The Lord let Abraham know He heard her, then responded, Is anything too hard for the LORD? (Genesis 18:14a). This led into what He told Abraham, that being Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?…his children and his household…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 (Genesis 18:18-19). With this close relationship between the Lord and Abraham, the Lord is now debating as to whether He will hide that thing which I do (Genesis 18:17c), that thing is bring judgment on Sodom because Lot cried out to Him.

The decision came quickly as the angels turned to go to Sodom. And knowing judgment was coming on the city, Abraham interceded knowing his nephew, Lot, was at Sodom. As he stood before the Lord, Abraham asked as one friend would ask another, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? (Genesis 18:23b). Then he began numbering the righteous at fifty in the city that would be killed. The Lord said He wouldn’t for the sake of fifty. And so, it goes counting down from forty-five to forty down for the sake of ten, where ten represents righteousness. With that, the Lord left, and Abraham went to his place without any more being said.

Ten Righteous Men

Ten righteous men together are first mentioned here, where ten is the number of responsibility, righteousness, and commandments that were given to Moses. It was the minimum number of men, or a ten-man minion, required to have prayer and to establish a synagogue. And Jesus, the only perfectly righteous man in the flesh, fulfilled all ten commandments of the law given to Moses.

When the angels arrived at Sodom, they told Lot the Lord sent them to destroy the city. Although Lot invited the two men to stay in his house, they declined. But at Lot’s insistence, they cane into his house. After eating, the men of the city surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that Lot send the men out so "that we may know them (Genesis 19:5d), which means to have sex in unnatural ways with them. But Lot did something unthinkable. He offered his two virgin daughters so they could do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing…" (Genesis 19:8c).

Debauchery Then and Now

The phrase is good in your eyes jumped off the page at me. Jesus told the disciples in His Olivet discourse how in the last days it would be as it was in the days of Lot (Luke 17:28a). This was referred to an earlier time when Israel was leaderless that every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25b). Further, Paul told Timothy, evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Timothy 3:13).

When the men of Sodom persisted, the angels put their hands up, pulled Lot inside, barred the door, and blinded the men outside the door. The angels then told Lot to get his family together, including those betrothed to his daughters, and leave the city immediately. They were there to destroy Sodom because of Lot’s prayer concerning the wickedness, or sexual perversion.

Lot then hastened to warn his sons-in-law of the coming destruction. God provided all of Lot’s family a way of escape as with Noah, God always provides a way of escape for just when He brings judgment. In this case, the sons-in-law didn’t listen. At daybreak, the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters (Genesis 19:15a) and get out of the city while cautioning them not to look back. Once they were clear of Sodom, it and all the cities of the plain were devoured with fire out of heaven. On the way out, Lot’s wife looked back. She coveted her house in Sodom and, as a result, became that pillar of salt.

This and Noah’s story point to the fact that the repentant and obedient will be taken out, or saved, while the disobedient that are comfortable in their sinfulness will be destroyed. A perfect example of this is found in the letter to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Jesus has something against all of them except for the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia. The Lord has nothing against these churches like some members in the five other churches, which have forgotten those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before (Philippians 3:13b) rather than look back and not have life.

Lot stopped at Zoar, a city near the southeastern end of the Dead Sea. He didn’t stay long as he feared being in that place, so Lot continued north to the mountains to where he took up residence in a cave. A bad thing happened at this place. His daughters feared they wouldn’t have children, so they conspired to preserve seed of our father (Genesis 19:32c). So they got him drunk with wine and had sex with him. As a result, there were two males, the children of Lot. One became father of the Moabites and the other father of the Ammonites, both of which were enemies of Israel.

While Lot traveled north on the east side