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The Promise To Abraham
This is a study that keeps appearing every now and then in Christian literature since the
last few hundred years. It is an important teaching from our Father, as it helps to reveal
to His People their heritage, and most of all, what He set out for them to accomplish as a
people. Its knowledge gives His People a unity of purpose and well being, by knowing that
the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are true. In unity of purpose through
His Son Jesus Christ, and realizing the meaning behind these promises is strength and
peace of mind. And for many of these reasons, various false ones try to tear down this
knowledge of the Lost Ten Tribes and God's promises, in an attempt to create consternation
against His People. I can assure the reader that some of the most God enlightened
individual rulers of the past, in American and European history both, were aware of the
significance of this teaching and from it gained strength for right thinking and just
behavior in helping to carry out God's Plan. For those of God's People not to be aware of
their heritage is to go in the way of Esau, despising their 'birthright' blessings from
God.
Some get upset when the subject of The Ten Tribes pop
up, quoting I Timothy 1:4 about not giving 'heed' to 'fables' and 'endless
genealogies'. That word 'endless' is 'aperantos' in the Greek
meaning 'unfinished, (by implication) interminable' (Strong's no.562), and 'fables'
is 'muthos' in the Greek meaning 'a tale, fiction, myth' (Strong's
no.3454). The main subject there in I Timothy is the requirement of what subject matter is
to be taught in God's Church, which is declared His Word, not man's traditions. Thus,
'fables' and 'endless genealogies' are referring to some preacher getting up at the pulpit
and bringing in all kind of ficticous family analogies to teach with, instead of sticking
to God's Word. The 'genealogies' God set forth in His Word are never a 'fable', or
an 'endless genealogy', and any teacher that claims so is a false prophet that should not
be heeded. God's genealogies are non-fiction, finite not endless, have a purpose, and are
a part of His Word. So we must choose either to listen to man's words, staying ignorant of
God's Word and His Plan, or we can choose to listen to our Father, The God of Abraham, The
God of Isaac, and The God of Jacob.
In order to properly trace the Lost Tribes of Israel
today, we must first understand God's Promises He gave that make up His 'Birthright'
Blessings to His People, and how that promise 'seed' lineage began. This will start in
Genesis, as we ask a Word of Wisdom from our Father, in Christ's Name, Amen.
God's First Promise To Abram
The first Covenant promise God made was to Abram when he was ninety-nine years old.
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.
2 And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee
exceedingly."
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee,
and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
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.
God is telling Abram to be 'perfect'. This
means 'having integrity', in other words, 'be mature, stand up like a man of God and be
just'. This promise here in the 5th verse God is saying to Abram that he would be the
father of 'many nations', not just Israel. This was true, as Ishmael was actually
the firstborn of Abram, but not of Abraham and Sarah, which was to be the 'seed of the
Promise'. Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abram and Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant,
was blessed by God though, as He promised Ishmael would be 'a great nation'
(Gen.17:20). Let's skip down to the 19th verse of Genesis 17:
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.
At this verse, God is making His Covenant Promise
more specific, as to which 'seed' It was to be held in, that of Isaac. Notice the word 'everlasting'?
That word is 'owlam' in the Hebrew and is just about as close as you can get to 'forever'
(Strong's no.5769). As Paul would say in Romans 9:6, "...but, in Isaac shall thy
seed be called", this is the flesh seed Promise of election. I realize it's easy
to get mixed up while reading there in Romans 9, but this is essentially what Paul is
saying; that there are two elections, one of the chosen seed Promise through Isaac, and
the other, the election according to 'grace', which is of the Gentile. As Paul would
continue there in Romans 9, many of the seed of Promise stumbled at a 'stumblingblock',
'The Cornerstone' which the builders rejected, that is to say, Jesus Christ, and they
refused Him as Savior, while those according to the election of Grace did not stumble. So
in summary of this Covenant Promise, the 'seed of the Promise' is in Isaac, and It is an
'everlasting' Promise, which means even to God's Eternity and forward. What will be an
amazing discovery to many who grasp this study, is that the 'seed of Promise' does not
include only the Nation which we call Israel in the middle east today, nor the Jewish
Diaspora (the scattering of Judah after the return from Babylon), for that 'seed of Isaac'
is elsewhere in the world today also.
The Second Promise To Abraham
In Genesis 22, Abraham proves his 'faith' in God's Promises by obeying The LORD in His
command to offer up his son Isaac upon the altar. God stopped Abraham, for it was a test
of faith only as God does not approve of Molech worship (see Leviticus 18:21). For
Abraham's obedience, God gave him another Promise:
Gen
22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second
time,
16 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:
17 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;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed My voice."
A seed as numerous 'as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea shore' covers a lot more of the Promise seed
than just those over in the Nation Israel today. There's not enough room in the State of
Israel to house a 'seed' this numerous. Wonder where they are today? (Hint: these outside
of the Israel state today are not all Jews either). It's recorded in the Book of Ezra that
only about 44,000 from the tribe of Judah returned back to Jerusalem from the Babylonian
captivity, and nothing about the other tribes of Israel. The census taken before that time
of the captivities accounted for much more than 44,000 between all the twelve tribes (see
II Chron.25 for a war census of just Judah, circa 714 B.C.). Another important part of
this Promise is in Gen.22:18 with: "...in thy seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed...". Again, don't make the mistake of thinking this is
referring to the Jewish Diaspora only, as we'll discover throughout this study.
God also promised to Abraham that this particular
'seed through Abraham' would 'possess the gate of his enemies'. Again, this
'seed' is of Isaac, not Ishmael, Medan, Midian, etc. Wonder what nations have that kind of
power? Doesn't appear to be happening in the nation state of Israel today with all the
land giveaways, does it? The Nation of Israel does pretty well for holding its own today,
but we will find out later that this applies to other nations today as well.
After Abraham's wife Sarah died, he took another wife
by the name of Keturah (Gen.25:1). He bare other sons, Medan and Midian which made up the
lands of the Medes and Midianites (Gen.25:2). These were half-brothers with Ishmael (Arab
peoples), but not the 'seed of Promise', which was and still is, Isaac.
As can possibly be seen today, with the conflicts between
the Arab peoples and the Nation state of Israel, since Ishmael was Abraham's 'firstborn',
and the 'birthright' is to go to the 'firstborn' by Law, Ishmael feels cheated out of his
birthright, and wishes to claim It. These are part of the reasons why the Palestinians
have refused to declare Israel as a Nation, and are so vehemently opposed to Israelites,
including Christians. It's an 'old wound' that will not be healed until Shiloh returns.
The Promise Continues in Jacob
At Genesis 25:19, the 'seed of the Promise' continues, as Isaac's wife Rebekah, births
twins Jacob and Esau the firstborn. Because of the struggle within Rebekah's womb she asks
of God why:
Gen
25:23 And the LORD said unto her, "Two nations are in thy womb,
and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people
shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the
younger."
These two children of Jacob (supplanter or
contender), and Esau (hairy, rough) being the firstborn, represented 'two
nations', Jacob becoming re-named 'Israel' and father of the twelve Patriarchs of Israel (God
prevails), and Esau would become the nation 'Edom' meaning 'red' in the
Hebrew (Gen.25:30). If you haven't read and understood how and why Esau, who was the
firstborn of Isaac and Rebekah, lost his birthright to the younger Jacob, I suggest you
cover it (see Gen.25-28). Esau despised his 'birthright' and sold it as 'wares' to Jacob,
for a bowl of 'red pottage' beans. This is not the way to treat a heritage which
Jehovah Almighty gives as a blessing. For this reason, the 'birthright' was to go to
Jacob, Esau's younger brother. It took a little craftiness on the part of Rebekah and
Jacob, but it was God's Plan.
In Malachi 1:3, God stated that He 'loved Jacob',
but 'hated Esau'. The word 'hate' is 'sane'' in the Hebrew
meaning 'to hate (personally)' (Strong's no. 8130), so it did not mean that God
just preferred Jacob, no, God literally 'hated' Esau. Paul tells us more of the conditions
for this in Romans 9:
Rom
9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even
by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done
any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works,
but of Him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
It may seem like I'm getting a little off track with
the Lost Ten Tribes here with this message, but I'm not actually. This statement by our
Father gives a much deeper clue to the mystery of the 'election', in others words, God
does not 'hate' someone who did not merit it. That would be unjust, and our Father is
NEVER unjust. The key is that time of the first earth age, when we were all
sons of God in the beginning, in the spiritual body, before this time of the flesh, when
Satan himself walked and served God near the 'Stones of Fire' at God's Altar (see
Ezek.28 and my Genesis Letters). Who places all souls in the flesh body? Our Father
Jehovah in Heaven of course. He places those whom He chose in that first earth age which
followed Him to do His Will, in this second earth age of the flesh. Esau must have done
something in that time 'of old' that God did not like. This is not an opinion. Many can't
grasp the Word when It refers to a first earth age, but no other explanation can be given
from The Word why God would hate Esau, as written, even before he was 'not yet born'
and "...neither having done any good or evil..." as Paul stated (also
see Jeremiah 1).
Jacob supplants the 'birthright' blessing from Isaac, making the seed of Jacob for the
Promise, not the seed of Esau:
Gen
28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and
said unto him, "Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father;
and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
3 And GOD ALMIGHTY bless thee, and make thee fruitful,
and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and
to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger,
which God gave unto Abraham."
You should realize the reason for Jacob not taking of the daughters of Canaan, for those
were mixed with the 'Rephaim', or the offspring of the 'fallen angels', and of
the Kenites (son of Cain; Strong's no. 7014). Not all those of Canaan, but many. (Canaan
was the son of Ham through an incestuous affair with his mother; see Leviticus 18 &
20, dealing with 'uncovering thy father's nakedness'. Ham also then, was Adamic).
This 'seed of Promise' was to be the chosen Seed of the Woman, of which Jesus Christ would
be born of (Gen.3:15). You don't blame our Father for being a little biased in choosing a
special 'seed' for His Purpose do you? It would be very immature and obstinate to do so.
Notice in these verses that Isaac is passing on the
'birthright' Blessing to his son Jacob, which God gave to Abraham? This is why Jehovah is
called 'The God of Abraham, The God of Isaac, and The God of Jacob' (Exodus 3:6;
Matt.22:32; Acts 3:13). From Jacob will begin the twelve tribe branch of Israel. It is
important to remember that the term 'Israel' and 'Israelite' is not associated with anyone
before this Promise God gave to Jacob through his father Isaac. Many times the term
Israelite is used even of 'the man Adam' by the unlearned in God's Word. The Israelites
began with the offspring of Jacob, i.e., Israel.
'Israel shall be thy name'
Genesis 32 gives us an account of how Jacob wrestled with an angel and 'prevailed'. The
angel blessed Jacob and gave him a new name:
Gen
32:28 And he said, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel:
for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."
This Angel is giving Jacob a bit of information
about his new name. It wasn't official yet, for God had not talked to him in the manner of
Isaac and Abraham's promise.
Gen
35:9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and
blessed him.
10 And God said unto him, "Thy name is Jacob: thy name
shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name:" and He called his
name Israel.
11 And God said unto him, "I am GOD ALMIGHTY: be
fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee,
and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it,
and to thy seed after thee will I give the land."
13 And God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.
This makes it official. Here God is giving the same
'birthright' Blessing of the 'seed of Promise' that He gave to Abraham and Isaac, finally
to Jacob. Therefore, the new name of the 'Promise' became 'Israel'. As the name Jacob will
still be used in The Word later, the new National Name of Israel is the word to look for
when dealing with the 'Birthright' blessings of God's original promise to Abraham. Nor
does this new 'name' of 'Israel' only refer to the Nation of Israel today, but certain
others also, as we will discover throughout this study.
Notice especially the verse of Genesis 35:11
above. Who are all these 'company of nations' God is telling Jacob he
would be the father of? Jacob had twelve sons which are the twelve tribes of Israel. But
Israel was only 'one' nation. So who are the others, as "a company of
nations" certainly means more than one. That's what we will eventually discover
throughout this study.
As Jesus Christ is The True King of all
Israel, He also being The High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, so was His
'birthright' lineage of Israel, his mother Mary being a Levite. On his father's side,
reckoned by law, was the 'Scepter' Royal lineage of Judah making Jesus Christ the Priest
King, LORD of lords and KING of kings.
Many have not been taught to follow the lineage from Adam and Eve down to Christ,
listening to worldly traditions of the 'one world brotherhood of mankind'. Our Father made
this lineage link a very important matter, as He does not like it when we despise our
roots and heritage. That a people are chosen out of many other bloodlines upon this earth
by God deserves our respect, not jealousy and envy. The 'election of grace' to the Gentile
is just as valuable a gift from our LORD as the election of Promise seed.
Peace be with you in Christ
Jesus,
Dave Ramey.
Footnotes:
All references to
"Strong's nos." are from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, PC Study Bible,
Biblesoft, 1993-1996.
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