• Week Three
• Day Five
• As always, remember to ask for wisdom and understanding and a heart to accept it.

Scriptures

Genesis 15:1-8
1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

Genesis 22:1-18
1 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 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.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 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.
13 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.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
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.

Romans 5:6-11
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Devotional

GOD FULFILLS THE COVENANT

It is absolutely amazing to see Gods covenant with Abraham fulfilled by God Himself! Observe carefully how Abraham participated, but also notice carefully what Abraham does not do.

Think about what you have learned this week about covenant. Remember that the two parties would take the animals and split them in half, signifying the consequences to themselves if they did not keep the covenant. As you read Genesis 22, did you remember Abraham sleeping, and the smoking oven and flaming torch passing through the pieces? And now, in this passage, we see God provide the sacrifice.

According to Romans 5:6-11 , who is our sacrifice? Consider these things as you think through your marriage. Who has walked before you? Who has died in your place? Know that He is for you and not against you. He is your strength, your forgiveness, and your peace.

Why is all this so important and significant to understand in light of our marriage covenant? It is a vivid picture showing that God knows we cannot do it alone. It’s a reminder that He is our righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own, and long ago, on the mount of the Lord, it was provided. It is by His grace that we can make it! We are one with Him and with our spouse, so we need to live out what we already have to overcome any challenge, any attack, and any weakness – because He Himself is the sacrificial lamb. Isn’t this beautiful and amazing? In our weakness, God is strong, and He is glorified.

Thank God for giving Himself and providing all you need. When we are growing in oneness, something truly beautiful happens and God is glorified. Close in prayer to the Lord and ask Him to give you a greater understanding of His perspective on intimacy and on your covenant relationship with your husband. Ask God to build your desire for intimacy with Him and to build your desire to live for Him and others.

My Own Thoughts

I know there are areas that I could serve my Lord, my husband and my family better.

When I think about what Abraham had to be thinking as he made his way to the place he was going to kill his son, how horrible a thing to have to do. However, God told Abraham that He was going to make of him a great nation. Maybe Abraham figured God would bring him back, or give him a new son, or something. I dont know, I can’t begin to think what was on Abraham’s mind but I know one thing for sure, he believed what God had said and even if He demanded his only son, he would give him to the Lord.

When I think about how much God gave up to pay a debt that was not His to pay, the fact that the covenant animal sacrifice had to be torn in half as a sign of what would happen to themselves if they broke it, and God Himself fulfilled it! We broke the covenant with God, we should be torn in half but instead, Jesus was

Until next time beloved, be blessed and stay peculiar!