Born again – Part 32

This covenant was given to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21), and then passed on to Isaac (Genesis 26:24, 25) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15). God promised to give the land of Canaan (present-day Israel) to their descendants. He also promised that the Messiah would come from their line.

God sought to establish the Abrahamic covenant with each succeeding generation, beginning with Abraham’s son Isaac (see Gen 17:21). In other words, it was not enough that Isaac had Abraham as his father; he too had to accept God’s promises by faith. Only then would God say, “I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed” (Gen 26:24). Isaac and Rebekah had two children, Esau and Jacob. Esau showed no interest in God’s covenant blessings. Consequently, Jacob, who did desire the spiritual blessings promised to Abraham, received the promises rather than Esau (Gen 28:13-15).

As with Abraham and Isaac, the covenant with Jacob required the “obedience to the faith” (Rom 1:5) for the continuance. At first, Jacob depended on his own ingenuity to survive and succeed. It was not until he finally obeyed the Lord’s command and will (Gen 31:13) to leave Haran and return to the promised land of Canaan, and more specifically, to go to Beth-el (Gen 35:1-7), that God renewed with him the covenant promises made to Abraham (Gen 35:9-13).

Read Ezek 18:1-32. This chapter teaches the basic truths that each person is accountable to God for his or her own life, and each person who persists in sin will die spiritually and experience eternal judgment.

It is parents’ solemn obligation to give their children the instruction and correction that belong to a Christian upbringing. Parents should be examples of Christian life and conduct, caring more for their children’s salvation than for their jobs, professions, ministry in the church or social standing (cf. Ps 127:3).

The very core of Christian nurture is this—Luke 1:17. The heart of the father must be turned to the heart of the child in order to bring the heart of the child to the heart of the Saviour. It is the responsibility of parents to lead their children to lives of godliness in Christ.

What is important in family ties?
“And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” 28But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27,28)

Jesus was speaking to people who put extremely high value on family ties. Their genealogies were important guarantees that they were part of God’s chosen people. A man’s value came from his ancestors, and a woman’s value came from the sons she bore. Jesus’ response to the woman meant that a person’s obedience to God is more important than his or her place on the family tree. The patient work of consistent obedience is even more important than the honour of bearing a respected son.

Read Mat 12:46,50; Mk 3:31-35; Lk 8:21; Philemon 1:16 to comprehend the meaning of spiritual family—members of God’s family

“While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” 48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” (Mat 12:46-48)
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