The Mill Press

Genesis Chapters 14-17. Covenant begins with God who calls you by name. Yet, many individuals in the bible went through a spiritual rebirth, which included new name to bring about their purpose. As a wife takes on a new name and along with her husbands possessions, so are those who enter into covenant with God. How then, can we be certain of the identity given to us? Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Jacob became Israel, and Simon became Peter. The bible is filled with individuals whose name is defined by their character. In a world of constant validation, how do we break away from the identity crisis that causes us to lose our inheritance? Abram had a son by a slave woman named Ishamael, and palestine was born. Abraham had a son by his wife Sarah named Isaac, and Israel was born. These two brothers have been at war through generations, each declaring their rightful inheritance. This episode will discuss the spiritual rights of ownership in spiritual warfare. The gaining of territory versus the inheritance we receive, not by works, but through the dead of another. This is a foreshadow of our great inheritance, the gift of salvation, the promised Messiah born to us in this Christmas season 2,025 years ago. 

Genesis Chapter 16. The most scandalous demonstrations of infidelity, if your spouse gave you a “hall pass” to sleep with someone else would you do it? Abram is directed to sleep with his wife’s slave to fulfill the promises of God.  Can a bad action reap something good? The breaking of covenant through the eyes of Abram who would become Abraham, “The Father of Faith.” The defilement of marriage, the consequences of infidelity, the nature of accountability and fault. Abrams decision from thousands of years ago is the reason for the present war with Israel in the middle east. The abandonment of your first love in the act of Apostacy. Jesus said “when a man divorces his wife, he makes her a victim of adultery” yet we all fall victim to sin, how then will covenant endure? This episode is a revelation of Gods unchanging word when initiating covenant with us.

Genesis Chapter 15. One of the most underrated chapters in Genesis. The trinity of God with the preincarnate Jesus, the procession of the Spirit as smoke, and the nature of the Father as fire. God is perfect and requires perfection to enter-in covenant, how then can we enter in? The covenant that foreshadows Christ, bringing us into intimacy with God even today. The Covenant with Abram “the father of faith” who believed God and was justified by faith. God doesn’t expect perfection from an imperfect people; He expects a willingness for Him to perfect his work in you as a people.  A husband washes his wife with the word, but God washes his bride with his own spirit. This is the true, “until death do us apart” but there is a love that conquered even death, that can never be torn apart. This is the Covenant of God.

Genesis Chapter 7-9. When the world had fallen into sin, one man received the favor of God. Noah is written to be a righteous, blameless man yet it’s also written that everyone; humanity had a heart inclined to their evil thoughts. How does God persuade a man of something that has never been seen, heard, or done before? How do you enter marriage? We have defined marriage, and the different types thereof. We have discussed character as the factor that determines the quality of your marriage. Now, let’s biopsy the human heart and look at the spiritual anatomy of self.  The second part of “This is Covenant” explains the promise, the faith, and the work needed to enter covenant. Noah and his family enter the Ark to be delivered from the coming rain. The earth is washed away of wickedness, and God is ready to fulfill his promise. Marriage begins with a proposal; how does God begin covenant?

A Special Word from your Host. While dating, marriage, and divorce has become a watered down version of what was intended, I find it worthwhile to go back to the beginning. The bible provides an amazing insight to understanding the types of marriages available, alongside the covenant from which it was created. All marriages are not covenant, but all marriages under God are for covenant. We have evaluated the data and the scriptures concluding that marriage is good for you. But not all marriages are the same. The turmoil that comes with divorce, the splitting of a family affecting our very society unto the next generation. Today 83% of incarcerated males come from an absent father home, is it coincidence? The truth is a woman cannot teach a boy to be a man, because it was never intended to be this way in the beginning. How then can we escape this troublesome life filled with infidelity, rebellion and lust? Covenant. We have been breaking down Gods redemptive, protective work by the way of a promise. God established a covenant with Noah as a promise, washed the world of sin, and established the covenant (fulfilled promise). This was a foreshadow of the covenant when Jesus would wash the world the world with his own blood and bring about a new covenant, with his bride, the church. We have a living hope, an everlasting covenant, awaiting our wedding day and feast. Join us in our series, Covenant.