Dr. John Tweedie hosts from outdoor scenes in Israel, as he shares God’s Word, chapter by chapter. Other experts provide insight throughout.
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Israel: The Prophetic Connection | John Tweedie - Israel: A Blessing To All Nations | December 4, 2025
- Welcome to season
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- 23 of the prophetic connection.
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- Now, if you've watched our show over several seasons,
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- You know that we do most of our filming
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- In the land of israel because i like to be on location
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- And i like to be
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- In the biblical setting, if that's at all possible.
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- But filming in israel these days is full of hazards.
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- For example, there's a war going on and several fronts,
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- So it's just not possible for us to do what we would like to do
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- In israel.
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- So what we're doing,
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- As you can see, is we're in our new c4 ai studio.
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- I'm not fighting the wind that blows my pages,
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- As you will have noticed in other episodes.
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- I don't have flies landing on my cheeks as happens
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- In the desert filming.
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- And of course, this is a comfortable,
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- Temperature in the studio, so i'm not fighting the heat.
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- Where in israel we have to get up early
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- Some days to film in the cool of the morning.
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- As the sun rises, it becomes hotter and hotter.
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- So here we are with season 23, and we're using images
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- From another documentary series i did some years ago,
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- When i was younger than i am today.
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- So we're bringing me, as i am today, up to date,
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- But using this incredible footage
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- To tell the story of israel, in another way.
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- That series was called israel a journey of light.
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- It examined god's promises to abraham,
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- How he would become a great nation.
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- He would be the father of many nations.
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- God would give him a promised land in which his descendants
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- Would be raised, and in fact, they would occupy that land
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- According to god's promises and covenants.
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- But they would also be a blessing to all nations.
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- So in this series, we're going to examine
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- How these promises to abraham were fulfilled.
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- How and when we'll discover
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- The journey of israel down through the centuries.
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- And of course, the journey involves much suffering,
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- Even until today.
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- But let me begin with what god said to abraham.
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- God chose this man out of what was a very pagan culture.
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- And abraham, it seems, believed in one god
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- In the midst of the worship of numerous gods.
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- And god summoned him
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- In the region of what is present day iraq
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- And asked him to go to a land that he would show him.
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- So it was a journey of faith.
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- Abraham had to believe in god and launch out in faith.
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- Genesis 12 verse one.
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- Now the lord had said to abraham,
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- His name was abraham in the beginning,
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- Which means exalted father.
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- But god changed his name later on
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- And called him abraham, which means father of a multitude,
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- Or as god had promised, father of many nations.
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- Get out of your country from your family
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- And from your father's house, to a land that i will show you.
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- I will make you a great nation.
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- I will bless you and make your name great.
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- And you shall be a blessing.
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- I will bless those who bless you.
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- And i will curse him who curses you.
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- I need you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
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- So those covenant promises involve land,
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- Descendants and blessing.
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- We're at the very
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- Beginning of this journey, the story of israel,
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- And has its origins and the life of one man, abraham,
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- A man god called abraham.
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- An incredible journey of discovery
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- Of high points and low points,
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- But all through a chosen nation.
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- God said it would be a blessing to all nations.
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- Soft music
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- Our journey began 4000 years ago.
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- When incredible promises were made to abraham.
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- But who was abraham?
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- And what exactly did god promise him?
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- I call abraham the proto jew.
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- You know
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- He he originated in iraq, or kazeem,
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- Or at the bottom of euphrates river.
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- And he migrates up to turkey and then into canaan,
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- Which is the pre-state name for the land of israel.
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- But who he was was usually the first u.
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- Before there was any formal judaism.
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- Before the giving of the torah at mount sinai.
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- The book of genesis records that god appeared to abraham
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- More than once.
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- It was during abram's first encounter with god,
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- However, that he was told to leave his homeland
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- And to go to the land that god would show him,
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- A land god promised to give
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- To him and his descendants forever.
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- God also promised that he would make abraham
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- A great nation, and that through abraham
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- And his descendants, the world would be blessed.
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- He was during a later divine encounter
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- That god changed his name from abraham, meaning exalted
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- Father to abraham, meaning father of a multitude.
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- And god told abraham,
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- Look now toward heaven and count the stars.
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- If you are able to number them, so shall your descendants be.
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- God's promises to abraham were sealed by a covenant ceremony,
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- Which involved
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- The sacrifice of animals and the shedding of their blood.
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- And the idea of a covenant is a is an ancient,
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- A concept within judaism, because it goes back well before
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- Moses goes back to the time of abraham about 4000 years ago.
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- And the idea with the covenant with abraham,
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- Again, it's a deal.
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- Abraham is in what is today southern turkey
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- At a place called haran, and he is told, go south,
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- Go to a land that i will show you.
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- And so the deal of
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- All of abraham's obligation is, first of all, just to go south.
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- What are you going to get?
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- Well, you're going to get land.
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- You're going to be a blessing to all the nations of the world.
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- God basically says to abraham, i have chosen you,
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- As it were, to bring a message to humanity.
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- And that message is one which is going to both create hardship
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- In terms of your relationship with the communities around you.
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- But it's a message
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- Which, is going to bring to you, to your family
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- And to the world a great light.
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- But what exactly do the almighty god promise abraham?
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- The answers are found in the book of genesis.
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- Abraham was to become the father of a great nation.
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- He and his descendants were to inherit the land of cain
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- And forever.
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- Through abraham's descendants, all of the earth
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- Would be blessed according to god's promises.
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- His eternal covenant with abraham,
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- The descendants of abraham, would become a channel
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- By which heavens light would break in upon a very dark world.
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- But who were the descendants to whom
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- God specific promises would apply?
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- The bible states clearly that the covenant succession
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- Was to pass from abraham
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- To his son isaac, and from isaac to his son jacob.
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- The bible also records moments when god appeared separately
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- To each of these patriarchs or fathers of ancient israel.
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- Times when god confirmed his covenant
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- Promises to them through dreams or visions.
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- He had one incident in
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- Genesis appears to threaten the lineage
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- Of blessing that god had created,
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- With what many today would consider an extreme
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- Test of faith.
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- One of the most important aspects of the building up of,
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- Or the
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- And cementing of the relationship between abraham
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- And god was, of course, the story of the binding
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- Of isaac, of yitzchak, of abraham's son,
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- Years after god had promised he would make abraham
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- A great nation
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- And miraculously gave him his son isaac at a very old age. god
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- Now asked abraham to sacrifice the very son of promise.
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- And here god says, i want you to sacrifice
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- Your son, your only son, who you love, isaac.
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- And avraham, without hesitating, picks up his stuff
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- The next morning and sets out with isaac
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- To do god's bidding.
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- What's fascinating, i think, and an understanding of avraham
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- And the framing of that relationship between god
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- And the jewish people,
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- Is that avraham
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- Accepted his role
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- In bringing an understanding of god to a pagan society
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- Within the context of fighting against
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- The concept of child sacrifice, which was so prevalent
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- At the time.
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- Abraham was willing to sacrifice.
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- But his heart was not sacrificed.
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- I believe that if he would have been sacrificed,
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- He would have had a different nation,
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- And it would have been altogether different.
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- What this intriguing and mysterious story
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- Clearly shows is abraham's devotion to god,
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- His obedience and willingness to give up his beloved
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- Son of promise.
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- If that's what god required.
- 00:10:28.486 --> 00:10:31.556
- Yet it is also through this story that god's promise
- 00:10:31.556 --> 00:10:34.159
- To shine light through abraham begins to unfold
- 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:38.263
- In a pagan society where human sacrifice was widely practiced.
- 00:10:38.263 --> 00:10:42.033
- This momentous event raised a new standard for the world.
- 00:10:42.033 --> 00:10:46.171
- God did not want human sacrifice.
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- Instead, god provided a sacrificial substitute
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- In the form of a ram caught in the thicket by its horns.
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- That isaac was not sacrificed meant that heaven's light
- 00:10:57.449 --> 00:11:00.251
- Could now be reflected through his life
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- And through the lives of his descendants
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- Upon the death of abraham.
- 00:11:05.390 --> 00:11:07.158
- God reiterated to isaac the promises he had made to
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- His father.
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- God said to isaac, dwell in this land, and i will be with you
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- And bless you.
- 00:11:15.734 --> 00:11:16.935
- For to you and your descendants i will give these lands, and i
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- Will perform the oath which i swore to abraham your father and
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- I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven.
- 00:11:24.375 --> 00:11:28.113
- I will give to your descendants all these lands,
- 00:11:28.113 --> 00:11:31.116
- And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
- 00:11:31.116 --> 00:11:38.056
- So as we saw in the introduction,
- 00:11:38.823 --> 00:11:41.459
- The story of israel begins with a man
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- Called abraham or abraham.
- 00:11:44.562 --> 00:11:47.632
- But as the story unfolds in the book of genesis,
- 00:11:47.632 --> 00:11:50.869
- The same promises are made to abraham's son isaac,
- 00:11:50.869 --> 00:11:54.939
- And then to his son jacob.
- 00:11:54.939 --> 00:11:58.076
- Well, we know from the bible
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- That god communicates with people in different ways.
- 00:11:59.310 --> 00:12:03.281
- And when god communicated with jacob,
- 00:12:03.281 --> 00:12:06.351
- He did so through a dream.
- 00:12:06.351 --> 00:12:09.921
- And we read this account in genesis chapter 28,
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- In verse ten.
- 00:12:15.393 --> 00:12:17.295
- Now jacob went from beersheba and went toward iran.
- 00:12:17.295 --> 00:12:21.866
- So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night,
- 00:12:21.866 --> 00:12:24.869
- Because the sun had set.
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- And he took
- 00:12:26.805 --> 00:12:27.939
- One of the stones of that place and put it at his head,
- 00:12:27.939 --> 00:12:30.508
- And he laid down in that place to sleep.
- 00:12:30.508 --> 00:12:33.144
- Then he dreamed.
- 00:12:33.144 --> 00:12:34.546
- Behold, a ladder
- 00:12:34.546 --> 00:12:35.947
- Was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven.
- 00:12:35.947 --> 00:12:39.517
- And there
- 00:12:39.818 --> 00:12:40.952
- The angels of god were ascending and descending on it.
- 00:12:40.952 --> 00:12:43.955
- The amazing thing is that a door was opened in heaven,
- 00:12:43.955 --> 00:12:47.225
- Because jacob saw the almighty
- 00:12:47.225 --> 00:12:50.228
- God standing at the top of the ladder.
- 00:12:50.228 --> 00:12:53.798
- Verse 13 and behold, the lord stood above it and said,
- 00:12:53.798 --> 00:12:58.269
- I am the lord god of abraham, your father,
- 00:12:58.269 --> 00:13:01.072
- And the god of isaac.
- 00:13:01.072 --> 00:13:02.807
- The land in which you lie.
- 00:13:02.807 --> 00:13:04.409
- I will give to you, and your descendants
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- Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth.
- 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.449
- You shall spread abroad to the west and to the east,
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- To the north and the south, and in you and in your seed,
- 00:13:14.485 --> 00:13:19.023
- All the families of the earth shall be blessed.
- 00:13:19.023 --> 00:13:22.460
- So god reiterated,
- 00:13:22.894 --> 00:13:25.363
- Repeated to jacob,
- 00:13:25.363 --> 00:13:28.099
- What he had said to his grandfather abraham,
- 00:13:28.099 --> 00:13:31.803
- That through this chosen nation, through the descendants
- 00:13:31.803 --> 00:13:35.340
- Of abraham, all the nations would be blessed.
- 00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:39.110
- Now this occurred about 3800 years ago.
- 00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:42.881
- But lo and behold, when we go to the book of psalms,
- 00:13:42.881 --> 00:13:46.251
- In fact to psalm 105, we have this covenant line.
- 00:13:46.251 --> 00:13:51.022
- Abraham, isaac, and jacob confirmed again
- 00:13:51.022 --> 00:13:54.559
- Through the writings of the psalmist.
- 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:56.928
- Psalm 105, verse seven,
- 00:13:56.928 --> 00:13:59.731
- He is the lord our god.
- 00:14:00.231 --> 00:14:02.700
- His judgments are in all the earth.
- 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:05.403
- He remembers his covenant forever.
- 00:14:05.403 --> 00:14:07.805
- The word which he commanded for a thousand generations.
- 00:14:07.805 --> 00:14:11.709
- The covenant which he made with abraham and his oath to isaac,
- 00:14:11.709 --> 00:14:15.813
- And confirmed it to jacob for a statute
- 00:14:15.813 --> 00:14:18.816
- To israel as an everlasting covenant,
- 00:14:18.816 --> 00:14:21.519
- Saying to you, i will give the land of canaan
- 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:25.290
- As the allotment of your inheritance.
- 00:14:25.290 --> 00:14:29.060
- Now canaan was one of the grandsons of noah,
- 00:14:29.060 --> 00:14:32.397
- And canaan was the name of the coastal plain
- 00:14:32.397 --> 00:14:36.834
- Which became israel, because later on god
- 00:14:36.834 --> 00:14:41.172
- Changes jacob's name to israel, and his 12 sons
- 00:14:41.172 --> 00:14:46.010
- Will become the 12 tribes of israel,
- 00:14:46.010 --> 00:14:48.446
- And they will dwell in the land of ten.
- 00:14:48.446 --> 00:14:51.749
- And this is where israel begins.
- 00:14:51.749 --> 00:14:54.419
- And we see in the old testament the continuity of god's
- 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:58.256
- Promises to abraham, isaac, jacob,
- 00:14:58.256 --> 00:15:02.060
- And then some 800 years years later, even to the psalms.
- 00:15:02.060 --> 00:15:07.799
- It's an amazing story of god's relationship
- 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:11.703
- With one special nation on the.
- 00:15:11.703 --> 00:15:14.372
- Earth
- 00:15:14.372 --> 00:15:26.150
- Our media today is filled with
- 00:15:26.751 --> 00:15:28.486
- Traveling reports and disturbing news everywhere you look.
- 00:15:28.486 --> 00:15:31.656
- It seems that the world is falling apart.
- 00:15:31.656 --> 00:15:33.524
- This could not be more true for the people of israel,
- 00:15:33.524 --> 00:15:35.827
- Facing threats of destruction from the neighboring countries,
- 00:15:35.827 --> 00:15:38.696
- And calls for sanctions against or around the world.
- 00:15:38.696 --> 00:15:41.299
- Israel must deal with the challenges
- 00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:43.101
- Few other countries will ever face,
- 00:15:43.101 --> 00:15:44.936
- Making it even more difficult to provide for her
- 00:15:44.936 --> 00:15:47.171
- Most vulnerable citizens. yet
- 00:15:47.171 --> 00:15:49.140
- See, for i and their partners are making a difference.
- 00:15:49.140 --> 00:15:51.743
- When you give to see farai,
- 00:15:51.743 --> 00:15:53.211
- You are donating to charities within israel that provide food,
- 00:15:53.211 --> 00:15:56.214
- Clothing and so much more for those in need in the holy land.
- 00:15:56.214 --> 00:15:59.517
- When you become a partner for the first time
- 00:15:59.517 --> 00:16:01.252
- With a monthly donation of $25 or more, and as a thank you,
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- You will receive
- 00:16:04.689 --> 00:16:05.757
- The dvd set prophetic dreams and visions in daniel.
- 00:16:05.757 --> 00:16:08.960
- And you will also receive
- 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:10.161
- The bi monthly newspaper call now
- 00:16:10.161 --> 00:16:12.096
- With your monthly donation of $25 or more.
- 00:16:12.096 --> 00:16:14.499
- 1-888-206-1986 or visit
- 00:16:14.499 --> 00:16:18.970
- C4i america.com and make a difference in israel today.
- 00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:33.951
- The genesis account makes it clear that the descendants
- 00:16:35.086 --> 00:16:37.755
- Of abraham and sarah, the children of israel,
- 00:16:37.755 --> 00:16:41.325
- Were specifically chosen by god to be a blessing.
- 00:16:41.325 --> 00:16:44.862
- But with this reality, there also arose a possibility
- 00:16:44.862 --> 00:16:48.466
- That other people and nations could easily
- 00:16:48.466 --> 00:16:51.736
- And understandably resent
- 00:16:51.736 --> 00:16:53.571
- The choosing of one nation above all other nations.
- 00:16:53.571 --> 00:16:57.075
- Did this mean god was rejecting other nations?
- 00:16:57.075 --> 00:17:00.344
- Why would the god of creation have a chosen people at all?
- 00:17:00.344 --> 00:17:04.615
- Abraham says to god, so to speak, i choose you.
- 00:17:04.615 --> 00:17:07.218
- I choose to dedicate my life
- 00:17:07.218 --> 00:17:08.986
- And the life of my descendants to one mission,
- 00:17:08.986 --> 00:17:11.522
- Bringing humanity back to relationship with you.
- 00:17:11.522 --> 00:17:13.758
- And god says back to abraham,
- 00:17:13.758 --> 00:17:15.226
- So to speak, your choosing me, abraham. then i choose you back.
- 00:17:15.226 --> 00:17:17.962
- You and your descendants, the jewish people.
- 00:17:17.962 --> 00:17:19.964
- The question of god's sovereign selection of israel
- 00:17:20.998 --> 00:17:23.634
- Is answered for us in the biblical text.
- 00:17:23.634 --> 00:17:26.704
- For you are a holy people to the lord your god.
- 00:17:26.704 --> 00:17:30.074
- The lord your god has chosen you to be a people for himself,
- 00:17:30.074 --> 00:17:33.644
- A special treasure
- 00:17:33.644 --> 00:17:34.745
- Above all peoples on the face of the earth.
- 00:17:34.745 --> 00:17:37.515
- The lord did not set his love on you, nor choose you,
- 00:17:37.515 --> 00:17:40.718
- Because you were more number
- 00:17:40.718 --> 00:17:41.986
- Than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples.
- 00:17:41.986 --> 00:17:46.057
- But because the lord loves you, and because he would
- 00:17:46.057 --> 00:17:48.893
- Keep the oath which he swore to your fathers.
- 00:17:48.893 --> 00:17:52.396
- In other words, god chose the children of israel
- 00:17:52.396 --> 00:17:55.466
- In order to be faithful to the promises
- 00:17:55.466 --> 00:17:57.702
- He had made earlier to abraham, isaac, and jacob.
- 00:17:57.702 --> 00:18:01.105
- But god's ultimate plans for humankind were even greater
- 00:18:01.105 --> 00:18:04.142
- Than his promises to one nation and its descendants.
- 00:18:04.142 --> 00:18:07.678
- They were merely to be the means, the channel
- 00:18:07.678 --> 00:18:10.781
- By which god would bless all nations.
- 00:18:10.781 --> 00:18:13.951
- They would become his light bearers, a chosen nation
- 00:18:13.951 --> 00:18:17.054
- He would use to penetrate the darkness of paganism
- 00:18:17.054 --> 00:18:19.891
- That it engulfed all nations on earth.
- 00:18:19.891 --> 00:18:22.326
- It was because of their belief in one god
- 00:18:23.161 --> 00:18:25.763
- That these children of abraham would become a light to all
- 00:18:25.763 --> 00:18:28.733
- Nations.
- 00:18:28.733 --> 00:18:31.969
- The original way it was supposed to happen
- 00:18:31.969 --> 00:18:33.905
- Was merely that abraham rediscovers god.
- 00:18:33.905 --> 00:18:36.941
- He creates a family that makes a nation that serves as a model.
- 00:18:36.941 --> 00:18:40.111
- That's what or ligaya means light to the nations.
- 00:18:40.111 --> 00:18:42.747
- And we always say imitation is the highest form of flattery.
- 00:18:42.747 --> 00:18:45.416
- If you have your act together, people will imitate you.
- 00:18:45.416 --> 00:18:48.653
- One of the hebrew prophets, isaiah,
- 00:18:48.653 --> 00:18:50.955
- Clearly understood israel's special mission that they were
- 00:18:50.955 --> 00:18:54.959
- To bring light into an otherwise very dark world.
- 00:18:54.959 --> 00:18:58.429
- You are my servant, o israel, in whom i will be glorified.
- 00:18:59.597 --> 00:19:03.834
- I will also give you as light to the gentiles.
- 00:19:03.834 --> 00:19:06.871
- Then you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth.
- 00:19:06.871 --> 00:19:11.008
- And we understand we are not chosen for privileged.
- 00:19:11.008 --> 00:19:13.044
- We were chosen for responsibility.
- 00:19:13.044 --> 00:19:14.745
- What's the responsibility?
- 00:19:14.745 --> 00:19:16.314
- The term in hebrew is tikkun olam.
- 00:19:16.314 --> 00:19:17.882
- Fix the world, which is the ultimate cause.
- 00:19:17.882 --> 00:19:20.251
- I always say it's a lot bigger than save the whales.
- 00:19:20.251 --> 00:19:22.486
- The ultimate cause of being the nation
- 00:19:22.486 --> 00:19:23.988
- Whose job it is to be a model for the rest of the world.
- 00:19:23.988 --> 00:19:26.090
- To teach the world about god, morality,
- 00:19:26.090 --> 00:19:27.792
- And to bring the world back to that relationship
- 00:19:27.792 --> 00:19:29.527
- And elevate the world
- 00:19:29.527 --> 00:19:30.628
- To the highest moral, spiritual level humanly possible.
- 00:19:30.628 --> 00:19:33.898
- Abraham was the catalyst for all of it.
- 00:19:33.898 --> 00:19:35.566
- Without abraham, there would be no jewish people.
- 00:19:35.566 --> 00:19:37.602
- And who knows where the world would be today for.
- 00:19:37.602 --> 00:19:50.481
- Them.
- 00:19:50.715 --> 00:19:58.689
- When god chose abraham and promised to bless him
- 00:19:59.657 --> 00:20:02.627
- And his descendants, he did so that through them
- 00:20:02.627 --> 00:20:05.863
- The whole world would be blessed.
- 00:20:05.863 --> 00:20:08.566
- This then raises the question,
- 00:20:08.566 --> 00:20:11.135
- How have the descendants of abraham blessed the world?
- 00:20:11.135 --> 00:20:14.705
- And in what sense can they be called a light
- 00:20:14.705 --> 00:20:17.208
- To the nations?
- 00:20:17.208 --> 00:20:20.211
- Abraham introduced a revolutionary concept
- 00:20:20.211 --> 00:20:23.180
- To the world.
- 00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:24.148
- He introduced the idea of having only one god,
- 00:20:24.148 --> 00:20:27.118
- Monotheism, to a world that practiced only polytheism.
- 00:20:27.118 --> 00:20:31.455
- The belief in many gods today, if you go to university
- 00:20:31.455 --> 00:20:34.859
- And you study the origins of monotheism,
- 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:36.594
- They'll tell you that the ancient hebrews
- 00:20:36.594 --> 00:20:38.396
- Eventually coalesced into this concept of one god.
- 00:20:38.396 --> 00:20:41.766
- If you know the moses story,
- 00:20:41.766 --> 00:20:43.334
- The exodus, that was all mythology,
- 00:20:43.334 --> 00:20:45.169
- And it took until the second temple
- 00:20:45.169 --> 00:20:46.604
- Period, till it finally caught on. okay.
- 00:20:46.604 --> 00:20:49.307
- But the jewish understanding is the exact opposite.
- 00:20:49.307 --> 00:20:51.475
- The understanding
- 00:20:51.475 --> 00:20:52.276
- Is that adam and eve
- 00:20:52.276 --> 00:20:53.644
- Were the spiritual progenitors of all humanity,
- 00:20:53.644 --> 00:20:56.347
- Had a direct relationship with god, and that relationship
- 00:20:56.347 --> 00:20:59.216
- Was blown and humanity degenerated into polytheism
- 00:20:59.216 --> 00:21:02.687
- Because they found it too
- 00:21:02.687 --> 00:21:03.654
- Hard to maintain a relationship with one god.
- 00:21:03.654 --> 00:21:06.490
- I mean, think about it.
- 00:21:06.490 --> 00:21:07.258
- The universe exists within god.
- 00:21:07.258 --> 00:21:09.827
- But but you can't.
- 00:21:09.827 --> 00:21:10.995
- He's not standing in front of you like i am.
- 00:21:10.995 --> 00:21:13.431
- It's very hard to have.
- 00:21:13.431 --> 00:21:13.964
- Relationship with god
- 00:21:13.964 --> 00:21:15.032
- Is the ultimate challenge, is the ultimate
- 00:21:15.032 --> 00:21:16.667
- Meaningful experience, is the ultimate relationship.
- 00:21:16.667 --> 00:21:18.536
- But it's extremely hard to accomplish that.
- 00:21:18.536 --> 00:21:20.137
- So people basically
- 00:21:20.137 --> 00:21:21.706
- Started using intermediaries as a way of indirectly relating
- 00:21:21.706 --> 00:21:25.109
- To god, like, i don't i don't see god,
- 00:21:25.109 --> 00:21:26.744
- But look at the really unbelievable sun
- 00:21:26.744 --> 00:21:28.512
- And the moon and the stars and the ocean
- 00:21:28.512 --> 00:21:30.014
- And the lightning in the volcanoes.
- 00:21:30.014 --> 00:21:31.582
- I'll be nice to those things
- 00:21:31.582 --> 00:21:32.850
- That god created which are stronger than i am,
- 00:21:32.850 --> 00:21:34.885
- As a way of indirectly showing respect to god.
- 00:21:34.885 --> 00:21:37.455
- The ancient world was inundated with gods.
- 00:21:38.322 --> 00:21:41.459
- In fact, it was common practice in abraham's
- 00:21:41.459 --> 00:21:44.295
- Day for individuals to worship many gods,
- 00:21:44.295 --> 00:21:47.565
- Objects of worship who must be appeased
- 00:21:47.565 --> 00:21:50.134
- So they will dispense good fortune and blessings.
- 00:21:50.134 --> 00:21:54.705
- Since there was no absolute source
- 00:21:55.473 --> 00:21:57.174
- For right or wrong behavior at this time in history.
- 00:21:57.174 --> 00:22:00.144
- Behavior was based upon individual perceptions
- 00:22:00.144 --> 00:22:03.080
- Of what the gods desired.
- 00:22:03.080 --> 00:22:06.550
- It is against this pagan backdrop
- 00:22:07.284 --> 00:22:09.487
- That abraham first appears
- 00:22:09.487 --> 00:22:11.255
- Toward the beginning of the 19th century bc, a man who now
- 00:22:11.255 --> 00:22:15.226
- Championed the radical concept of the worship of only one god.
- 00:22:15.226 --> 00:22:19.563
- Although there were others before abraham
- 00:22:19.563 --> 00:22:21.565
- Who also believed in only one god,
- 00:22:21.565 --> 00:22:23.734
- Such as the biblical figures of adam and noah.
- 00:22:23.734 --> 00:22:26.670
- Abraham took this idea a step further
- 00:22:26.670 --> 00:22:29.507
- By committing himself and his descendants
- 00:22:29.507 --> 00:22:31.976
- To the promotion and development of monotheism.
- 00:22:31.976 --> 00:22:35.179
- So how did the ideas get?
- 00:22:35.746 --> 00:22:37.815
- Get out there? it's a whole it's a huge story.
- 00:22:37.815 --> 00:22:40.751
- It has to do with, again,
- 00:22:40.751 --> 00:22:42.486
- Primarily the religious offshoots,
- 00:22:42.486 --> 00:22:44.021
- The out of judaism, christianity
- 00:22:44.021 --> 00:22:45.856
- Being the biggest one initially, for sure, followed by islam,
- 00:22:45.856 --> 00:22:49.126
- Which introduced this idea,
- 00:22:49.126 --> 00:22:50.561
- The essential feature of christianity, islam,
- 00:22:50.561 --> 00:22:52.129
- Or that monotheistic belief systems,
- 00:22:52.129 --> 00:22:54.498
- Albeit with different theology.
- 00:22:54.498 --> 00:22:56.233
- Mere christianity has the idea of trinity,
- 00:22:56.233 --> 00:22:57.935
- Whereas islam is maybe more purely monotheistic
- 00:22:57.935 --> 00:23:00.971
- And very anti-gay idea of portraying god in any way
- 00:23:00.971 --> 00:23:05.042
- But the basic value system, the whole idea.
- 00:23:05.042 --> 00:23:07.678
- There's a god who acts in history that controls history.
- 00:23:07.678 --> 00:23:10.815
- That is a moral code.
- 00:23:10.815 --> 00:23:12.650
- These are all values of christianity, islam
- 00:23:12.650 --> 00:23:14.418
- Excepted from judaism and spread around the world.
- 00:23:14.418 --> 00:23:17.087
- And ultimately billions of people today
- 00:23:17.087 --> 00:23:19.723
- Whose ancestors were pagans are now people who, through
- 00:23:19.723 --> 00:23:22.960
- Christianity, islam, are bought into a belief system
- 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:25.996
- That comes from the jewish people.
- 00:23:25.996 --> 00:23:28.999
- Today,
- 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:30.201
- Over 3.5 billion christians, jews and muslims
- 00:23:30.201 --> 00:23:33.838
- Trace the roots of their monotheism to abraham,
- 00:23:33.838 --> 00:23:37.274
- In each case having only one god is the foundation
- 00:23:37.274 --> 00:23:40.845
- Of their faith.
- 00:23:40.845 --> 00:23:41.879
- Abraham set an example for the ancient world
- 00:23:41.879 --> 00:23:44.949
- By his belief that a righteous moral life
- 00:23:44.949 --> 00:23:47.551
- Begins with submission to the only supreme god.
- 00:23:47.551 --> 00:23:50.788
- This legacy lives on
- 00:23:50.788 --> 00:23:52.623
- Not only through his descendants, the jewish race,
- 00:23:52.623 --> 00:23:55.426
- But also through the billions of others today
- 00:23:55.426 --> 00:23:58.128
- Who believe, as abraham did, in one
- 00:23:58.128 --> 00:24:00.898
- And only one supreme being.
- 00:24:00.898 --> 00:24:06.604
- Centuries later,
- 00:24:07.004 --> 00:24:08.105
- Another very special descendant of abraham,
- 00:24:08.105 --> 00:24:11.075
- Another specifically chosen by god,
- 00:24:11.075 --> 00:24:14.144
- Would become the instrument through whom god would.
- 00:24:14.144 --> 00:24:16.580
- Rubio even more of his divine nature to humankind.
- 00:24:16.580 --> 00:24:20.618
- The man's name was moses,
- 00:24:20.618 --> 00:24:23.087
- Although raised as a prince in egypt.
- 00:24:23.087 --> 00:24:25.422
- Moses, from the moment of his birth,
- 00:24:25.422 --> 00:24:27.458
- Was destined for even greater things.
- 00:24:27.458 --> 00:24:30.394
- God had chosen him to
- 00:24:30.895 --> 00:24:32.363
- Introduce new standards of ethics and morality.
- 00:24:32.363 --> 00:24:35.566
- Indeed, the ten commandments moses received
- 00:24:35.566 --> 00:24:38.536
- During one of several encounters with god
- 00:24:38.536 --> 00:24:41.038
- Have perhaps done more to shape human behavior
- 00:24:41.038 --> 00:24:43.974
- Than any other code of law in history.
- 00:24:43.974 --> 00:24:58.656
- As we follow
- 00:24:58.989 --> 00:25:00.024
- The story of israel through the old testament,
- 00:25:00.024 --> 00:25:02.726
- We find out that god is raising up kings
- 00:25:02.726 --> 00:25:05.596
- To serve them, such as cyrus, king of persia,
- 00:25:05.596 --> 00:25:09.400
- Or deposing other kings who stand in their way
- 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.436
- Or offend the almighty god in some way. so.
- 00:25:12.436 --> 00:25:16.640
- But at the same time, god is raising up leaders
- 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:19.710
- To lead his nation forward through time and circumstance.
- 00:25:19.710 --> 00:25:24.582
- One of the most amazing leaders of all was a man called moses.
- 00:25:24.582 --> 00:25:29.119
- And moses, ironically, was a hebrew.
- 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:32.256
- But through a set of circumstances,
- 00:25:32.256 --> 00:25:34.258
- He ended up being, in a sense, mothered by the queen of egypt.
- 00:25:34.258 --> 00:25:39.530
- So he became a prince in pharaoh's court.
- 00:25:39.530 --> 00:25:42.299
- But all the way through the story
- 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:43.834
- That we find in the book of exodus,
- 00:25:43.834 --> 00:25:45.536
- You can see the hand of god in all of this
- 00:25:45.536 --> 00:25:48.706
- For israel's benefit.
- 00:25:48.706 --> 00:25:50.441
- And blessing.
- 00:25:50.441 --> 00:25:51.642
- And moses becomes the deliverer of the nation of israel,
- 00:25:51.642 --> 00:25:55.512
- Who've been in 400 years of servitude, serving as slaves
- 00:25:55.512 --> 00:25:59.416
- In the slime pits of egypt through moses.
- 00:25:59.416 --> 00:26:02.686
- God delivers them from that incredible
- 00:26:02.686 --> 00:26:05.823
- Long period of bondage,
- 00:26:05.823 --> 00:26:07.958
- And on the journey
- 00:26:07.958 --> 00:26:09.093
- Through the wilderness, places toward the promised land,
- 00:26:09.093 --> 00:26:12.496
- Which is the fulfillment of god's promise to abraham.
- 00:26:12.496 --> 00:26:15.633
- Moses is summoned up onto the holy mountain,
- 00:26:15.633 --> 00:26:19.036
- And there he receives what we know today as the ten
- 00:26:19.036 --> 00:26:21.639
- Commandments on two tablets of stone.
- 00:26:21.639 --> 00:26:25.809
- God's ethical and moral laws for the nation of israel
- 00:26:25.809 --> 00:26:30.347
- That would reflect his moral laws and ethics
- 00:26:30.347 --> 00:26:33.584
- For the whole world through the nation of israel,
- 00:26:33.584 --> 00:26:37.021
- Because they would become the bearers of his light,
- 00:26:37.021 --> 00:26:39.857
- Reflecting heaven's light, which includes standards.
- 00:26:39.857 --> 00:26:43.761
- And imagine if we could live by those standards today.
- 00:26:43.761 --> 00:26:47.197
- What a different world we would be living in.
- 00:26:47.197 --> 00:26:49.967
- And of course, israel couldn't
- 00:26:49.967 --> 00:26:51.368
- Keep up and live up
- 00:26:51.368 --> 00:26:52.536
- To those standards either, but it still set the bar high.
- 00:26:52.536 --> 00:26:56.607
- What god required of all nations, in fact individuals
- 00:26:56.607 --> 00:27:00.744
- And families.
- 00:27:00.744 --> 00:27:02.713
- So israel was to reflect heaven's moral ethical code
- 00:27:02.713 --> 00:27:07.885
- In her
- 00:27:08.085 --> 00:27:09.687
- Life so the whole world could see
- 00:27:09.687 --> 00:27:12.723
- What god, the almighty god required of all nations.
- 00:27:12.723 --> 00:27:12.723