# 17 - From Abram to Abraham - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein experience the profound transformation of Abram into Abraham as God renews His covenant, offering new names and a promise of countless descendants. This episode delves into the significance of divine identity and the eternal blessings that shape our lives today.
Episode 17 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
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Today's opening prayer is inspired by Genesis 17:1, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,”
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Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people.
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Speaker 2: Can you count the stars Abram?
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Speaker 1: Abram shook his head uncertain.
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Speaker 2: You cannot, for there are too many. It is impossible.
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Speaker 2: It is to be the same with your offspring. The
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Speaker 2: great nation I shall make through your air would be
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Speaker 2: as innumerable as the stars in the night sky.
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Speaker 3: I have never been able to conceive, and in the
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Speaker 3: ten years since we heard this promise, that hasn't changed.
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Speaker 3: I would have you achieved this promise another way. I
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Speaker 3: would present my maid to you so that you could
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Speaker 3: conceive a child with her.
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Speaker 1: And so Hager did as her lady instructed. That very night,
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Speaker 1: she was escorted to her lord's tender.
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Speaker 3: Nothing but a mayor to you to be broken in bread.
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Speaker 3: However you see fit. You are nothing.
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Speaker 4: You are not faith, You are nothing.
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Speaker 1: Sarah was too enraged to know if she was yelling
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Speaker 1: these insults at Hagar or herself.
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Speaker 2: The God most High will give you a great family.
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Speaker 2: He will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be
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Speaker 2: too ready to count. The child growing in your wound
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Speaker 2: now will be your son. You are to name him Ishmael.
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Speaker 1: Hagar was amazed at the words of the messenger. She
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Speaker 1: wondered at the power and authority of his God.
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Speaker 2: I received word that you sent for me, Lady Sarah,
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Speaker 2: I receive found your husband. Will you require it?
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Speaker 5: The name means God, hears.
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Speaker 1: Abram could not shake the feeling that in taking matters
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Speaker 1: into their own hands, they had indeed fallen short.
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Speaker 6: Shall oh, my friends from You're in the holy land
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Speaker 6: of Israel. I'm ya l Exstein with the International Fellowship
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Speaker 6: of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People.
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Speaker 6: Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible,
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Speaker 6: stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the
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Speaker 6: meaning of life. Through Israel's story, we'll find this truth
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Speaker 6: that we are all chosen for something great. Please take
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Speaker 6: some time after this podcast to follow and to leave
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Speaker 6: a review. These small steps will ensure that you don't
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Speaker 6: miss an episode, and it will help us get discovered
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Speaker 6: with our important message. So let's begin. Let me ask
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Speaker 6: you what's in a name. Maybe your name for someone
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Speaker 6: significant in your parents' lives. Maybe it was the sound
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Speaker 6: of your name that your parents loved, or maybe the
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Speaker 6: meaning of your name fit into the dreams that your
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Speaker 6: parents had for you. In the Bible. Names hold these
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Speaker 6: meanings and more. Biblic call name are significant, and how
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Speaker 6: each Bible story is shaped, and how each Biblical figure
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Speaker 6: fits into the grand scheme of God's plan. Today, in
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Speaker 6: a story inspired by Genesis seventeen, God will give Abraham
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Speaker 6: a new name that is not only more significant, but
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Speaker 6: one that captures the essence of God's plan for him.
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Speaker 1: Ishmael wrestled in the dirt with another boy. The two
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Speaker 1: youths grappled with the exuberance of untamed colts, their limbs
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Speaker 1: entwined in a playful but fierce struggle for dominance. Dust
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Speaker 1: swirled around them, intermixed with laughter and grunts. Abram's heart
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Speaker 1: swelled with pride as he observed how much his son
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Speaker 1: had grown in these thirteen years. He was almost a
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Speaker 1: man now, and Abram had taken to building into his education,
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Speaker 1: shaping him for the days to come.
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Speaker 2: I made a fine clan leader.
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Speaker 5: One day.
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Speaker 2: All that he had.
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Speaker 1: Would be Ishmael's one day, and everything Abram's God had
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Speaker 1: promised would be fulfilled. Abram would have loved any child
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Speaker 1: he had, but this one born to him at his
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Speaker 1: advanced age and with the weight of the promise of
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Speaker 1: the legacy before him. Held a very special place in
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Speaker 1: his heart. Shouts of laughter announced what appeared to be
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Speaker 1: the final round of the boy's wrestling match.
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Speaker 5: Well done, Ishmael, Ha ha ha, well done, thank you father.
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Speaker 1: Grinning ear to ear, Ishmael trotted over to Abram, and
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Speaker 1: Abram affectionately ruffled his hair, feeling the fine strands beneath
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Speaker 1: his calloused fingers. Am I to go with you today?
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Speaker 5: If your mother can spare you, yes, I would have
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Speaker 5: you join me or Elieza every day so that you
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Speaker 5: can learn what it is to oversee the herds and
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Speaker 5: the land. Good.
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Speaker 1: I'll have to let mother know I'm going with you.
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Speaker 5: Go and tell her and meet me in an hour's time.
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Speaker 5: We'll meet back here.
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Speaker 1: Ishmael ran off to do what Abram had asked, his
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Speaker 1: youthful energy propelling him forward with the speed of a gazelle.
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Speaker 1: In the years since Hager had borne Ishmael, Abram had
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Speaker 1: tried to give her as comfortable a life as he
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Speaker 1: could without upsetting his wife. Abram was no fool. He
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Speaker 1: knew that the women despised each other. He had situated
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Speaker 1: Hager's tend far from his nceerries. He also avoided bringing
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Speaker 1: the boy around, because he sensed at the sight of
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Speaker 1: him upset Syaye in deeper and darker ways than even
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Speaker 1: seeing his mother. Abram hated living this way, but it
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Speaker 1: seemed to be the only solution that could be found
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Speaker 1: in the fallout of his decision all those years ago.
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Speaker 1: Abram continued his walk through the tents, greeting the various
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Speaker 1: faces who paused their work to acknowledge him. His people
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Speaker 1: revered him, and their respect was evident in their deferential
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Speaker 1: nods and murmured greetings. Abram left the camp to take
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Speaker 1: a stroll into the fields, a ritual that brought him
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Speaker 1: a semblance of peace amidst the tumult of his household.
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Speaker 1: He took the same walk each day, hoping to hear
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Speaker 1: from his God, and if he heard nothing, that he
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Speaker 1: would spend the time reflecting on all that he had
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Speaker 1: and all that he had to look forward to. Here
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Speaker 1: in the solitude of the plains, he sought communion with
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Speaker 1: his God on this day, like countless before, he walked,
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Speaker 1: contemplating the breadth of his blessings and the promises yet
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Speaker 1: to be fulfilled. Suddenly, a profound stillness descended upon him,
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Speaker 1: a silence that spoke of the divine Abram fell to
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Speaker 1: his knees, his face to the ground, awaiting the voice
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Speaker 1: of the Almighty.
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Speaker 2: Abram. Servant, you have been walking with me now for
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Speaker 2: many years. You know me as your God, as El elyon,
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Speaker 2: God most High. And now I will tell you that
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Speaker 2: I am el shall die God Almighty through my majestic strength.
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Speaker 2: It is I alone who has the ability to supply abundantly.
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Speaker 2: When I came to you all those years ago, I
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Speaker 2: told you that I would multiply you greatly. I even
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Speaker 2: came to you and set up a covenant, the everlasting
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Speaker 2: promise of my word. Abram remembered it well.
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Speaker 1: He could still see the terrible darkness between the animal house,
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Speaker 1: and then the smoking fire, putts and torch that crossed
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Speaker 1: between them. As long as he lived, he would never
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Speaker 1: forget such a sight.
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Speaker 2: I come to you now to affirm that promise again
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Speaker 2: and complete the covenant we cut in the ways of
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Speaker 2: your people. Our agreement must be sealed with a covenant mark,
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Speaker 2: and we shall have a ceremony of the exchanging of names.
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Speaker 2: My name and reputation will come to cover your own.
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Speaker 2: I have told you what my name means, and through
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Speaker 2: it you will know that I will supply everything you need.
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Speaker 2: You need not long outside my provision to make my
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Speaker 2: promise come to pass.
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Speaker 1: Abram shifted on his feet. He could not help but
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Speaker 1: think of the tension between Sarah and Hagar. He loved Ishmael,
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Speaker 1: and he was forever grateful that he was born, but
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Speaker 1: how it came to be still troubled him greatly.
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Speaker 2: In our exchanging of names, I would have yours change
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Speaker 2: to reflect the promise I have given you. Your name
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Speaker 2: will now be Abraham.
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Speaker 1: The words vibrated in Abraham's chest. The name felt familiar
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Speaker 1: but held a new weight. Abraham, father of nations. He
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Speaker 1: felt his knees shaking and leaned on his staff, his
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Speaker 1: heart raising and hands trembling. He strained to hear more
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Speaker 1: from El Shadai.
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Speaker 2: I will make you the father of many nations. I
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Speaker 2: will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and
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Speaker 2: even kings come from you. Abraham wondered at the significance
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Speaker 2: of the new name. He was ninety nine years old
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Speaker 2: and had only recently fathered his first child, and the
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Speaker 2: promise of fruitfulness in his life lifetime seemed.
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Speaker 1: To be a stretch. What would his friends and neighbors
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Speaker 1: think of this new name.
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Speaker 2: The covenant I made with you will also be between
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Speaker 2: your future offspring throughout their generations. What's more is that
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Speaker 2: when your offspring possessed this land of Canaan, it will
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Speaker 2: be a permanent possession. As I am your God, I
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Speaker 2: will be their god. As well as you have walked
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Speaker 2: with me, they will walk with me. They will fulfill
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Speaker 2: and live in the reality of this permanent covenant as
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Speaker 2: my chosen people. And because this covenant would be kept
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Speaker 2: throughout generations, I would invoke another part of the covenant
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Speaker 2: to signify this agreement.
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Speaker 7: Thus, see Abraham knew that this here was usually achieved
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Speaker 7: by drawing blood, which would eventually scar and serve as
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Speaker 7: a reminder.
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Speaker 1: Of the covenant.
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Speaker 2: This shall be our mark, and it shall serve as
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Speaker 2: a sign of the covenant between us. Every one of
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Speaker 2: the males in your household, whether they are born into
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Speaker 2: it or adopted family or servant, must be circumcised. You
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Speaker 2: must cut the flesh of your foreskin. From this day forward,
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Speaker 2: throughout your generations, every male among you is to be
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Speaker 2: circumcised at eight days old. Through that ceremony, my covenant
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Speaker 2: would be marked into their flesh as a reminder of
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Speaker 2: this permanent covenant. If any male is not circumcised in
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Speaker 2: the flesh of his foreskin, that man would be cut
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Speaker 2: off from him his people. It will be said of
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Speaker 2: him that he has broken my covenant. Now, as for
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Speaker 2: your wife, Sarah, as I have given you a new name,
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Speaker 2: she will receive a new one as well. She will
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Speaker 2: be known as Sarah. As you will be the father
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Speaker 2: of many nations, she will also be blessed. I will
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Speaker 2: give you a son by her, I will bless her,
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Speaker 2: and she will produce these nations I have spoken of.
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Speaker 2: Mighty kings of people will come from her.
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Speaker 1: Stunned, Abraham lifted his head, barely able to comprehend the
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Speaker 1: enormity of the vision laide before him. He fell face
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Speaker 1: down again, stifling a laugh.
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Speaker 5: How can a ninety year old woman bear a child?
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Speaker 5: I am nearly one hundreds well, and it's just as
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Speaker 5: implausible for me. I don't understand, God Almighty, why can
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Speaker 5: my legacy not be fulfilled through Ishmael. I have already
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Speaker 5: adopted him and made him my heir. Wouldn't this be
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Speaker 5: sufficient to achieve all that you have said will come
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Speaker 5: to pass?
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Speaker 2: Shall my promises be fulfilled by you? Did? I not
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Speaker 2: walk through blood while you slept. Your plans shall not
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Speaker 2: prevail over mine. No, Abraham, your wife Sarah will surely
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Speaker 2: bear you a son because you laughed at the prospect.
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Speaker 2: You shall name the boy Isaac. It is through him
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Speaker 2: that I will confirm my covenant with you and with
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Speaker 2: all your future offspring. When you speak his name, you
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Speaker 2: will remember this moment, and you will remember that what
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Speaker 2: I said would come to be has happened. As for
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Speaker 2: your son Ishmael, I know that you love him. I
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Speaker 2: have already made this promise to his mother Hagar. But
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Speaker 2: I will tell you as well. I will bless him.
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Speaker 2: He will similar way be fruitful and multiply. He will
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Speaker 2: go on to father twelve tribal leaders, and I will
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Speaker 2: make him into a great nation. But it is with
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Speaker 2: your son Ailiazik, with whom I will confirm my governant.
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Speaker 2: You will see your wife Sarah will bear him to
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Speaker 2: you at this time next year.
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Speaker 1: And as suddenly as Abraham's God appeared to Abraham, he
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Speaker 1: was gone. Abraham stood and brushed the dust off his knees.
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Speaker 1: He was still amazed at the news that he was
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Speaker 1: to have another son, one with his wife Sarah. Sarah
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Speaker 1: he supposed that would also take some getting used to.
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Speaker 1: Abraham hurried back toward the tents he had agreed to
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Speaker 1: meet Ishmael, But now he also had to arrange for
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Speaker 1: the circumcisions of all the men under his protection. He
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Speaker 1: knew that this would not only honor his God and
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Speaker 1: show him that he was faithful to obey, but it
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Speaker 1: would also mark them as men who were set apart
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Speaker 1: from all other men. In a way, this ceremony would
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Speaker 1: give all of them a new identity, just as Abram
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Speaker 1: had assumed a new identity as Abraham. Abraham, walking fully
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Speaker 1: in this new identity and name, called all the men
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Speaker 1: of his household together. He called physicians to meet them
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Speaker 1: as well, in anticipation of what he was about to
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Speaker 1: command for all of them.
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Speaker 5: The men, brothers, my family, I have gathered you altogether
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Speaker 5: for a very special purpose. First, I know many of
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Speaker 5: you have been with me from our time in Haran
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Speaker 5: and have followed me faithfully ever since then. You have
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Speaker 5: believed in me, and through that faith you have come
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Speaker 5: to believe the commands of my God. I cannot express
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Speaker 5: my gratitude for the faithfulness of your characters. Thank you
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Speaker 5: for your loyal friendship.
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Speaker 1: Abraham looked out at the men in the crowd before him.
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Speaker 1: Elieza met his gaze with steadiness. He knew Elieza would
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Speaker 1: follow him wherever he would go and do whatever he
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Speaker 1: asked without question. Abraham could not find a more faithful
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Speaker 1: servant anywhere. Then his gaze fell upon his son, Ishmael.
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Speaker 1: The boy grinned up at him. Abraham smiled back. He
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Speaker 1: could do no wrong in the boy's eyes. He looked
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Speaker 1: up at him in admiration. He knew that Ishmael would
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Speaker 1: similarly obey whatever he asked of him.
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Speaker 5: I have heard from our God, El el Yon, God
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Speaker 5: Most High. He gave me a new name to call him,
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Speaker 5: El Shadai, God Almighty. The last time he spoke with me,
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Speaker 5: he cut a covenant with me on all of our behalf.
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Speaker 5: His promises to us will be upheld, and what's more,
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Speaker 5: they will be everlasting. Through this new revelation of his name,
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Speaker 5: he tells us of his mighty ability to supply what
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Speaker 5: we need in abundance.
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Speaker 1: There were murmurs of acknowledgment and understanding throughout the gallant crowd.
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Speaker 5: To complete the covenant, he gave my wife and me
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Speaker 5: new names. We are now Abraham and Sarah. Our old
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Speaker 5: way of living is done. This completion of the Covenant
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Speaker 5: is the start of a new way of living. Now
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Speaker 5: there's a role for you all to play as well.
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Speaker 5: This promise is not just for me and Sarah. It
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Speaker 5: is for our entire people to further complete the covenant.
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Speaker 5: We as a people are to seal this covenant with
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Speaker 5: a mark. Every male in our household today and every
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Speaker 5: day after will become circumcised. Now, I know this is
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Speaker 5: a practice done by other nations, but for us, this
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Speaker 5: will forever mark our separation, purity, and loyalty. We will
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Speaker 5: be forever set apart from all other nations on earth,
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Speaker 5: for we have been chosen by El Shadai.
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Speaker 2: For this purpose.
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Speaker 1: Again, there were rumblings of agreement in the crowd. The
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Speaker 1: men will unite did around their leader, Abraham and their God.
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Speaker 5: Our covenant mark will symbolize the everlasting promise of our God.
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Speaker 5: Any man in my household from this day forward who
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Speaker 5: does not bear this mark will be cast out. You
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Speaker 5: will be considered an outsider. The men of l el Yon,
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Speaker 5: God most High, will be circumcised. I say it again,
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Speaker 5: the men of El Shadai will be circumcised shouts.
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Speaker 1: In response from the men gathered around Abraham.
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Speaker 8: Now, who will step up and show me they are loyal?
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Speaker 8: Who will show me they are willing to be set
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Speaker 8: apart from all other people's, who will be marked by
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Speaker 8: their faithfulness?
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Speaker 1: The men in the crown of you ord in response
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Speaker 1: Abraham being to the this fill fact the beginning of
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Speaker 1: a brand new chapter for his God's chosen people.
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Speaker 6: This moment, the name change from Abraham to Abraham, reverberates
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Speaker 6: through all of time, still holding profound significance for God's
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Speaker 6: chosen people. Today, many people of faith see Abraham as
00:20:20
Speaker 6: a bearded fatherly figure from Sunday school songs and stories.
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Speaker 6: But I hope that this series so far has showed
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Speaker 6: you that he is so much more. For the Jewish people,
00:20:32
Speaker 6: Abraham is not just a figure from the past. Rather,
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Speaker 6: he is Avraham Avenu, as we say in Hebrew, Abraham
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Speaker 6: our father. He embodies the beginning of our identity as
00:20:44
Speaker 6: a distinct people chosen by God. Abraham is a source
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Speaker 6: of hope and resilience, especially in adversity.
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Speaker 1: Think about it.
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Speaker 6: The Jewish people have held onto this promise, this covenant
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Speaker 6: from God to Abraham through centuries of exile and persecution,
00:21:03
Speaker 6: the promise that we are part of something bigger, that
00:21:05
Speaker 6: we are a people called by God with a unique
00:21:08
Speaker 6: mission and identity. Even today, this legacy shapes our understanding
00:21:13
Speaker 6: of ourselves and our place in the world. It reminds
00:21:17
Speaker 6: us that we are descendants of Abraham, the man who
00:21:20
Speaker 6: dared to believe the impossible, the man who stepped into
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Speaker 6: a new identity and embraced a destiny far beyond his
00:21:28
Speaker 6: wildest dreams. This promise fuels our sense of purpose and continuity.
00:21:35
Speaker 6: It connects our past with our present and our future.
00:21:39
Speaker 6: This promise is not just an ancient, historical covenant. No,
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Speaker 6: it's an enduring relationship with God forever, a relationship that
00:21:49
Speaker 6: has sustained us through trials and triumphs. So in Jewish
00:21:54
Speaker 6: people even today look at Abraham, or, as we say
00:21:57
Speaker 6: in Hebrew, Avraham, we see more than a patriarch. We
00:22:02
Speaker 6: see a promise that lives on, a covenant that still
00:22:07
Speaker 6: holds power in identity, that continues to define us and
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Speaker 6: inspire us. And it challenges us all to consider what
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Speaker 6: promises shape our identities, What promises and relationships give us
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Speaker 6: hope and purpose? How do we live out our calling
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Speaker 6: to be a blessing to the world today. Abraham's story
00:22:33
Speaker 6: reminds us of God's faithfulness and the powerful nature of
00:22:38
Speaker 6: his promises, promises that transcend time and continue to shape
00:22:42
Speaker 6: the lives of those who dare to believe. God's promise
00:22:48
Speaker 6: to make Abraham the father of many nations also marks
00:22:52
Speaker 6: a new identity and mission for him and his descendants.
00:22:56
Speaker 6: Before this promise, Abram was just a tiny figure in
00:23:00
Speaker 6: the vast ancient world. But with this promise, everything changed.
00:23:05
Speaker 6: Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah. With this covenant, God
00:23:11
Speaker 6: added a Hebrew letter to each of Abram and Sarah's names.
00:23:17
Speaker 6: That letter is Hey, one of the letters in God's
00:23:21
Speaker 6: holy name. By doing this, the mother and father of
00:23:25
Speaker 6: the Jewish people became the bearers of God's name. But
00:23:30
Speaker 6: not only the Abraham and Sarah bear God's name. Each
00:23:35
Speaker 6: of his chosen people do as well, and because of
00:23:39
Speaker 6: this we must act accordingly in godly ways. Abraham and
00:23:45
Speaker 6: his descendants were called to bless the world and carry
00:23:49
Speaker 6: forward a divine mission of hope, justice, and reconciliation, to
00:23:55
Speaker 6: reflect God's character in a world so often marked by
00:23:59
Speaker 6: violence and despair. This promise in the stars is God's
00:24:05
Speaker 6: declaration of new beginning, a beginning that points forward to
00:24:10
Speaker 6: a greater fulfillment and an identity that carries on still.
00:24:14
Speaker 6: And each of us, as His chosen people, must do
00:24:18
Speaker 6: the same, looking beyond our smallness and stepping out into
00:24:23
Speaker 6: God's vast vision for humanity being a blessing to the world.
00:24:28
Speaker 6: And this story doesn't end with Abraham. It lives on
00:24:32
Speaker 6: in his descendants to speak more on this is my
00:24:36
Speaker 6: good friend, Bishop Paul Lanier.
00:24:38
Speaker 9: Maybe you'll remember back in chapter fifteen when God spoke
00:24:43
Speaker 9: to Abraham so wonderfully, powerfully, prophetically and promised to him.
00:24:49
Speaker 4: I'm going to bless you and prosper you in every
00:24:53
Speaker 4: part of your life will be increased and everyone will
00:24:57
Speaker 4: know you belong to me. And this silver and gold
00:25:02
Speaker 4: in your hands, and this herds and flocks in your fields,
00:25:06
Speaker 4: and then multiply. And Abraham says, why, why God? What
00:25:15
Speaker 4: good is prosperity if I if I have no posterity?
00:25:21
Speaker 4: What good is all this stuff if there's no son
00:25:26
Speaker 4: to share it with?
00:25:29
Speaker 9: Then we moved to this chapter seventeen that we're looking
00:25:32
Speaker 9: at now. Much has changed, at least thirteen years have
00:25:36
Speaker 9: gone by, and now Abraham is the father of a
00:25:41
Speaker 9: thirteen year old boy. But it's not Isaac by Abraham's
00:25:46
Speaker 9: wife Sarah. Now this is Ishmael from the Egyptian servant
00:25:53
Speaker 9: girl Hagar. And when we look at this verse one,
00:25:58
Speaker 9: it doesn't say simply that God's spoke to Abraham. It says,
00:26:02
Speaker 9: and God appeared. Do you see that the manifestations of
00:26:09
Speaker 9: God's encounters with Abraham are deepening in this significance and consequence.
00:26:17
Speaker 9: And God begins to reveal to him. He says, I
00:26:20
Speaker 9: am your God. It's between you and me. And he says,
00:26:25
Speaker 9: it's not simply about you and me. It's about your
00:26:28
Speaker 9: generations and your posterity, and your sons and daughters and
00:26:32
Speaker 9: their sons and daughters. But it's not just about souls, Abraham,
00:26:39
Speaker 9: it's about soil. Those souls are standing upon the land.
00:26:46
Speaker 9: It's yours, but it's not simply yours. But generationally, I'm
00:26:51
Speaker 9: telling you, it is a permanent possession. And I'm asking
00:26:57
Speaker 9: you now, is anything more contentious than the conversation going
00:27:03
Speaker 9: on in the world now about the souls and the
00:27:07
Speaker 9: soil of the Jewish people and the land of Israel.
00:27:12
Speaker 9: You know, there was a man recently who I'm sure
00:27:14
Speaker 9: considers himself a world leader, made the statement someone to
00:27:18
Speaker 9: say that the Jewish people need to remember that they're
00:27:21
Speaker 9: in the land of Israel because of the actions of
00:27:26
Speaker 9: the United Nations. And I'm not kidding you, and I
00:27:31
Speaker 9: just like to sit down with that poor man and say, sir,
00:27:35
Speaker 9: long before your mama met your daddy, God had set
00:27:39
Speaker 9: this in order and set it into motion. The souls
00:27:44
Speaker 9: own the land, the soil. And then we moved to
00:27:49
Speaker 9: this conversation of circumcision. And before God begins to speak
00:27:53
Speaker 9: to his flesh, God addresses his name and circumcises his name.
00:28:00
Speaker 9: If you will as a change, as a sign to
00:28:03
Speaker 9: those who are watching and listening, you have been Abram,
00:28:09
Speaker 9: exalted Father. But it's bigger than that.
00:28:13
Speaker 2: Now.
00:28:14
Speaker 9: Now you will be the father of multitudes, Abraham, not
00:28:20
Speaker 9: just Abram.
00:28:21
Speaker 2: Abraham.
00:28:23
Speaker 4: Do you remember.
00:28:25
Speaker 9: Back then when I told you that through you all
00:28:29
Speaker 9: the nations of the world will be blessed. And those
00:28:32
Speaker 9: who are Christian listening to me, now you know that
00:28:34
Speaker 9: the apostle Paul made the statement that Abraham is the
00:28:37
Speaker 9: father of all who believe. And once God has circumcised
00:28:45
Speaker 9: his name, He addresses his flesh, and God requires the strangest,
00:28:51
Speaker 9: most peculiar mark on Abraham and all the males. God
00:28:58
Speaker 9: says to him, I want you to cut the most
00:29:01
Speaker 9: sensitive part of your Fleshhh. What, Yes, the most sensitive
00:29:07
Speaker 9: part of your body. I want you to cut it
00:29:10
Speaker 9: as a sign that you belong to me and what's
00:29:13
Speaker 9: happening in your life. Well, I'm the author and the
00:29:16
Speaker 9: finisher of it. Now I'm sitting here and I'm wondering, God,
00:29:20
Speaker 9: why don't you just let him cut his hand. Show
00:29:24
Speaker 9: that when he extends his hand in obedience and the
00:29:28
Speaker 9: anointing of God is upon him, whatever he touches turns
00:29:31
Speaker 9: to glory and it's magnificent, and everybody watches and knows
00:29:36
Speaker 9: that the hand of Heaven is upont No, well, why
00:29:41
Speaker 9: don't we cut his foot? Show that everywhere he steps
00:29:46
Speaker 9: in this soil, this land, when people see it, they'll
00:29:50
Speaker 9: know Yes God, No, God said, I want you to
00:29:55
Speaker 9: cut the most sensitive part of your flesh. Why because
00:30:01
Speaker 9: it's from that place on your body that the next
00:30:05
Speaker 9: generation flows. And this is a generational conversation, and it's
00:30:14
Speaker 9: not to happen on the first day or the third,
00:30:17
Speaker 9: or the fifth or the sixth. Now on the eighth day,
00:30:23
Speaker 9: what is the eighth day? All of us know the
00:30:27
Speaker 9: seventh day conversation related to creation and the evening in
00:30:32
Speaker 9: the morning with the first day and the second day.
00:30:34
Speaker 9: We know that. But God is trying to set in
00:30:37
Speaker 9: Abraham's understanding. There's a new paradigm that's being launched, unleashed, initiated.
00:30:44
Speaker 9: In the scriptures, the number eight signifies new beginnings. It's
00:30:49
Speaker 9: when God is about to step out and just do
00:30:52
Speaker 9: something brand new. You recall when God was destroying the
00:30:57
Speaker 9: world with the earth, but it didn't kill everybody, did it.
00:31:03
Speaker 9: Now there was no h There was Noah's wife.
00:31:08
Speaker 2: That's two.
00:31:09
Speaker 9: There were the three sons and their wives. There were eight.
00:31:13
Speaker 9: It's a new beginning, a new civilization is about to
00:31:16
Speaker 9: be launched. When God wanted to anoint someone else to
00:31:21
Speaker 9: be king, and Samuel went looking, it was not any
00:31:24
Speaker 9: of the other seven sons of Jesse. No, it was
00:31:29
Speaker 9: that one boy, the eighth son, David. And when we
00:31:36
Speaker 9: look at the Christian scriptures and Jesus has been raised
00:31:40
Speaker 9: from the dead of that crucifixion that Rome without mercy
00:31:44
Speaker 9: inflicted upon him. The Bible says and the Christian scriptures
00:31:48
Speaker 9: that he appeared to people eight times, eight appearances before
00:31:54
Speaker 9: he ascended back to the bosom.
00:31:56
Speaker 2: Of the Father.
00:31:57
Speaker 9: Now, I want to say to you listening, I don't
00:32:02
Speaker 9: know what paradigm you're living in. It may seem closed.
00:32:06
Speaker 9: You get to one two three, four, five, six seven,
00:32:09
Speaker 9: and you're going to go one two three, four, five
00:32:11
Speaker 9: six seven, and you're back again to one two three.
00:32:15
Speaker 9: But I'm telling you, the God of Glory, who adores you,
00:32:19
Speaker 9: is setting before you an Eighth Day possibility, and he
00:32:23
Speaker 9: wants to mark us in some way. For Christians, we
00:32:28
Speaker 9: know that the Apostle Paul said, water baptism is the
00:32:33
Speaker 9: circumcision of the spirit. It's not discounting what needs to
00:32:37
Speaker 9: be done or should be done or shouldn't be done
00:32:39
Speaker 9: about the flesh circumcision. No, he's saying, I'm speaking to
00:32:43
Speaker 9: the spirit realm now, and I'm telling you that there
00:32:47
Speaker 9: is an eighth Day conversation waiting for you, and God
00:32:53
Speaker 9: wills to pull back, to cut away whatever it is
00:32:57
Speaker 9: that's stalling you, postpone his greatness in your life, and
00:33:02
Speaker 9: I declare it is so beginning.
00:33:06
Speaker 6: No, So, what's in a name? Abram means exalted Father,
00:33:14
Speaker 6: a respectable title, but Abraham means Father of many, a
00:33:21
Speaker 6: name bursting with promise, potential, and a far reaching future.
00:33:26
Speaker 6: It says if God is saying, you are no longer
00:33:29
Speaker 6: confined by your past or your present circumstances. Rather, you
00:33:33
Speaker 6: are stepping into a new destiny. This new name signifies
00:33:37
Speaker 6: the expanse of nature of God's covenant. It changed not
00:33:42
Speaker 6: just Abraham to Abraham, but it was a promise that
00:33:46
Speaker 6: changed his descendants forever. It's not just a promise to
00:33:51
Speaker 6: an individual. Rather, it's a promise to the world, a
00:33:55
Speaker 6: promise that through Abraham's descendants, all nations will be blessed.
00:34:00
Speaker 6: It's God declaring that his plans are always bigger than
00:34:04
Speaker 6: our dreams. And this story prompts us to ask some
00:34:07
Speaker 6: big questions. What names or identities do we have that
00:34:13
Speaker 6: may limit us? Do we see ourselves as small, insignificant,
00:34:18
Speaker 6: or defined by our past failures? Or can we embrace
00:34:23
Speaker 6: anew us? Can we embrace the identity that God offers
00:34:28
Speaker 6: in renewal, one filled with purpose and potential. If God
00:34:34
Speaker 6: can change Abraham to Abraham, what does that say about
00:34:38
Speaker 6: what He can do through us? How might our lives
00:34:43
Speaker 6: change if we truly believe that we are part of
00:34:46
Speaker 6: God's expansive covenant called to be a blessing to the world,
00:34:51
Speaker 6: because in the end, the story of Abraham is not
00:34:54
Speaker 6: just his story, it's ours too. And as you look
00:34:59
Speaker 6: to spread blos blessings to the world, even as God
00:35:02
Speaker 6: blesses you, Here's a final blessing that I would like
00:35:07
Speaker 6: to share. Ivare hashem vi schmerechra Yeah heir hashempanave elehra
00:35:14
Speaker 6: vencher ye sa hashempanave lehra Vi.
00:35:19
Speaker 1: Salon.
00:35:20
Speaker 6: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the
00:35:22
Speaker 6: Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be
00:35:25
Speaker 6: gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face towards
00:35:29
Speaker 6: you and give you peace.
00:35:31
Speaker 1: Amen. You can listen to The Chosen People with yle
00:35:35
Speaker 1: Exstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey
00:35:39
Speaker 1: dot Com app today. This Prey dog Com production is
00:35:43
Speaker 1: only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents.
00:35:47
Speaker 1: Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are
00:35:52
Speaker 1: the executive producers of The Chosen People with yaile Ekstein,
00:35:55
Speaker 1: edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul CALTAFIANU. Characters are
00:36:01
Speaker 1: voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan,
00:36:05
Speaker 1: Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, and the opening prayer is voiced
00:36:09
Speaker 1: by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by
00:36:13
Speaker 1: Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier,
00:36:18
Speaker 1: Robin van Ettin, cayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team
00:36:22
Speaker 1: at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear
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