Day 22: Covenant
Genesis 22: 1-18
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy[a] will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”;[b] as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”[c]And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his[d] enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
"Holy of Holies" by Catherine Mullins https://youtu.be/M_0THHZvBZ0
Happy Twenty Second Day of Thanks Everyone!
Earlier in the year, God began to show me the importance of covenant and what He requires of His people for a sacrifice. He brought me back to Genesis 22 and I realized that there were some necessities for a sacrifice on the altar. The necessities-- building an altar, the wood, the fire, and the sacrifice-- yield a perfect covenant sacrifice. God will not accept a "strange fire" or a "strange sacrifice." A strange fire, my friend, will get you immediately and automatically killed.
In order to have a covenant, there must be an altar. I always laugh at how most people forget that even in marriage, a man and a woman, walk to a "pretty" altar to make a covenant (a commitment/agreement) with each other. Although a marriage altar is decorated and pretty, it is still an altar, thus it still fulfills the purpose of an altar--dying.
An altar requires the wood (your flesh) to be aligned/arranged on the altar. "Flesh" means anything that opposes God's plan and agenda for your life. It includes sin and behaviors/patterns that are not conducive to you producing the fruits of the Spirit in your life. It includes pride, vanity, and selfishness. One must get his/her flesh in order and align it to the will of God. A sacrifice is an absolute at an altar. Most often the sacrifice requires all of you; it is something you love and hold very dear. It is that thing that often becomes idols in your life. These idols include children, marriage, career, money, sickness, etc. God will ask you to sacrifice something you would never dream of giving up because you are at the altar of sacrifice. If you desire, the miracles, signs, wonders to follow you and the blessing that will possess the gates of the enemy that Genesis 22:18 mentions, you can sacrifice NOTHING LESS than EVERYTHING.
The fire, which is high praise/worship that invites and evokes the presence of the God who answers by fire--is absolutely crucial to burn up the sacrifice. The presence of God is a necessity. If God doesn't inhabit it, whatever that "it" is, that thing will never be or produce a pure and acceptable sacrifice.
With that explained, God is reminding me this morning that completely healed Lilah is the blessing that will possess the gates of the enemy. She is the miracle, sign, and wonder that He has prepared for me and the world. In order to get that Genesis 22:18 promise (the miracle of Delilah's healing and Delilah's ministry), the altars of sacrifice made over the 17 years of this journey were required. When I laid down her life and gave Lilah back to God in my womb, when I laid down my career to be her mom, when I took up the mantle of ministry so that Lilah could receive the double portion of my mantle and become my Elisha, when I laid down relationships that I wanted but knew would not be conducive to God's plan, every time I obeyed even when it did not benefit me, every time I sowed seeds that I didn't have, every bruise and beating taken during deliverance sessions to heal and deliver Lilah, every warfare/hindrance/obstacle/retaliation encountered, as I stand in the intercessory gap for others and the nations, this is what yielded a pure and acceptable sacrifice unto the Lord. These and more have solidified my covenant with the Lord. These were my EVERYTHING and now they all belong to God.
My covenant with the Lord has yielded the release. As I write this, on my knees, with a heart yielded unto the Lord, I thank God and receive the blessing and miracles without delay.
Love ya,
Have a Great Day of Thanks!
P.S. Here is what my heart yielded thinking of my covenant with the Lord.
Covenant
No matter how pretty altars are
Their premise is
that you die.
You die to (your) ego.
You die to self.
You die to ambition.
You die to being right.
You die to old habits.
You die to your desires,
needs and wants.
You die.
Perfect altars align our
flesh and will
to the plans and purpose of God.
They will never accept
Strange fire.
The price is nothing less than
Everything.
© 2022 Melissa Barber
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