Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and announced, "I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I'm always with you, and be blameless. I'll establish my covenant between me and you, and I'll greatly increase your numbers." Then Abram fell to the ground as God continued speaking to him. read more.
"Look, I've made a covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. Your name is no longer to be Abram. Instead your name will be Abraham, since I'll make you the father of many nations. I'm going to cause you to have many descendants, and I'll bring nations from you. Kings will come from you. I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants' God after you. I'll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled all the land of Canaan as an eternal possession. I will be their God." God continued to speak to Abraham, "You and your descendants who are born in the future are to keep my covenant that is, you and your descendants, generation after generation. Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised. You are all to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this is to be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring. The servant born in your house or the one purchased with money is to be circumcised. My covenant is to remain in your flesh as an eternal covenant. Any uncircumcised male who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised on the eighth day after his birth is to be eliminated from his people because he has broken my covenant." God told Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer, because her name is to be Sarah. I will bless her. Furthermore, I will give you a son from her. I will bless her, so that nations, kings, and people will come from her." Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and told himself, "Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?" So Abraham responded to God, "If only Ishmael would live in constant awareness that you're always with him!" But God replied, "No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son, and you are to name him Isaac. I'll confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his descendants. And as for Ishmael, I've heard you. I'll bless him, and he'll have many descendants. I will multiply him greatly, he'll father twelve tribal leaders, and I'll cause his descendants to become a great nation. Now as to Isaac, I'll confirm my covenant with him, to whom Sarah will give birth as your son at this time next year." With that, God finished talking to Abraham, and ascended, leaving him.

You will remain true to Jacob, and merciful to Abraham, as you promised our ancestors long ago. Verse ConceptsGuaranteePledgesPerforming The TruthGod Swearing BlessingsGod Speaking Of OldGod Showed His Lovingkindnessdevotion

the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. Verse ConceptsAbraham, New Testament ReferencesGod Swearing Blessings

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the Law, but through the righteousness produced by faith. Verse ConceptsImputed RighteousnessGod's Promise To AbrahamRighteous By FaithPromisesTrust In Relationships

For I tell you that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God's truth in order to confirm the promises given to our ancestors, Verse ConceptsCertaintyPatriarchsGod's Promise To AbrahamSalvation For Israelvindication

For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. He said, "I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants."

In the same way, Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." You see, then, that those who have faith are Abraham's real descendants. Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be blessed." read more.
Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed. Certainly all who depend on the actions of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the Book of the Law!" Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the Law, because "The righteous will live by faith." But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, "The person who keeps the commandments will have life in them." The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!" This happened in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the gentiles through the Messiah Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Brothers, let me use an example from everyday life. Once an agreement has been ratified, no one can cancel it or add conditions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn't say "descendants," referring to many, but "your descendant," referring to one person, who is the Messiah. This is what I mean: The Law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified. For if the inheritance comes about through the Law, it no longer comes about through the promise. But it was through a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham.


For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. Now the slave woman's son was conceived through human means, while the free woman's son was conceived through divine promise. This is being said as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. The one woman, Hagar, is from Mount Sinai, and her children are born into slavery. read more.
Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery along with her children. But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our spiritual mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, you childless woman, who cannot give birth to any children! Break into song and shout, you who feel no pains of childbirth! For the children of the deserted woman are more numerous than the children of the woman who has a husband." So you, brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman." So then, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

she told Abraham, "Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave's son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!" Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son, but God told Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac. read more.
Nevertheless, I will make the slave girl's son into a nation, since he, too, is your offspring." So early the next morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a leather bottle of water, gave them to Hagar, and placed them on her shoulder. He then sent her away, along with the child. She went off and roamed in the Beer-sheba wilderness.

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. Now the slave woman's son was conceived through human means, while the free woman's son was conceived through divine promise. This is being said as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. The one woman, Hagar, is from Mount Sinai, and her children are born into slavery. read more.
Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery along with her children. But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our spiritual mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, you childless woman, who cannot give birth to any children! Break into song and shout, you who feel no pains of childbirth! For the children of the deserted woman are more numerous than the children of the woman who has a husband." So you, brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman."

Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the very time that God had told him. Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac the very one whom Sarah bore for him!

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. Now the slave woman's son was conceived through human means, while the free woman's son was conceived through divine promise. This is being said as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. The one woman, Hagar, is from Mount Sinai, and her children are born into slavery. read more.
Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery along with her children. But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our spiritual mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, you childless woman, who cannot give birth to any children! Break into song and shout, you who feel no pains of childbirth! For the children of the deserted woman are more numerous than the children of the woman who has a husband." So you, brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman."

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. Now the slave woman's son was conceived through human means, while the free woman's son was conceived through divine promise. This is being said as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. The one woman, Hagar, is from Mount Sinai, and her children are born into slavery. read more.
Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery along with her children. But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our spiritual mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, you childless woman, who cannot give birth to any children! Break into song and shout, you who feel no pains of childbirth! For the children of the deserted woman are more numerous than the children of the woman who has a husband." So you, brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman." So then, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.