The reading of the prophecy about God’s help to the faithful of Israel, a parallel to the reading from the book of Genesis about the Covenant with Abraham.
The prophecy is also about the First Coming of Jesus Christ, when the Lord revealed truth and grace so that there was no room for sin and unbelief, and about the Kingdom of God, when everything will finally come true.
You will seek, and you will not find
– a prophecy about the state
of being established in good – like the angels who remained faithful to
God and were so established by grace in good that they can no longer
sin. Likewise, people will be so established in goodness in the Kingdom
of God that they will not be able to sin, even though they will be free.
Their will will become a will only for good
, their desires will be
only good desires, etc.
About the fact that God is the First, about His grace, there are good
works on the links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/uk/Diya_blahodati.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/uk/BozhaBlahodat.html
More about freedom can be found at the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/DialogueOnWordsChristFear.html
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/
It can be said that this is the state of true love – a person does not lose his / her freedom, he / she exercises it in the best possible way, but the person does not need any alternatives.
Readings from chapter 16 (as well as from 14) are omitted altogether. They deal with the subject of polygamy in the Old Testament and the importance of procreation — and in New Testament times the Lord taught people how to deal with these matters, so these readings are omitted. However, this does not mean that they are not worthy of due attention, but I will not dwell on them.
Reading about God’s Testament with Abram (Abraham) and his descendants. Only the beginning is read, but the entire chapter is devoted to the question.
Giving a new name – in the East also means attesting to a certain authority – here God over Abram (Abraham), just as God over Sarah – and also certain good relations.
It must be said that Ishmael, although he did not stand out in any significant way, but by virtue of his birth from Abraham, he was blessed by the Lord and also became a participant in the Covenant with God. This emphasizes the importance of God’s blessing for people, not only for them, to whom it is given personally, but also for those who are involved in it in one way or another, who also participate in it.
The power of God’s blessing shows that it is so weighty, significant and great in the highest degree that it seems to overflow in one person and pour out through him / her to others – here until the end of the age and in eternity. In fact, in this way, in the person of Abram (Abraham), God makes a Covenant with all mankind for all time and eternity. Human agreements (covenants) have limited application and distribution, but God’s is much different and better.
Genesis XVII, 7 – the word ‘olam’ is used, which means a time duration, extent or remoteness, which is in fact almost eternal, that is, an indication of the duration of human history after Abraham.
It is important that God’s Testament extends to the times after the
life of Abraham, that is, it remains in force even for Abraham, who is
dead in the body. This once again emphasizes the words of Jesus Christ
that with God there are no dead, with Him all are alive
, said in the
context of mentioning the patriarchs, in particular Abraham.
However, God’s Testament and blessing take into account the actions
and freedom of people. People may not participate in it, but it leads
them to destruction. What includes the concept of participate in
Testament
is a separate issue, similar and related to the so-called
borders and boundaries of the Church
, and I will not dwell on it now,
it is a separate topic.
The Greek and Hebrew texts differ markedly, but are generally similar.
Through Solomon, the Lord teaches wisdom, prudence, the ability to speak, self-control, righteousness, the fear of God and care for the needy (especially widows). Warns against the opposite – madness, imprudence, slurred speech and intemperance, wickedness, forgetfulness of God, and no love towards one’s neighbours.
Good fame comes after acquiring wisdom and modesty, humility, righteousness. Moreover, this is not glory from people, but real glory from God (given by Him).
It also says that everything that happens happens either by God’s will (if it is good) or by God’s permission (if it is not actually good in itself).
This topic is discussed in the work on freedom mentioned above.
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!