Our Scriptures Of The Week Is:

Romans 8:35, 38-39 KJVS
 
[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
[38] For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
[39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This chapter has indicated that those who are in Christ (Romans 3:23–26) can look forward to a future of sharing in God's glory (Romans 8:18). At the same time, we are not there yet. For now, we suffer along with the rest of sin-ravaged creation. We groan in longing for our home with the Father. We patiently wait for the hope to be fulfilled (Romans 8:19–23). 

Paul urged his readers to understand, however, that though suffering continues, God is still there for us. He has been there for us since before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and He has proven His love for us by sacrificing His own Son to make it possible to adopt us as His children (John 3:16–18).

Paul now writes that we must never interpret the darkness of earthly life as evidence of God's lack of love for us. Nothing we do can keep Christ from loving us, and nothing that happens to us can mean that Christ no longer loves us. Paul builds a list of some of the worst things that can happen in this life, including trials, hardship, persecution for our faith in Him, hunger, lack of clothing or shelter, physical threats, or death by violence. 

None of this can separate us from Christ's love. None of this means Christ does not love us. 
Just the opposite is true. He loves us enough to bring us through these things (John 16:33). Paul would have known this better than almost anyone. He himself experienced most, if not all, of those hardships (2 Corinthians 11:23–29) and remained convinced of Christ's love for him.

Paul doesn't want his readers to feel an ounce of insecurity about God's love for them in Christ. He has built the case for why God is for us as Christians. He has already created a list of the worst things that can happen in this life to make the point that none of them demonstrate a loss of Christ's love from us (Romans 8:31–37). 

Those things may happen, but as he wrote in the previous verse, they cannot conquer us in any way that matters. Those who are saved by faith in Christ (Romans 3:23–26; John 3:16–18) can continually endure, in the power of His Spirit. Now Paul begins a new list. 

This covers virtually everything anyone might think of to challenge God's love for His elect (Romans 8:29–30). Paul begins with death, which for the believer in Christ can only bring us into God's glory more quickly (2 Corinthians 5:8). He continues to include life, angels, and rulers. This last concept is from the Greek word archai, usually used for a political leader or magistrate, and often applied to certain kinds of demons. 

In other words, absolutely nothing, whether natural on this earth, or supernatural from heaven or hell, could ever cause God to stop loving us. Paul continues his list with the present and the future. Nothing that could happen now or tomorrow or a thousand years from now could change God's commitment to love us in Christ. 

Next he lists "powers," referring either to supernatural powers like Satan and his demons or earthly governments like Rome. As it turned out, Paul himself was eventually killed, so far as we know, by the "powers" of the Roman government. They did not conquer him, though. Nor did they separate him from God's love for him, in Christ.

Hardships might test us (Hebrews 12:3–11), and persecution may fall on us (John 16:33). We will sometimes fail to obey (1 John 1:9–10). But Paul's explanation thus far has included everything from our experiences, to powerful forces, and even the natural and supernatural worlds. He has listed the present and future. He has listed powers, meaning perhaps hostile governments.

Now, he lists height and depth, meaning anything that might come down from above or up from below. Finally, he throws in an all-inclusive mention of anything else in all creation. Paul is being an absolutist about this. Nothing will ever be able to separate those of us who are in Christ from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Those who are saved, through faith in Christ, are saved eternally and forever (John 10:28–29). Period. We are loved by God always. No matter what. Forever.

Our topic today is:

GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-1 Discussion

This portion of study continues with the coming of the word of the Lord to Abram in a vision. 
Previously, Abram has questioned God about not yet having a son, yet continued to believe God's renewed promise to give him an uncountable number of descendants. Prior verses have shown that God's promise is that of a literal, natural, biological son (Genesis 15:4). 

The Hebrew terms used also make it clear that the faith expressed in this encounter is not new—this is a continuation of the faith Abram has already placed in God (Genesis 15:6). Now the Lord returns to His other great promise to Abram, to give Abram—and his descendants—the land of Canaan as their own possession. As the Lord puts it, He brought Abram out of his old life, his former home, for this very purpose (Genesis 12:1–3). 

Abram would like reassurance about this seemingly impossible promise, as well. Now Abram asks for something tangible: "How can I know I will possess it?"

Notice, as when he asked about having children (Genesis 15:2), Abram begins his question with great respect, addressing God as "O Lord God" or "Sovereign Lord."  Abram's questions do not represent a lack of faith, accusation, or bitterness. This passage makes it clear that Abram has already put his faith in God (Genesis 15:6), and continues to do so. 

This is a request for God to reveal even more of Himself to Abram—Abram is asking for reassurance. That's exactly what God will provide in the following verses. The symbolism of the ritual shown in these next verses is powerful, and includes prophetic hints at the future of Abram's nation. Along with this symbolism is a demonstration of how certain God's promise to Abram really is.

Abram is admitting that he cannot see a path from where he is now, to the promise God has made for him. In response to the question, God directs Abram through the steps of a very specific ritual, formalizing that covenant promise.

The first step, in this verse, is a list of animals Abram was to bring before the Lord: a heifer, goat, and ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and young pigeon. The processes which follow emphasized the seriousness of this promise, on the part of God. It also includes a surprising prophesy about the future of Abram's large family.

The Lord told Abram to bring five specific animals before Him. Abram did so and now proceeds to cut the heifer, goat, and ram (all three years old) in half and to lay each half opposite the other. He did not cut the turtledove or pigeon in half. The symbolic meaning of this bloody-but-purposeful covenant ritual will be clarified in the following verses. 

In part, this meaning involves a unity of those making the agreement. According to some interpreters, this ritual was also used as a way of demonstrating sincerity; by implying that those passing between the pieces were willing to be destroyed, as the animals were, if they broke their part of the agreement. 

The use of the animals also provides Abram with a symbolic picture of Israel's future struggles under the oppressive rule of Egypt. Some scholars believe the symbolism of this ritual was meant to highlight the promise made, as if saying "may I be so destroyed if I break my part of this covenant."  Others see it as an expression of unity: passing "inside" the sacrificial animals.

However, something dreadful happens that threatened to derail this covenant ritual between God and Abram. Each of the five animals chosen for the ritual were "clean" animals that would be appropriate, especially under the Law, to use as a sacrifice before God. But before the ritual is ended, a group of unclean birds of prey descend upon the remains of the animals. 

Abram is forced to drive them away. This seems to be an omen of the coming 400-year affliction of Abram's descendants described by the Lord's prophecy in the following verses. Abram, the man who will soon be renamed Abraham, is in the midst of a covenant ritual between himself and the Lord. At this point in the story, the sun is going down. 

Previously, God had instructed Abram to look at the stars (Genesis 15:5). That moment either took place within Abram's vision or on the previous night. On this night, at dusk, Abram seems supernaturally overpowered by a deep sleep and a great and dreadful darkness. In the following verses, the Lord will speak to Abram in a dream or vision as he sleeps or after Abram is awakened. 

The upcoming words will prophesy the slavery of Abram's descendants in Egypt, their eventual exodus, and their conquest of the sinful nations of Canaan.