Master Plan
*Read Genesis 17
I know that it’s hard to read stories that you already know in the Bible, but I want to remind you that the Bible is a living book and it renovates every day. It doesn’t matter how many times you have read it or heard about it, go back again and ask God for Him to show you the secrets behind it, and I can assure you that He will do it.
That right there was me last week. I had to prepare a word for the Youth about people that God changed their names and the first person that came to mind was Abram and Sarai. I went and read the story again and I didn’t found anything new about it. To be honest I was frustrated because I knew that there had to be more than what I just read.
God told me to pay more attention to the names, more specifically the letters of their names.
I am about to share with you hours of study, research, and most importantly the Word of God.
Abram to Abraham
In Genesis 17 we can see that God changes Abram's name to Abraham, and you can be like -yeah Milena, I know that.
Be patient, I’ll tell you all about it.
God adds two letters to Abram’s name, the “h” and another “a”.
The letter H is the letter hei in Hebrew and its numerical value is 5.
The Talmud informs us that the hei represents teshuvah—repentance. To appreciate how the form of the letter hei embodies the concept of teshuvah, compare the hei, ה, to the ches, ח, the eighth letter of the alef-beis ( Hebrew Alphabet). Both forms look very much alike.
Each is made up of three lines.
The one conspicuous difference is the small aperture atop the hei’s left limb ( ה ). What does this have to do with teshuvah? God declares to Cain after he kills his brother, Abel, “Sin (chatas) lies at your door.” The opening (or door) on the bottom of both the hei and the ches represents sin. With the ches ( ח ), there can be no escape from the “door of sin”. But the hei has another opening, another possible course of action. The little opening at the top of the hei allows for the possibility of teshuvah or redemption. That only one way of repentance is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the one that by sacrificing himself, He created that “escape” from our sin, we are no longer slaves from it because Jesus made us free from it. This means that when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, adding that “h” it was a promise that through Abraham’s dependents will come the one that will bring redemption to earth. Pretty crazy, right? I know, my mind was blown away too when I discover this, but that is not the only letter God added to Abraham.
The Letter “A” is the letter Aleph (also spelled Alef) in Hebrew and its numerical value is 1.
The design of alef is actually made up of three different letters: the letter yud above; a yud below; and a diagonal vav, or line suspended in between. The yud above represents God, Who is above and beyond our comprehension. The yud below represents a Yid or Yehudim— people who dwell here on earth.
In a Messianic way, Alef represents Jesus, who was 100% God (the yud above) and 100% man
( the yud below) and the sacrifices ( the diagonal vav) He made on our behalf.
Again God is showing us that He thought about our redemption when He was changing Abraham’s name, promising us that The One that is to come, will sacrifice Himself, to connect (vav) humankind with God again.
Not only that but alef is also a picture of
there-in-one, the gematria of the word Alef is 111 meaning The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit is One. This means that from now on Abraham had to “only” worship God as his only God. For those that don’t know Abraham came from a culture where worshiping many gods was normal, so the idea of only worshiping one god was new to him, that’s why God adds the letter alef. It was His way of saying - Abraham, for now on I will be your Only God.
In Conclusion, just with Abraham’s name, we can see that God was promising Abraham and us that through his decedents our redemption would come and that we only have to worship one God, the true God.
Now you should be thinking, -ok Milena, God added two letters to Abram’s name, the “h” and another “a” but what about Sarai.
Didn't I tell you to be patient? *insert the girl slapping her face emoji*
Sarai to Sarah
For those that don’t know God changes Sarai’s name to Sarah. We already know what “h” means so we can say that Sarah was included in the promise that God made to Abraham. That means that through, Isaac’s decedents our redemption will come. Remember that Abraham had another son with another woman, so this was God reassuring Abraham and Sarah that they would have their own son too.
The letter “ i “ is actually the later Y in Hebrew, it's spelled as Yod, and its numerical number is 10.
The fact its numerical number is 10 is very important and we will see why…
Moses sent twelve spies to scout the land of Canaan (the land of Israel). Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, delivered a positive report: “If God desires it... we shall surely ascend and conquer it.” The other ten (Yod) reported negatively: “We cannot go up against those people... It is a land that devours its inhabitants.” God responded, “How much longer must I remain amongst this evil congregation (eidah)?” referring obviously to these ten men.
From here we learn that a congregation (an eidah) refers to a group of ten. The spies were the heads of the twelve Tribes. They were holy people. When Moses sent them into the land of Israel, they saw a beautiful land, rich soil, a wonderful climate, and large, succulent fruits. Upon their return, they said to Moses, “It is a land that devours its inhabitants”—meaning—“It’s not that we couldn’t conquer Canaan’s inhabitants physically, but if we reside in this materialistic environment, there is no way we would be able to maintain our current spiritual level. We will be swallowed up by materialism.”
The number 10 here represents the world and by God taking out the “ i “ (Yod) from Sarah’s name and putting the “ h “which means redemption means that The One that was to come will defeat the world.
It was so beautiful to read this and realize that God thought about me and you when He renamed Abraham and Sarah, leaving proof that His master plan of redemption was already in progress.
God has so many secrets and treasures in the Bible for us to discover. It's on us to be willing to do the research, to pray, to fast, to ask, to seek and I assure you that God will reveal it to you.
Please let me know in the comments, what spoke to you the most, and don't forget to share it with others because if it blessed you... it can also bless those around you.
