Speak The Word Only

Leviticus 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Leviticus 1:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. Leviticus 1:3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. Leviticus 1:4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. Leviticus 1:5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Leviticus 1:6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. Leviticus 1:7 And the sons...

  “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” — Matthew 26:28 Matthew 26:28 is one of the strongest covenant statements spoken by Jesus before His crucifixion. To understand its depth, we need to hear it against the background of Passover, Sinai, sacrifice, covenant blood, forgiveness, and the prophetic promise of a renewed covenant . A Geʽez/Ethiopian Christian reading naturally places this saying within that whole biblical movement rather than treating the cup merely as an isolated symbol. 1. “For this is My blood” Jesus begins with: “This is my blood…” This is astonishing covenant language. Throughout the Torah, blood represents the life of the creature: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood…” — Leviticus 17:11 Blood therefore was never treated casually in Israel's worship. God says that He gave blood: “upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls.” So when Jesus speaks of “my blood,” He places Himself directly wit...

 The ancient Ethiopic Old Testament preserves Genesis in Geʽez , one of the earliest surviving Christian biblical traditions. A digitized form of the Ethiopic Octateuch preserves Genesis 15:10, and its sense agrees closely with the Hebrew text.  A transliteration of the Geʽez text is given approximately as: “Wenśaʾi kemahu kwello zente, wemtromu emne maʾikelomu, we-le-ʿiwāfse ʾitmṭron.”   In English, the sense is: “And he took all these for Him, and divided them through the middle; but the birds he did not divide.” The traditional Amharic rendering makes the arrangement even clearer: Abram took all the animals, divided them into two portions, and placed the divided portions opposite one another; but he did not divide the birds.   Now the depth of the verse becomes important. 1. “And he took unto Him all these” Genesis 15:10 begins with Abram responding to God's command in verse 9. God had said: “Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old,...

  “And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.” — Leviticus 1:17 Leviticus 1:17 concludes the instructions concerning the bird burnt offering —a turtledove or young pigeon (Leviticus 1:14–17). Although this was the offering available to someone of limited means, God describes it with the same covenant language used for the more costly burnt offerings: “a sweet savour unto the LORD.”  The Geʽez concept of the burnt offering In the Ethiopic/Geʽez biblical tradition, the burnt offering carries the idea of an offering that is completely presented and consumed before God . This corresponds closely to the Hebrew עֹלָה — ʿōlāh , “burnt offering,” from a root associated with going up or ascending . The imagery is significant: The sacrifice is placed upon the altar → the fire consumes it...

Genesis 18 takes place after God established circumcision as the sign of His covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17. Abraham is ninety-nine years old , and Sarah is approaching ninety. God has already declared that Sarah will bear Isaac within the appointed time. The chapter opens with: “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre.” — Genesis 18:1 KJV Abraham is sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day when he sees three men standing nearby. He immediately runs to meet them and offers hospitality—water for their feet, rest beneath the tree, and a meal prepared from fine meal, a calf, butter, and milk. During the visit, the promise concerning Sarah is repeated: “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.” — Genesis 18:10 KJV Sarah overhears the conversation from the tent and laughs within herself because both she and Abraham are old. The LORD responds with one of the great questions of Scriptur...

Genesis 17 takes place approximately thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael. Abram is now ninety-nine years old, and the LORD appears to him declaring: “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” — Genesis 17:1 KJV The title Almighty God — El Shaddai emphasizes God's sufficiency and power. Abram and Sarai had attempted to address their childlessness through Hagar in Genesis 16, but Genesis 17 brings the focus back to what God Himself had promised to accomplish . God confirms His covenant with Abram and changes his name from Abram to Abraham , declaring that he will become “a father of many nations.” God promises that kings will come from him and that the covenant will continue through his descendants. God also establishes circumcision as the sign of the covenant . Every male in Abraham's household was to be circumcised, including those born in his house and those acquired from outside his family. Then God changes Sarai's name to Sarah and declares th...

Genesis 16 takes place after God had promised Abram that an heir would come from his own body and that his descendants would become as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:4–5). Yet Sarai remained barren , and the promised son had not yet been born. After Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years , Sarai proposed that Abram have a child through her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar . Abram agreed, and Hagar conceived. Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, tension developed between the two women. Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar, and Hagar fled into the wilderness. There, beside a fountain of water on the way to Shur , the angel of the LORD found Hagar. He asked: “Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go?” — Genesis 16:8 KJV Hagar was instructed to return and was given a promise concerning her descendants. She was told that she would bear a son and call his name Ishmael , because: “the LORD hath heard thy affliction.” — Genesis 16:11 KJV Hagar responded to this divine enco...