“The Soul’s Journey part 3" by Rev. Christine 3/5/23
This week we are continuing with the series “The Soul’s Journey” inspired from Caroline Myss’ book Sacred Contracts. Today we’re looking at the bible prophet Abraham and his sacred contract. First, I have the following to share with you that came through the internet 2 decades ago, it’s a parody titled, The True Origin of the Internet.
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader of the name Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had been called “Amazon Dot Com.” And she said unto Abraham, her husband, “Why do you travel far from town to town with your goods when you can trade without ever leaving your tent?” And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, “How, dear?”
And Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you which has the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).” Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever moving from his tent. But the success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabe did secret himself inside Abraham’s drum and was accused of insider trading. And the young man did take to Dot Com’s trading as do the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short.
And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed, did insist on making drums that would work only with Brother Gates’ drumheads and drumsticks.
And Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.” And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known “eBay” he said, “We need a name that reflects what we are doing.” And Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.”
“YAHOO,” said Abraham. And that is how it all began.
Now for today’s topic, we’ll begin with a brief overview of a Sacred Contract. Before we are born, we make agreements to what we want to experience to further develop our soul in this lifetime, and we call this our sacred contract. In addition, Divine Being or God, makes sacred contracts and covenants with people. There are 5 basic stages to a sacred contract.
1. The first being the initial contact; A moment of connection occurs between you and the Divine.
2. The second is Heeding the Call; Having been awakened, you apply new wisdom to your life at hand.
3. The third is Renaming; You assume a new name or role with spiritual significance.
4. The fourth are Assignments; Throughout life you encounter extraordinary opportunities and challenges that require continual transitions and adjustments.
5. The fifth and last is Surrender; You are given ongoing tests that ask the question “Which world will you choose to follow, that of the Divine or that of the earth?”
Now for the Biblical Abraham and his Sacred Contract. The story of Abraham is one of the most renowned of all the sacred scriptures, recounting the beginning of the Hebrew people, a nation of Israel and the Jewish people.
The founding of Israel emerged out of a vision in which Yahweh, another name for God, communicated to an ordinary mortal named Abram (who later became Abraham), that he was to found a nation and father a people. Yahweh gave a specific command that was to represent the bond between Abraham, his descendants, and God forevermore; the Covenant of Circumcision. This new Covenant - an agreement for God to do something for Abram and his offspring if they adhered to its terms and indicated their loyalty to Yahweh.
The Metaphysical Bible Dictionary says that circumcision is symbolical of the cutting off of mortal tendencies, indicative of purification and cleanliness under divine law. Circumcision is fulfilled in its spiritual meaning by the freeing of the individual from the law of sin and death. Then in Rom. 2:29, "Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter.”
The Biblical narrative follows the gradual revelation of Abraham’s Contract and notes his response at each step of the way. Abraham’s relationship to Yahweh is central to our understanding of the nature of our Sacred Contracts. Here is the opening of the story of Abraham as it occurs in Genesis:
Yahweh said to Abram, Leave your country, your family, and your father’s house, for the land I will show you, I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing. I will bless those who bless you; I will curse those who slight you. All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had amassed and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set off for the land of Canaan and arrived there. Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem’s holy place, the Oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanite were in the land, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, It is to your descendants that I will give this land. Abram built there an alter for Yahweh.
From there they moved on to the mountainous district east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent. There he built an alter to Yahweh and invoked the name of Yahweh. Then Abram journeyed still towards the south.
This was Abram’s first stage – contact was made. Abram was also given a contract, a covenant with God.
Metaphysically interpreted, Abram was asked to leave his normal mind set of his daily duties and concerns, and go to a new land, to higher ground, or higher consciousness and dwell there, and in this higher consciousness will be a new spiritual awareness that is so grand that he will bless others as well. His revelation will be passed on to his descendants. He was 75 years of age, meaning spiritually prepared for a transition in consciousness.
In the second stage of Heeding the Call, Abram took his wife Sarai (later to be Sarah), who metaphysically is his soul spirit, and Lot meaning his lower or earthly nature.
Now there was a severe famine in the land. So, Abram took everyone and all he had to Egypt. Abram new his wife’s beauty would be noticed, and as her husband they would kill him, but as his sister he would be spared. Being afraid for his life he let the Egyptians believe she was his sister, and she was taken into the Pharaoh’s house, and Abram was treated very good by the Pharaoh.
Metaphysically a famine represents a lack of faith. When we have no faith, we are in a famine state of consciousness. Egypt represents a materialistic consciousness; our faith is in the material world verses spirit. Pharaoh means our ruling thoughts, and in this case is fear. Abram was willing to trade his soul for his way of life and all he had materially gained.
Then God appeared in the Pharaoh’s dream to tell him that Abram was actually a prophet and husband to Sarai. He was told to give Sarai back to Abram and to do them no harm. Abram moved on with his family to another land retaining all he had gathered.
Abram and his family then moved on to Bethel (which means house of God) where Abram renewed his dedication to God. It is clear that Abram struggled with his own character weaknesses. Yet it is crucial to recognize that these were characteristics of his ego, not his soul.
Underneath Abram’s personality was a soul that had been awakened by divine intervention, a soul with visionary strength and the potential for spiritual stamina. Abram was an ordinary man with the same flaws as other human beings, yet he carried within him a most extraordinary contract. Symbolically, this is true of each of us.
God made another promise to Abram, that he would have an heir, a son of his own. After time had passed, Abram grew impatient for a child, and so his wife gave him her handmaid, Hagar, to father a child. Hager means “stranger or wanderer.” And, they had a son named Ishmael which means “God hears.”
Then Abram at age 99, God made another covenant with him, promising that he shall become the father of a multitude of nations. You shall no longer be called Abram, which meant “exalted father.” Your name shall be Abraham, which means “father of a multitude.”
God said to Abraham, I shall establish my covenant between myself and you and your descendants after you, generation after generation, a covenant in perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land you are living in, the whole land of Canaan...
You on your part shall maintain my covenant, yourself and your descendants after you; all your males must be circumcised.” “And as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name. And I will bless her, and also I will give you a son by her; yea, I will bless him and make nations of him; and the kings of the people shall come from him.” Sarah hearing this at 90, she laughed.
The name Sarai means contentious, quarrelsome, and Sarah means princess, noble woman. The mystical marriage complete. No more was Abraham at odds with his soul’s purpose. The third stage of Renaming completed.
Now Abraham being 100 and Sarah 90 years of age had a son together. The son’s name was Isaac, which means Joy or Laughter. Isaac was his most beloved son. Because of Hagar’s jealousy of Isaac and Sarah, Abraham sent them away into the desert. Out of Ishmael’s lineage came the Prophet Muhammad.
Abraham was given his assignments. Which included challenges that were both physical and emotional. He even took it upon himself to bargain with God to spare the lives of the righteous living in Sodom and Gomorrah. All was to refine his soul so he could reach his highest potential.
Next is stage 5 that of Surrender. The greater test is our faith - we are asked to which we will choose to follow, that of the Divine or of the earth. Abraham was now asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham obeying to the letter of God’s request, took his son and journeyed to the mountain.
When ready to sacrifice his beloved son, Abraham was told to stop because he had not withheld from God his only son. Then Abraham saw in a thicket a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering as a replacement for his son. Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. Gen. 22: 6-14.
Abraham had listened to his inner intuitive voice that led him to see beyond the obvious. The ram as an offering represents the initiating of the Age of Aries. Abraham’s faith was made strong throughout these tests.
We all come into this life to unfold our contract. Our faith, strength and courage will never stop being tested. It is through these challenges that our faith becomes strong and we spiritually mature. As we spiritually develop new contracts are provided to continue our spiritual unfoldment. We are asked again and again to refine our self by releasing the things that mean so much to us. Yet we will discover that we have not given up anything but instead have been given so much more in return.
From Abraham’s lineage came the 12 tribes of Israel, and the three religious' faiths of Judaism, Muslim, and Christianity.
Next week we shall learn about the sacred contracts of Mosses and Buddha.