Indistinguishable

“And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.”

This passage deals with the issue of separation. These days the entire concept is not politically correct. We are not allowed to discriminate against people who look different but we are allowed to discriminate against people who think differently from currently accepted thinking. However, Abraham didn’t want his son to marry a Canaanite woman so he sent his head servant to his homeland to find a wife from that region. Why would Abraham want to discriminate against the Canaanites? The clue is found in Gen 15: 16 where we read that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. God was dealing with the Amorites in grace by giving them time to see Abraham and his holy life and be drawn to God. However, these people had a religion based on fertility and they were debased. So much so that they would sacrifice their own children to their gods so that they could get what they wanted. Abraham knew that this kind of debasement would contaminate his son and soon he would be indistinguishable from these debased people. Christians should take note of this and understand the importance of separation. If we want to bring glory to God then we need to live according to His high standards. If we are indistinguishable from the people around us then we have nothing to offer them and they won’t be drawn to Christ as Saviour. Without Christ as their Saviour they will spend eternity burning in hell.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The Lord had blessed Abraham in all things

“And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.”

As we went through Abraham’s life we saw that he spent many years waiting for Isaac’s birth. He didn’t ever own any part of the Promised Land except for his wife’s grave site. He had to rescue his nephew Lot from enemy armies and was unable to save Sodom from destruction through his prayers, although God did save Lot (this was probably his true motive for trying to save Sodom). However, when Abraham was old we find that the Lord had blessed him all things. The great lesson is not how you start or where you are at the middle of life, it is about where you are at the end (see 1 Tim 6: 6, 7  “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we carry nothing out.”) The person who is content is the richest person in the world because he or she doesn’t want any more.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Made sure unto Abraham

“And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.”

Abraham had a long term view of life rather than a short term view. He looked forward to a time when he would enjoy everlasting life and was willing to make some sacrifices in the present. There are many people today who say things like “no pain, no gain”. They are willing to make sacrifices now with the hope that these sacrifices will pay off in the future, even though there are no guarantees. However, with everlasting life there are guarantees, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price with His own sinless blood. How willing are we to enjoy a secure future with guarantees? As far as Abraham was concerned, God not only blessed him with an everlasting blessing, he also saw some real enjoyment in his earthly life as well. Are we willing just to trust God and accept His security or do we want to fight hard for something that will not exist beyond the grave?

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The only piece of the Land

“And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead”

This passage gives us some ancient colour. If the story had been written many years later, as some suggest, then the small details, like this would have been left out. It is likely that Ephron the Hittite actually charged Abraham a lot more than he should have for this piece of land. By offering to give it to Abraham for nothing he place Abraham under quite an obligation and, hence, was able to ask whatever price he liked. This was the only part of the Promised Land that Abraham ever owned, even though the Lord promised the Land to his descendants forever. However, we know from Heb 11: 9, 10 (By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.) that Abraham didn’t feel ripped off by this because he believed God and he has been rewarded for this.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

A burying place

“And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

The hardest experience most people will have is the death of a loved one. This is the time when you just wish that the world would stop for a while so that you can take time to grieve. However, the world just doesn’t stop. If you look out the window you will see people going about their lives as if nothing had ever happened. They don’t even know that you are suffering, let alone care that you are suffering. Abraham showed us how to get on with life. He stood up from before his dead and looked for a place to bury his dead. This doesn’t mean that Abraham didn’t love Sarah or that he didn’t miss her, he did but he also knew that the world wouldn’t stop and he would have to get up every morning for the rest of his life without her. Too often people are troubled by issues from their past and they allow these issues to cloud their appreciation of today. Abraham had the right idea, he buried his dead out of his sight. It is good for us to leave the past behind and keep moving forward looking to Lord for guidance and comfort (see Phil 3: 13).

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sarah died

“And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.”

Sarah died. Even though Sarah was a great woman of faith she came to the end of her life and had to move on. In many ways, death is a sign of God’s grace for if a sinner couldn’t die they would have to live in desperate agony without any hope of respite. Sarah trust God for many year and eventually she gave birth to a son when it was impossible, except through God’s direct intervention. Death is one inescapable fact of life. However, we can approach death in two possible ways, like Sarah we can trust God and face death in faith (see Hebrews 11: 11-13) or we can refuse God’s grace and faith death in our own strength. Some people ridicule others who believe in God but there is an important question that we have to face. If we believe in God and are wrong then what is the worst we can expect? We may get some ridicule from some people but we don’t have to spend a great deal of time with those people anyway. We can learn contentment (see Phil 4: 11), by God’s grace, and the contented person is the richest person in the world. So have we lost anything in the long term. However if the person who doesn’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is wrong then they have to burn in the eternal torments of hell, knowing all the time that they had a chance to escape from the wrath to come but didn’t take it (Matt 3: 7). There is a saying today, “No Regrets!” However, there will be no greater regret than that one.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Abraham’s family

“And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.”

In Gen 15 the we rad about the time that the Lord first contacted Abraham. At that time he was living in an essentially pagan world. However it is possible that Abraham met Shem and was introduced to the Lord. Whether this is true or not, Abraham heard the Lord’s call and set out to obey the Lord even though he didn’t know where he was going. We have just seen how Abraham trusted the Lord enough to offer his on on the altar. Although, the angel of the Lord prevented him from actually shedding his son’ blood. When the promise first came the Lord promised Abraham “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen 12: 2, 3) There was a time when it seemed like there would be no descendants and then the promised descendant was offered up on the altar so it seemed like the promises were in jeopardy again. However, the Lord was in control and nothing was in jeopardy. The interesting thing about the promise was that the Lord would bless all the families of the earth in Abraham. This did in fact happen when the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest of all of Abraham’s descendants, died as an everlasting sacrifice for sin. This passage comes all the way back to the Abraham’s first personal encounter with the Lord. The Lord told him that all the families of the earth would be blessed. Now the Lord allows us to see what happened to Abraham’s family. Every person on earth has a family of some description, even though the may never know them. This means that every person on earth has access to all the blessing of belonging to God’s family as well.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Back to Beersheba

“And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.”

The Lord made Abraham a promise before he had done anything and Abraham believed that promise. God did not reward Abraham because of the things that he did, God rewarded Abraham because God is good and God is able to keep His promises. The New Testament tells us that the issue was an issue of faith rather than an issue of Abraham’s ability to impress God or do anything that made God happy (see Rom 4: 1-8, for example). However, the Lord confirmed His promises to Abraham again. This confirmation has to do with Abraham’s hope and not his faith. Hope has to do with feelings while faith has to do with facts. He came down from the mountain and had many emotional issues to deal with so God gave him some comfort and encouragement. After this, Abraham went back to his life again. It is good for us to remember that most of our life will be just day to day walking. Even though we may have a highlight or a victory the vast majority of our life is just living and trusting God through the hard times as well as the good times.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

In the mount of the Lord

“And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”

Abraham did everything that the Lord required of him, even though he went ahead with a heavy heart. Isaac cooperated in the entire process as well. The Lord made promises to Abraham and Abraham believed those promises but, surely, now all these things were going to end. The only way that God could keep His promises at this stage was through and unheard of miracle. At this stage the Lord acted by sending an angel to bring this whole process to an end. The angel called out from heaven and told him not to kill his son. This was indeed a miracle but probably not the one that Abraham was expecting. Abraham looked up and found the substitute that he needed to perform this sacrifice. They had set up the altar and laid the wood and God did provide the animal for the sacrifice. Abraham called that place Jehovahjireh, which means the Lord sees. It is enough for the Lord to see because He acts for good whenever He sees and nothing escapes His gaze. This also reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ became the substitute for every sinner by dying in our place for our sins.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Living sacrifices

“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”

The first thing that we notice about this episode is that Isaac was old enough to carry the wood for the sacrifice. This would mean that he was, at least, in his teens and that Abraham was more than 110 years old. Isaac was not a child and was certainly stronger than his father. Isaac had a young enquiring mind and wanted to know where the sacrificial animal was because everything for the sacrifice was available. At this stage, Abraham’s heart was probably breaking as he had waited 25 years for Isaac’s birth but now he had to kill this son. I expect that he believed God would bring Isaac back to life after the sacrifice. I also wonder what he said to Sarah, perhaps he was waiting till everything was over. Abraham built the altar out of stones and we can assume that Isaac helped with this as well. Isaac carried the wood so he probably put it out on top of the stones as well. Then we read that Abraham bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. How did Abraham explain this to his only son? Of course, he would not have been able to go through this process without Isaac’s full cooperation. What a level of trust between father and son and how much faith did both of them have in the Lord God? Abraham had the knife and he had probably sharpened it well so that he could kill his son with one quick blow. He had absolute faith in God and was willing to do even this for the Lord. God doesn’t want anyone to kill their own child, this is made abundantly clear in the Law when He outlawed murder (Ex 20: 13). In 2 Kings 3: 27 we read that Jehoram, king of Israel, offered his son as a sacrifice and we find that there was great indignation against Israel. God wants people who are living sacrifices like both Abraham and Isaac were.

He saw the place

“Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.  And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.”

Abraham was about to do the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. However, God had called him to offer his son as a sacrifice and he had spent the majority of his life doing what God had told him to do so he wasn’t ready to change his ways at this stage. His heart must have sunk when he saw the place where he was to offer his son but he continued along the pathway of obedience anyway. He didn’t want anyone else to witness the great agony of his soul so he told everyone else to stay away while he went to the terrible place with his son. In spite of the emotional agony, he took the necessary equipment for the sacrifice, this meant that he was serious about his obedience. This reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ who headed to Jerusalem and then went with the soldiers towards Calvary. He could, at any stage, have stopped the whole process but He was saving others so He didn’t attempt to save Himself. Thank God that our perfect Saviour was willing to be the Saviour, otherwise we would still be heading for hell.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

He saddled his ass

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.”

“God tempted Abraham to give him the opportunity to increase his appreciation of God’s love and goodness. However, the story would have ended right there unless Abraham had actually done something. There are many people today who attend mission meetings of various kinds when a representative visits their church and they get up at the end to indicate their willingness for mission. The next time a representative comes the same people stand up again and keep standing up every time there is an invitation. (Matt 21: 28-31) Responding to an invitation like that is not the same as engaging with God in the journey of faith. Abraham left his home and headed out when God called him. Abraham believed God when God promised to give him a son. At this stage, God told Abraham to offer up that same son as a sacrifice and Abraham saddled his ass and went to the place that God had told him to go. God wants people who are willing to be living sacrifices in His service but there are times when it seems as though we are going to have to give up our lives and everything that we love in order to serve Him. Abraham didn’t question, he did what God wanted him to do. These days we have the full Bible and our first act of love towards God should be to read the Bible and pray so that we will know God’s will for us. Then, we just have to get up and go even when we don’t know where we are going. If God made us, and gave His Only Begotten Son to die for us then surely He will only do good things for us. Not only does God do good things, He also does nice things as well.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

God tempted him

“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

This is the first time that we read about someone being tempted in the Bible. We must be careful to understand what tempting is all about before we get too concerned. In this case God tempted Abraham. We know that God does things for good and not for bad (compare Deut 8: 2, 16 “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no ... Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; and Rom 8: 28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”) God tempted Abraham so that he would learn to trust God more fully and to understand more about the great love that God had for him at that time. God is the same today, everything that happens to us is to bring us to the stage where we understand that He really does love us and that He is always working for our good in the end.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

He called on the Name of the Lord

“And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.”

Abraham had found water in the desert and was able to plant a grove of trees for food and shelter. After that he called on the name of the Lord. We first come across “calling”, in this sense, in the Bible when God called out to Adam after he and Eve had sinned in the garden. God had made Adam and Eve in His own image so that they could have a relationship. In the evenings God would call to Adam and Eve and they would meet Him in the garden, have fellowship and discuss the events of the day. This time of discussion was important as they considered the events of the day and Adam and Eve became more familiar with God and His good ways in their lives. At this stage Abraham had found water in the desert and he knew that God had provided this in spite of opposition from the people of the land. Abraham needed to take time to contact God, renew and enrich his relationship with God and discover more of what God wanted in his life.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Living water

“And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.”

The southern part of the Israel, leading into the Sinai desert, is called the Negev. The Negev gets drier and drier until it eventually gives way to desert. The most important thing in this part of the Land is water. The area called Beersheba is famous for its wells. This is the most important part of the Negev for he who controls the water controls the area. Abraham, as a wise shepherd dug a well so that he would be able to keep his stock secure. However, Abimelech’s men came and took the well by force of arms. Abraham made a binding contract with Abimelech over water. Abimelech promised that his men would not take Abraham’s wells. This reminds us of the fact that life can be hard and seem to be very dry at times but the Lord Jesus Christ promised that He would supply living water if we asked Him (compare John 4: 10 “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”) Living water is always available, by faith, to those who are dry and troubled in their lives. If we face conditions that seem hard to bear then we can ask the Lord Jesus Christ for living water and He will give it to us. He had made a contract to do this and the contract is sealed with blood as all ancient contracts were.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

God is with thee in all that thou doest

“And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear.”

Abraham obeyed the Lord during the course of his life and it was apparent to those who were around him. Abimelech and his general both knew that God was with Abraham and they were afraid to be put in a position where they might have to fight a war with Abraham so they made a treaty with Abraham to avoid the possibility of war. Notice that Abimelech approached Abraham because Abraham was still trusting the Lord for his security. The Lord Jesus Christ told His followers, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 15: 15). When Joshua assumed the leadership of Israel after the death of Moses the Lord told him, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Josh 1: 8, 9) If we want to show our love for the Lord Jesus Christ we will fill our minds and our hearts with thoughts about Him and then the rest of the world will see that we belong to Him.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

And God was with the lad

“And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.”

Hagar could look forward to  a life of servitude as Sarah’s maid but she was forced to leave her place of security. We can tell that she was working to establish herself in a strong position through her son because Sarah wanted to force her away so that Ishmael wouldn’t compete with her son. Change is always hard for us to face but we need to accept change in our lives and use them as opportunities to grow in our service for the Lord. In this section we see that Hagar prospered after she was forced to leave the security of Abraham’s home. She reached the place where she understood that she could do nothing without God and cast herself entirely upon the Lord and then He acted in her life. She became a free woman who was supported by her free son and they built themselves a new life. This can also be true of every person who is willing to leave their security and trust the Lord entirely.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

A secure future

“And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.”

No one wants to see their child die so Hagar left the child in the shade and then she went away so that she couldn’t see his agony. Hagar was in a difficult position. She was a slave and had no personal rights. Her owner, Sarah, had forced her to have Abraham’s child because Sarah had been unable to have a child. This child was her only hope for the future and she had to make sure that the child survived and grew to adulthood. After all, Sarah was an old woman and she would soon die, surely, Ishmael would look after his biological mother when she was old. However, Sarah now had her own child and she had to fight much harder to ensure the survival of her child to secure her own future. Now, the child, her hope for the future, was close to death and she had nothing to live for; no wonder she was weeping. At this stage, God called out to her from heaven, she was so distraught that she couldn’t see the well that was close by. Not only that, God promised her a secure future because God told her that her son would become the father of a great nation. God is faithful and He rewards those who trust in Him. No one can actually impress God, after all, He created the heavens and the earth but if we cry out to Him and accept that He is the Lord then He will give us all the benefits of His goodness even though we don’t deserve them. On top of this, God has also ensured that all the legal issues of sin have been dealt with by giving His Son as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of our sin. We have everlasting life and we haven’t done anything at all, just believed in the Only Begotten Son.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

She cast the child under one of the shrubs

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.”

Everyone who wants to obey God will find a wilderness experience at some time in their life. Even the Lord Jesus Christ spent forty days in the wilderness before He began His ministry. During that time He was tempted for forty days. However, it is interesting to note that Beersheba is was named because it was the place of seven wells. Later in this chapter we find that abraham argued with Abimelech’s and Phichol because Abimelech’s servants had violently taken a well away from Abraham. Even though Hagar was in the desert and she could see no hope, she was in a place known for water. Thousands of year later Beersheba is still a well known place because of the water. Even though we may be in a wilderness place there is always a well nearby and God is letting us reach the stage where we cry out to him and then He will show us the well. In this case Hagar reached the end of her resources and put the child in some shade so she wouldn’t have to watch him die. But God intervened and child didn’t die.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Love, Grace and Mercy

“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.”

In Matthew 7: 6 the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” There are some things that are precious to the Christian or, in this case, to the Lord’s chosen people. These precious things must always be treated as sacred and never treated with contempt. In this case the son born after both Abraham and Sarah suffered a crisis in hope was mocking the special son, specifically promised by God in order to keep the promise of the deliverer. Sarah was quite right in insisting that the promised son be treated with due respect for there was the possibility that the other son would usurp the position that rightly belonged to Isaac. She dealt speedily to ensure that the foreign son didn’t do damage to the promised son. However, the Lord remained faithful to Abraham and to His promise, the promise He made on the day that sin entered into the world. There are many times when God is the only One who can balance all the promises and still bring good without any compromise. Praise God for His great wisdom that is always tempered with love, grace and mercy.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The miraculous and the mundane

“And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.”

The vast majority of our lives consist of ordinary daily occurrences. It is important for us to be faithful in those times even though nothing spectacular is happening. If we are faithful in those times then the Lord will trust us to be faithful in the big things (see Matt 25: 23 “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”) Abraham Sarah remained faithful to the Lord over many years even though it was just in the day to day tedium of life (see 1 Peter 3: 6). However the Lord intervened in their lives with a spectacular miracle. However after the miracle was over they had to get on with the ordinary day to day events as they had before. Sarah had great joy that she was able to feed her baby but before long she had to get on with her life, even though it would never be the same again, and wean the child. We can all expect to have spectacular mountain top experiences in our lives but we must always be ready to keep going with the mundane and remain faithful in those times as well.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Living by faith

“For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.”

If a person wants to show that they love the Lord then they will keep His commandments (John 14: 15). This was true of Abraham; after many years of waiting until they had lost all hope and believed that it was impossible for the Lord to keep this promise, the Lord kept His promise and they had a son. Abraham had debated with the Lord about this promise and was willing to accept something less than the Lord had promised but the Lord didn’t give him second best. Sarah, his true wife, finally had her son when both she and her husband were very old. Abraham still remember that God was his friend and he loved God especially now that the impossible son had been born. Abraham showed his love for God by doing what God had commanded him and circumcising his son. There is no such thing as salvation by works and for those who have been saved by faith there is no such thing as living by works. We are saved by faith and we live by faith but, if we love God, then we do what He had told us to do.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

As He had said

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.”

When God speaks it is as good as done. However, God knows that it is important for us to get to know more about Him as we mature in our faith. If a person wants to get to know another person better it is important that they spend time together and God delays answering our prayers so that we will spend more time praying and we will, increasingly get to understand all that there is to know about Him from our human stand point. When God wanted us to know about Himself He sent His only begotten Son to this earth so that people on this earth could make contact with Him and know more about Him (see John 1: 18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”) God, in His infinite grace chose to follow this same strategy with Sarah. Even though Sarah struggled with a crisis in hope over  many years she didn’t lose her faith (see Heb 11: 11 “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.”) The same circumstances apply to the Lord’s promise of His coming. 2 Peter 3 : 3-7 reminds us “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Faith tells us that He will certainly come back while enlightened unbelief tells us that He isn’t coming back or that He has already come back. Imagine how ashamed those people will be when He does come back, especially the ones who have written books to say that it won’t happen.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

God healed Abimelech

“And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.”

Abimelech felt that he hadn’t done anything wrong because Abraham told him that Sarah wasn’t his wife and he took her to be another one of his wives. However, in the beginning, God had established the principle that one man should be joined to one woman and no more. This is because when a man is joined to a woman they are connected in their souls (1 Cor 6: 18). If someone tries to break this connection they will damage themselves. This damage includes damaging our ability to have meaningful relationships, including a meaningful relationship with God. If we damage that relationship then we become self indulgent instead of self denying in our relationships. This is the reason that Abimelech suffered so much. He already had wives but he lusted after another wife and so the Lord brought judgment on him. After all, Sarah was the women who God was using to preserve the godly line that would, one day, produce the promised deliverer. Notice too, that Abimelech’s restoration from the curse engendered by his own selfishness was entirely dependent on Abraham. Abraham had to pray to God before Abimelech was delivered from the curse that he had chosen for himself (compare Matt 5: 44). This is an important lesson for every Christian and is supported by the Lord’s word when He told us to pray for our enemies and those who hurt us.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The less is blessed of the better

“Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake. And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.””

Sometimes people talk about putting the fear of God into someone. This is not a bad thing for “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). This is an example someone having the fear of the Lord. This fear can be a good thing or a bad thing. All of the great heroes of the Bible had a deep and healthy respect for the greatness and majesty of the Lord. It was this fear that led them to understand that there is no such thing as a great man or a great woman of God, there are only men or women of the great God. The Lord said “my glory will I not give to another” (Isaiah 42: 8) and this is the basic condition of any relationship a person can have with the Lord. It is quite popular today to suggest that one person can bless another but “the less is blessed of the better” (Heb 7: 6). No one should arrogate to themselves the honour of being greater than another for we are all sinners before God.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

God came to Abimelech

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”

Even though Abraham had developed some bad habits, he was counted as a righteous man because he was a man of faith. Under these circumstances the Lord protected him through the trials and tribulations of life. On the other hand, Abimelech was caught in a situation that was not of his own making. In this case he was caught out because Abraham manufactured a lie and Abimelech believed him. In this case, God was gracious to Abimelech as well and gave him an opportunity to understand that the Lord is the true, and only, God of creation. God always works for good but we have the chance to choose to enjoy that good or not to enjoy that good. Abraham believed God and he enjoyed all the good things that God had to offer him.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

A bad habit

“And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.”

Lot had just been through the most terrible experience in his life. In fact, the experience destroyed Lot and his family. However, life continued as though nothing had happened for the rest of the world. Even Abraham, who had worked hard to save him from destruction, had to keep his life going as well. This is one of the hard consequences of sin in the world. Everyone is primarily focussed on themselves. Even when other people suffer extreme circumstances and excruciating pain, emotional, physical or spiritual, the rest of the world are focussed on their own lives and don’t have the time to share our pain with us. Abraham had developed a bad habit and he continued with that even though Lot was experiencing severe problems. In Gen 12: 13 we saw that Abram asked Sarai to pretend she was his sister because he was afraid. He did the same thing again even though his previous experience should have taught. In the end, however, Abraham was remembered as a great hero of faith because he believed in the Lord (Gen 15: 6). The same is true today. If we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we have everlasting life even though we may have some bad habits. However, bad habits have bad consequences and have a ripple effect on our community causing pain to ourselves and those we love.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Part of a community

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.”

Lot was now so isolated that his daughters despaired of any future at all. They were concerned that they would never have any children and they were afraid to have any contact with other people. It is easy for people to feel desperate when they suffer from a severe crisis in hope. These girls were suffering this severe crisis in hope and they acted out of this desperation. However, there were serious consequences to the choices that they made. Even though Lot was innocent in this event, he still had to suffer the consequences of the choices that other people had made and they affected him. However, the descendants of these two children became the sworn enemies of Israel as the years went by. It is important for each one of us to remember that we will suffer consequences when we make choices. We may say that we haven’t chosen those consequences but the truth is that we have chosen them even though we didn’t think about them at the time. The other sad issue is that we may make choices but others may suffer the consequences, even those whom we love. A good example of this is Caleb: he wanted to go into the Land but had to wait for forty years in the Wilderness because the others didn’t want to go in. We are all part of a community and our choices can affect the whole of our community.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

He feared to dwell

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.”

The angels told Lot to escape to the mountains so that he wouldn’t be destroyed along with Sodom. He didn’t really want to go because his heart was still in Sodom, never the less, he left the city and hoped to be able to go to another small city nearby. Lot was used to living in the city and he didn’t want to return to the nomadic ways that he gave up when he moved in to Sodom. Lot went to the small city but he was afraid to live there. The people in Zoar knew that Lot was from Sodom, after all, he was an important man from Sodom. No doubt, some of the people from Zoar had seen Lot when they went down to that city to do business because Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. All the people in Zoar would have known that Lot had escaped Sodom, in fact, he was the only person, along with his daughters, who had escaped from that city. It would not have taken long before the people in Zoar would have wondered why Lot was the only one who had escaped. They would also remember that Lot’s uncle, Abraham, had previously saved the cities of the Plain from their enemies. The questions would, surely, have been similar to those that were asked of the Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in John 11: 37 “And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” or Matthew 27: 42, 43 “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” If Lot’s uncle was able to defeat the four kings from Mesopotamia why didn’t his uncle do something to save the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? Before long Lot was afraid for his life and he lived in a cave in the mountains. Lot ended up in the mountains, where he didn’t want to go, but he didn’t have the options that were available to him at first. We don’t even have evidence to suggest that Lot made contact with Abraham again.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Asking and receiving

“And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.”

This was a massive event in the area at that time. The well watered plains of Sodom was now the Dead Sea area and the cities had disappeared. Abraham had debated with God about saving Sodom from this destruction but God understood his real motive and saved Lot from the destruction. There are many people today who tell us that God will give us whatever we ask for but that is not true. In James 4: 1-3, we read, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” We must ask in keeping with God’s will and not just ask for anything that we feel is good for me just now. In this case God understood Abraham’s real motive in asking for the salvation of Sodom and God gave Abraham his true desire. So often God will ask us to wait when we pray because the major emphasis with prayer is the actual process of communication. The more we pray the more our relationship with the True God of Creation develops. In the end that is the best thing that can happen to us.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

A pillar of salt

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Lot’s wife didn’t just glance back at Sodom, her heart was still there and see stood and looked back with longing because she still wanted to be in that city. While she stood and gazed longingly at the place she loved she was caught up in the fire and brimstone raining down on Sodom and turned into a pillar of salt. Too often we long to be where our heart is rather than following the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ encouraged us to to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily and follow Him (Luke 9: 23). However, our desire, as fallen sinners, is to indulge ourselves as often as we can. If we long to indulge ourselves we can become a spiritual pillar of salt and be useless when it comes to working for eternity. We have a choice to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and do it His way or to follow our own desires and seek to work for our salvation.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Without remedy

“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

Proverbs 29: 1 reminds us, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” This is an illustration taken from the use of bullocks in a yoke. Every bullock is a herbivore that can eat grass without bending its neck. However is bullock has only two uses: one is for a beast of burden and the other is for eating. If a bullock is to be used as a beast of burden it has to be able to relax its neck and take the weight of a yoke on its shoulders. This means that the bullock can put its great strength to the yoke and pull heavy loads. However if a bullock hardens its neck the yoke won’t go down onto its shoulders and it is useless as a beast of burden. Under these circumstances the bullock will just use feed and give no return so the bullock is only useful as meat. If a person is not willing to accept the yoke that Christ wants to place on our shoulders then we are useless to Him for service (see Matt 11: 28-30). The people in Sodom were stubborn and refused God’s grace even though He gave them opportunities to repent and submit to His yoke. After a while they had become so debased that they were debasing the world around them as well. It was at this stage that God chose to act and destroy them, that is, to cut them off without remedy. Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is available to accept His yoke but if they don’t do that then they are useless in His service. If a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ they have everlasting life but they are not always useful in the Lord’s service particularly if they seek to promote salvation by works. Lot was in this condition when he lived in Sodom but God saved him from destruction. However the people of Sodom didn’t believe and they had no remedy at all.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Look not behind thee

“And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me  escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.”

When the Lord calls us t0 move we should be ready to move straight away. In this case they had to go or die. This kind of urgency is sometimes demanded by God but we should be ready just in case we are in urgent times. The Lord told Lot and his family not to look back. In this case the backward look represents that fact that they wanted to be back in Sodom rather than free from the wrath of God. This is similar to the parable that the Lord Jesus Christ told in Matthew 22: 1-15. In that case a person came to the wedding dressed in the wrong garment. Garments have to do with our holy life as we can see in Rev 19: 8. However the wrong garment represents salvation by works while the fine linen garment represents the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that we come to God in His name alone. Lot and his family were warned to long for the things that were soon to be destroyed. Any backward look would represent a longing for those things. The same is true for any Christian. Every sinner wants to be accepted in their won right but every Christian is accepted in the beloved (Eph 1: 6).

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The Lord being merciful

Would you like to support this ministry? Please click this link: http://jamesmcnaught.blogspot.com/ and then click “Follow” and encourage all your friends to follow as well. You could also visit http://jamesmcnaught.com and consider buying Gulf or Reclaiming the Bible from the “Enlightened”.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”

The Lord is slow to anger and plenteous in mercy (Psalm 103: 8). He will not judge anyone quickly but always gives us time to repent and confess our sin. This was the case with Lot and his family as well. They didn’t realise the urgency of the situation. God was determined to judge Sodom and they had to leave so that they would not perish along with them. However, the people of Sodom had had their chances but they had refused to accept the grace that God offered them. In John 14: 6 the Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the way the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is only One way to escape God’s wrath and that is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Any other way may seem to be right but will lead to death (see Prov 14: 12).