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.)