An eternal view

Genesis 25: 24-28: “And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

Jacob was born trying to take his brother’s place. Even though the boys were twins the firstborn had rights while the second born had none. These brothers struggled before they were born and they fought as they grew older. Jacob was jealous of Esau and the rights that he had; he tried every trick that he could devise to take his brother’s place in the bigger scheme of things. However, in Hebrews 11: 20, 21 (“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”) Jacob is commended for his faith while Esau is not. In Hebrews 11: 16  we read “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city”. This reminds us that Jacob understood the importance of eternal matter while Esau was only interested in immediate matters. It is the people who realise the importance of the eternal and trust in God who have faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ gives us everlasting life and nothing else can save us. Not even the privileges of birth.

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

Genesis 25: 22, 23:And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

Whenever there is a personality clash in Christian work we can be sure that it is part of the great spiritual battle that goes on behind the scenes. Satan is determined to destroy everything that gives glory to the Lord so that he can take that glory for himself. Rebekah had to wait for her child to be born even though she trusted the Lord and went with a strange man to a strange place to marry someone she had not met. She trusted the Lord and did what He asked her to do. However, after the waiting she was now pregnant and ready to bear the child of promise. There was still one last struggle as the twins fought with each other while they were still in her womb. These children had not yet been born and they hadn’t done anything that could be called sin. They were not sufficiently developed to make a conscious decision about sinning. The Lord made the promise that the younger son would be the leader while the younger would be the servant. This actually happened when king David conquered the Edomites and they served Israel. Later the Idumeans (Edomites) were forcibly integrated into the Jewish nation. (Herod was an Idumean who took great pride in being the King of the Jews). This reminds that God does not reward us according to our sin but He does reward us according to His grace (Psalm 103: 10 “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”) That is still true today. Everyone is a sinner but everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour has everlasting life.

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

A relationship

Genesis 25: 19-21“And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”

We live in a day of remote controls and microwave ovens. We expect everything to happen quickly. Fast food is called fast food because it is designed to be eaten fast. Fast food restaurants have a twenty minute parking limit because they expect that you will order your food then be served and eat it in less than twenty minutes. This is exactly the opposite of developing relationships. Relationships take time and are meant to last a lifetime if they are worthwhile. This is especially true of our relationship with God. This is a relationship that requires time. When God delays an answer to our prayers it is because He is graciously giving us time to develop our relationship with Him by praying more and more. Isaac saw that Abraham had a lifelong relationship with God and now God was inviting Isaac to have a lifelong relationship with Him. Isaac, wisely took the opportunity and spent time in prayer. We know that this relationship did last a lifetime. We can learn the same lesson and spend as much time as we can in prayer then we will have a lifetime relationship with God. Every time we pray, giving thanks and praise we are practising for heaven because that is what we will be doing there.

This section also gives another interesting insight into the book of Genesis. Abraham is, without doubt, the most important character in the book, apart from God, but there is no “these are the generations of Abraham” in the book. This is because Abraham was an active participant and it was left to his sons to compile the record of his life from his memories and their own. The other question is, “Why isn’t there are ‘these are the generations...’ at the end of the book?Joseph was the last character who compiled a record but he was trained in Egypt and used their methodology rather than the Mesopotamian methodology. (One last issue: the book ends with Josephs death so how could he have finished the book?Manassseh his son filled in the last paragraph to make sure his book was complete.)

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

Ishmael

Gen 25: 12-18: “Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.”

This is the end of the next document in Genesis. It starts with “these are the generation of Ishmael” but in verse 19 we read “these are the generation of Isaac”. Ishmael was given an honorary place in this list of authors because Abraham prayed “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Gen 17: 18) God honoured Abraham’s prayer and Ishmael was given a place of honour in the documentation of the records of creation until the time that Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt. Ishmael, however, has played an important part in history from that time to this, also in answer to Abraham’s request. God’s word is always faithful and He controls all things. He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46: 10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”) In all history God is the only One Who can promise with complete confidence and we can rely on the veracity of that promise. This includes the promise of everlasting life (John 3: 16). The Lord Jesus Christ was the only Person Who could actually satisfy the two essential elements of that verse: He alone could make the whosoever believeth possible and He alone could make the everlasting life possible.

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

God blessed his son

Genesis 25: 11: “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.”

After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. We saw earlier that Abraham gave gifts to  his other children but Isaac inherited Abraham’s estate. Abraham knew that Isaac was the son of promise even though he was not the oldest son. He was the son of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the wife he married when he was young. God made the promise that Sarah would have a son and this was the son that Sarah bore to Abraham. Even though both Sarah and Abraham suffered crises of hope during the course of their lives they didn’t ever give up their faith and God was true to His word so their faith had substance. The first time that we see the word “blessed” in the Bible is in Gen 1: 22 where were saw that “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.” Further down in that same chapter we find that God blessed man, whom He had made in His own image and the fruit of being blessed was the same, that is to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. The last time that we come across “blessed” in the Bible is in Revelation 22: 14 where we read, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” It is a special gift to be blessed by the Lord for it means that we can be fruitful and multiply and we have right to the tree of life and enter into the city. Abraham spent many years waiting for his son to be born but Isaac was blessed and he was part of the chain of blessing that led to their descendants being fruitful and multiplying. Not only that, through Abraham’s descendants everyone who believes has the right to the tree of life. If we eat from the tree of life we will live forever. (See Gen 3: 22)

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

Buried him in the cave

Genesis 25: 9- 10: “And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.”

This cave was the only part of the Promised Land that Abraham actually owned. Strictly speaking, the Lord kept His promise to Abraham precisely. The Lord told Abraham (Gen 12: 1-3) to go to a land that He would show him. The Lord did show Abraham the Land. The Lord told Abraham that He would make a great nation from Abraham and the Lord did make a great nation from Abraham. During the time of kings Solomon and David, Israel was the superpower of the age. In Genesis 15 the Lord promised Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land and then they would escape with great substance. This is precisely what happened. Abraham also died in peace. When God makes promises He always keeps them. If God didn’t keep His promises to Abraham, as some suggest today, then can we be confident that He will keep the promises that He had made to the church. For example, John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” or “John 14: 1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” We have an eternal interest in the fact that God keeps all of His promises and it is important not to forget that.

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

Our first priority

Genesis 25: 1-8 “Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.”

Abraham spent a long and productive time with Sarah but he got on with the rest of his life after his wife died. The apostle Paul suggested that a person is better not to get remarried (1 Cor 7: 39, 40) after they are widowed but it is a matter of personal choice. The big issue here is that Abraham maintained faith with God but allowing the “promised son” to inherit everything while he gave gifts to his other sons and sent them away. It is always good for us, as Christians, be be generous and compassionate but trusting the Lord should always be our first priority.

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

Comforted

Genesis 24: 62-67 “And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”

This verse reminds us of Phil 1: 6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” While the context of this verse speaks about a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and is given everlasting life the sentiment is the same. God first called Abraham to go out. It took many years but God finally gave aged Abraham and Sarah a son. This good work continued through Isaac but it was essential that Isaac had a wife who was separate from the pollution of the Canaanites and their debased religious practices. The Lord remained faithful and Isaac met his wife. This verse section contains the first mention of loved in the Bible. In Gen 22 we read of the love that Abraham had for his only son Isaac but this is the first time that we read about love in the past tense. When Isaac loved Rebakah he was comforted. This means that the idea of love is associated with the idea of comfort in the Bible. The greatest description of “loved” in the Bible is in John 3: 16. If God has loved us enough to give up His only begotten Son then we can take great comfort and that comfort will last for eternity.

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

Proctastination

Gen 24: 40-61: “And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house: Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.”

This servant promised Abraham that he would come back with a wife for Isaac. The man had one way of avoiding the obligation and that was if the girl didn’t want to come back. At that stage, the servant had done everything that was required but then Laban tried to keep the man from finishing his mission with the proper amount of speed. This man then used the last option that Abraham had given him and asked Rebakah if she was willing to come. There is no doubt that Laban would have tried to keep the man waiting as long as he possibly could but he found the one way to overcome Laban’s tactics. There is always a way to overcome delaying tactics and it is up to us to make sure that we don’t allow ourselves to be delayed when we have work to do for our Master in heaven. When Satan attacked the Lord Jesus Christ He used the Word of God to good effect and was able to defeat Satan. Remember that procrastination is the thief of time and every person only has a certain amount of time.

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

Instant in season and out of season

“And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.”

In that culture it was important for people to take time to go through all the obligations of polite society. Sometimes it would take a day or two before any business was discussed. They first had to eat food and drink the right drinks before they made conversation about irrelevant issues and spend time discussing the hosts animals and crops before they moved on to family issues and local politics. However, this man didn’t do any of those things. He refused to eat until he had he told his errand. He was another man’s ambassador. Abraham gave this man a job to do and he was determined to do this job before anything else. Even though he had lost his position as Abraham’s heir

(compare this with Judges 19: 8, 9 “And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel’s father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them. And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel’s father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.”) It is very easy to procrastinate and use social obligations as an excuse and then things will not get done. In 2 Tim 4:  2 we read “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” We should always be ready to do our Master’s business. There will always be a good excuse but the result is always the same, the Master’s business is left undone.

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

My Father’s business

“And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren. And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.” In Luke 2: 49 the Lord Jesus Christ is reported as saying “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Most modern versions have my Father’s house in this verse but this is logically inconsistent with the words of John 17: 4 (“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”) He was always doing His Father’s business. In this case we see this servant going about his master’s business. He had travelled for many days and was tired but, as soon as he arrived, he started to do the task that his master had given him to do. What   was wrong with taking some time to have a rest and to recover from the journey before he started looking for a wife for Isaac? There was nothing wrong with taking a rest but this man was doing his master’s business and didn’t want to waste any time before the business was finished. The business would be finished when he brought the woman back for Isaac to marry and he didn’t want to waste any time at all. In James 2: 14 we read, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” and then in verse 17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” The Bible doesn’t preach salvation by works but it does tell us that believing in the Lord Jesus Christ should make a difference to our priorities and hence our lives. In Luke 7: 47 the Lord Jesus Christ told his Pharisee host, Simon, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” The question each one must ask himself or herself is, “How much have I been forgiven?” If we believe that we have been forgiven much then we will love much and if we love much then “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14: 15)

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

Answers to prayer

“And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.”

It is interesting to compare the immediate response to the servants prayer with the 25 years that it took before Abraham got a positive response to his prayer for a son. God always works in His own time according to our best interests. The most interesting thing about prayer is that it is a process whereby we develop our relationship with the Lord God. The more time that we spend with the Lord in prayer, the more we get to understand Him and the way He works. When God delays in His answer, He is being gracious to us. In this case, however, the servant had limited time to complete this task and the Lord understood so He made sure that the servant had enough time to complete the task without having to contemplate the prospect of returning to his master without a bride for Isaac.

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

He said, O LORD God

“ And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.”

The most significant point of this chapter is the fact that we don’t read the servant’s name anywhere. He is just called “the servant” throughout the chapter. We assume that the man’s name was Eliezer of Damascus by referring to Gen 15: 2. If this is the case this makes this piece of history even more remarkable. This man had been Abraham’s heir and could hope to inherit the bulk of his estate. However, after Isaac was born he lost all that and Isaac took the place that had formerly belonged to him. This did not embitter the man and he undertook this task with extreme dedication. He was sent to find a wife for Isaac and he was dedicated to this task. Not only was this man loyal to Abraham, he also had a deep faith in Abraham’s God as well. He had to go to a strange place where, presumably, he did not know one person but he still set on to complete the task that his master had given him. When he arrived in the right place he just started praying that God would cause his journey to achieve its goals. We often are told today that if you have enough faith then you tell God what He should do and God will do this. However, prayer is more about communication. The Lord Jesus Christ said “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15: 7) The basic prerequisite is “if ye abide in me and my words abide in you.” If these facts were true then we would be less inclined to pray selfish prayers. The Lord gives us task to do and we need to pray for wisdom to do those task but the best thing that any Christian can aim for is contentment not earthly success, riches or fame (compare Phil 4: 11).

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

Bring not my son thither again

“And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.”

Abraham’s career as the Lord’s servant began when he left his father’s home and set out on a journey. He didn’t know the destination but he trusted that the Lord would show him where to go and the Lord did. We can look at Abraham’s life through the prism of 4,500 years and see that God knew what He was doing and was entirely successful in His strategy for Abraham’s call was the beginning of the specificity that led to the Saviour’s birth. However, it is important for us to remember that Abraham understood that there was no going back. When God calls it is up to us to keep moving forward and not to desire the things that we have left behind. Lot’s wife still had a desire for the things of Sodom and she longed to go back to Sodom, even though it was being destroyed. She turned into a pillar of salt. On the other hand, Abraham knew that his son should not go back to the place he had formerly called home. When a person decides to follow Christ and life by faith in Christ alone they must never return to living by works. We are saved by grace through faith, we are kept by grace through faith and we cannot survive with a viable witness to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ if we endeavour to be kept by works. 

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