Blog Archives - Created through Him

Created Through Him

God's mercy and plan

11/10/2013

7 And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. 10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? 14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram (Genesis 16: 7-16).

There is a certain wideness in God’s mercy. God’s mercy is always though, unmerited. God’s purposes are served even when people make mistakes and are disobedient. In fact, it is part of God’s unknowable and unsearchable will to ultimately bring about His purposes even from others’ disobedience. And so it is with Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael that God would both bless and set the stage for future conflict. This dichotomy is only reconcilable in the recesses of the will and purposes of an all powerful, all knowing Creator God.

The frailty of human choices

11/9/2013

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee. 6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face (Genesis 16:5-6).

This convoluted situation, created by Abraham and Sarah, led to wrong decisions. In this case, Abraham abdicated his responsibility and accountability for doing the right thing. After all both Abraham and Sarah agreed to and in fact made Hagar father a child for Abraham. Once jealousy set in, Abraham allowed Sarah to take out vengeance against Hagar. So what is the lesson here, the lesson is that even godly people make poor choices and these choices occur when they rely on their own wisdom and actions to fulfill God’s promises.

The wisdom and mercy of God

11/8/2013

3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes (Genesis 16:3-4).

This is an odd situation to our modern minds. But for the time in which this occurred, the idea not having offspring was one of shame. Therefore the human inclination was to do whatever it took to produce a progeny. What Abraham and Sarah did was probably commonplace at the time and within accepted behavior. But this was not God’s design and plan for humanity. So, while tolerated and allowed, it was not good and there were many problems that resulted. God however accomplishes His plan even when humans go astray. This reveals both the wisdom and mercy of our Creator.

Waiting upon the Lord

11/7/2013

1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai (Genesis 16:1-2).

Any doubts about the human frailty and sin of Abraham and Sarah should be dispelled in these verses. They got inpatient with God. And as human often do when they get inpatient with God, they act. When they act they act according to their will and their ideas. They did what seemed like a good idea to them. But God in His infinite wisdom knows what is best and it is according to His timing and will that we are to wait upon. As good of a people as Abraham and Sarah were, they still lacked the eternal perspective and future understanding of God. The bottom line here is; wait upon the Lord. For if God promises, the promise is sure to occur.

The covenants of God

11/6/2013

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites (Genesis 15:15-21).

God always ratifies a covenant. That is, God guarantees the promise of the covenant. So it was a sure thing that the descendants of Abraham would occupy the land God had promised. The promises of God are often seemingly impossible at the time of their promise. But nothing is really impossible with God.

A future prophecy

11/5/2013

8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance (Genesis 15:8-14).

This is a difficult exchange to understand and yet it contains a easily recognized prophecy. Abraham is questioning God as to how he is to know what his inheritance will be. God answers Abraham with a prophecy. The prophecy is that the nation that arises from Abraham’s offspring would be held in a land not their own for 400 years. This is a reference to the time of Israel’s slavery in Egypt. This prophecy was given many hundreds of years before it was to be fulfilled.

Counted as righteousness

11/4/2013

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it (Genesis 15:5-7).

God promised Abraham that his decedents would be too numerous to count. It took faith for Abraham to believe God, since at the time (and he was old) Abraham had no children. There is a very significant theological fact reveled in verse 6. Abraham’s belief was counted as righteousness. So faith is saving. Specifically, faith in God is saving.

God is faithful

11/3/2013

1 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir (Genesis 15:1-4).

The Lord’s promises are sure and irrevocable. When God promises a son, a son will be born. God is neither interested nor constrained by typical human concerns of feasibility. All things are possible with God. This should not surprise us since the God that created, called the Universe into existence out of the power of His command. And so when God promises a heir, a heir will be provided. God is faithful.

Rewards

11/2/2013

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion (Genesis 14:21-24).

Abraham wanted God to get the glory for the victory. Therefore, Abraham didn’t want any of the wealth from the victory from the king of Sodom. What God provided was sufficient. The lesson from Abraham is that we are to rely on rewards form God and not human rewards.

Dual victories

11/1/2013

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. 17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all (Genesis 14:13-20).

This is an interesting scene from scripture. Abraham recuses Lot and then is greeted by both the king of Sodom and by Melchizedek. The king of Sodom represents the kings of this world and Melchizedek represents the king of heaven. Both praised Abraham. Abraham was victorious in earthly terms and because he was righteous before God he was also victorious in heavenly term. The former victory based on actions and the latter based on grace. And in this we see the separation between actions and grace. Actions are of Man, and grace is of God.

Created Through Him