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Created Through Him

Humbling before the Lord

11/18/2013

1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said (Genesis 18:1-5).

This is a curious scene. First it is the Lord that appears and with Him three men. These men are clearly, from later context, angels. Abraham welcomes them all and submitted himself to them. This deference to them will be in stark contrast to what we see in later verses by the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham humbled himself before the Lord and His angels.

All aspects of life change

11/17/2013

23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. 24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him (Genesis 17:23-27).

Abraham responded to God’s covenant in obedience. As we discussed earlier, circumcision represents a change in heart. It is a setting a part from the world. Notice too that Abraham’s entire male household was circumcised. Ever aspect of life was to be changed and committed to God.

God is gracious

11/16/2013

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham (Genesis 17:20-22).

God is always gracious. Even though God’s covenant was through Isaac, God blessed Ishmael as well. The blessing to Ismael represents promises in this world. However, the promises through to Isaac represent the eternal promises of God. The former being temporal and the later being everlasting.

The merit of God's promises

11/15/2013

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him (Genesis 17:15-19).

With the renaming of Sarah and Abraham, God was emphasizing the importance of the transition from their old life to their new life with God. But this transformation though begun through faith, was still not complete. Abraham still doubted God and had contempt for Him to some extent (he laughed at God). This may sound familiar to us. After all, we know God’s promises and yet often we live as if God’s promises have no merit.

A sign of the covenant

11/14/2013

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant (Genesis 17:9-14).

While certainly these verses may seem odd to those that do not know God, they are packed with meaning and reveal much about the relationship of the Creator to the created. But can you imagine the conversation between Abraham and those about to be circumcised (especially the adults): “Abraham, you are going to do, what?” Clearly this would not have been something that was easily accepted. And yet God desired His people to show their commitment to Him through the sign of circumcision. However, circumcision is just that a sign or symbol. It is a symbol of submission and a setting apart from the natural Man. Really what God wants of His people is for them to be ‘all in’. He wants 100% commitment. This commitment is circumcision of the heart.

Everlasting covenant

11/13/2013

7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God (Genesis 17:7-8).

As we continue to discuss God’s covenant with Abraham’s these verses state the everlasting and eternal nature of God’s covenant promises. God’s promises are irrevocable and sure. We may say, but wait; Abraham’s decedents have not continued to possess the entire land of Canaan? But remember we see from a very partial and temporary view and God’s perspective is eternal. The possession of the Promised Land is a metaphor for the restoration of the relationship of God to His people. A relationship that is eternal and everlasting.

The father of many nations

11/12/2013

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee (Genesis 17:3-6).

The promises to Abraham were extraordinary. Not only would he be the father of many nations, but also kings would come from his line. The lineage of Abraham would form the hope for the world. It is not though merely the genetic line that is the hope but rather the spiritual line. Remember Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. It is this righteousness that is born from the spiritual line of Abraham. This righteousness is a gracious gift from the Heavenly Father to all whose faith is in Him.

The convent with Abraham

11/11/2013

1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly (Genesis 17:1-2).

God was reminding Abraham of promises that would be fulfilled. God’s form of describing promises and conditions is the covenant. The covenant between God and Abraham is notable for several reasons. This covenant was a covenant between a chosen people and God. The promise though was based on God’s sovereign choice and therefore unmerited. But the covenant was also very personal in that it was between God and Abraham. So the covenant was corporate (between a people), unmerited, and yet deeply personal.

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.

Created Through Him