Who is the “Man of Faith”?
What was the basis for Abraham’s faith?
What is the basis for your faith?
As we considered last time, God made a very solemn, graphic covenant with Abraham, one that Abraham would always remember. Through the years that God and Abraham walked together as friends, Abraham knew beyond any doubt that God was faithful. God’s promise was good and so was His oath that he had sworn in the blood of animals as he appeared as a fiery torch, reciting his promise to Abraham and his descendents. But then came the test!
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." (Genesis 22:1-5 NIV)
God called His friend by name: “Abraham!” Using the new name, the covenant name that He had given him, God gives Abraham a command to sacrifice Isaac as an offering to his God. God as we know Him is against human sacrifice, yet He asks it of His covenant partner. Abraham, knowing that a blood covenant demands total commitment to his partner, doesn’t even waver in his faith. Abraham and Isaac are to go to the region of Moriah, where the City of Jerusalem resides even today.
Obedient to God, Abraham and Isaac make the three day journey with enough wood for the burnt offering. Seeing the mountain of the Lord, Abraham turns to his servants and says, “We will worship, and then we will come back to you”. Did you get that? Abraham knows that he will kill Isaac and burn him to ashes, and yet he says that they will both return. His faith not only moved him to offer up his only son Isaac, it also gave him the solid, vivid hope that God would raise Isaac from the dead. They would both return to the servants after the sacrifice. Hebrews 11:19 says: 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. (NIV)
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
The consensus is that Isaac was 13-15 years old at this time. He was obviously big enough to carry enough wood for the sacrificial offering, and he could ask knowledgeably about the lamb fro the sacrifice. By faith Abraham said that God would provide the lamb, and they proceeded.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." (Genesis 22:9-14 NIV)
We all know the story of how God stopped Abraham from killing Isaac moments before he actually did it. God saw in Abraham a man who would go to the wall for Him and the covenant that they had forged years earlier. Abraham was definitely the man God had been looking for, a “man of faith”. And so, we see that God did provide a ram caught in a thicket of thorns and Abraham and Isaac worshipped, really worshipped, and then returned to the servants waiting at the base of the mountain. This was the mountain that Abraham had designated as the place that “the Lord will provide”.
It is more than just speculation that God sent Abraham to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his only begotten son. It is actually highly likely that Isaac was bound to the altar either at the future site of the Holy of Holies of Soloman’s temple, or the future site where Jesus was in fact crucified as the only begotten Son of God. At any rate, we know in retrospect that God did in fact provide the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”. (John 1:19b NIV)
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. (Genesis 22:15-19 NIV)
Through the angel of the Lord, God states the covenant one more time, this time sealed with Abraham’s ultimate obedience and God’s oath upon himself. 13When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself. (Hebrews 6:13 NIV) At this point, Abraham’s faith and obedience were without question; the oath was for the benefit of Abraham’s descendents, so that they too would have an anchor for their soul, a sure hope to base their faith on.
So here we are! It was 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus, and probably another 60 to us. Is it scripturally “legal” for our generation to appropriate God’s promises as the basis for our faith? Is the covenant that God swore to Abraham valid for our use? Of course we are aware that we have a better and more enduring covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ. But is this same faith available for us?
14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.(Galatians 3:14 NIV)
Yes, Abraham’s blessing is also for us according to this scripture. But we must obtain it through our faith in Christ, not by faith in Abraham. Notice that it ends with “we might receive the promise of the Spirit”. The culmination to the Abrahamic and the New Covenants is the Holy Spirit taking up residence in Christ’s believers. Abraham and Isaac worshipped God on Mount Moriah, the future home of the temple of Jerusalem. Believers today are the temples of the Living God, where worship takes place in spirit and in truth.
29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29 NIV)
Through the miracle of engrafting we are also Abraham’s descendents and heirs according to the promise made to Abraham 3500 years ago. Rejoice that we are in fact the innumerable stars that Abraham saw when God told him to look to the sky that one evening long ago. And rejoice that we also have the potential for Abraham-like faith, because we know the same God and we have the same and even better promises with which to anchor our souls.
God Bless!!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
What Kind Of People Ought We To Be? - Part 3
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of Peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. (Hebrews 7:1-3 NIV)
Jesus is said to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was the priest that met Abraham after he had won a great victory to rescue his nephew Lot, his family and his possessions. Melchizedek was a high priest long before there was the Mosaic Law, with a high priest who ministered to God on behalf of the people. A high priest is a mediator between two parties and this is significant because of the Abrahamic(Old) Covenant and the New Covenant. Both covenants had a high priest to mediate between God and mankind. God’s law for Israel prescribed a high priest to minister in the tabernacle and in the Holy of Holies, ministering the blood of animals first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people as seen in the book of Hebrews.
There are two major covenants in the Holy Bible, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant began with God’s covenant with Abraham and continued to later include the Law and the ordinances and provisions for the atonement and forgiveness of sins under the Law. The New Covenant began under the ministry of Jesus and was sealed when he died and poured out his blood at the cross.
16Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. (Hebrews 6:16 NIV)
In short, a covenant is a binding agreement between two or more parties to accomplish a mutual goal. Before the Abrahamic Covenant mankind was basically uncivilized, in this case meaning that each person was out for his own gain, without any alliance with another to achieve anything. In order to protect himself from a stronger individual a man would make a covenant with that stronger man for his protection. He would offer within the covenant something that the stronger man would need or use. This was the seed of the covenant.
Tribes would use the same covenant concept to achieve even greater goals. A military tribe would offer protection to an agricultural tribe in exchange for food. When the covenant was sealed both tribes had what they needed and were bound for life to the agreement, transcending generations. They were bound for life because it was a contract sealed in blood. A blood covenant strongly implied that each party would give their lives for the other and they would die before they would break the covenant.
Many exchanges were made as the covenant ceremony took place. First, there would be an exchange of promises, what each party would bring to the agreement. Then they would exchange gifts, for example the chief of the military tribe might give the agricultural chief a sword or a spear. In turn the agricultural chief might give the other chief a scythe or a plow. This symbolizes the actual exchange of food for protection. Next, they would exchange items of clothing, perhaps armor for work clothes. Then they would share a meal of bread and wine, feeding each other the bread and holding the cup for the other.
Once these preliminary exchanges were made then the actual blood covenant was ready to take place. There would first be an exchange of blessings and curses, blessings for keeping the covenant, and curses for breaking it. They would then each make an incision in his own hand, dripping the blood into the cup of wine where their blood would mingle. They would each sip the wine/blood mixture and then clasp their hands/incisions together with their blood mingling as they clasped. Highly suggestive of the “handshake” agreement much later, this solemn culmination to the blood covenant ceremony was enough to remind each party of their “till death do us part” agreement. Not only their lives depended on covenant loyalty, so did the lives of everyone in their tribes. Finally, there was an exchange of names, where everyone would know that these two parties were in covenant together. The marriage covenant still uses this exchange.
This tendency to make blood covenant was understood by God and was probably his idea originally, as a blueprint for his redemptive plan. At any rate, we will see the progression of God’s covenant with Abram through the years that we have recorded in the book of Genesis.
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."(Genesis 12:1-3 NIV)
God comes to Abram and introduces the covenant with a blessing and a command. The blessing is God’s responsibility and the command is Abram’s. We see the blessings at work as Abram’s livestock, personnel, and possessions increase to such a degree that he and Lot would have to separate. Lot chose the land to the east toward Sodom, Abram to the west.
In Genesis 13, God gives Abram the dimensions, a holy survey, of the Promised Land:
14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."(Genesis 13:14-17 NIV)
Note that this is the first time that God makes reference to Abram becoming a father of many offspring, more than the dust of the earth, more than could be counted. The covenant continues to expand.
Next, Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, offers the bread and wine that we mentioned earlier:
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:17-20 NIV)
Note also that Abram participated in the covenant exchange of gifts by giving the High Priest a tithe. This was long before God ever commanded tithes to be paid.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."(Genesis 14:21-24 NIV)
Again, Abram raises his hand to the Lord and makes an oath in a covenant act. In addition, Abram renounces all provision except that which comes from the Lord. Remember Matthew 6:33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)
We must never look to kings or the world for our provision, but to God alone.
Right after this exchange with Melchizedek and the king of Sodom, God speaks to Abram to formalize their covenant:
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "
2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6 NIV)
God promises Abram a son from his own body so that he may leave his inheritance to his own son instead of his best servant. This is the first time in the Bible that it says that Abram believed and was thus counted as righteous, or in right-standing with God.
7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
Doesn’t it say that Abram believed God? Here Abram says “How can I know?” This is why God was willing to show the unchangeableness of his word, because Abram needed something more on which to base the rest of his life. Hebrews 6:17-18 says:
17Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. (NIV)
At this point, God begins to swear the blood oath to Abram, something He is sure Abram will understand and remember. Abram is remembered as the “man of faith” and a “friend of God”.
9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."(Genesis 15:7-21 NIV)
Abram was not born again, not filled with the Holy Spirit as the Christians are today. God appealed to Abram on a strict sensory level, with things he could see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. Similar to the ceremonial foods and sacrifices under the Mosaic Law, Old Covenant participants remembered God’s promises and commands in relation to things recorded by their senses.
After this ceremony there was absolutely no doubt in Abram’s mind that God would keep His word. We know that later Abram would have his own son by Sarai, and would name him Isaac, meaning laughter. And we know that God would command Abram to offer Isaac up as a holy sacrifice to Him. And we know that Abram would faithfully offer up Isaac until his hand was staid by God. Abram did not struggle with the thought of losing not just his son, but also his future as father of many nations. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt that God would raise Isaac from the dead and that the promise would continue. What great faith!!! Abram’s faith was great because his hope was great. What was his hope? His hope was the covenant that God had made with him, the promise that He made and then the oath that he swore in the blood of animals. Abram knew that if God would swear an oath in blood that he was bound under threat of death to keep his promise. Two things in which God would never lie: His promise and His oath in blood.
The good news for us is that we have a hope made even more sure, sealed in the blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. By the way, Jesus is also referred to as the “seed of Abraham”.
16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 NIV)
One more time, God came to Abram and swore His covenant with Abram. Notice God’s promises and commands, and also notice that at this point God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai is changed to Sarah. This is covenant practice. And later in scripture God refers to himself as the God of Abraham, or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (Genesis 17:1-8 NIV)
Now we know that God had used animals as a substitute for His own blood until Jesus would go to the cross. But, where was Abraham’s blood in the ceremony? We see in this passage that Abraham’s blood came from the act of circumcision, and from every male in his house and nation.
9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." (Genesis 17:9-14 NIV)
We have come a long way with a lot of scripture, but it is quite evident that this was all done in covenant context. God nailed down his promises, oaths, and commands in the form of a blood covenant so that Abraham could have a sure hope, a hope that surpassed every thing else that he could see, hear, feel, smell and taste. As it has been said, “We walk by faith and not by sight”. Abraham walked by faith in the hope that God had given him, a covenant sworn in blood. Abraham knew that God would do what He had said, and that Abraham could trust God with his life, and with Isaac’s life.
Where we want to get is where Abraham was, where we know God’s promises and that we trust him without a doubt to fulfill His word for us. Stick with us and we will certainly get there. Thank you for being with us today!!!
Jesus is said to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was the priest that met Abraham after he had won a great victory to rescue his nephew Lot, his family and his possessions. Melchizedek was a high priest long before there was the Mosaic Law, with a high priest who ministered to God on behalf of the people. A high priest is a mediator between two parties and this is significant because of the Abrahamic(Old) Covenant and the New Covenant. Both covenants had a high priest to mediate between God and mankind. God’s law for Israel prescribed a high priest to minister in the tabernacle and in the Holy of Holies, ministering the blood of animals first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people as seen in the book of Hebrews.
There are two major covenants in the Holy Bible, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant began with God’s covenant with Abraham and continued to later include the Law and the ordinances and provisions for the atonement and forgiveness of sins under the Law. The New Covenant began under the ministry of Jesus and was sealed when he died and poured out his blood at the cross.
16Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. (Hebrews 6:16 NIV)
In short, a covenant is a binding agreement between two or more parties to accomplish a mutual goal. Before the Abrahamic Covenant mankind was basically uncivilized, in this case meaning that each person was out for his own gain, without any alliance with another to achieve anything. In order to protect himself from a stronger individual a man would make a covenant with that stronger man for his protection. He would offer within the covenant something that the stronger man would need or use. This was the seed of the covenant.
Tribes would use the same covenant concept to achieve even greater goals. A military tribe would offer protection to an agricultural tribe in exchange for food. When the covenant was sealed both tribes had what they needed and were bound for life to the agreement, transcending generations. They were bound for life because it was a contract sealed in blood. A blood covenant strongly implied that each party would give their lives for the other and they would die before they would break the covenant.
Many exchanges were made as the covenant ceremony took place. First, there would be an exchange of promises, what each party would bring to the agreement. Then they would exchange gifts, for example the chief of the military tribe might give the agricultural chief a sword or a spear. In turn the agricultural chief might give the other chief a scythe or a plow. This symbolizes the actual exchange of food for protection. Next, they would exchange items of clothing, perhaps armor for work clothes. Then they would share a meal of bread and wine, feeding each other the bread and holding the cup for the other.
Once these preliminary exchanges were made then the actual blood covenant was ready to take place. There would first be an exchange of blessings and curses, blessings for keeping the covenant, and curses for breaking it. They would then each make an incision in his own hand, dripping the blood into the cup of wine where their blood would mingle. They would each sip the wine/blood mixture and then clasp their hands/incisions together with their blood mingling as they clasped. Highly suggestive of the “handshake” agreement much later, this solemn culmination to the blood covenant ceremony was enough to remind each party of their “till death do us part” agreement. Not only their lives depended on covenant loyalty, so did the lives of everyone in their tribes. Finally, there was an exchange of names, where everyone would know that these two parties were in covenant together. The marriage covenant still uses this exchange.
This tendency to make blood covenant was understood by God and was probably his idea originally, as a blueprint for his redemptive plan. At any rate, we will see the progression of God’s covenant with Abram through the years that we have recorded in the book of Genesis.
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."(Genesis 12:1-3 NIV)
God comes to Abram and introduces the covenant with a blessing and a command. The blessing is God’s responsibility and the command is Abram’s. We see the blessings at work as Abram’s livestock, personnel, and possessions increase to such a degree that he and Lot would have to separate. Lot chose the land to the east toward Sodom, Abram to the west.
In Genesis 13, God gives Abram the dimensions, a holy survey, of the Promised Land:
14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."(Genesis 13:14-17 NIV)
Note that this is the first time that God makes reference to Abram becoming a father of many offspring, more than the dust of the earth, more than could be counted. The covenant continues to expand.
Next, Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, offers the bread and wine that we mentioned earlier:
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:17-20 NIV)
Note also that Abram participated in the covenant exchange of gifts by giving the High Priest a tithe. This was long before God ever commanded tithes to be paid.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."(Genesis 14:21-24 NIV)
Again, Abram raises his hand to the Lord and makes an oath in a covenant act. In addition, Abram renounces all provision except that which comes from the Lord. Remember Matthew 6:33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)
We must never look to kings or the world for our provision, but to God alone.
Right after this exchange with Melchizedek and the king of Sodom, God speaks to Abram to formalize their covenant:
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "
2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6 NIV)
God promises Abram a son from his own body so that he may leave his inheritance to his own son instead of his best servant. This is the first time in the Bible that it says that Abram believed and was thus counted as righteous, or in right-standing with God.
7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
Doesn’t it say that Abram believed God? Here Abram says “How can I know?” This is why God was willing to show the unchangeableness of his word, because Abram needed something more on which to base the rest of his life. Hebrews 6:17-18 says:
17Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. (NIV)
At this point, God begins to swear the blood oath to Abram, something He is sure Abram will understand and remember. Abram is remembered as the “man of faith” and a “friend of God”.
9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."(Genesis 15:7-21 NIV)
Abram was not born again, not filled with the Holy Spirit as the Christians are today. God appealed to Abram on a strict sensory level, with things he could see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. Similar to the ceremonial foods and sacrifices under the Mosaic Law, Old Covenant participants remembered God’s promises and commands in relation to things recorded by their senses.
After this ceremony there was absolutely no doubt in Abram’s mind that God would keep His word. We know that later Abram would have his own son by Sarai, and would name him Isaac, meaning laughter. And we know that God would command Abram to offer Isaac up as a holy sacrifice to Him. And we know that Abram would faithfully offer up Isaac until his hand was staid by God. Abram did not struggle with the thought of losing not just his son, but also his future as father of many nations. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt that God would raise Isaac from the dead and that the promise would continue. What great faith!!! Abram’s faith was great because his hope was great. What was his hope? His hope was the covenant that God had made with him, the promise that He made and then the oath that he swore in the blood of animals. Abram knew that if God would swear an oath in blood that he was bound under threat of death to keep his promise. Two things in which God would never lie: His promise and His oath in blood.
The good news for us is that we have a hope made even more sure, sealed in the blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. By the way, Jesus is also referred to as the “seed of Abraham”.
16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 NIV)
One more time, God came to Abram and swore His covenant with Abram. Notice God’s promises and commands, and also notice that at this point God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai is changed to Sarah. This is covenant practice. And later in scripture God refers to himself as the God of Abraham, or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (Genesis 17:1-8 NIV)
Now we know that God had used animals as a substitute for His own blood until Jesus would go to the cross. But, where was Abraham’s blood in the ceremony? We see in this passage that Abraham’s blood came from the act of circumcision, and from every male in his house and nation.
9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." (Genesis 17:9-14 NIV)
We have come a long way with a lot of scripture, but it is quite evident that this was all done in covenant context. God nailed down his promises, oaths, and commands in the form of a blood covenant so that Abraham could have a sure hope, a hope that surpassed every thing else that he could see, hear, feel, smell and taste. As it has been said, “We walk by faith and not by sight”. Abraham walked by faith in the hope that God had given him, a covenant sworn in blood. Abraham knew that God would do what He had said, and that Abraham could trust God with his life, and with Isaac’s life.
Where we want to get is where Abraham was, where we know God’s promises and that we trust him without a doubt to fulfill His word for us. Stick with us and we will certainly get there. Thank you for being with us today!!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
What Kind Of People Ought We To Be? - Part 2
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14 NIV).
The very thought of grown men and women walking around nursing baby bottles full of milk is ludicrous, but this is exactly what these verses connote.
We live in a day when it is obvious that the great masses haven’t a clue as to the difference between good and evil. The world’s constant barrage against what is good has so numbed the minds and hearts of young and old alike that there is little resistance to evil. The media have also been complicit, not only promoting evil as the norm, but also marginalizing and chastising those who cling to the good. It is to some measure the fulfillment of the prophecy that the “good would become evil and the evil would become good”. However, the encouragement here is that we would be so full of God’s word, and so skillful in its use that we would be so finely tuned that our alarms would go off at the very hint of evil. If that is not the case in your life, the root is your lack of knowledge of and love for the living words of God in the Scriptures.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. (Hebrews 6:1-3 NIV)
We rarely hear the book of Hebrews taught or preached in our churches today. This verse gives a clue as to why: We are too busy continually teaching the basic doctrines of Christ such as repentance, simple faith in God, baptisms, etc. These are undoubtedly important, as a foundation is to a building. However, once the foundation is laid then the building rises until it is complete. We also must go on to maturity, seeking God’s deeper truth and presence. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to learn the basics, to mature, and to go deeper with God. This is a strong clue that the next several chapters are of meat and not of milk. And these chapters are the very ones that most preachers will never tackle.
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebrews 6:10-12 NIV)
After a stern warning to avoid falling away from the faith, we are encouraged to make our hope sure by being diligent in the faith and not lazy. Not just diligent, but diligent to the very end. We won’t deal with the implications of this warning at this time, although it is sobering to hear the writer of Hebrews warn of falling away beyond possibility of return. Let us never be in the position to where we need to worry about the dire consequences of apostasy.
We are exhorted to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what was promised. This is not the first time in God’s word that we are told to imitate someone. But these two individuals are certainly most prominent and worthy of imitation: God and Abraham.
When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
(Hebrews 6:13-15 NIV)
We know that in Genesis 22, after Abraham had obediently and faithfully offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, God staid Abraham’s hand moments before he slew Isaac. At this point, God swore by himself that He would make Abraham father of many nations. In fact, this promise is one that God had spoken to Abraham several times, only this time He swore an oath that He was good for His word. Imagine that! God not only gave his solemn promise but He also swore an oath that His word was good!
Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NIV)
God knew that Abraham, an un-regenerated man, would need a strong “hope” in God’s promise to get him through his trials. We will look at the actual covenant that God made with Abram next time, but in Genesis 15 God swore a very solemn oath in the blood of animals as He pronounced His covenant with Abram. It evidently marked Abram’s thinking so dramatically that Abram had faith to believe God and to obey without question or argument. This promise and oath of becoming father of many nations and of the whole world being blessed through him became Abraham’s “hope”. What is our hope?
Let’s consider the word “hope” for a moment. The worldly or religious meaning is somewhat nebulous. It connotes something in the future, something good, but without form or substance. For our study, however, let’s go a bit deeper. In Hebrews 11:1 KJV it says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” If faith gives substance to something hoped for, then there must be hope before faith may work. Let me cite two analogies to help understand hope and faith. First, consider a kernel of corn. This single seed may be held in the hand, studied with a magnifying glass, rubbed and wished upon, but it is still a single seed of corn. This is like “hope”. Until you by faith take the seed and plant it in moist, fertile soil it just remains “hope”. But when you take your hope and apply an action of faith to it, then it will grow into a shoot, then a stalk, then a fruitful ear of corn, with a hundredfold increase in your “hope”.
Another example might be a man with a vision, a dream of a new house. In his mind he sees a two story, four bedroom house with a porch along the front of the house. He sees a nice large kitchen for his wife and family, with a playroom for the children, and a master bedroom and bathroom with a whirlpool bath. This at this point is “hope” for a nice new house. Then he consults an architect and together they put on paper the specific dimensions and elevations of his “hope” and when they finish with the blueprint they agree that it will one day be a beautiful house. But it still just hope. It is a very specific hope, but hope just the same. Until this man hires a contractor to pour the foundation, frame the house, and then finish it with sheetrock, doors, and windows, hope has no substance. But once the contractor begins to “flesh out” the plans, then it becomes a house and hope takes on substance. This is what faith is: an action that gives substance to something hoped for. In the book of James, Abraham is noted as being justified by his actions, not just his faith. Faith is an action of some kind, and it is always based on a hope, and in a Christian’s life that hope is a promise or command of God. Belief in God is more than mental assent to a truth, it calls for some kind of action, either physical, or mental, or spiritual.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV).
The greatest being to ever live by faith is God Himself. God had within Himself the blueprint of the universe. Not only so, but he knew ahead of time exactly what it would look like and how it would function. Just as the man in the earlier example had a picture in his imagination what the house would look like, and then by faith built the very house, so it was with God. He knew what he was going to build, and he had a great hope for a beautiful universe and an earth and a home for mankind. Then, at God’s command, his hope took on substance, so that something invisible became visible. It was first visible within the mind of God. That’s how hope and faith work. Unfortunately, many men and women use this principle to their own destruction, imagining things of vanity and sin. Then they flesh out their imaginations, bringing destruction on themselves and their families and friends. Our imaginations must be used for godly purposes only, and the safest thing to “hope” in is God’s holy word and promises.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:19-20 NIV)
Now God made a promise to Abraham and confirmed it with an oath. This “hope” was good enough to carry Abraham through to the end: “And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”(Hebrews 6:13-15 NIV) In Hebrews, our application is that we have an even greater hope in our high priest Jesus Christ, who takes our hope with him behind the veil of the Holy of Holies in heaven, and this hope anchors our soul. Our faith may be a great faith, because we have a great “Hope”, Jesus our Lord. Remember that the very name of Jesus contains everything we will ever need for life and godliness, and that we must put complete hope in Him and His provision. We will understand much more about this as we study the meaning of covenants next time, specifically the Abrahamic Covenant.
God Bless!!!
The very thought of grown men and women walking around nursing baby bottles full of milk is ludicrous, but this is exactly what these verses connote.
We live in a day when it is obvious that the great masses haven’t a clue as to the difference between good and evil. The world’s constant barrage against what is good has so numbed the minds and hearts of young and old alike that there is little resistance to evil. The media have also been complicit, not only promoting evil as the norm, but also marginalizing and chastising those who cling to the good. It is to some measure the fulfillment of the prophecy that the “good would become evil and the evil would become good”. However, the encouragement here is that we would be so full of God’s word, and so skillful in its use that we would be so finely tuned that our alarms would go off at the very hint of evil. If that is not the case in your life, the root is your lack of knowledge of and love for the living words of God in the Scriptures.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. (Hebrews 6:1-3 NIV)
We rarely hear the book of Hebrews taught or preached in our churches today. This verse gives a clue as to why: We are too busy continually teaching the basic doctrines of Christ such as repentance, simple faith in God, baptisms, etc. These are undoubtedly important, as a foundation is to a building. However, once the foundation is laid then the building rises until it is complete. We also must go on to maturity, seeking God’s deeper truth and presence. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to learn the basics, to mature, and to go deeper with God. This is a strong clue that the next several chapters are of meat and not of milk. And these chapters are the very ones that most preachers will never tackle.
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebrews 6:10-12 NIV)
After a stern warning to avoid falling away from the faith, we are encouraged to make our hope sure by being diligent in the faith and not lazy. Not just diligent, but diligent to the very end. We won’t deal with the implications of this warning at this time, although it is sobering to hear the writer of Hebrews warn of falling away beyond possibility of return. Let us never be in the position to where we need to worry about the dire consequences of apostasy.
We are exhorted to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what was promised. This is not the first time in God’s word that we are told to imitate someone. But these two individuals are certainly most prominent and worthy of imitation: God and Abraham.
When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
(Hebrews 6:13-15 NIV)
We know that in Genesis 22, after Abraham had obediently and faithfully offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, God staid Abraham’s hand moments before he slew Isaac. At this point, God swore by himself that He would make Abraham father of many nations. In fact, this promise is one that God had spoken to Abraham several times, only this time He swore an oath that He was good for His word. Imagine that! God not only gave his solemn promise but He also swore an oath that His word was good!
Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NIV)
God knew that Abraham, an un-regenerated man, would need a strong “hope” in God’s promise to get him through his trials. We will look at the actual covenant that God made with Abram next time, but in Genesis 15 God swore a very solemn oath in the blood of animals as He pronounced His covenant with Abram. It evidently marked Abram’s thinking so dramatically that Abram had faith to believe God and to obey without question or argument. This promise and oath of becoming father of many nations and of the whole world being blessed through him became Abraham’s “hope”. What is our hope?
Let’s consider the word “hope” for a moment. The worldly or religious meaning is somewhat nebulous. It connotes something in the future, something good, but without form or substance. For our study, however, let’s go a bit deeper. In Hebrews 11:1 KJV it says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” If faith gives substance to something hoped for, then there must be hope before faith may work. Let me cite two analogies to help understand hope and faith. First, consider a kernel of corn. This single seed may be held in the hand, studied with a magnifying glass, rubbed and wished upon, but it is still a single seed of corn. This is like “hope”. Until you by faith take the seed and plant it in moist, fertile soil it just remains “hope”. But when you take your hope and apply an action of faith to it, then it will grow into a shoot, then a stalk, then a fruitful ear of corn, with a hundredfold increase in your “hope”.
Another example might be a man with a vision, a dream of a new house. In his mind he sees a two story, four bedroom house with a porch along the front of the house. He sees a nice large kitchen for his wife and family, with a playroom for the children, and a master bedroom and bathroom with a whirlpool bath. This at this point is “hope” for a nice new house. Then he consults an architect and together they put on paper the specific dimensions and elevations of his “hope” and when they finish with the blueprint they agree that it will one day be a beautiful house. But it still just hope. It is a very specific hope, but hope just the same. Until this man hires a contractor to pour the foundation, frame the house, and then finish it with sheetrock, doors, and windows, hope has no substance. But once the contractor begins to “flesh out” the plans, then it becomes a house and hope takes on substance. This is what faith is: an action that gives substance to something hoped for. In the book of James, Abraham is noted as being justified by his actions, not just his faith. Faith is an action of some kind, and it is always based on a hope, and in a Christian’s life that hope is a promise or command of God. Belief in God is more than mental assent to a truth, it calls for some kind of action, either physical, or mental, or spiritual.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV).
The greatest being to ever live by faith is God Himself. God had within Himself the blueprint of the universe. Not only so, but he knew ahead of time exactly what it would look like and how it would function. Just as the man in the earlier example had a picture in his imagination what the house would look like, and then by faith built the very house, so it was with God. He knew what he was going to build, and he had a great hope for a beautiful universe and an earth and a home for mankind. Then, at God’s command, his hope took on substance, so that something invisible became visible. It was first visible within the mind of God. That’s how hope and faith work. Unfortunately, many men and women use this principle to their own destruction, imagining things of vanity and sin. Then they flesh out their imaginations, bringing destruction on themselves and their families and friends. Our imaginations must be used for godly purposes only, and the safest thing to “hope” in is God’s holy word and promises.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:19-20 NIV)
Now God made a promise to Abraham and confirmed it with an oath. This “hope” was good enough to carry Abraham through to the end: “And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”(Hebrews 6:13-15 NIV) In Hebrews, our application is that we have an even greater hope in our high priest Jesus Christ, who takes our hope with him behind the veil of the Holy of Holies in heaven, and this hope anchors our soul. Our faith may be a great faith, because we have a great “Hope”, Jesus our Lord. Remember that the very name of Jesus contains everything we will ever need for life and godliness, and that we must put complete hope in Him and His provision. We will understand much more about this as we study the meaning of covenants next time, specifically the Abrahamic Covenant.
God Bless!!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
What Kind Of People Ought We To Be? - Part 1
What Kind Of People Ought We To Be
Part 1
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming . . . so then dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter 3:10-12,14 - NIV)
What kind of people ought we to be? In the times in which we live, with the increase of evil, immorality, impurity, and pride, we sense that something is afoot in the spiritual realm. Certainly, as we look at the headlines we see the possibility of a major political and military showdown on the world level. Could it be that the same is brewing in the spiritual realm? Any amateur Bible prophecy student can begin to see a connecting of the apocalyptic dots regarding Israel, the Middle East, and the beginning of a one-world government. Whether we are in fact living in the final days or not, we are closer now than we were yesterday and we must keep our eyes on the goal that God has given us: of keeping ourselves pure, un-spotless and at peace with Him, living holy, godly lives as we look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
Take a look at the “tails” side of a Mercury dime before 1945 and you will see an item that looks vaguely familiar. It is a bundle of rods cinched together by leather straps with an axe affixed to it. This is the symbol of ultimate authority of the Roman Empire, called the “fasces”. Roman authorities carried the fasces with them as a sort of scepter, signifying the authority granted them by the Roman government to rule and to punish the disobedient. The fact that it appears on the U.S. dime implies the importance of the Roman government as a template for the 20th and 21st century form of American government: ultimate authority with the government being the ultimate source of all law
and provision.
Then take a look at the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. Within the document there are ten objectives:
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.
Part 1
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming . . . so then dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter 3:10-12,14 - NIV)
What kind of people ought we to be? In the times in which we live, with the increase of evil, immorality, impurity, and pride, we sense that something is afoot in the spiritual realm. Certainly, as we look at the headlines we see the possibility of a major political and military showdown on the world level. Could it be that the same is brewing in the spiritual realm? Any amateur Bible prophecy student can begin to see a connecting of the apocalyptic dots regarding Israel, the Middle East, and the beginning of a one-world government. Whether we are in fact living in the final days or not, we are closer now than we were yesterday and we must keep our eyes on the goal that God has given us: of keeping ourselves pure, un-spotless and at peace with Him, living holy, godly lives as we look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
Take a look at the “tails” side of a Mercury dime before 1945 and you will see an item that looks vaguely familiar. It is a bundle of rods cinched together by leather straps with an axe affixed to it. This is the symbol of ultimate authority of the Roman Empire, called the “fasces”. Roman authorities carried the fasces with them as a sort of scepter, signifying the authority granted them by the Roman government to rule and to punish the disobedient. The fact that it appears on the U.S. dime implies the importance of the Roman government as a template for the 20th and 21st century form of American government: ultimate authority with the government being the ultimate source of all law
and provision.
Then take a look at the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. Within the document there are ten objectives:
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.
The main objective is clear: complete control of the lives of the citizenry. It is no coincidence that the Roman “Caesar” and the Russian “Czar” appear very similar in stature and meaning. What are we to think in the United States of America when more and more of our officials have the titles like “Car Czar” or “Drug Czar”?
Our founding fathers had another form of law in mind when they wrote the Declaration of Independence. In it they speak of the “laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” and that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The founders saw a higher source of law than the government, with God Himself as the giver of life and of rights to pursue the best life possible. They were believers in a Natural Law, a law that is attributed ultimately to the Creator, not to a legislature or king. In his book “Whatever Happened to Justice?” (Copyright 2004, Bluestocking Press) Richard Maybury sums up the Common Law in two points: “1) Do all you have agreed to do and 2) do not encroach on other persons or their property.” It is easy to see that these two rules descend directly from the commandments that God gave to Moses. Common law was the basis for the American Constitution, limiting government to necessary functions, not totalitarian rule. These men who founded America’s government were reacting to an oppressive British rule, one that had drifted toward being a very close copy of the Roman Empire.
Regardless of the direction of American politics in 2009, the natural direction for human government is to obtain more power for the elite and less power for the common people. More power means more money for those in power, and thus selfishness and self-aggrandizement are the motivators, not a respect for human-kind and for the Creator. If a Roman-style of government is allowed to control every aspect of one’s life, it will. Whether or not one is born, and when one should die, what one learns in school, one’s vocation, one’s pantry and dinner table, one’s healthcare, one’s bank account, one’s vehicle, one’s freedom to choose what to do with his or her day. In effect, the government is one’s god, and he or she must look to the government for all provision and for all decision.
We must state here what the Bible has to say about the Christian’s obligation to authorities which God has set in place. 1 Peter 2:13-14 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” and verse 17 says, “show proper respect to every one: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”(NIV) 1 Timothy 2:1-2 also states, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”(NIV) Romans 13:1 adds “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”(NIV) We as the people of God must pray for our leaders, we must submit to those in authority and treat them with respect. Yet, we must also respect God’s authority and our ultimate judgment resides with Him, not with our earthly rulers. Daniel treated Babylonian kings with respect as he followed his God reverently and obediently. When the dictates of the king differ with the commands of God, then we must follow the higher law, joyfully taking the consequences. Yet God sets rulers in place for His purpose, which we probably do not understand fully. Much prayer for the rulers is called for, and prayer that we may discern what God is up to in fulfilling His plan.
With all this said, and knowing that our provision comes from a higher source than Washington, DC, or London, or Moscow, let us look at the Scriptures. In Luke 19:10 Jesus speaks of himself, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost:”(KJV) The word “save” in Greek is “sozo” and Strong’s Concordance defines it as “to save, i.e. deliver or protect, to heal, preserve, do well, be made whole.” This is a bit more earthly meaning than we are taught in Sunday School. We learn that when Jesus saves us we are forgiven of our sins and we are promised eternal life with him in heaven. But the people that actually heard Jesus speak these words heard a more temporal meaning; that they could be saved from sickness, affliction, lack, earthly evil, and oppression. The meaning hasn’t changed. There may well come a time when we must rely on Jesus to save us from things from which we are used to saving ourselves, to provide for us things we are used to providing for ourselves, or the government providing for us.
Acts 4:12 quotes Peter as he exclaims, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (RSV) The word salvation comes from the Greek word, “soteria”, which is the result of “sozo”. It is a state whereby the receiver of “soteria” or salvation lives in “rescue, safety (physically or morally), deliverance, health.” (Strong’s Concordance) Living in the goodness of God’s salvation through His son Jesus Christ means having all of our needs provided for by God Himself, not by the latest promise of a politician. May we ever look to God in the name of Jesus for “everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3-4NIV).
The Hebrew rendering of the name we know as “Jesus” is yeshua, meaning “Jehovah saves”, and again connoting a state of salvation including “deliverance, aid, victory, properity, health, welfare, and liberty. (Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon) When the people heard that “Yeshua” was close by they knew by the very definition of his name that he was ready to heal, feed, and deliver them from what oppressed them. Of course, the Father’s plan for forgiveness and an eternal home was much larger, but the people also found their daily needs provided through the person of “Yeshua”, or Jesus. May we do the same!
Yes, if we call Jesus our Lord, we are promised eternal futures that we cannot even begin to understand. But in the here and now he is also poised to meet our every need if we will but go to him in humility, asking for our daily bread. Matthew 6:33 finds Jesus preaching, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV) May we do less seeking of the next American Idol, and more seeking the one who created us for his own glory and fellowship. May we worry less about the headlines of today’s newspaper and put more faith in the holy scriptures of the ages, which are the only eternal words that we have in this earth. They are words by which we may know God’s mind and His will for our lives. Read them, memorize them, meditate on them, live by them!!! Within them you will find all that you need!!! The world’s governments cannot make such an offer.
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