Many people have said, “The Bible is too difficult to understand!” It is not the parts that they don’t understand that are difficult. If there is one thing that the first twenty five chapters of the book of Genesis reveal; it is that God is very clear and simple in His WORD. As He appeared to Abraham and stated His promises so He also restates those promises to Isaac.
Genesis 26:2-4 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: (3) Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; (4) And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
We have to remember that life in Abraham’s time was dramatically different from our twenty first century living in the techno age. The only evening amusements were sitting around a fire and sharing stories. Isaac must have memorized the stories he heard about his father Abraham deceiving the Pharaoh of Egypt, saying that his mother Sarah was his sister. Pharaoh took Sarah for a wife and brought a curse upon his household. Abraham also had done the same thing with Abimelech king of the Philistines, and the king brought curses upon his household as well. So what does Isaac do when he is told by the LORD to dwell in the land of the Philistines? He says that Rebecca is his sister; but the King saw Isaac, “sporting with Rebecca.” They were being playful and flirtatious like married people do; not at all like brother and sister. The King confronts Isaac and then makes a proclamation to his people not to touch Rebecca; for fear of reaping a curse from the Almighty God, LORD of Abraham.
Genesis 26:7-11 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. (8) And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. (9) And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. (10) And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. (11) And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
It is fascinating and a bit of a quandary; how many of the pagan and idolatrous people were aware of the LORD and feared to trespass against Abraham and Isaac; yet they still worshipped gods of stone. They could clearly see that the LORD blessed His people. That same year, with Abimelech and his people as witnesses, God blessed Isaac’s crops a hundred times the normal yield. That made Isaac a very wealthy man in one year! Imagine receiving 100 times your normal salary in one year! November 10, 2010, the average American family was reported as earning $46,326 per year. One hundred times that would be over 4.6 million dollars. Imagine if America repented and became truly a God fearing country. We have pledged to be, “one nation under God.” Our money has printed and minted on it, “In God we trust.” Yet since the 1963 Supreme Court rulings; prayer in school and Bible reading were ruled unconstitutional. God gave this plea to His people; whom we claim to be!
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The Apostle Paul confirmed this equation (2 Chronicles 7:14) to blessings and if we would embrace the principle, God would rain blessings upon us as well.
1. Humbles ourselves: This means to live in meekness. As we saw when going through the fruits of the spirit; meekness is: enduring injury with patience and without resentment. It is the opposite of being vain and claiming your rights no matter what. It does not seek to be right and ahead of others at their cost. It is not weakness, but having an even temperament; seeking others benefits and not always your own.
2. Pray: Regular and daily communication with God. Share your thoughts and ideas with God. Include Him in your life; develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. Seek God first and above all; make praying to God your first response in a crisis and not your last resort. Be instant in prayer and pray without ceasing; which is to live prayerfully or in a state of prayer. Do all things prayerfully by seeking God’s intervention, option and counsel.
3. Seek God’s face: Don’t always be seeking God’s hand by asking Him for things. Seek God to know Him personally and intimately. Share all of the secrets of your heart with Him. Actively seek His will in your life. Bless God, instead of always asking for a blessing.
4. Turn from wickedness: As the Apostle Paul said, “I die daily.” That means we need to repent daily! If you believe that you can live a 24 hour day without sinning, then your sin is haughtiness and vanity and you have put yourself above God. We all sin; if not by commission, then by omission. Have you failed to share the Gospel with even one person who crossed your path, some stranger whose eyes met you yours? We must look deeper than just the letter of the law. Our calling requires us to live like Jesus Christ; to actually allow Jesus Christ to live inside of us.
Inasmuch As Ye Did It Not To One Of The Least Of These, Ye Did It Not To Me
Matthew 25:34-46 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: (36) Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? (38) When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? (39) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (41) Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (42) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: (43) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. (44) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. (46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
God was serious when He made promises to Abraham and then reaffirmed them to Isaac. As Christians, we are children of Christ and of His lineage; back through David to father Abraham. We are God’s people and we are not called to worship once a week; but rather to worship everyday and live in the promises.
After Jesus Christ personally gave His disciples final training after His resurrection; He sent them forth as Apostles. In Peter’s first sermon, he stated (after receiving first hand instructions for Jesus) on the day of Pentecost:
Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
We have a heritage that goes back to Abraham and lives in Christ and in us through the Holy Ghost. Let us live as the chosen people that we are!
Prayer: Father in Heaven, hear my prayer and open my heart and mind to your WORD. Live in me through the gift of the Holy Ghost. Help me to claim the promises and to live in truth and your way which is the only way that leads to life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment