Interesting discussions can come from rewriting history in our imaginations. What if the USA government had responded differently to the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon? Would we be at war today? What if General Lee had not joined the Confederate army but had joined President Lincoln in the north? What if Hitler had not been elected to leadership in Germany? And what if the Israelites hadn’t stayed in Egypt after the famine?
God had called Abraham away from the wealth in Ur and made a covenant with him promising him descendants as numerous as the sand of the seashore and the stars in the heavens. God’s instructions to Abraham were, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
Abraham took a few detours on the way, but in the end, he got to Canaan, the land God showed him. When there was a famine, he went to Egypt. (Jacob did the same many years later.) Pharaoh sent Abraham on his way so Abraham didn’t get stuck in Egypt as Jacob and his sons did much later. I wonder if Abraham would have stayed in Egypt had Pharaoh not sent him away.
Through time, Abraham began to understand more and more about what God was asking of him and when it came time for Isaac to get a wife, he made it very clear that whatever happened, his son Isaac was not to go back to where they came from. He sent a servant to go back to get a wife from his relatives, but Isaac was to stay. I wonder why it was so important to Abraham that Isaac not go back. Was it because the wealth of Ur he had left behind could deceive him and keep him from coming back to Canaan where he belonged?
Jacob left Canaan after he made his brother so mad he wanted to kill him – all that over a birthright and blessings. Funny thing is that in the end, Jacob didn’t need the birthright – the inheritance from his father. He did quite well for himself working for Laban for 20 years. God spoke to Jacob and told him to return to Canaan. When he returned, he brought with him wives, children, and large herds of livestock.
But in his old age, when famine struck again, Jacob and his family went to Egypt where Joseph had prepared the way for them and they were well cared for. “Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours,” Pharaoh instructed Joseph to tell his family. Before Jacob died, he made it clear that his sons were not to stay in Egypt, but to return to the land God had promised them. He said to Joseph, “God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” Genesis 48:22
Joseph had a decision to make. The others would listen to him. He could stay where he was with all the authority and power and wealth of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself, or he could return to Canaan where God had instructed Abraham to go, where Isaac had stayed, where his father Jacob had returned and prospered, and where Jacob was now telling him to return. It seems Joseph could not walk away from everything he had in Egypt. They continued to stay even after the famine was over. And they prospered in the land.
Yet, when Joseph died, he asked his family to make sure his bones got back to the land God had promised Abraham. He told them, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” Genesis 50:25
If they were prospering, why would God need to come to their aid? Is it possible Joseph foresaw the slavery that was to come? Is it possible that he even saw the slavery to wealth that was already there? I wonder if on his deathbed, Joseph wished he had had the courage to leave Egypt and go back to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
And so, I wonder… Would the Israelites have had to become slaves in Egypt and wonder in the desert 40 years if they had not lingered so long in Egypt? If they had been willing to give up the wealth they thought they wanted and return to the promise God had given them, could they have avoided all those years of pain and instead have experienced God’s peace?
And I wonder… Would Canaan have been as settled by the other nations and would the Israelites have had to fight so much for the land they were to occupy if they had stayed there in the first place? Were the years after returning harder because they had stayed away so long?
Moses left Egypt. And once he was away from it for a while, his vision was cleared and he was able to hear God’s voice. And God sent him back to rescue the rest of Israel and lead them out. Even though they had been enslaved, the Israelites left kicking and screaming. Their tantrums cost them 40 more years of desert time. And it was their children, who grew up not knowing Egypt, that were finally able to move on to the Promised Land.
I have a friend who is going through a very hard time with a family crisis that has gone on for many months and just can’t seem to end. This friend asked me, “Why is it taking so long to get through this?” And I wonder… Is it because your heart has been deceived by wealth and power and you have not yet learned to yield and let God have control? How much of this struggle could be avoided if God was allowed to have his way instead of trying to get to peace on earth your way using wealth and power?
And I wonder, day by day, how often my struggles are related to whether my eyes are on Egypt (this world’s goods) or on my Father, seeking his wisdom and power. Wealth is so deceitful. It promises everything, but delivers nothing. Yet the human race has been beguiled by it from the beginning of time.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
“And my God will meet all your needs, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” II Corinthians 9:8
May God’s grace and provision abound as we seek him daily in life.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
As Usual
Jesus was in the habit of going to the Mount of Olives to pray. “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.” Luke 22:39
After a healing of a boy with an evil spirit, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” and he replied, “This kind can come out only with prayer.” Mark 9:29 As we read this account in Mark, we don’t see Jesus kneeling by the boy and praying and begging God to fix the problem. He simply commands the spirit to come out. Surely, Jesus prayed often on the Mount of Olives and in services at the synagogue, but it seems he is referring to something more here.
As Jesus was entering a town, a funeral procession was coming out. A widow’s only son had died. “His heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.’” Luke 7:13-15 Jesus didn’t stop and pray a lengthy prayer imploring God to bring this young man back to life. He simply told him to get up!
When I think of how we pray for healings, begging and imploring God to remove the cancer, bring a rebellious child back to fellowship with his/her family and God, etc., it seems that we try to remove this moment from our daily lives and circumstances and present it to God as something different and/or special. It seems we want a formula… if I do these three things in the right order, the result will be… If I pray enough, if I believe enough… That would give us control over our lives and over the lives of those we love. But Jesus didn’t seem to operate that way. These healings took place most often on the way to somewhere. There was a man who was blind from birth, the lepers who acquired the disease later in life, the paralytic brought by friends, the shriveled arm, the centurion’s sick son, etc. The only thing these situations have in common is unexpected results – miracles. Raising the only son of the widow wasn’t even asked for. Jesus just did it.
Oswald Chambers in his January 6 entry in My Utmost for His Highest, says, “The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time – there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life – worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.” (Discovery House Publishers, 1992)
I wonder if Jesus ministry of healing, then, was part of this harmony of worship, waiting and work. While he took time away from the world at the Mount of Olives, he lived in constant worship and relationship with God, his Father. He didn’t separate his relationship with God from his trip to town X. He didn’t quick get in his morning devotions and then take off with an agenda longer than hours in a day. But rather, his worship continued throughout the day in his waiting for God’s timing – the right moment – and in his work – his service to others (healing, restoration, and encouragement). He wants that for us too. “My prayer is not for them [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.” John 17:20-23
This oneness Jesus is referring to doesn’t happen by praying in the morning and running hard all day on my own power. The most stressful times in my life seem to be when I separate worship, waiting, and work. The more intimate I become with God, the more worship becomes a part of my waiting and my work. Work, no matter how difficult, becomes more special and fulfilling when it becomes part of my worship. The ‘quiet time’ exists in my soul all day long no matter the circumstances. This is the peace that Paul speaks of, “The peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
My prayer for all who claim to follow Christ is that we continue to move toward that perfect harmony of worship, waiting and work – that while we need a private quiet time with God as we rise in the morning, our quiet time with him in our souls continues throughout the day, confident that he is doing his great work in us and through us no matter what the circumstances are – as usual.
After a healing of a boy with an evil spirit, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” and he replied, “This kind can come out only with prayer.” Mark 9:29 As we read this account in Mark, we don’t see Jesus kneeling by the boy and praying and begging God to fix the problem. He simply commands the spirit to come out. Surely, Jesus prayed often on the Mount of Olives and in services at the synagogue, but it seems he is referring to something more here.
As Jesus was entering a town, a funeral procession was coming out. A widow’s only son had died. “His heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.’” Luke 7:13-15 Jesus didn’t stop and pray a lengthy prayer imploring God to bring this young man back to life. He simply told him to get up!
When I think of how we pray for healings, begging and imploring God to remove the cancer, bring a rebellious child back to fellowship with his/her family and God, etc., it seems that we try to remove this moment from our daily lives and circumstances and present it to God as something different and/or special. It seems we want a formula… if I do these three things in the right order, the result will be… If I pray enough, if I believe enough… That would give us control over our lives and over the lives of those we love. But Jesus didn’t seem to operate that way. These healings took place most often on the way to somewhere. There was a man who was blind from birth, the lepers who acquired the disease later in life, the paralytic brought by friends, the shriveled arm, the centurion’s sick son, etc. The only thing these situations have in common is unexpected results – miracles. Raising the only son of the widow wasn’t even asked for. Jesus just did it.
Oswald Chambers in his January 6 entry in My Utmost for His Highest, says, “The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time – there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life – worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.” (Discovery House Publishers, 1992)
I wonder if Jesus ministry of healing, then, was part of this harmony of worship, waiting and work. While he took time away from the world at the Mount of Olives, he lived in constant worship and relationship with God, his Father. He didn’t separate his relationship with God from his trip to town X. He didn’t quick get in his morning devotions and then take off with an agenda longer than hours in a day. But rather, his worship continued throughout the day in his waiting for God’s timing – the right moment – and in his work – his service to others (healing, restoration, and encouragement). He wants that for us too. “My prayer is not for them [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.” John 17:20-23
This oneness Jesus is referring to doesn’t happen by praying in the morning and running hard all day on my own power. The most stressful times in my life seem to be when I separate worship, waiting, and work. The more intimate I become with God, the more worship becomes a part of my waiting and my work. Work, no matter how difficult, becomes more special and fulfilling when it becomes part of my worship. The ‘quiet time’ exists in my soul all day long no matter the circumstances. This is the peace that Paul speaks of, “The peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
My prayer for all who claim to follow Christ is that we continue to move toward that perfect harmony of worship, waiting and work – that while we need a private quiet time with God as we rise in the morning, our quiet time with him in our souls continues throughout the day, confident that he is doing his great work in us and through us no matter what the circumstances are – as usual.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Fear of Isaac
Jacob has spent 20 years serving Laban , 7 to ‘earn’ Rachel, then 7 to ‘earn’ Rachel again because he had been given Leah instead, and then 6 to ‘earn’ his flocks. Laban connived to keep Jacob there because he realized that Jacob was a very blessed man. Things prospered under his care. Jacob realized that problems were mounting between him and his father-in-law and brothers-in-law. Jealousy kills relationships quickly.
Jacob didn’t hesitate to obey when the Lord spoke to him telling him to go back to the land of his father. He knew Laban continue to control him if he stayed and he desired to obey God. So he gathered his wives, children and possessions and took off when he knew Laban would not be able to immediately follow. Laban, however, did catch up to Jacob. But God had warned him a dream to not hurt Jacob, so he just questioned him as to why he would take off without so much as a good-bye. Jacob replied by reminding Laban how he had worked for him, protected his flocks taking any losses on himself and laboring in the heat and the cold. He said, “It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” Genesis 31:41-42
I’ve always read this portion of Scripture focusing on Jacob and Laban. Today, however, something else jumped out at me (not once but twice) and that is a new name for God – “the Fear of Isaac.” This appears in verse 42 and again in verse 53, “So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.” Genesis 31:53
This makes me wonder about Isaac’s relationship with God. Abraham was a friend of God. They talked with each other. Isaac was the result of a promise God made to Abraham. I often wonder about how being strapped down with his father over him with a knife willing to sacrifice him to God affected Isaac growing up – his relationship with Abraham and with God. Jacob’s oath may give us a hint. Isaac saw his father respond in obedience to God to the point of willingness to give up his son whom he loved very much. Isaac also saw God provide the ram as the sacrifice that freed him from being the sacrifice. I imagine his little heart was pounding as his father raised the knife. He likely was pulling at the ropes wanting desperately to get out of the way. He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t have some desire for survival.
As I go back and read about Isaac again, I see several things about him. He was the first child circumcised as an infant, nearly sacrificed when he was still quite young, mourned his mother’s death around the age of 27, married Rebekah, had Jacob and Esau, blessed Jacob and then died. Genesis 21-35 Those are the often read stories about Isaac. Isaac was in the field meditating when he first laid eyes on Rebekah as his servant returned from his journey seeking a wife for Isaac. The Lord did appear to Isaac on several occasions. And like his father, Abraham, Isaac immediately obeyed when the Lord spoke to him. And like his father, Isaac also was deceitful out of fear, calling Rebekah his sister instead of his wife. But God protected them and gently restored Rebekah to him as his wife.
Though the Lord spoke to Isaac and Isaac immediately obeyed, the Bible does not call Isaac a friend of God as Abraham had been. Nevertheless, the Lord made the same covenant with Isaac that he had with Abraham. “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” Genesis 26:4 And, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24 Isaac worshiped God and God blessed him in many ways. When there was conflict with Abimelech, Isaac walked away from a fight like his father Abraham had done. And God continued to bless him.
When Jacob calls God the “Fear of Isaac,” I wonder if it comes out of stories his father told him as he was growing up. Isaac understood the power and supremacy of God in a way few people experience. He put a new meaning in the phrase ‘sacrificial living’. He understood that his very life came from God and was given back to him by God. He understood God’s provision and prospered under God’s blessings. I believe he loved and worshiped God… and he feared God.
Fearing God is not something we are comfortable talking about. We like the love, blessings, and provision of God but we struggle with the fact that he gives us our very breath. We are alive because he chooses to let us live – not because we deserve to live or are in control of our own lives. Whether or not we fear God is at the root of all of our questions of ‘why’ when a child dies or a young mother succumbs to cancer or a 20-year-old brilliant student with a heart for mission drowns. It kind of boils down to the trust factor. Have I learned to let go of trying to control my own life and destiny and to trust God no matter what happens? There is such a peace and relief in the times when I actually get there – trusting the Fear of Isaac.
Jacob didn’t hesitate to obey when the Lord spoke to him telling him to go back to the land of his father. He knew Laban continue to control him if he stayed and he desired to obey God. So he gathered his wives, children and possessions and took off when he knew Laban would not be able to immediately follow. Laban, however, did catch up to Jacob. But God had warned him a dream to not hurt Jacob, so he just questioned him as to why he would take off without so much as a good-bye. Jacob replied by reminding Laban how he had worked for him, protected his flocks taking any losses on himself and laboring in the heat and the cold. He said, “It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” Genesis 31:41-42
I’ve always read this portion of Scripture focusing on Jacob and Laban. Today, however, something else jumped out at me (not once but twice) and that is a new name for God – “the Fear of Isaac.” This appears in verse 42 and again in verse 53, “So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.” Genesis 31:53
This makes me wonder about Isaac’s relationship with God. Abraham was a friend of God. They talked with each other. Isaac was the result of a promise God made to Abraham. I often wonder about how being strapped down with his father over him with a knife willing to sacrifice him to God affected Isaac growing up – his relationship with Abraham and with God. Jacob’s oath may give us a hint. Isaac saw his father respond in obedience to God to the point of willingness to give up his son whom he loved very much. Isaac also saw God provide the ram as the sacrifice that freed him from being the sacrifice. I imagine his little heart was pounding as his father raised the knife. He likely was pulling at the ropes wanting desperately to get out of the way. He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t have some desire for survival.
As I go back and read about Isaac again, I see several things about him. He was the first child circumcised as an infant, nearly sacrificed when he was still quite young, mourned his mother’s death around the age of 27, married Rebekah, had Jacob and Esau, blessed Jacob and then died. Genesis 21-35 Those are the often read stories about Isaac. Isaac was in the field meditating when he first laid eyes on Rebekah as his servant returned from his journey seeking a wife for Isaac. The Lord did appear to Isaac on several occasions. And like his father, Abraham, Isaac immediately obeyed when the Lord spoke to him. And like his father, Isaac also was deceitful out of fear, calling Rebekah his sister instead of his wife. But God protected them and gently restored Rebekah to him as his wife.
Though the Lord spoke to Isaac and Isaac immediately obeyed, the Bible does not call Isaac a friend of God as Abraham had been. Nevertheless, the Lord made the same covenant with Isaac that he had with Abraham. “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” Genesis 26:4 And, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24 Isaac worshiped God and God blessed him in many ways. When there was conflict with Abimelech, Isaac walked away from a fight like his father Abraham had done. And God continued to bless him.
When Jacob calls God the “Fear of Isaac,” I wonder if it comes out of stories his father told him as he was growing up. Isaac understood the power and supremacy of God in a way few people experience. He put a new meaning in the phrase ‘sacrificial living’. He understood that his very life came from God and was given back to him by God. He understood God’s provision and prospered under God’s blessings. I believe he loved and worshiped God… and he feared God.
Fearing God is not something we are comfortable talking about. We like the love, blessings, and provision of God but we struggle with the fact that he gives us our very breath. We are alive because he chooses to let us live – not because we deserve to live or are in control of our own lives. Whether or not we fear God is at the root of all of our questions of ‘why’ when a child dies or a young mother succumbs to cancer or a 20-year-old brilliant student with a heart for mission drowns. It kind of boils down to the trust factor. Have I learned to let go of trying to control my own life and destiny and to trust God no matter what happens? There is such a peace and relief in the times when I actually get there – trusting the Fear of Isaac.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
No Pain, No Gain
“Make sure that you do not take my son back there… Only do not take my son back there.” Genesis 24:6, 8 Abraham was adamant about this. He did not want Isaac going back to Ur where he had grown up and where God had first spoken to him about the promise. He did not send Isaac back to get a wife, but sent a servant to get the wife for him. He wanted the wife to be from the same clan he had come from, but he would not allow Isaac to go select her and bring her back.
I wonder why this was so important to Abraham… Could it be that some of the experiences along the way for Abraham had taught him some lessons that he wanted Isaac to learn without the pain it had cost Lot, Abraham and Sarah? Is it possible that the lure of the city would capture Isaac and send him on a long detour if he were to go back there?
It is easy to read through Genesis and see that Abraham was called out, he went, and a new nation was born and from that nation came Jesus, our Savior. We read over the ‘bumps in the road’ quickly and without too much thought because we know where it is going. But somehow, life is not like that. The bumps in the road are a little more pronounced. And with each bump comes a little more wisdom – if we allow God to have his way with us. Abraham had several significant bumps. But God didn’t give up on the plan or the promise.
First, when Abraham left Ur, he took along some baggage – his father and his nephew. His father kept him from getting all the way to the land God had promised him for some time and his nephew while considered righteous wasn’t living under the promise. He was constantly attracted to the riches of Egypt and the city life. Rather than choosing to follow the promise, he chose to follow his own selfish desires. And Abraham found himself rescuing Lot with the potential of losing everything he had including his own life. Abraham saw how the lure of the world could keep one from finding their full potential in God’s plan. He didn’t want that for Isaac.
When famine struck, Abraham headed for Egypt – insisting that Sarah was his sister to 'protect himself' from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh figured it out in the midst of serious disease inflicted on his household. In the end, God used it to build up Abraham’s wealth. But I wonder what God would have done to save Abraham and Sarah from all the ‘drama’ in Egypt had they stayed put where God had sent them. God later provided manna for the Israelites in the desert for forty years. Could he not have provided manna for Abraham and Sarah to get them through the famine?
A second time when Abraham was afraid of Abimelech, he again said Sarah was his sister. God again protected Sarah and Abraham in spite of their foolishness and not trusting him. And in the end, they gained more wealth in cattle and sheep. But I wonder how many conflicts arose between Israel and descendants of Abimelech along the way as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road.
But even as Abraham was learning from these situations, the big bump in his road occurred when he and Sarah got ahead of God regarding the child promised to them. What pain they had to deal with regarding Hagar and Ishmael! And the conflict between Israel and the Arab nations even today continues to rage as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road. If only he had been patient and waited for God’s timing. Things might have been very different.
Now, after all these struggles to obey God, Abraham has learned a lot of lessons and he doesn’t want Isaac to have to repeat any of the mistakes. So he was adamant about Isaac not going back to where he came from. And God honored that wisdom and the humble prayer of Abraham’s servant and Isaac was blessed with a beautiful wife from their own clan.
So many times I hear myself and other parents steering our children away from mistakes we have made in the past. We want so much for our children to take us at our word and not make those same mistakes. Sometimes there is success and sometimes children need to experience the same failures in order to learn. But I have found God to be faithful and full of mercy and grace – just as he was with Abraham and Sarah. His grace pulled my parents back, it pulled me back, and it will pull my children back. As long as we keep our eyes on him and humbly admit our failures, he restores us generation after generation, day after day.
“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. 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 12:2-3 Even as the promise was made regarding Abraham having descendants, the promise of the Messiah to come was also in that promise – the Messiah that would restore us to a right relationship with God. And no amount of bumps and missteps in Abraham’s life was going to change that. God’s awesome grace is bigger than any bump in our road. Thank you, Jesus!
I wonder why this was so important to Abraham… Could it be that some of the experiences along the way for Abraham had taught him some lessons that he wanted Isaac to learn without the pain it had cost Lot, Abraham and Sarah? Is it possible that the lure of the city would capture Isaac and send him on a long detour if he were to go back there?
It is easy to read through Genesis and see that Abraham was called out, he went, and a new nation was born and from that nation came Jesus, our Savior. We read over the ‘bumps in the road’ quickly and without too much thought because we know where it is going. But somehow, life is not like that. The bumps in the road are a little more pronounced. And with each bump comes a little more wisdom – if we allow God to have his way with us. Abraham had several significant bumps. But God didn’t give up on the plan or the promise.
First, when Abraham left Ur, he took along some baggage – his father and his nephew. His father kept him from getting all the way to the land God had promised him for some time and his nephew while considered righteous wasn’t living under the promise. He was constantly attracted to the riches of Egypt and the city life. Rather than choosing to follow the promise, he chose to follow his own selfish desires. And Abraham found himself rescuing Lot with the potential of losing everything he had including his own life. Abraham saw how the lure of the world could keep one from finding their full potential in God’s plan. He didn’t want that for Isaac.
When famine struck, Abraham headed for Egypt – insisting that Sarah was his sister to 'protect himself' from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh figured it out in the midst of serious disease inflicted on his household. In the end, God used it to build up Abraham’s wealth. But I wonder what God would have done to save Abraham and Sarah from all the ‘drama’ in Egypt had they stayed put where God had sent them. God later provided manna for the Israelites in the desert for forty years. Could he not have provided manna for Abraham and Sarah to get them through the famine?
A second time when Abraham was afraid of Abimelech, he again said Sarah was his sister. God again protected Sarah and Abraham in spite of their foolishness and not trusting him. And in the end, they gained more wealth in cattle and sheep. But I wonder how many conflicts arose between Israel and descendants of Abimelech along the way as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road.
But even as Abraham was learning from these situations, the big bump in his road occurred when he and Sarah got ahead of God regarding the child promised to them. What pain they had to deal with regarding Hagar and Ishmael! And the conflict between Israel and the Arab nations even today continues to rage as a result of this bump in Abraham’s road. If only he had been patient and waited for God’s timing. Things might have been very different.
Now, after all these struggles to obey God, Abraham has learned a lot of lessons and he doesn’t want Isaac to have to repeat any of the mistakes. So he was adamant about Isaac not going back to where he came from. And God honored that wisdom and the humble prayer of Abraham’s servant and Isaac was blessed with a beautiful wife from their own clan.
So many times I hear myself and other parents steering our children away from mistakes we have made in the past. We want so much for our children to take us at our word and not make those same mistakes. Sometimes there is success and sometimes children need to experience the same failures in order to learn. But I have found God to be faithful and full of mercy and grace – just as he was with Abraham and Sarah. His grace pulled my parents back, it pulled me back, and it will pull my children back. As long as we keep our eyes on him and humbly admit our failures, he restores us generation after generation, day after day.
“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. 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 12:2-3 Even as the promise was made regarding Abraham having descendants, the promise of the Messiah to come was also in that promise – the Messiah that would restore us to a right relationship with God. And no amount of bumps and missteps in Abraham’s life was going to change that. God’s awesome grace is bigger than any bump in our road. Thank you, Jesus!
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