Merry Christmas to each and every one of you who drop in and read this blog from time to time.
May God richly bless you and your loved ones today, and every day throughout the coming year as you serve His will in your lives.
May His work in you be great, and His work through you be greater, and may the day come when you will hear Him say to you:
“Well done good and faithful servant.”
Everyone knows this story, and I’m sure you don’t need me to retell it: God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering to God, and Abraham obeyed God’s instructions. At the last moment God stopped him and provided a ram as a substitute for the boy.
The theological implications of this scene could (and does) fill hundreds of volumes of scholarly discussion. Since we are looking at this through the lens of the Christmas story, I thought we might focus on these verses today:
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (22:15-18)
The entire story of Abraham is centered around the birth of Isaac, for Isaac was the key to God’s covenant relationship with Abraham− the Son of Promise. The Hebrews author tells us that Abraham’s faith was so strong by that time that he was thinking God would simply raise him from the dead if he had been sacrificed, and I’ll take his word on that. Yet Isaac, as critical a player as he was, was not the Son who would die for our sins and be raised again from the grave… but this story sure points us in that direction!
In this case, God provided the sacrifice in Isaac’s place, and in the case of the Son of God, God provided the sacrifice in our place: amazing.
The faith and obedience, yes obedience, that Abraham displayed in this scene resulted in God’s restatement of His promises to Abraham, a sort of confirmation of their covenant. Perhaps this took place because of Abraham’s lapses during the course of their relationship, or perhaps it was to instruct the generations that would follow; I don’t know. What I do know is that Abraham, as a model of faith for all of us, sets the bar very high in this scene, and I doubt strongly that any one of us could meet his standard; I know I wouldn’t.
Thankfully, God has already provided the last sacrifice for sins.
It would be easy for me to say here that we need more faith, and I would imagine everyone would agree with that. Yet it would also be a bit absurd, for faith isn’t the kind of thing you just pick up at the store, or force upon yourself. Faith is the natural outgrowth of relationship, in this case that would be relationship with our Lord and with others who follow Him; it is a lifelong pursuit and all of us are works in progress.
I suppose we could call it a journey; it certainly was a journey for Father Abraham.
Where will our journey take us in the weeks that lie ahead? That’s the real question.
For now, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a joyous and blessed Christmas full of the amazing presence of God’s love.
God’s investigation of Sodom found that the outcry He heard was all too true, and He destroyed the city and everyone in it, except for Lot and his family. Sadly, Lot’s wife met her doom when she just had to look back and became a pillar of salt. Afterwards, Lot had some trouble with his daughters… and his troubles and travails continued. Of course, it’s hard to forget the choices Lot made a few chapters back.
Abraham and his clan moved on to Gerar and made a mistake or two…
Abimelek was the king of Gerar, and for whatever reason, Abraham told Sarah they were going to try the old “she’s my sister” trick again. Once again, she was taken into the household of a pagan king, and this time God intervenes quickly in the form of a dream with Abimelek:
But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” (20:3).
In the dream God told the king to return Sarah to her husband unmolested, which he did.
Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
(20:8-10)
For the second time Abraham has been found out and stands in shame before a pagan king, and this time, he makes the situation worse…
Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” (20:11-13)
It looks to me like there is more “fear of the Lord” in this pagan court than there is within Abraham at that moment; everything he has just said makes him look worse− what will become of him now?
Abimelek showed Abraham and Sarah a great deal more courtesy and respect than either deserved in 20:11-16 and I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he did so out of “fear of the Lord”. God healed everyone He had prevented from conception, and the scene ends, leaving me in wonder and amazement; what was Abraham thinking?
Whatever it was, once again God showed His faithfulness to all concerned, after all, Abraham was His covenant partner and Abimelek was an innocent party… and we have another message of hope for Christmas. No matter how we might wander from wisdom and good judgment from time to time, God remembers His promises, and works things out for His covenant partners. While I don’t think I’ve ever known a Christ follower who has erred quite like this, we all mess up, and I find comfort in this story.
How about you?
Title: The Hope of the World
Text: Isaiah 9:1-7
Christmas hasn’t always been a holiday in America, in fact it didn’t become an official holiday until the Administration of U. S. Grant in the 1870’s. During the time of President Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln would hold a Reception in the White House on Christmas Day for the President’s Cabinet and their wives, along with other special guests. At some point in the proceedings, the President and his Cabinet would step out of the room and go upstairs to his office for their annual Christmas Cabinet meeting.
One of those meetings, the one in 1862, was quite important in American history because they took up their final preparations to prepare for the Emancipation Proclamation which took effect a week later on January 1, 1863. Just as that historic session was about to break up, the Secretary of the Treasury dropped a bombshell on the group: The United States Government, embroiled in the midst of Civil War, was bankrupt. Secretary Chase’s only solution for this crisis was to issue paper currency to the general population, and to hope they went along with it, since there was no more gold or silver with which to mint coins. It may be hard for us to comprehend this now, but the Government had never done anything like that before…
Attorney General Bates agreed that in spite of the fact that paper currency was illegal and Unconstitutional, this drastic move was a wartime necessity− as was the Emancipation Proclamation itself, which was also probably Unconstitutional.
Someone came up with the idea that since the value of paper money is based upon faith alone, perhaps there should be some sort of a motto on the bills, and the President himself quickly offered a suggestion from the Holy Scriptures. Mr. Lincoln suggested the motto should be: “Silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee.”
The Cabinet chose instead, “In God we trust” and it remains the motto on our currency to this very day.
Ironic isn’t it, on this weekend of back room deals and Government shutdown? I think Mr. Lincoln was probably the last honest politician. Even so, there is one in whom we can really place our full faith and trust:
In God we Trust.
There is so much that goes on this time of year, so many distractions, so many little traditions that we find ourselves going through, sometimes without even thinking about what we are doing. Yet the birth of Christ, His arrival on the scene, was an event that had been foretold centuries before, had been anticipated, yearned for and dreamt about… and then it happened! You know… there is a lesson just in that small fact: “and then it happened!” Isaiah 9 is one of the prophecies that is held dear by millions… let’s have a quick look at it:
This passage falls within a section that runs from 8:1-9:7. The section begins with a discussion about the relationship between the lack of belief in Judah and the resulting invasion of the Assyrians. (8:1-10) It affirms that God will not allow His people to be entirely wiped out, and moves on to tell those who remain faithful not to join in disbelief (8:11-22) presenting a very dark picture of anguish for those who are not faithful to God. 9:1-7 tells of hope; that just as God brought light out of darkness at the creation, so will He bring light to a world darkened by unbelief.
Our passage begins by telling the people that deliverance will come first in the North; “Galilee of the Gentiles”. This area was the first to be invaded by foes from the North, and would also be first to see deliverance. It is “of the Gentiles” because at the time of writing, the Israelites had been taken into captivity from this area, and the resultant inhabitants were Gentiles. The two tribes mentioned in the text, Zebulun and Naphtali were representative of those “lost” tribes. The reference, in verse 4, to the defeat of Midian is noteworthy, as it reminds the people of what God has done for them in the past. In addition, it was a deliverance that had particular effect on Zebulun and Naphtali. (Judges 7). Of course, after God’s deliverance the people again fell into disobedience and were re-conquered. This was a cycle that Isaiah’s readers should have been well aware of. Yet this time, the deliverer would be far greater than before:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV
Deliverance would come through a child of the House of David; but not a ruler like any they have seen before. Verse six contains a series of names for this coming ruler which reveal beyond dispute that the child will be no mere mortal: “Mighty God” for example is hardly a term that Jews would apply to a mortal man. “Everlasting Father” is most definitely another one that is beyond debate: the child would be God Himself!
Verse 7 indicates that His rule will last from that time on forever, and that all of this would be accomplished through the “zeal of Lord Almighty”.
In short, Isaiah is telling the people that they have grave trouble with God, and bad times ahead. This is all brought on by their own disbelief and rebellion against God, yet in the end, God will replace their disbelief with deliverance when He Himself will rule over His people.
It would be unthinkable for a Christian not to see Jesus Christ as the fulfillment for this prophecy in light of Matthew 4:13-17 in which Matthew specifically states that Jesus went back to Galilee to fulfill it. Note also that in verse 17 what is Jesus telling the people? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus was bringing the kingdom of heaven to Galilee. He established this kingdom by bringing deliverance to those who would remain faithful to God through His work on the cross. This was deliverance not by the sword, but by forgiveness; and the Kingdom of Heaven came into being. This Kingdom makes war obsolete, for it is not of this world. (Isaiah 9:5; cf. John 18:36)
In this Christmas season, may we remember who is faithful, may we place our full faith and trust in Him, and live, from this day forward, in His service.
For me, this passage is amazing, one of the most amazing in all of Scripture. I say this for two reasons, first because we see into the mind of God as he considers what to do next and second because we see Abraham actually influencing to some degree, God’s plan through his intercession.
The visit mentioned in the previous post has ended and the Three are leaving Abraham’s place to go into town, for they have received information about the terrific conditions in the city of Sodom; they intend to investigate these allegations. As they are walking, the Lord considers whether or not He should tell Abraham what their mission is (18:16-19). Then the Lord seems to have decided to brief Abraham and he said:
“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” (18:20-21)
For most of us, we think of Sodom and Gomorrah as places full of wild sex parties of all sorts, but that wasn’t what the “outcry” was really all about. If you read carefully the passages dealing with Sodom, you will see that the wild carrying-on included mass rapes involving children and whole families; this place was no pleasure den, it was a house of horrors. Yet there was an outcry so not everyone was willing to indulge, and hence, the Lord wants to investigate before acting.
In 13:22-33 Abraham enters the picture and asks God not to judge the innocent with the guilty, asking that he spare the city for the sake of 50 righteous, then 40 and step by step on down to 10 righteous, and God agrees. God’s purpose in judging remains the same; if this is true, then He will put a stop to it, but He will spare those who were not part of the debauchery.
Abraham was cited multiple times in the New Testament as a model of faithfulness. Abraham had a relationship with God, a covenant relationship, and when he went to God to intercede on behalf of the righteous of Sodom, God granted Abraham’s requests− He answered Abraham’s prayers.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a relationship with God, a covenant relationship. We also can have access to His presence to bring intercession for the righteous in various situations. What does this story tell us about God’s willingness to hear our prayers for the righteous?
Yes, exactly, there’s some Christmas hope for you!
I must admit that it felt kind of weird typing the words “God drops by for dinner”, but that’s what happened. Abraham was sitting outside his tent one day when he sees three men approaching; they were God− Father, Son and Spirit.
No, I don’t think it was God and two bodyguards; what would He need bodyguards for?
Being a gracious host, Abraham offers something to eat and drink, and they accept. He tells Sarah to get busy baking bread; he selects a perfect calf and tells a servant to prepare it for roasting; the Three would be there for the day it would seem, for it takes a long time to go from flour to bread and from a living calf to a roasted one… They would be visiting for quite some time just as close friends like to do.
I wonder how often we spend time with God just visiting…
Abraham returns to his Guest with milk and curds. “Where is Sarah?” He asks. (Notice they knew his wife’s name).
Abraham says that she is in the tent.
Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” (18:10)
Sarah, listening at the opening of the tent (wasn’t she supposed to be making bread?) chuckles to herself at the thought of becoming pregnant at 90 and the Lord wanted to know why she was laughing− she lied. “Yes, you did laugh” was the Lord’s reply…
The Christmas Story is all about an impossible birth, and so is Father Abraham’s story. From an earthly point of view, neither story can be true, and ever since that time, people who do not have ears to hear, have dismissed both as mere myth. Yet both really took place, for nothing is too hard for our God. Abraham’s is a story of promise, the Christmas Story is a story of promise fulfilled and I can’t help but think that of all seasons of the year, this is the most hopeful, for if nothing else it reminds us of the hope we have in Christ… if only we could stop hustling and bustling long enough to have eyes that see.
We’ll pick up the story here next time, and when we do, we will have a rare glimpse into the mind of God at work: see you then!
On a certain day Abram was going about his business as usual when God came to him out of the blue…
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” (17:1-2)
For the first time in the relationship, God is giving Abram covenant terms (conditions) that he must follow, beginning in verse 1 with “walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” In the next several verses (3-8) God promises Abram that he will not only have a son, but that he will be the father of many nations, and changes his name to Abraham. As the father of nations, he will also be the ancestor of kings, and God’s covenant will extend to all of Abraham’s descendants, and those of his entire household. The land of Canaan will be their homeland and they will take possession of it, something Abram had not yet been able to do. There is another condition as well, for all males must be circumcised.
In 17:9-14 God makes it abundantly clear that each and every male must be circumcised as a sign of the covenant, including anyone in the household who is not a blood relation and that if they do so, God will be their God, and the God of their descendants. If they do not do so, they are to be cast out.
Sarai is also to be blessed, for she in spite of their ages, will bear a son through whom the covenant will pass to future generations; her name was changed to Sarah. Abraham’s reaction was to laugh, for how could they produce children at their ages? He suggested that Ishmael could be the son through whom the covenant would pass, but God, while willing to bless Ishmael with a great nation of his own, insisted that Abraham and Sarah would have the Son of Promise; they would name him Isaac, and he would be born within the year. To his everlasting credit, Abraham stopped laughing and was circumcised on that very day, along with all of the males in his household.
Let’s take just a moment and ask ourselves a simple question: Why did God wait around until Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90 to fulfill His promise to give them a son − was He too busy in another galaxy or something?
While we’re asking ourselves questions, let’s ask another one: Why did the Son of God come to earth as an infant born to a teenager in a manger in Bethlehem instead of coming on the wings of angels into downtown Jerusalem?
I can suggest one answer: God’s power is best seen when the humans in the picture are weakest. Certainly a son born to a 90 year old, fathered by a 99 year old is just as unlikely as a child born to a virgin, for as we know, both are not possible in the normal course of events.
In both cases there would be no doubt that God Himself was responsible for the birth of a promised son.
The Christmas Story would never be complete without an examination of the friction between human customs and traditions and the promises and ways of God. In our text, Sarai is getting old, yet she has never conceived a child. She knows that God has promised a son to her husband, but so far, God hasn’t come through with the heir. Custom in those days dictated that if an important person like Abram didn’t have an heir by his wife, then she could conceive a child through her slave girl, and Sarai encouraged Abram to use this option− to help God get the job done, one might say. Abram took his wife’s advice, and Hagar, the slave girl, became pregnant.
From this point forward, there would be no end of grief for Abram and Sarai; there are consequences to such things as they had done.
Hagar, realizing that her stock was rising, became unpleasant with her mistress, and Sarai complained of this to her husband who seems to have tried to wash his hands of the entire matter. Sarai sent the pregnant Hagar away into the wilderness… where Hagar had an encounter with the angel of the Lord. It would seem that God was disapproving of such treatment as Hagar had received at the hands of Sarai.
For our purposes in this survey, I will leave the details of this continuing saga for you to read on your own should you choose to do so. I must point out however, that there is a great lesson for us to apply as we celebrate Christmas, for in doing so, we must come face to face with the awesome promises of God, promises that have been fulfilled as well as a few which have yet to be culminated. At the same time, we deal every day with human custom and tradition, especially at this time of year, and sometimes these come into conflict.
I am curious to see if you have any thoughts on this: This Christmas season, when custom, tradition and God come into conflict− which will we choose? I know that in my personal case, I always say that I will choose God’s promises over tradition and custom, and yet I often find myself under pressure to compromise so that we can have both. There’s always a way to justify doing things, don’t you agree?
Yet this is what Abram and Sarai did, they compromised, and they came to regret that compromise, in fact it nearly tore them apart at one point.
Or… maybe you don’t see any conflicts at all. If so, I’m sure we’d be interested to hear about that view as well.
donmerrittonline.com
In this passage, the conversation of our last post continues, this time Abraham asks God how he can be sure that God will give him the land of Canaan, an amazing question all things considered. God’s reply is even more amazing: He swears out a covenant.
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.”
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. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. (15:9-11)
God’s response was to tell Abram to gather certain animals together, which Abram did and cut them in half, laying the carcasses out with the halves side by side. In doing so, Abram consented to the covenant in blood without swearing an oath which is not the Old Testament norm.
Then, God swears an oath:
Beginning in verse 13, God tells Abram that his descendants will be taken to Egypt where they will be enslaved 400 years which is a part of the Covenant we don’t often bring up in Sunday School. Abram will not be involved in that phase as he will have died at a ripe old age. Then God will save the people out of Egypt after they become enriched from the wealth of that land (15:13-16).
Next, God passed through the carcasses in the form of fire, swearing that He gives the Land to Abram’s descendants (15:17-21). Normally both parties would march through the bloody carcasses, symbolizing that if they broke their covenant, this would be their fate, but here only God passes through. Why was it done this way?
There was no way for Abraham to avoid sinning against God because there was no provision for atonement for sins in this covenant; that would come along much later. When you step back and consider these incredible events, you quickly find yourself in one of those “Wow” moments, for God had sworn and passed through the blood on Abram’s behalf. This means that God took the penalty for the sins of Abram and those who would follow upon Himself, setting the stage for our Christmas Story, for when the Lamb of God appeared as a babe in that manger, God was fulfilling His obligation to Abram to pay for his sin.
Merry Christmas indeed!
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