Has God ever Misspoke?

Genesis 26:17-32

Have you been part of a church that the message is all about your health, your wealth, it has a name, it’s called the prosperity gospel and it will draw a good crowd of people, and why not, none of us what to hear a depressing message.  You would think that Jesus being God, our Creator, would have known better than to say “In the world you will have tribulation” maybe he just misspoke in John 16:33?   Let me be very clear, Jesus has never misspoke, and in Matthew 24, Jesus is telling His disciples about signs of the closing of the Church age, yes it had a beginning and it has an end.  Jesus makes this statement in verse 21, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be.”  And often I wonder why people like the prosperity gospel, even when it is not based on Scripture. Who wants to hear that in the world you will have tribulation?

Isaac has just been run out of the place he called home, not because he is a bad guy but because God is blessing him.  He takes his people and moves only to find that the Philistines have stopped up all the wells his father had dug; and without water you are finished, you lose your herds, your flocks and the people die for lack of water.  So Isaac tells his servants to dig a new well and the herdsmen of Gerar tell his servant to hit the road that is their well.  So Isaac digs another well and once more the people of the land tell him to keep moving because it’s their water. I believe that might fall into the area of tribulations!  Verse 22 begins in this way; “And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it.  So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the Land.”   

What just happened?  Isaac and his people get run out of a country, go to a new area and get pushed around by some herdsmen.  Why is this happening and why is he not standing up and fighting back?  I believe the simple answer is that Isaac knew that God was his provider and protector, and his actions seem to make that clear.  So if God is your provider and protector, is it necessary to do anything but what Isaac did?  In verse 24 Isaac and his people have arrived in Beersheba and the Lord appeared to him that very night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father: Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”  How did Isaac react; “he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there.  And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” 

God honored Isaac because he obeyed and depended on God to protect and provide for his family and his people, and as I look at the wells that our forefathers have dug and how they are being covered over, I also must make a choice to fight or wait on the Lord my God to provide and protect my family.  It always comes down to this fact; can I trust God to protect and provide, and I stand in good company when I put my hope in Him and Him alone.  The bottom line of John 16:33 ends with Jesus saying this; “But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

From the Bach Porch,

Bob Rice

A Box God will never fit into

Genesis 26:12-16

Have you ever tried to put God in a box, so that you and those you hangout with can easily understand Him?  If so, I bet the God in your box has total distain for people who lie, as Isaac has done about Rebekah being his sister.  I also bet the God in your box is the one who gives all blessing and also brings curses on those who lie and are dishonest.  So as we turn to verses 12-16 the God of the Bible may not fit into your box.

“And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold.  The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.  He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.”  Isaac, the man who was the blessing of God, had clay feet just as his father Abraham; both of them lied because of the fear of man, but both obeyed God and did what he told them.  And I believe you and I would be very wise to agree with Scripture, that all blessings come from God, and that it was God who was abundantly blessing Isaac, so much that the King asked him to leave his Country.

Everyone has a box that we try to fit God into, and it is not a new thing, in fact the early church and the apostles also dealt with the issue of how one enters into their own Christian experience or relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God the Father.  Gene Getz, in his book Men of Character, list four facts that we need in our box to have biblical truth.  I believe most peoples’ box has a place in it to earn the favor of God, or they have been taught that they must do some act, to earn the grace of God.  And often the ones who believe it is a free gift, put rules in their box, rules to keep themselves saved, and those rules are based on a life of performance.  I’ve come to believe that even the faith to believe in Christ came from God, I did nothing, not one thing, to earn salvation, it was all God’s grace and His only, and if that be true, then how could I lose what I did not earn?

The following four points are important for every Christian’s box.

1. To what extent do you understand and believe that your salvation is a free gift from God – something you cannot and did not work for?
2. To what extent do you have the assurance of your salvation and that God is the one who keeps you eternally saved?  In other words, to what extent do you understand that your eternal redemption is not dependent upon your own efforts?
3. When you evaluate your Christian lifestyle, what evidence do you see that you are truly saved?
4. When you look at how you live your Christian life, what evidence is there of legalism – either in your view of how you were saved or what keeps you saved?  On the other hand, what evidence is there of license – that is, living your life in such a way that you are taking advantage of God’s grace?  (Page 138 of Men of Character by Gene A. Gezt)

We all have a box that God will never fit into, and it is important to go back to the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to clean out your box; most of us have stuff in the box that’s not biblical.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Your Actions are never in a Vacuum

Genesis 26:6-10

Have you ever heard the saying, “Dad’s watch-out, little eyes are watching you?”  Abraham would have been a wise man to heed that message, because Isaac was watching and modeling his father in so many ways.  Before we get down on Abraham or Isaac, it might be wise to look inward, how often did I say, “I will never be like that with my children” only to look in the mirror of my soul and see the reflection of my dad’s action.  Yes, we all learned a lot from dad, and yet it is our choice on how we use what we learned.  God blessed Jan and I with a beautiful girl, she was and is kind and sweet, she has always been a blessing to her parents, but often my reactions were too harsh, not kind and not respectful to our precious little lady.  Looking back on those teen-age years it was built more on the lack of a good model, and on fear she would do what her daddy did as a teen.  But that is getting off the subject of Genesis 26, and Isaac’s relationship to his twin sons.

Isaac moves to a new neighborhood and he fears what the people will do, so he models what his father did in a similar situation, this is the account: “So Isaac settled in Gerar: When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “least the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance.”  You and I would never do that, but is it not prevalent by many in our society?  We have observed many trying to get to the top of the pile, in government, corporate America, and many other areas?  They do not say she is my sister or he is my brother, but often the self-serving actions give the same message to those whom they fear or want to impress.

One day the king sees Isaac and Rebekah having a good time together and he confronts Isaac, in verse nine we have this account; “So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife.  How then could you say, “She is my sister’?”  O’ how we need king Abimelech in each of our lives to confront us in the area of putting self before our wives or children, but it is rare to find such a person who cares enough to challenge us in these areas.  I was blessed to have Johnny Anderson come into my life not long after I became a Christian, and Johnny called me on the carpet for how harsh I was with Jan.  I knew he was my friend, but that did not take away the sting of his words; I had been found out.  Unlike many of you, I was very fearful and unsure of my role as a husband and dad, and because of that often I would be insensitive.

Isaac came up with some lame excuse of why he told the lie about his relationship with Rebekah, but the bottom-line is it was self-serving, and he was not concerned with Rebekah or what effect it would have on his sons or the community.  But the King ask a great question; “What is this you have done to us.”  Our actions are never in a vacuum; they do have lasting an influence on those we live with and around. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What is Ok for one many not be Ok for you!

Genesis 26:1-5

The chapter begins this way; “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham.  And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.  And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.  Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.  I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands.  And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

It has been around one hundred years since the famine that was in the days of Abraham, so Isaac has lived in an area that has been blessed with rains and crops and from all that is recorded it has been a good life.  In Genesis 12:10 we have the account of the famine in the time of Abraham and God did not stop Abraham from going to Egypt but that is not the case with Isaac.  God, who it seems from the record, has been silent since Abraham and Isaac were on the mountains of Moriah, speaks to Isaac, “Do not go down to Egypt.”

But that is not all that the Lord who appeared to Isaac said, “dwell in the land of which I shall tell you” does that sound familiar to you?  Have we not been taught the twenty-third Psalm from the time of our youth?  “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in the green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.”  That is not the entire twenty-third Psalm, but it should be enough to wake-up your spirit to the fact that Jesus had you in mind when He put these thoughts into the heart and mind of David.

The Scripture makes very clear that all of us who are in Christ are under the promises given to Abraham, and his offspring, this is what God promised Isaac, “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.  I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands.  And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Isaac did what the Lord told him, but the Lord was also reminding Isaac that your father was “blessed because he obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”  My prayer is that you and I will be as Abraham, that we will not bring shame on the name of our Lord, for He alone is worthy of our worship and obedience.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

You are of great Value

Genesis 25:29-34

Have you ever had your identity stolen or have you known someone that has happened to?  It is my understanding that it can be very costly, and often takes months to correct the records and get back your identity.  But what if you had no regard for your birthright, what if you gave it to another for some stew?   That’s what Genesis 25:29-34 states that Esau did; “Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.  And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.)  Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”  Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”  Jacob said, “Swear to me now.”  So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

There is a lot to ponder in those five verses: First it seems as if Jacob ask his brother a question out of the blue, but it is my belief that they had discussed this issue many times.  What does the phrase “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” have to do with Esau being called Edom?  It was a name change as later on Jacob would be called Israel, and out of Esau or Edom would come a people called the Edomites; it could be translated in English to the word “Red”.  The Edomites would be enemies of Israel and it should be noted that King Herod was an Edomite.

I also found this of interest, that Jacob did not put a price on Esau’s birthright, but Esau did, and he gave it little or no value, the price of a bowl of stew.  Why did Jacob want Esau to swear or give his oath, because an oath sealed the deal, it was more than words coming from the lips of one brother to another, it was a vow before Creator God.   The Wikipedia, free encyclopedia gives the following quote,  “The concept of oaths is deeply rooted within Judaism. It is found in Genesis 8:21, when God swears that he will "never again curse the ground because of man and never again smite every living thing."

It is clear that what Esau swore to Jacob, was of little value, or even worth giving much thought to at that time, but God values each and everyone of us, and it angers him when we put little or no value on ourselves.  Did Jesus not tell us that we are of great value in both Matthew 6:25 and Mark 10:31, did God the Father not send His only Son to redeem us?

The independent living of Esau comes back on his head, but no matter how much he cares or what he says or does, he is going to pay a great price for his lack of regard for what God has said, and what God has placed value on.  Hebrews in chapter 12:16,17, “that ho one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.  For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no change to repent, thought he sought it with tears.”

You are of great value to God, and though we live in a throwaway culture, were so little value is put on the unborn child or the elderly, God the Father and His Son have make it very clear that we are all redeemable, as long as we have breath in our earthsuit.  Faith is agreeing with God, no matter where you find yourself, that He is the only one who can place a value on your life, and he has given you a rating of ten, on a scale of 1-10 and ten being the very best.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Do you have a box for God?

October 6 B, 2009

Genesis 25:24-27

And now the rest of the story: “Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.  And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!”  (Therefore his name was called Edom.)  Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”   Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”  Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way.  Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Esau did not only have a problem with his mother, he had a much bigger problem with God.  Esau had an independent spirit; Esau wanted to live life on his terms.  Why was the first born so important: The eldest son customarily was given a double portion when the inheritance was divided and the right to lead his family.  He was to be the ruler over his house and to provide for the household, both materially and spiritually.

There is little doubt in my mind, that Rebekah shared what God had told her with Isaac, before the twins were born; God’s message that the younger would rule over the eldest son.  It also seems that Jacob was more like his dad in many ways than Esau, he enjoyed living in the tent and taking care of the flocks, and showed a heart for God that we do not see in Esau, but it still looked as if Isaac would give the birthright to Esau. 

It is only later in the history of Israel that God made it clear that the firstborn male is his, but it is clear that Isaac and Rebekah both knew that the first born was to be the one who led the family.  In the book of Numbers 3:13, it is stated; “for all the firstborn are mine.  On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast.  They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”  It is also easy to believe that these twin brothers often had conversations about the birthright and it makes sense that his mother would have shared with Jacob what God had spoken, and it is also clear that Esau had little regard for what was his.  This is recorded in Hebrews chapter 12:16&17, “that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.  For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no change to repent, thought he sought it with tears.”

Over the years of my life in Baptist churches, I’ve heard people give their opinion on Romans 9:13, “As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  Who said that, none other than God Himself, and when did he say this, before they were born.  Romans 9:11-12, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call – she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  And I’ve heard folks say, “that’s just not fair and others say, my God is a God of love and He would not do that.”  Those same folks have no problem with our Father letting His Son die a horrible death on a cross to make them in right standing with our Father.  It is very clear in Scripture how Creator God has answered these folks who try to put him in their box, read Romans 9:14-26.  Never forget the potter has total control over the clay!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

2010 View

Genesis 25:24-27

“When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.  The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.  Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob.  Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.  When the boys grew up Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.  Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

There is nothing that profound about the boy’s name, Esau means “hairy one”, and Jacob name means “holder of the heel.”  But God has spoken to Rebekah on the future of her son’s before they were born, and she knew that Jacob, though he was not the first-born would end-up with the blessing of the first-born.  How different were these twins, totally, one was a man’s man, he loved the outdoors and hunting, where as his brother Jacob was quite the mommy’s boy.   It sometimes helps me to put these guys into our time; Jacob liked to cook, he liked to read the latest book on how to bake a cake or cook lamb chops, he was very much at home with his mother, and had no desire to play football with his older brother, much less go out into the field and get dirty, or kill some poor little animal.  Where as, Esau lived to get dirty, he loved the soil, when he read, it was about sports or hunting, and he was very good at what he did.  The twins had little in common, Esau the athlete, who found the favor of his dad and Jacob the bookworm, who was approved by his mother.

You might say that Isaac was at ease with Esau, but Jacob got under his skin; he could not understand why that boy liked flowers and stayed in the house when he could be out under the stars, or playing ball.  That was not the case with Rebekah, she loved Jacob, he liked the things she did and they could talk and do things together, Esau did not want or seem to need her, he liked hanging out with his dad, when he was not out on a hunt.  (May or may not be a good assessment of Esau and Jacob but it’s a view from the Back Porch.)  Looking at the story of these twins from a 2010 view.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A wise Lady

Genesis 25:21-23

And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren.  And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.  The children struggled together within her and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?  (Could it be said that a better translation is, “I did not sign up for this”?)  So she went to inquire of the Lord.  And the Lord said, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

What a wise lady, she did not run to her best friend, or her doctor for counsel, no, she went before her Creator God, and the Lord told her what was taking place inside her, and also what would happen with the boys. It seems Rebekah was feeling more than what were normal fetal movements; she was having somewhat of a small war going on inside her womb.  On page 412 of the “Genesis Record” Morris states; “There is much we do not yet understand concerning the growth of the embryo.  Present-day abortionists seem to feel that an embryo is not really a person until its birth, even though live births can take place any time over a period of several months before and after the normal gestation period.  It is true we cannot remember anything connected with our life before birth, but neither do we remember anything for several years after birth. A new-born babe does have feelings, however, and can exhibit anger, as well as contentment, so why should this not also be true for the period prior to birth?”

Mr. Morris goes on to explore the following references in the Bible that discuss embryonic development: Psalm 139:14-16, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”   Ecclesiastes 11:5 gives this account; “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God.”  And what about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth; “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

Morris closes his argument with the following: “Babies can surely fight with each other, if they are given opportunity, very soon after they are born.  What is to prevent their doing so before they are born?  Thus, there is no reason not to take this passage quite literally.”  I often wonder why some, so easily believe, a so-called expert who refute the Bible as a book of fables, when it has the wisdom of God hidden in it?  It is understandable that the non-believer who does not have the Spirit of the Living God would buy into the so-called expert, but what about us Christians, why do we fall prey to these enemies of the Scriptures?

The apostle Peter states this truth to all who have the Spirit of truth living in them; “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”  If I am interrupting that verse correctly, it is saying brother and sister in Christ, we been given everything we need to live a victorious life on planet earth.  It is time to become as wise as the young woman Rebekah, and turn your hearts to the Father.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Waiting on the Promise Giver

Genesis 25: 19-28

“These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.  And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren.  And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Isaac, the promise child has been married for some twenty years, and his wife Rebekah is barren, things are not going well.  But Isaac has learned this; God made the promise and it is time to pray, so he prayed and waited on the Promise Giver.  Often I have the tendency to judge someone like Abraham or Isaac, how could they drop the ball when it comes to believing God’s promises to them?  It is easy to forget that they were not super humans; they were just like you and me.

So how about us, you and me when it comes to believing the promises of God?  When it comes to prayer, Jesus has made promises; “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14) I’m not sure about you but often my asking is not “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  No I ask because I want a pain free life for my friends, and myself and though that may seem honorable, it is not in keeping with Scripture.  Why should I be treated better than my Lord? 

In the same chapter of John we see a promise to all who receive Jesus as Savor and Lord; “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”  What a promise; Jesus has not left us as orphans, but He has given us the Spirit of truth to live in us, in our souls, the real us that cannot be seen, but is who we are.  And Jesus has promised so much more, like blessings, deliverance, forgiveness, guidance, mercy, peace salvation, and that is the short list.

But he has also promised something that we should also remember, things like, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  Christian, the Scripture talks about how some of us will be persecuted; “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11)  What about living independent of God’s authority in this life; see Matthew 10:39, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  What about Jesus telling Ananias what He had in store for Paul, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:16)  And what about our reputation, the apostle Paul tells us that God may even plan to let you lose all that is dear to you in regards to your reputation, in 1 Corinthians 4:10.

It is my belief, that it is impossible to stand against an enemy that you do not know or believe to be your enemy.  It is likewise impossible to believe the promises of God, when you do not know what they are, and the only way to know, is to open your Bibles and read them.  And after reading them you must put your faith in the God who is a promise keeper.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Helping God = Unhappy Ending

Genesis 25: 12-18

“These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.”  That is verse twelve, and often I’ve wondered, and I must say more so of late, than in the past; how would life be different if Ishmael had not been born?  How would life in Israel be different, with its neighbors and with the world at large?  Would we have the problems in the Middle East that we have today, would we have the hate of a people who want to make us live under the laws of Islam?

Ishmael is an example of religion, and God has made a promise and things are going south, so let’s help God out.  Folks, He is Creator God and He does not need our help!  And now we have people saying things like, “It is God’s fault we are in this mess.”  He is God and He could have kept Abraham from that Hagar woman, but those same people want the freedom of choice, choice to love God and obey or the freedom to live independent of God.  Often we want our cake and we want to eat it, when and how we want.

I’ve often wondered who would yell the loudest, if our freedom of worship were taken from us in the United States, the one who attends and supports their local church, or the ones who attend on Easter and Christmas?  Are we that much different than Sarah and Abraham when it comes to believing God’s promises?  It is my humble opinion, that we could not carry Abraham’s sandals, in fact, many of us live our lives as if God has not made any promises and that is wrong!

Sometimes we need to agree with the facts; Abraham was a man of God, a follower of God, a man who wanted a son, and a man who went passive on his woman when she suggested a way to help God fulfill the promised son. Abraham showed no leadership!  He at that point was no different than Adam, who stood next to his wife when she was tempted and went passive on her, and because of that act, sin entered the world.  Anytime the husband drops the ball of leadership in his family, that family is going to suffer and in both Adam’s and Abraham’s case, it has been passed on to all who came after them.

God so loved us that He gave us the freedom to choose, it is your choice, living under His commandments or living independent of them, one brings blessing and the other brings curses.  Micah 6:8 is one of my favorite verses, often it comes into my mind and when I’m leaning in the direction of living independently of God’s promises or commands.  It goes like this; “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”?  Do not confuse “Walking with God” to mean, staying in good standing with your local church.  Many churches are filled with how to build up self, but not how to believe and obey the promises of God’s word.  How is your soul, are you living in friendship with the Lord?  And dads and Granddads, how are you doing in the area of leadership?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Your Epitaph

Genesis 25:7-10

I remember my dad saying that all men have two things in common, they all have to pay taxes and they all die.  If dad had lived longer, he may have changed his mind on the first point, but he is dead on about his second position.  All humans die, but often, only the politician, the move star, and the rock singer get the acclaim of a life lived.  Abraham is given three verses in Genesis that would make the obituary in the local paper.  “These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years.  Abraham breathed his last and died in good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.  Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite.  There Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife.”

That is what would have made the paper in the death notices, and yet that is not his story, the story of Abraham begins in Genesis 12 and goes throughout the Bible.  What if that was all the information you were given on Abraham?  He must have been a good guy, and he sure lived a long time, and his two sons seemed to really care for him, that’s all you would get of this great mans life.  So lets put the story of Abram or Abraham’s life in more detail.

He was the son of Terah, and God spoke to him one day and said leave, leave all that you love and know and go where I will show you, and he did.  The God who told him to leave also told him that he would be the father of many nations, and best of all, he would be the father of the chosen people of God.  We observed these characteristics in Abraham, obedience – left home and friends at the call of God.  He was unselfish – gave Lot the first choice of the land.  He was courageous – defeated the robber kings.  He was benevolent  - gave tithes to Melchizedek the priest.  He was incorruptible - refused to receive gifts for the service rendered.  He was mighty in prayer, and was wonderful in faith – was willing to offer up his son, Isaac in obedience to God’s command.  Now that is a different epitaph from the three verses in Genesis.  But the apostle James in chapter two, verse 23 states; “and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” – and he was called a friend of God.” 

Not that long ago, Pastor Ray Still preached on the subject; “Are you a friend of Jesus.”  The apostle John states in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from the Father I have made known to you.”  It is a given, because of my new birth in Christ, I am His friend.  As I left the service that day, I knew that I was a friend of Jesus, but as the Spirit examined my heart, it was clear that I was not treating Jesus like a friend.  I was leaving him out of many conversations, many decisions, and though, he was my friend, it was not a friendship.  All of the characteristics listed above about Abraham are ones each of us need on our epitaph, but the greatest one is having the Creator call you His friend. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice  

The "rule life" is Void of God's Power

Genesis 25:1-6

Long before Viagra came on the scene the Lord God was in the business of restoring the (ED) erectile dysfunction, in His friend Abraham.  Henry M. Morris gives this opinion of what God did in Abraham’s life, on page 406-407 in the Genesis Record.  “When God heals, He heals completely, restoring the injured member or diseased organ back to full soundness again.  In order to father a son in his old age, Abraham’s reproductive system had to be rejuvenated.  The one-hundred-year-old man became as a man of thirty or forty again, in that respect at least.”

Abraham was 140 when Isaac married and Abraham took a concubine named Keturah, and had six sons by her and he lived for thirty-five more years.  Verses five and six give this account; “Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.  But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.”  Once more questions or observations fill my mind; why are those two women Abraham fathered sons by called concubines and not his wives?  I do not have a good answer for this, but it is clear that Sarah is the only one God considered as the wife of Abraham. It is of interest that in Genesis 17:4, God gave this promise to Abram, “Behold my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.”  And out of these men came many nations, and after thousands of years, archaeologists tell us that they have become the modern-day Arabic peoples. 

Do you ever look at the wisdom of God and marvel?  Only God would put into the heart of a father to send his sons away from the one of promise.  God knew that Isaac would need to be free of the customs and traditions of his step-brothers, He knew that they would return to the gods of their mothers, so he sends them away.

Hundreds of years after Abraham had taken this action, Jesus encounters some Pharisees who were very religious and were wondering why his disciples did not live according to the tradition of the elders. This was Jesus reply; “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teaching are but rules taught by men.’  You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”  (Mark 7:6-7)  And it was years after that message to the chosen people of God, that the apostle Paul wrote in a letter to some Christians at Colosse, look at Colossians chapter two verse 8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

It is of the utmost importance, that we read this “love letter” called the Bible, it will teach us the ways of God and keep us from the empty life passed down from the deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ.  For years I was blind to the traditions of the Baptist Church, but like all Churches they have many rules based on human tradition.  Most of them came about from some good-hearted person trying to play God, and keep us on the straight and narrow road, but they pull us away from Christ and lead us to independent living.  The bottom line is, it is easier to follow a rule, than to walk by faith in a God you cannot see, but the “rule life” is void of the power of the living God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Creator God has a Plan for You

Genesis 24:61-67

 As we read the Scriptures it is easy to error when we begin to fill in the blanks.  What happened on this long journey back to Isaac, did Rebekah ask thousands of questions about Isaac and the land she was going to?  Did the servant teach her the history of Abraham and Sarah, and how Isaac was the promise of God?  The Bible is silent on what took place on the trip to find Rebekah, as well as the trip back to her future husband Isaac all we can do is wonder?  It is ok to wonder, but it is wrong to teach as truth what is not mentioned.  Many times as we search the Scriptures, the Lord has filled in the story in another book.

Genesis 24:64-65, gives this account, “And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?”  The servant said, “It is my master.”  So she took her veil and covered herself.”  Henry M. Morris gives this account on page 406 of the “Genesis Record”, “Rebekah saw him at about the same time, and also instinctively knew it was Isaac.  When she asked the servant, and he had confirmed it, she literally “fell off” the camel to meet him (the Hebrew verb is naphal, which the King James translation renders “lighted off”).  She quickly put on a “veil,” actually a garment which covered both face and body, as this was the proper way, in accord with the custom, to first meet her husband-to-be.  Isaac, outwardly calm but inwardly eager with anticipation, listened patiently as the servant made the appropriate introductions, and them recounted how the Lord had led him so plainly and clearly to Rebekah, and how Rebekah had consented to come.”

Isaac took Rebekah to his mother’s tent, Sarah has been dead for about three years and this only child of his mother had missed her deeply.  The bond of a son with his mother is very tight, but Isaac was her promise, she lived in such a way around him that when he took a wife, he would know how to love his wife.  Once he arranged all that was needed for the marriage ceremony, he married her and took her to his own tent. 

It is clear from what we studied so far that Isaac was a young man who knew that God had a plan for his life, that he was a man who honored both his father and mother, and that made it easy for him to honor his wife.  It is very important to know that God has made plans for you, Psalm 139:16, states, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”  God saw your unformed substance, and we ask the question when does life begin?  Our answer is, long before the egg and the sperm come together and form a living being.  God wrote about your life, before one day had taken place.  How can God do that, you may ask: and it is not hard to explain that God who is eternal, who created time, has been from beginning to end, of what we call time.  And when we leave this earth, we will be like God in this respect, we will be eternal and time will be no more.  Eternal does not mean living in heaven with God!  Jeremiah 29:11, is a verse that gives me great hope; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  God had you and me in mind from the beginning before he created the world. He also knew we would turn to independent living and need a Savior, before He created the world. Yes, He knows the plans He has for us!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A great Story of Trust, Faith, and Obedience

Genesis 24:34-61

This is a story of trust, faith, and obedience, not one that most of us in the West, would understand.  If you have a daughter and she is very young, smart and beautiful, and the general manager of your great uncle shows up with gifts, telling you that he wants your daughter to leave and go back to a land you do not know, to marry a man you have not met; your going to call the police.  That is the short version of the story told in Genesis 24: 34-61.

It has been sixty-five plus years since anyone of them has seen or heard from Abraham, the last thing they knew was Uncle Abram had left from Ur, to go to Haran, and after his dad died, he went off to the land of the Canaanites.  Now this servant comes with gold and silver gifts asking for their sister to return to a man whom they had never met.  This is how the servant began his message to them; “I am Abraham’s servant.  The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great.  He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.  And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has.  My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, but shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.”

And the faithful servant of Abraham goes on to tell the story of his conversation with Abraham about how if the girl would not come back with him he was released from the vow to return with the girl.  Then he shares how God had brought him to the spring and how Rebekah had come and done the very things he had ask God for her to do.  In sales we would call this the close; “Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right or to the left.”  The servant is very clear, I have given you the story, now tell me if you are sending her back or not, I’ve got a long trip and I need to get on the road.  “Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good.  Behold Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

Well both dad and brother have spoken, and it is recorded that the servant brought out jewelry of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah.  He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.  The next morning when it was time to leave the mother and brother told the servant to wait ten days, but he said, do not delay me for the Lord has prospered my ways.  This is the hardest part of the sell, and often the decision maker wants someone else to say yes so he has them to blame if things do not go right.  That’s what mom and brother did; “They said, ‘Let us call the young woman and ask her.’  And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”

This very young woman had the same kind of trust as Uncle Abram, she trusted in God’s faithfulness.   Rebekah believed God, and then acted on that faith, by going with the servant.  I do not know that kind of faith, she had no Bible, but she must have had a heart for God and believed that He would keep his promises.  We have the Bible, teachers and preachers, but do we believe that God will keep all His promises?  

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Always put the Assignment First

Genesis 24:22-33

Often, our prayers are centered around needs; it may be about a goal we have or family problems, or many other things like peace for a friend who has lost a child, yes the list is long because we have many needs, needs that are out of our hands.   But often, when the Lord has answered, we forget to give Him thanks; is it because we are better at asking than we are at being thankful?  That was not true with the faithful servant of Abraham, verses 26,27 state, “The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master: As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”

What a lesson to each of us reading this prayer, what God was doing in the life of Abraham was not happening in a vacuum, Abraham’s walk with God was out in the open, and because of that relationship, Abraham’s servant has learned to walk with God and to talk with God, and even greater, to trust God.  God called that an act of worship!  Often in my thinking, worship has to do with a choir or a service at the local church, but that is not what God has stated; it was an act of prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving.

Why was Abraham’s servant so thankful?  To understand the answer we must return to the story beginning in verse 22 and going forward.  “When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are.  Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?  She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”  She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.”  The ladies reading this may want to know that a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of gold, so Rebekah was well paid for her service to Abraham’s servant and his men.

We are told that Rebekah ran to the house and told her family all that had happened and she and her brother Laban ran to the spring after he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sisters arm, and heard the words that Rebekah spoke.  Abraham’s servant had not moved, so Laban called him and said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord.  Why do you stand outside?  For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.  Then the servant follows Laban to the house, and takes care of his camels, giving them straw and fodder, and finds water for washing his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

Verse 33 states; “Then food was set before him to eat.  But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”  He said, “Speak on.” I am assuming that the “he” is Laban, but what is very important is that the faithful servant of Abraham will not put his personal comfort before the assignment his master has given him.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God always supplies what we need for the Mission

Genesis 24:10-20

The servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts and was on his five hundred mile trip to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.  He was a faithful servant doing exactly what Abraham had ask of him, till he got to the cities water supply.  It was there that he became a carbon copy of his boss.  This was the oldest servant, he was like a general manager, he was entrusted with all that Abraham had and over the years he had watched Abraham in some very anxious moments, so he did what he had seen the boss do.

The prayer of the old servant; “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.  Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.  Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’ – let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac.  By this I shall know you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Some facts that are important to the story, Abraham was 140 years of age, and was just too old for this journey, and the trip was of the utmost importance.  This was about picking a wife for the promised one, Isaac, out of whom the promised the people of God would come.  It is also important to understand that God, who knows all, was not surprised by the actions of the servant, and that same God gave the servant the faith to pray and before he finished, Rebekah came out with her jar of water on her shoulder.

We have this account of Rebekah from Genesis 24:16, “The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known.  She came down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.”  And as Paul Harvey would say this is the rest of the story, verses 17-20, “Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.”  She said, “Drink, my lord.”  And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.   When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”  So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water and she drew for all his camels.”

When God sends us on a mission, He will give you what is needed for the mission.  First the desire to go, and the faith to trust Him for the goal or prize, and before we have ask, He will bring about the result He desires.  The other thought, God will only send a faithful servant to do the work of His kingdom.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Marriage in the Middle East

Genesis 24:1-10

These first ten verses of Genesis 24 are not that easily understood by someone who grew-up in the United States, or in the Western Hemisphere.  I worked with a young Palestinian man who lives in Dubai and he shared with me how he met his wife and what had to take place in order for them to marry.  This is the story he told me while I was in Dubai working with him; he and his wife both attended college in Kansas and began a real friendship and when he got home he told his mother that he would like to marry this young lady.  His mother called the other mother who lived in Jordan and set up a visit to the young ladies home.  He told me that he and his mother sat on one side of the room and the girl and her mother sat on the other side.  Neither he nor the girl talked, the mothers did all the talking, then he and his mother left and returned to Dubai.

That was the first faze, next both mothers call friends and family in the area and ask about the character of each person, and find out about the family and if they are respected in the community.  Next both mothers hire investigators to check out what kind of income they receive and how they handle money.  After this was done, they had a return visit to Jordan and the mothers decided how much gold my friend needed to pay before he married the young lady.  The engagement happened after He agreed that he would pay $10,000 in gold.  I’m not sure about you, but I would still be single if that was the custom in the West.

In today’s world we would say the oldest servant of Abraham household was like a general manager, he was the one whom Abraham trusted with all his stuff.  “Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years.  And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.  And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughter’s of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

The servant was very sharp and did not want to enter into an agreement that he could not complete to the satisfaction of his master, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land.  Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”  Abraham was very clear that Isaac was not to return to that land, and he reminded the servant what God had promised; “To your offspring I will give this land,” he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.  But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”

It is of some interest that Isaac was forty years old at this time, and it was time for him to be married; it is also of importance to note that Isaac fully trusted his father’s judgment in such an important decision.  Isaac also understood that his wife must be a virgin, that she must be united in faith and that she should believe in the covenant God.  This was why it was important to send his servant back to Mesopotamia, back to his kinsmen, and it was not a short trip, it was some five hundred miles from Canaan. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A great Lady

Genesis 23

This chapter is about the death of a great lady, Sarah, she was the only woman in the Bible, that her age is given at death.  Many generations later the apostle Peter gives this instruction to wives.  “Likewise, wives, be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives – when they see your respectful and pure conduct.  Do not let your adorning be external – the braiding of hair, the wearing of goal, or the putting on of clothing – but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.  For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.”

I have often heard wives state, “there is no way I will submit to any man” and I understand what they are saying.  They are saying I cannot trust the man to be my head, I cannot trust him to love me like Christ loves the Church and gave Himself for it.  Was it man who told the wife to submit, or was it God?  Anytime we tell God we have a better plan than Him for living life on planet earth, we have stepped into “independent living” and just look around at the devastation in marriage that is clearly manifested. 

My wife is a daughter of Sarah, she has one of the sweetest spirits; she has learned to apply this Scripture to the way she lives; “but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”  Her husband is a slow learner and has often been told by Jan, “Bob that is not treating me as if I was precious.” We have spent 44 years as husband and wife, and I am still working on the art of loving my wife, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.  It is hard to learn the art of loving if you grew-up being consumed with self, but that is when we should ask the Lord to teach us how to love and be gentle and understanding with our mate.

Most of the chapter is about what Abraham did after Sarah’s death, how he mourned for Sarah and wept for her.  Then he went to the Hittites whose land he was living in and offered to buy a field with a cave, so he could bury Sarah. He paid Ephron the Hittite the some of money he was asking for the land without negotiating over the price.  The Scripture states that the Hittites looked at Abraham as a prince of God, and offered to give him the land, but that would not do, Sarah would not be put in someone else’s grave.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Who is on Your Altar?

Genesis 22:9-19

I will never forget a young mother telling her two children in the back seat of the car, “That obedience is doing what you are told the first time you are told, any action other than that is not obedience.”  If we use that definition for obedience, then Abraham is being one hundred percent obedient to what God has told him to do with Isaac.  This question came to my mind, does obedience to God bring instance happiness, or can it be very painful at the point of you doing what you are told the first time you are told?

It is my opinion that Abraham is not having that much fun in verse 9, 10, “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.”  If you call that fun your one sick person, in fact it had to be one of the hardest things God has ever ask a man to do.  I’ve always believed that a person over you or in a leadership position should not ask or expect anything more than he/she is willing to do or has done themselves.  Before the foundation of the world, God had already made the choice to let His Son, His only Son be our redeemer by becoming a man and going to a cross.  The Bible calls that “taking on flesh”, and Jesus came for only one reason to take your place, He who was without sin and became sin for you.  This is the account of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”  And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.  And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

The Bible does not give us the emotion of Isaac as he is being offered up by Abraham as an offering to God, but this we know, he was somewhere in his late teens and he made the choice to let Abraham tie him up and place him on the altar.  Many have a very wrong picture of Abraham taking a very small child and that is just not true, Isaac could have easily said no.  But we do have the account of Jesus, and unlike Isaac, he had been sent by His Father for this reason, before He created man, Jesus knew that he would take on human form and pay our price and still his emotions at the garden of Gethsemane were saying, is there any other way.

It is also important for each of us to remember God is all knowing, this test was not so God could find out what Abraham would do, but it was for Abraham to see what he would do.  Was his relationship with God the Father more important than his love for Isaac?  That is always the question, do I love God more than my husband/wife, do I love God more than my children, do I love God more than I love myself, it is easy to say yes, but is that the truth?  Abraham passed the test, he came to know Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide).

Jesus said in so many words, this is a test, in the book of Matthew 10:37-39, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Jehovah-Jireh "the Lord will provide"

Genesis 22:4-8

Abraham and Isaac and the two young men are in the third day of the journey and Abraham sees the mountain of Moriah.  The trip is only about thirty miles in some rough country, Abraham is over one hundred years of age and it has been a long three days; I am sure the enemy of his soul has been telling him, “did God really say” and Abraham is holding on to the promise that God has made to him.

The Scripture does not address them as anything but “two of his young men” but you wonder are they friends of Isaac, did they grow up with him?  I can only imagine the excitement of the three boys, we are going with Abraham to the land of Moriah, it would contrast the excitement that I felt as a youth on our first trip to the mountains of New Mexico.  It was also an honor, of all the people, he had chosen them to make the trip, and the real excitement was that they were going to worship God, and they all knew Abraham was a friend of God.

What the two young men did not know was that they could not make the final leg of the journey, it was only for the father and his only son.  Verse five gives us this account; “Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”  At first blush it looks as if old Abraham has just told the young men a big one, but it is important to remember that the Bible is the best commentary on itself.  Hebrews 11:19, “He (Abraham) considered that God was able to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking he did receive him back.”  Abraham is God’s friend and he knows that his friend keeps his promises; the book of James gives this account.  James 2:21-23, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” – and he was called a friend of God.”

It is the final few miles of the journey, Isaac begins to understand it is a father and son day and for many years he has been the center of his dad’s heart, he has total trust and admiration for his father.  I’m sure they have talked about the pagans living around them and how they sacrificed their sons and daughters to the pagan gods, and how evil that action was.  Taking back up in verse 7,8, “And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!”  And he said, “Here am I, my son.”  He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”  Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering my son.” So they went both of them together.”

It is impossible to read this and not understand that God did provide the lamb, his name was Jesus, and like Isaac, He was the only Son, not of man but of God.  It is of the utmost importance to see the picture that God has painted, Isaac had the wood put on his back for the final part of the journey, Jesus also had the wood of the cross on His.  The apostle John records in John 1:29, these words from John the Baptist; “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  The apostle Peter states, “but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for our sake.”  (1Peter 1:19,20,)  That may not blow you away but it should, before He created us, He already had a plan in place to redeem us!

Abraham was looking forward to Jehovah-jireh, “the Lord will provide,” you and I are looking back, God has provided the Lamb, for whosoever will confess their sins of trying to live a life independent of Him, and believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice