Your Very Great Reward (image courtesy of narrowisthepath.com)
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
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.
Genesis 15:1-11
Abram is spending time with the Lord. He’s experiencing an amazing conversation with the Almighty. The first words out of God’s mouth are:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
Genesis 15:1
It gives me hope to see that God’s first words to Abram, the father of faith are “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield…” (verse 1)
“Do not be afraid,” God said to Joshua when he began his new job as leader of Israel. (Joshua 1:9)
“Do not be afraid,” the angel said to the shepherds the night that Jesus was born. (Luke 2:10)
“Do not be afraid,” the angel said to a dejected Paul in Acts 27:24.
God knows we have fears. Even Joshua who saw the walls of Jericho fall had fears. Even Paul the great apostle had fears. Even Abram the father of faith had fears.
We all have fears.
God knows this.
Watch what happens next.
Abram fears that his inheritance, the great blessings that he’s received from his God above, will be left to Eliezer of Damascus, the top male servant in his household. This was according to the custom of that time. If a man had no heirs his inheritance would go to his senior ranking male servant.
But even though Abram fears, God reassures. God tells Abram that his fears won’t be realized. He takes Abram outside and together God and Abram look up at the stars. “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” I can only imagine that God said this with a great deal of warmth and with a smile on His face. Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” (v. 5)
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (v. 6)
Abram’s fear of losing his inheritance was overcome! Abram’s fear of living a life without children fell away! And not only that, but his belief in God’s words were credited to him as righteousness!
How amazing is that!
But then what happens? God tells Abram that He’s giving him all the land around him, and Abram, the father of faith, who just overcame one fear, moves on to another. (v. 7)
“…how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” Abram asks in verse 8. You can almost hear the whine in his voice. What God does next is incredible. It would seem that a logical reaction to Abram’s questioning attitude might be,
“Hey, I chose you to be the father of faith. But you’re behavior isn’t measuring up. You’re fired! I’m done with you.”
But that’s not who God is.
God is so loving. God is so patient with Abram, and with you, and with me. Instead God says, alright, here’s what we’ll do, I’ll make a covenant with you.
At this time, in this place, a covenant or contract was entered into by splitting an animal in two and sealing the deal by clasping arms while standing in between the two halves of the animal.
So God meets Abram right where he is. You fear I won’t give you this land? You’re familiar with this covenant ritual? Bring back the required animals and prepare them for our covenant.
Abram obeys and sets everything up. And then something very interesting happens.
…birds of prey came down on the carcasses (v. 11)
At first glance this verse seems almost irrelevant. What does this have to do with our story?
Throughout scripture birds represent the enemies of God. Genesis 15:11 is no different. Abram has moved into a place of great intimacy with his Lord. And he is met with resistance from the enemy.
You’ll find that it’s the same for you.
There are birds of prey that seek to thwart any attempt on your part to draw close to your God. But the birds of prey don’t look like birds. They look like the elements of your everyday life.
So what are you and I to do with these birds that look like the elements of our everyday life? What does God’s word say to do? In verse 11 we see that Abram drove them away. And so as Abram did we must also drive them away.
Below you’ll find three categories of birds of prey described, followed by some wisdom to help you drive them away.
1) The birds of prey in your life look like everyday distractions:
These birds look like YouTube videos. They look like Facebook and Farmville. They look like TV and first person shooter games. They look like, dare I say it, shopping.
Though none of the distractions listed are bad in and of themselves, we can, to a large extent, replace our investment in these distractions with greater investment in God. We can replace some YouTube time with time in God’s word. We can replace much of our Facebook and Farmville time with time in prayer. We can replace TV time with time in church. We can replace time shopping with time in service to our God. Invest in God to draw near to God. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)
2) Sometimes the birds of prey even look like your family and friends:
A wise man once told me that he wanted to give me a new definition for anger. That new definition, he said, is “violated expectations.” When your new interest in drawing close to your God begins to manifest into investing more of yourself in Him, spending more time in His word, more time and involvement in church, more time in prayer, then some of your friends and family may become uncomfortable because you’re not meeting their expectation of what’s normal for you. In fact, the greater your new found attraction to your God, the stranger some of your friends and family may behave. You may hear them say that “You’ve changed,” or “You’re not the same person you used to be.” They may become moody, even resentful.
When it comes to family and friends, we have to remember that …our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against… …the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) Though friends and family may become uncomfortable with your drawing closer to your God, the birds of prey are not your friends and family. The birds of prey are the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The birds of prey are the enemies of God Himself attempting to influence you away from Him. They’re principalities and powers. They’re not people. They’re invisible.
You must drive them away by showing Christ’s love to the very people the birds of prey are attempting to use to assault God’s kingdom. As Peter instructed the wives who were married to unsaved husbands, we’re to win our family and friends over by our behavior. (1 Peter 3:1-2) By showing them God’s love. By praying blessing upon them.
You can learn from experience but it doesn’t have to be your own experience. Learn from the experience of my life and others who have gone before you on this same path. Concerning family and friends, to drive away the birds of prey it’s essential that we recognize the following.
Showing family and friends Christ’s countenance and God’s love is where it’s at!
DEBATE IS FRUITLESS!
Praying for family and friends is where it’s at!
DEBATE IS FRUITLESS!
Did I already mention, DEBATE IS FRUITLESS?
It’s the kindness of God that leads people to Him. (Romans 2:4)
Anytime family and friends show discomfort with you, show them Christ’s love.
3) Finally, the birds of prey may come in the form of your own thoughts and feelings:
When you begin to experience intimacy with God you may have thoughts of awkwardness. Feelings of anxiousness. Feelings of discomfort.
When you begin to draw close to God it’s normal to have thoughts that this direction is too strange or too awkward. Martin Luther once said something that speaks to these negative thoughts and feelings. He said,
“You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”
It’s the same with your thoughts. Normal thoughts that are negative toward God may enter your mind on occasion but you can choose to think on other things. Positive things. Godly things. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
When it comes to your thoughts, you have a choice.
As you spend time in intimacy with God through prayer, praise, reading His word, serving in church, you’ll find that living out Philippians 4:8 becomes easier and easier.
So back to Abram. Abram, the father of faith, proves himself faithful on two counts:
1) “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6)
2) Abram chased away the birds of prey. (v. 11)
We’ve seen how to chase away the birds of prey, but how can we overcome our fears and believe God as Abram did. The key is in verse 1 where God tells Abram one of the great truths of the universe.
God is your very great reward. (v. 1)
God is your very great reward. (v. 1) The great riches that God blessed Abram with, the descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens, the promised land that God gifted to Abram, all of these, as great as they are, are but tiny in comparison to the gift of God himself.
God is your very great reward, Abram is told. (v. 1) Abram’s belief in God’s word came as a result of this gift. Were it not for the fact that Abram was walking with God, investing in God, and experiencing this time of intimate conversation with God, Abram would not have, could not have overcome his fears and believed.
It’s the same for you and it’s the same for me. If you want to overcome your fears. If you want to believe. If you want to experience faith in God. You have to walk with Him, invest in Him, and enter into intimacy with Him. To overcome fear as Abram did Spend time alone with God as Abram did.
Enter into conversation with Him. Listen to Him — read His word. Share with Him — pray to Him. Pray with your Bible open. Read a verse then pray your answer. Pray to Him then read a verse. Converse with Him.
Intimacy with God. That’s the greatest reward you’ll ever experience. Pursue it with all that you have.
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
While in this portion of scripture it’s impossible for me not to share that, regarding Abram in Genesis 15:6, the words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:23-25) This passage of scripture will reward further study. Paul’s explanation of salvation through Jesus Christ is founded on Genesis 15:6 — see Romans 4 and Galatians 5
If you’re reading this post and you haven’t yet entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ you might be interested in learning how. Go to Join Christ’s Family.
References:
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson
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Genesis 15:1-11 Your very great reward
Your Very Great Reward (image courtesy of narrowisthepath.com)
Abram is spending time with the Lord. He’s experiencing an amazing conversation with the Almighty. The first words out of God’s mouth are:
It gives me hope to see that God’s first words to Abram, the father of faith are “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield…” (verse 1)
“Do not be afraid,” God said to Joshua when he began his new job as leader of Israel. (Joshua 1:9)
“Do not be afraid,” the angel said to the shepherds the night that Jesus was born. (Luke 2:10)
“Do not be afraid,” the angel said to a dejected Paul in Acts 27:24.
God knows we have fears. Even Joshua who saw the walls of Jericho fall had fears. Even Paul the great apostle had fears. Even Abram the father of faith had fears.
We all have fears.
God knows this.
Watch what happens next.
Abram fears that his inheritance, the great blessings that he’s received from his God above, will be left to Eliezer of Damascus, the top male servant in his household. This was according to the custom of that time. If a man had no heirs his inheritance would go to his senior ranking male servant.
But even though Abram fears, God reassures. God tells Abram that his fears won’t be realized. He takes Abram outside and together God and Abram look up at the stars. “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” I can only imagine that God said this with a great deal of warmth and with a smile on His face. Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” (v. 5)
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (v. 6)
Abram’s fear of losing his inheritance was overcome! Abram’s fear of living a life without children fell away! And not only that, but his belief in God’s words were credited to him as righteousness!
How amazing is that!
But then what happens? God tells Abram that He’s giving him all the land around him, and Abram, the father of faith, who just overcame one fear, moves on to another. (v. 7)
“…how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” Abram asks in verse 8. You can almost hear the whine in his voice. What God does next is incredible. It would seem that a logical reaction to Abram’s questioning attitude might be,
“Hey, I chose you to be the father of faith. But you’re behavior isn’t measuring up. You’re fired! I’m done with you.”
But that’s not who God is.
God is so loving. God is so patient with Abram, and with you, and with me. Instead God says, alright, here’s what we’ll do, I’ll make a covenant with you.
At this time, in this place, a covenant or contract was entered into by splitting an animal in two and sealing the deal by clasping arms while standing in between the two halves of the animal.
So God meets Abram right where he is. You fear I won’t give you this land? You’re familiar with this covenant ritual? Bring back the required animals and prepare them for our covenant.
Abram obeys and sets everything up. And then something very interesting happens.
…birds of prey came down on the carcasses (v. 11)
At first glance this verse seems almost irrelevant. What does this have to do with our story?
Throughout scripture birds represent the enemies of God. Genesis 15:11 is no different. Abram has moved into a place of great intimacy with his Lord. And he is met with resistance from the enemy.
You’ll find that it’s the same for you.
There are birds of prey that seek to thwart any attempt on your part to draw close to your God. But the birds of prey don’t look like birds. They look like the elements of your everyday life.
So what are you and I to do with these birds that look like the elements of our everyday life? What does God’s word say to do? In verse 11 we see that Abram drove them away. And so as Abram did we must also drive them away.
Below you’ll find three categories of birds of prey described, followed by some wisdom to help you drive them away.
1) The birds of prey in your life look like everyday distractions:
These birds look like YouTube videos. They look like Facebook and Farmville. They look like TV and first person shooter games. They look like, dare I say it, shopping.
Though none of the distractions listed are bad in and of themselves, we can, to a large extent, replace our investment in these distractions with greater investment in God. We can replace some YouTube time with time in God’s word. We can replace much of our Facebook and Farmville time with time in prayer. We can replace TV time with time in church. We can replace time shopping with time in service to our God. Invest in God to draw near to God. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)
2) Sometimes the birds of prey even look like your family and friends:
A wise man once told me that he wanted to give me a new definition for anger. That new definition, he said, is “violated expectations.” When your new interest in drawing close to your God begins to manifest into investing more of yourself in Him, spending more time in His word, more time and involvement in church, more time in prayer, then some of your friends and family may become uncomfortable because you’re not meeting their expectation of what’s normal for you. In fact, the greater your new found attraction to your God, the stranger some of your friends and family may behave. You may hear them say that “You’ve changed,” or “You’re not the same person you used to be.” They may become moody, even resentful.
When it comes to family and friends, we have to remember that …our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against… …the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) Though friends and family may become uncomfortable with your drawing closer to your God, the birds of prey are not your friends and family. The birds of prey are the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The birds of prey are the enemies of God Himself attempting to influence you away from Him. They’re principalities and powers. They’re not people. They’re invisible.
You must drive them away by showing Christ’s love to the very people the birds of prey are attempting to use to assault God’s kingdom. As Peter instructed the wives who were married to unsaved husbands, we’re to win our family and friends over by our behavior. (1 Peter 3:1-2) By showing them God’s love. By praying blessing upon them.
You can learn from experience but it doesn’t have to be your own experience. Learn from the experience of my life and others who have gone before you on this same path. Concerning family and friends, to drive away the birds of prey it’s essential that we recognize the following.
Showing family and friends Christ’s countenance and God’s love is where it’s at!
DEBATE IS FRUITLESS!
Praying for family and friends is where it’s at!
DEBATE IS FRUITLESS!
Did I already mention, DEBATE IS FRUITLESS?
It’s the kindness of God that leads people to Him. (Romans 2:4)
Anytime family and friends show discomfort with you, show them Christ’s love.
3) Finally, the birds of prey may come in the form of your own thoughts and feelings:
When you begin to experience intimacy with God you may have thoughts of awkwardness. Feelings of anxiousness. Feelings of discomfort.
When you begin to draw close to God it’s normal to have thoughts that this direction is too strange or too awkward. Martin Luther once said something that speaks to these negative thoughts and feelings. He said,
“You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”
It’s the same with your thoughts. Normal thoughts that are negative toward God may enter your mind on occasion but you can choose to think on other things. Positive things. Godly things. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
When it comes to your thoughts, you have a choice.
As you spend time in intimacy with God through prayer, praise, reading His word, serving in church, you’ll find that living out Philippians 4:8 becomes easier and easier.
So back to Abram. Abram, the father of faith, proves himself faithful on two counts:
1) “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6)
2) Abram chased away the birds of prey. (v. 11)
We’ve seen how to chase away the birds of prey, but how can we overcome our fears and believe God as Abram did. The key is in verse 1 where God tells Abram one of the great truths of the universe.
God is your very great reward. (v. 1)
God is your very great reward. (v. 1) The great riches that God blessed Abram with, the descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens, the promised land that God gifted to Abram, all of these, as great as they are, are but tiny in comparison to the gift of God himself.
God is your very great reward, Abram is told. (v. 1) Abram’s belief in God’s word came as a result of this gift. Were it not for the fact that Abram was walking with God, investing in God, and experiencing this time of intimate conversation with God, Abram would not have, could not have overcome his fears and believed.
It’s the same for you and it’s the same for me. If you want to overcome your fears. If you want to believe. If you want to experience faith in God. You have to walk with Him, invest in Him, and enter into intimacy with Him. To overcome fear as Abram did Spend time alone with God as Abram did.
Enter into conversation with Him. Listen to Him — read His word. Share with Him — pray to Him. Pray with your Bible open. Read a verse then pray your answer. Pray to Him then read a verse. Converse with Him.
Intimacy with God. That’s the greatest reward you’ll ever experience. Pursue it with all that you have.
While in this portion of scripture it’s impossible for me not to share that, regarding Abram in Genesis 15:6, the words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:23-25) This passage of scripture will reward further study. Paul’s explanation of salvation through Jesus Christ is founded on Genesis 15:6 — see Romans 4 and Galatians 5
If you’re reading this post and you haven’t yet entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ you might be interested in learning how. Go to Join Christ’s Family.
References:
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson
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Posted on June 18, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness, Commentary on Genesis 15, Genesis, Genesis 15, Genesis 15:1, Genesis 15:1-10, Genesis 15:6, God is your very great reward, I am your shield your very great reward, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, your very great reward
Genesis 14:20-24 Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything
Excerpt from interview with boxer:
Fight Night in Chicago–Bennett vs. Bursey
It’s Tuesday evening, February 10, 1959. Don Bennett, a young light heavyweight is sick with strep throat and only weighs 167 lbs. At 6’2″ he looks even skinnier than when he’s at his usual 175. He hopes he’s recovered enough to pass the physical so he’s allowed to fight in tonight’s Golden Gloves tournament, in Chicago. He runs from the bus stop near the arena to check in. As he approaches the doctor for his pre-fight physical, he’s overwhelmed by the aroma of alcohol on the good doctor’s breath.
“Your temperature is above 99. Sorry, but you can’t fight,” the doc mumbles.
“I just ran from the bus! That’s why I’m so sweaty and warm,” Bennett says.
After some more begging he’s finally allowed to register. He enters into the selection room where the night’s pairings will be decided. His eye is drawn to a 5’8″ boxer who’s the most muscular man in the room.
“Man, I hope I don’t draw him,” Bennett thinks to himself.”
The draw is decided and Bennett discovers he’s drawn that muscular fighter, the very one he wanted to avoid. Timothy Bursey is his name. A fighter with a reputation for toughness and great punching ability. A fighter with considerably more experience and success than the young skinny guy with strep throat.
But in the ring Don Bennett finds hope. He’s left handed and this confuses Bursey. Bursey’s been trained to circle away from his opponents power but against a lefty he needs to move the other way, and Bursey is clearly uncomfortable with it. When Bursey does circle in the right direction Bennett pops him with a couple of jabs, just as his trainer Tony Zale taught him to. This causes Bursey to fall back into his old habit of circling as though he’s fighting a right hander.
Bennett catches Bursey with a good punch and Bursey drops his hands as though he’s hurt. Bennett then swings with a right but he only grazes Bursey who then comes with everything he has, with a right hand that catches Bennett in the temple. Bennett’s knocked five feet to the side where he bounces off the ropes. But, surprisingly, as he’s coming off the ropes Bennett quickly throws a couple of jabs.
Bursey’s eyes grow wide. He can’t believe this skinny kid didn’t go down. Bennett looks unhurt, unfazed.
In the next round Bennett feints with his left and Bursey covers up with both gloves, peek-a-boo style. Bennett then steps to the side and hits Bursey with a solid left hook to the jaw, just in front of Bursey’s right ear.
All of Bursey’s muscles go slack. He goes down. He’s limp and flat on his back.
“1, 2, 3…” the referee counts.
Then, incredibly, when the ref is at the count of 5, Bursey gets up. Now it’s Don Bennett’s turn to be surprised.
But something’s wrong. Bursey’s not all there. And the referee seems not to notice Bursey’s lack of alertness.
“Fight,” the referee says.
“Why isn’t the ref stopping the fight?” Bennett wonders. He gestures with his hands to indicate Bursey’s not capable of defending himself.
“Fight!” the referee barks.
Bennett gestures again.
“Fight or I’ll disqualify you!”
“Don’t want that,” Bennett thinks to himself. “And I don’t want Bursey to come back from this round and catch me with another great punch like he did in the first.”
So he kept boxing. Later, after the fight, in the locker room, someone who saw it from ringside told Bennett, he hit Bursey with eight straight lefts before the referee stopped the fight. As he was pulled back Bursey fell to the canvas unconscious.
The crowd went wild.
After things calmed down some, Bennett searched the arena for Bursey. He found him still unconscious in the hospital tent. He felt horrible. He was afraid. Bursey’s parents and brother were there. Bennett thought they might be upset with him but instead they shared words of comfort.
“You know, that’s boxing,” they said.
“The ref should have stopped the fight,” they reasoned.
Minutes went by and Timothy Bursey still lay unconscious.
One half hour went by and Bursey was still unconscious.
Finally, after 48 minutes, his eyes fluttered open. Bennett says he was near tears and had never felt so much relief.
He Made Me An Offer I Could Refuse
On the way out of the hospital tent Don Bennett was approached by an older man in a suit.
“Nice fight tonight.”
“Thanks.”
“You know we need white fighters who can take a punch.”
The wheels started turning. This man was a powerful person in the boxing business. He was one of the premiere boxing promoters in the country at the time. Don Bennett was 20 years old with a one year old son and another on the way.
“I could sure use the money.” He didn’t say it out loud, but he sure was thinking it.
“Don,” the promoter called him by name. “We take care of the fights, do you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
He thought about just exactly what that would mean. He understood that they’d fix his fights, to provide him with success for their own financial gain. He also realized, at any time, they could ask him to throw a fight. If he didn’t fall in line there’d be consequences. With a young family to think of…
“No thanks,” Bennett said.
Abram’s Offer And His Offering
“Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” the king of Sodom said to Abram in verse 21.
But Abram refused. “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you…” (verse 22-23)
Abram gave one tenth of everything to Melchizedek. (verse 20) But refused to accept anything from the king of Sodom.
Wise is the man who avoids financial entanglement with the world.
And wise is the man who invests in God’s kingdom.
The world system is founded on owing something to somebody. For the twenty year old boxer, yes he’d receive riches from the promoter, but there would be strings attached.
The king of Sodom offered Abram riches from the spoil of battle. And yes, Abram would receive riches, but with strings attached.
Whenever you accept an offer from the world system, there are strings attached, whether it be from someone with political influence like the king of Sodom, or a corrupt fight promoter, or a credit card company. There are always strings attached, and before you know it, those strings can become a tangled mess.
So refuse to invest in the world.
As Abram did when he tithed to Melchizedek, the prophet, priest, and king, invest in heaven.
You’ll never regret it.
As Jesus said,
References:
Chicago Mail Tribune, Sports Section, February 10, 1959
The Chicago Golden Gloves account is a true story as told by Don Bennett to Kurt Bennett June 11, 2011. For the full 5 minute interview see below:
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Posted on June 11, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Genesis
Don Bennett, Financial Well Being, Genesis, Genesis 14, Genesis 14:20-24, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Melchizedek, Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything, Timothy Bursey, Tony Zale, Well Being
Genesis 14:17-20 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And praise be to God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Genesis 14:17-20
So here’s the scene: After Abram’s stunning and miraculous victory over the armies of four kings. After successfully rescuing his nephew Lot from these four armies, he’s met in the Valley of Shaveh by the king of Sodom and also Melchizedek the king of Salem.
Melchizedek — the king and priest of God Most Most High verse 18 tells us. But that statement creates a problem. Because Melchizedek holds the offices of both king and priest of God Most High, simultaneously? How can that be? Only one person in the Bible holds both of those offices — Jesus.
Some scholars say that Melchizedek was a mere mortal, a man who was an actual king of a literal city named Salem. Other scholars believe that Melchizedek was something more. They believe he was a preincarnate appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Either way, God paints a beautiful Old Testament picture of our New Covenant Lord Jesus Christ in the following ways:
Adding to the mystery of Melchizedek is that after Genesis 14 we don’t see him mentioned again until Psalm 110:4. In Psalm 110:4 the author David, seemingly out of nowhere writes,
It’s amazing the way the whole Bible fits together to tell the story of salvation through Jesus Christ. This statement four verses into Psalm 110 is completely cryptic as is Melchizedek himself until the book of Hebrews.
In the book of Hebrews, chapter 7, we learn that the Person referred to in Psalm 110 as a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek is Jesus Christ. It’s here in Hebrews that we’re reminded that the lesser is always blessed by the greater. Levi, the father of the Levitical priesthood and Abram’s great-grandson, is yet within Abram’s loins at the time of Melchizedek’s blessing. So Levi is in effect being blessed by Melchizedek. And as we’ll see later, through Abram, Levi pays tithe to Melchizedek as well, which also speaks of Melchizedek’s position above Levi. (Hebrews Chapter 7)
So Hebrews chapter 7 establishes the superiority of the order of Melchizedek over the order of Levi. That is, the order of Melchizedek which speaks of our new covenant priest Jesus Christ is completely superior to the priesthood given by the law, the Levitical priesthood. For without a doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. The Levitical priesthood, while still inside Abram’s body, was blessed by Melchizedek. (Hebrews Chapter 7:7)
I searched high and low while researching this section of scripture and by far the best material I could find on Genesis 14:17-20 came from Hebrews chapter 7.
In Hebrews 7 God tells us of Melchizedek:
As the author of Hebrews wrote, the law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. (Hebrews 7:19)
That better hope is our Lord.
Glory to Jesus Christ in the highest.
Notes:
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Chuck Smith
Jon Courson
Image of Isaiah, David, and Melchizedek via Ted – Creative Commons
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Posted on June 5, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
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Genesis 14:15-16 Partnering with God
My Hand in His (Image courtesy of Spirit of Fire Evangelistic Ministries)
As we saw in the recent post on Genesis 14:13-14, Abram was prepared to rescue Lot before it was apparent that Lot needed rescuing as Abram had already trained 318 in his household for war and he had already allied himself with a few of his neighbors. Now obviously Abram couldn’t take Lot’s captors head on. They were a force made up of the armies of four kingdoms and Abram had only 318 men plus whatever number his neighbors threw in. Here in Genesis 14:15 we see that Abram chose to attack at night and to divide his forces, implying that he had devised a strategy to help confound the vastly superior forces of Lot’s captors. Yet in verse 20 we see that it was God Most High, who delivered Abram’s enemies into his hand.
So how does this work? How is it that Abram went to all the trouble to plan, train up a fighting force, build an alliance with his neighbors, and develop strategy yet God gets the credit?
Remember, it’s in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28) Without Him, no matter how hard we train, no matter who we ally ourselves with, no matter how well we plan, we won’t experience God’s best.
It’s a partnership.
Most of us have a tendency to make two mistakes in this area of partnership with God. We either try to do it completely on our own, without God. Or, we think we’re practicing faith by not doing our part and leaving things completely up to God.
In reality, the way this partnership works is that you and God each have your part. Now by comparison, God’s part is immeasurably larger than your part, or my part, but it’s important to remember that we still have our part.
Abram and his allies didn’t just defeat the armies of the four kings but Abram “routed” them as it says in verse 15. Routing the armies of four kings with 318 plus men absolutely could not have happened without God doing His part.
For you and for me, as it was with Abram’s rescue mission, God’s part is huge.
And as it was with Abram’s rescue mission, our part is tiny by comparison, yet it’s oh so important that we do our part.
For as Saint Augustine said,
References:
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Chuck Smith
Jon Courson
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Posted on May 28, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Abraham rescues Lot, During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them pursuing them as far as Hobah north of Damascus, Genesis, Genesis 14:15-16, He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions together with the women and the other people, Jesus, Jesus Christ, My hand in His, Partnering with God, Partnership with God, Saint Augustine quote, Without God I can't but without me God won't
Psalm 122:6 — Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee
Israel’s Borders in 1967 on the Eve of the 6 Day War — map courtesy of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
President Obama recently stated in a speech that “We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.”
President Obama’s public statement sent a strong message to Israel about the level of support the United States is prepared to provide to our long time ally.
President Obama’s statement prompted an interesting reply from Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamen Netanyahu. (see the video at the end of this post)
Netanyahu reminded President Obama that Israel’s 1967 borders didn’t encourage peace but in fact invited invasion by Israel’s enemies. The map of Israel’s 1967 borders shows a very narrow dimension near the middle of the country between what was then Samaria and the Mediterranean Sea. This dimension was actually 9 miles wide. To even a casual student of military strategy it should be obvious that this invites an enemy nation to employ the tactic of striking Israel at this narrow point in order to cut the country in half — divide and conquer.
Given that on a practical level, Hamas is a part of the Palestinian government, and that Hamas has publicly and unapologetically stated that their government charter explicitly calls for the destruction of Israel, it’s no wonder that Netanyahu felt compelled to engage President Obama in a bit of historical tutoring. (“obliterate” is the actual word used concerning Israel — see the Hamas charter for yourself at http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm)
It’s interesting that after the 1967 Six Day War, Israel absorbed around 500,000 displaced Israelis who were forced out of various Arab nations. Israel didn’t force any Arabs out of Israel but about the same number of Arabs chose to leave Israel on advice from the Arab leadership at the time. They lived as displaced refugees with no Arab nation offering them a home. Yet part of the peace deal that President Obama speaks of requires a “right of return” that permits the grandchildren and great grandchildren of those Arabs displaced from Israel in 1967 to return to Israel as citizens. Because these subsequent generations now number in the multiplied millions, this would result in a Palestinian majority population in Israel overnight, and would end Israel’s existence as a Jewish nation.
Some have tried to provide some damage control concerning what President Obama proposed by emphasizing that part of the formula includes mutually agreed upon exchanges of territory that would allow for Israel to maintain defensible borders.
Can you imagine the U.S. giving California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas back to Mexico? That’s not going to happen even though our reasons for taking these territories from Mexico weren’t defensive in nature.
Israel’s territory was gained in a war that was in defense of its own borders. No nation in modern history (other than Israel) has ever been asked to give up territory it won in defense of it’s own borders. Yet Israel is being asked to do this by our President and others. How strange this is. Israel is smaller than San Bernardino County, California. Israel makes up only 1/6 of 1% of the land area of the Arab nations in the Middle East. Yet no Arab nation is being asked to provide land to the Palestinians. No one’s talking about this.
As Netanyahu said to President Obama, “It’s not going to happen.”
Even though it’s easy to see why the use of 1967 borders shouldn’t happen, my guess is that you won’t see these reasons in the headlines or on the evening news.
The Jews: uniquely persecuted but uniquely preserved.
Prime Minister Netanyahu explains to President Obama why 1967 borders are a poor starting point for negotiations.
References:
From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters
Jon Courson
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Posted on May 22, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary
1967 borders, Hamas, Israel, Israeli Palestinian, Middle East Peace, Middle East Peace Negotiation, Netanyahu, Obama, Palestinian, President Obama, Psalm 122:6 -- Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee, right to return, We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states
Genesis 14:13-14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan
Abram Rescues Lot (image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
I love Abram’s example here in Genesis 14:13-14. These two verses are filled with rich wisdom from our Lord. In this post I’ll share about Abram’s example in three specific areas, riches, readiness, and rescue.
Riches:
I find it amazing that Abram had 318 trained men born in his household. This is an indication of Abram’s tremendous wealth. These were those born in his household and trained for war. How many weren’t born in his household? How many men weren’t trained for war? How many women were a part of Abram’s household? How many children? I work for a Fire Department that employs just 80 people and our budget is around 12 million per year. Today the company Twitter Inc. has 300 employees and it’s worth an estimated 1 billion dollars. I don’t know what Abram’s net worth was but there’s no doubt that God put it way up there. How our culture admonishes us to chase after material things. Yet the key to prosperity, perhaps counter-intuitively, is modeled here for us by Abram. Abram is a great example of living life God’s way for he lived to …seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things were added unto Abram. (Matthew 6:33)
Readiness:
I also find it interesting that Abram, the father of faith, had plans and preparations to the extent that he had trained 318 men for war. I’m often approached by young men who want to establish themselves in a career as a firefighter.
“Pray for me, that such and such fire department will hire me,” they say. That’s a great request and I do pray for friends to be hired. But I often think that those young men should also be praying for God to bless their preparation and their education.
Faith doesn’t absolve us of our responsibility to prepare.
It’s our job to plan. It’s our job to prepare. And it’s also our job to be completely flexible to change the plan when the Holy Spirit directs us to. Dwight Eisenhower who planned the D-Day invasion, the largest invasion of its kind in history, once said:
Rescue:
Finally we see here an opportunity presented to Abram. An opportunity to demonstrate Abram’s God given love for his nephew Lot. It might have been easy for Abram to say, “Well he made some questionable decisions. He decided to hang with the wrong crowd over there in Sodom and Gomorrah. He’s made his own bed and now he has to lie in it.” But instead, Abram seized the opportunity and, against staggering odds, pursued the forces that captured Lot until he was able to rescue him.
One of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life occurred a number of years ago when a nephew of mine came down with appendicitis. He was in his early 20’s living out an adventure in Mexico at the time. The hospital refused to perform the surgery until he came up with the $3,000 for the operation. He asked for my help but in my heart I questioned whether or not the need was real. I felt that he had made some questionable decisions and I wondered if I would be truly helping if I sent the money. Now of course there are instances when someone is caught up in alcohol or drug abuse or gambling or some other addiction when it’s completely counter productive to help. But in this instance enabling wasn’t a factor. The need for an appendectomy was real. I blew it. Fortunately his older brother was able to send him the money and it turned out well.
Are you someone’s uncle? Someone’s youth sports coach? Someone’s supervisor? Someone’s father or mother? Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as opportunities are presented. When the time comes, when you have the power to help someone close to you, seek the Lord then seize the opportunity!
Seize opportunities to help those close to you, in Jesus name, that they might be drawn to Him.
References:
Jon Courson
J. Vernon McGee
Traveler and the Chaplain
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Posted on May 21, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew, Genesis, Genesis 14:13-14, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite a brother of Eshkol and Aner all of whom were allied with Abram, Traveler and the Chaplain, When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan
Surrender Yourself to God: Joshua 1:1-7
The following is a guest post by Don Bennett.
Joshua was truly honored to be chosen to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. What an incredibly strong endorsement. By this time, inspite of wandering in the desert for 40 years, Israel had grown to be 3 million strong. No sooner had they begun their trip to the promised land than they encountered the incredibly powerful fortified city of Jericho. Joshua sent 3 men to Jericho to find out what the situation was there. With the help of a woman who believed that the God of Israel was the true God they found that rather than come out and fight, the people of Jericho were going to hide behind the incredibly strong walls of the city. Most Christians know the story of God’s angel appearing as a warrior to Joshua and giving him instruction to lead the people around the walls 7 days in a row. On the 7th day they were instructed to have the priests blow the ram’s horn and have all of the people shout at the same time. As the song says, “…the walls came tumbling down.”
The next obstacle confronting Joshua and his people was the city of Ai. Without praying or consulting the LORD, Joshua sent several men in to assess the situation. They returned and reported that “This should be easy. They don’t look very strong.” They didn’t know that three Kings, who feared the Israelis, were allied with Ai. Because of this alliance the fighting forces of Ai were much more powerful than they appeared. Perhaps even more powerful than Jericho’s. Again, without consulting or praying, Joshua sent only 3,000 men to engage Ai and they were routed. The survivors came running back and told Joshua that they had been met with a powerful force. Joshua, being a man of the LORD, lay prone on the ground, covered himself with dust, and prayed for GOD’s forgiveness for his, Joshua’s, being so arrogant. God forgave Joshua with a strong warning to remember who the authority was and to check in with the LORD before going off on his own. Obviously, Joshua learned very quickly to respect the LORD and to be grateful for his blessings.
In my life, from an early age, I did not always respect authority, and I always found that there was a price to pay. Growing up in Kansas, sports were always very important to me. In the 8th grade I was the quarterback on our football team. We had a coach named Mr. Burnett. He was young and easy to relate to. In fact at that time, he still often wore his letterman’s sweater from Coffeeville College. One day he asked me to stay after practice to talk.
He first asked me how I was doing.
I answered “I think I’m doing pretty well.”
He asked, “Why do you think you’re doing well?”
I said, “I really don’t know.”
He said, “I know why you are doing well. God gave you the ability to run fast and throw a ball fast, but you have a problem. You will never become a better player and teammate unless you work at improving yourself rather than just relying on your God-given ability.”
I was crestfallen! But I really didn’t learn much of anything from our talk. Because Coach Burnett continued to allow me to play quarterback, I was still getting what I wanted and didn’t learn the lesson that it’s a good idea to pay attention to those in authority.
In Proverbs 24:21 God tells us, “My son, fear thou the LORD and the king…” Coach Burnett was my “king” but I didn’t fear or respect him.
After 8th grade, my father was transferred to Chicago, Illinois. I went out for football. The first day of Freshman practice, Coach Ritchoff blew the whistle and came up to me. “You can’t play quarterback because you’re left-handed.” I informed Coach Ritchoff that that did not make any sense at all. All that earned me was running 10 extra laps and I got switched to running back anyway. Obviously, I had not learned my lesson.
I was very fortunate to be born into a family of good Christians and at the age of 3 I was singing “Jesus loves me this I know because the Bible tells me so” with my Sunday School class. I still think that’s a good song. I have always considered myself a Christian but it was a long time before I got the idea of what it was to be a Christian.
When things were easy, and I did well, I was very quick to feel prideful and superior as opposed to thanking God for my successes. When things didn’t go well, rather than assessing my own performance, I usually blamed my failure on someone else or general circumstances. Obviously, unlike Joshua, I was not quick to understand that my successes were all the result of God’s gifts and my failures came about when I strayed from the word of God.
I have found that when I attend church regularly and continue to read my Bible things go very well for me.
Jesus came and not only died to wash away our sins but was the perfect example of humility and selflessness. It isn’t easy in today’s crazy world to follow the example which Jesus set. When we focus on His example and love God, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we find ourselves so busy helping others that we won’t have time to be arrogant.
[Image via: Andre Bohrer – Creative Commons]
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Posted on May 14, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study
Authority, Christian living, Humility, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joshua, Joshua 1, Surrender yourself to Christ, Surrender Yourself to God, Surrender yourself to Jesus
Genesis 14:1-12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom
The person you become is determined by the company you keep.
Trouble Seems To Follow Lot
Chapter 14 starts out with a battle. In fact, this is the first mention of war in the Bible. Five kingdoms, or city-kingdoms if you will, were subject to Kedorlaomer the king of Elam. This had been the situation for twelve years until the five kingdoms decided to rebel. Kedorlaomer the king of Elam and three of his allies, the city-kingdoms of Shinar, Ellasar, and Goyim entered into battle against the five rebelling kingdoms, two of which were Sodom and Gomorrah, and defeated them. In the process they also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. (v.12)
Poor Lot. Trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes. Over the years I’ve heard that phrase used concerning celebrities who repeatedly find themselves in trouble, with the law, or in their marriage, or with alcohol and drugs. “Trouble seems to follow him (or her) wherever he goes.” Or does it? When you examine these celebrity’s lives more closely you find that the company they keep includes people who repeatedly get into trouble.
It was the same with Lot. Genesis 13:13 tells us that Lot chose to live with people who were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. Their battles became his battles. Their losses became his losses. Their problems became his problem.
Praying For God’s Crew
I was 22 years old. Kathy was 19, and eight and one half months pregnant. My job at the cabinet shop was cut back from 40 hours a week to 8 hours a week. We were living in a rented 8′ x 28′ trailer on a friend’s property deep in the woods of Oregon. The trailer was heated with a wood stove and was so small that you either boiled in the living room where the wood stove was or you froze in the only bedroom at the other end of the trailer. The shower was so small that if Kathy, pregnant with our first son, dropped the bar of soap, she had to ask me to come pick it up because there wasn’t enough room in the shower to stoop down to grab it.
Growing up I made poor choices when it came to friends. In middle school I hung out with an older boy who liked to burglarize houses which resulted in me getting in trouble with local law enforcement. In high school and college I liked to hang with the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll crowd. So it was as much of a surprise to me as it was to anyone else when, desperate for a job to support my wife and my first born son only a few weeks from arriving, I started going for walks in the woods outside our tiny trailer and praying for a workplace where I’d find Christians to hang with. The amazing thing is, I wasn’t yet a Christian myself. The only explanation I can come up with is that God had His hand on my life in a very intimate and personal way.
At the same time I was praying in the woods outside our trailer, I was applying for jobs — everywhere. The lumber mill, orderly jobs at nursing homes, McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell. The economy was in a terrible recession at the time and I was rejected by all of them, except one. The fire department was hiring and that turned out to be the only job offer I had. The first crew I was assigned to had a firefighter on it who invited me to join a Bible study that the crew held in the station at the end of each work day.
I could hardly believe it.
God used the Christian men I was exposed to on the fire department to completely change who I was. I went from being a burglar who loved sex and drugs to a firefighter who loved Jesus Christ.
Your Ideal You
All this brings us to the question: What is your ideal image of yourself? If someone were describing who you’re ideal self, what would they say?
“He’s a man who loves Jesus so much, he lives to do His will.”
“He’s a man who loves Jesus with everything he has, and loves others as himself.”
“She’s a woman who is a great blessing to her Lord, her family, and her friends.”
“He’s a man full of God’s wisdom.”
“She’s a woman who never says a bad word about anybody.”
“He’s a man full of God’s grace.”
I have a secret: You can become that person.
All it takes is a few simple actions on your part.
1) Petition Jesus to make you into that person — petition Him daily.
2) Find people who fit your description of who you want to become.
3) Find ways to spend time with those people and don’t give up until you do.
You Become Who You Hang With
I once set a goal for myself to become ranked in the top 5 as an amateur tennis player in my age group in the Pacific Northwest. The town I lived in has a good junior program. At the time they had a number of regionally ranked players and even a few nationally ranked players who were bound for division 1 college tennis programs and had a chance to become professionals. At age 43, my strategy was to join the junior tennis program and do whatever they did. When they practiced, I tried to practice. When they took a lesson, I tried to take a lesson. When they played a tournament, I tried to play a tournament. At 43 and working full time I was far from perfect in matching all of the activities of the ranked juniors. I didn’t do it completely but for the most part I prioritized my relationship with Christ, my family, and my work ahead of tennis. But even with these priorities in place, this principle is so powerful that at the end of the year I was ranked #2.
Do you want to follow Jesus more closely? Find people who love him with everything they have and connect with them.
Do you want to spend more time in God’s word? Find people who love God’s word and hang with them.
Do you desire more godly wisdom? Find wise godly people to spend time with.
The Most Important Person
Nothing will influence who you become more than spending time with Jesus.
Spend time with Jesus in prayer, in worship, in his word, in fellowship with His followers both inside and outside of church. Spend time with him regularly. Make your time with him as deep and meaningful as possible. Invest yourself in him, imitate him, and over time, you’ll become more like him.
References:
Bible Gateway
Jon Courson
David Guzik
Traveler and the Chaplain
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Posted on May 7, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
choose friends wisely, Genesis, Genesis 14 Bible Study, Genesis 14 Commentary, Genesis 14:1-12, how to choose a friend, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, Sodom and Gomorrah, They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom, you are who you hang with
Lot’s Choice: Genesis 13:10-18
…in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6 (photo courtesy of bibleinayearandbeyond.blogspot.com)
Decisions. I wonder if Lot prayed through his decision to set himself up in the greater Sodom and Gomorrah metropolitan area. I wonder if he sought God’s will for his life before he pulled the trigger on where to move himself and his family.
The plain was well watered. It looked like the garden of the Lord. It looked like the irrigated areas of the land of Egypt.
It looked good. It looked like an obvious choice.
But Lot wound up keeping company with those who were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. (Genesis 13:13)
We do the same thing today. We make decisions, often times important decisions, based on how things look.
“They pay the most,” he says.
“If you work there we won’t have to move,” she says.
“He looks so cute,” she says.
“She’s smokin hot,” he says.
Some people said that he looked a little like Leonardo DiCaprio. He was older, charming, handsome, witty. She was young and impressionable. She liked his good looks and his big personality. He liked her youthful beauty. She went away with him in January of 2004. When she was only 21. He was 33.
“What an adventure this will be,” he said.
“I know he’s much older but we’re in love,” she said, answering her parent’s objections.
And it was a great adventure — at first. He was talented and landed a good job in the first town they moved to. She worked part time to help out. They enjoyed their first few months together. But he lost his job and they had to move again. New town, new job, fresh start, no problem. But less than a year later he lost his job once more. Off they went to another town. He took another job. It was there that she started to learn more about her new husband. As it turns out, he enjoyed gambling.
“This cuts into our budget,” she said.
“It’s just entertainment, what’s the big deal?” he said.
“You’re borrowing money from people at work,” she said.
“This is the last time, I promise,” he said.
Another job, another town. In this town she learned about his addiction to internet porn. She also learned that he can get abusive at times.
She also learned she’s pregnant.
The plain may look well watered, the choice may look appealing, the decision might appear to be obvious, but what does the Lord want?
Think about what you can know about a person. You can know how he or she looks and sounds. You can’t know what’s in his mind. You can’t know her intent. You can’t know what she plans for the future. You can’t know his heart.
But God knows everything there is to know about a person.
Think of what you can know about your environment. You can only know what’s happened in the past based on recorded history and your own memory. You can only know what’s in the present based on your senses — if you’re inside right now, with the drapes drawn, you can only know what’s happening inside the four walls of the room you’re in. And the future — you can’t know for sure what might happen even one second into the future.
But nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
Why not tap into that?
Abram did. Abram tapped into that. Abram built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8) And look at the results! God told Abram “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:14-15)
And what’s Abram’s response to this news? We see in verse 18 that he builds another altar to the Lord! By the way, nowhere in scripture do we find Lot building an altar to God.
So often when we find ourselves in a position of having to make an important life decision, we do so based on our own impressions. It may feel awkward, it may feel different, but like it did for Abram, it will result in tremendous blessing when we seek the Lord before making important decisions.
The way to do that is to…
Study scripture, fast unto the Lord, pray through your decision. Then pull the trigger on your decision and trust the Lord to be with you and to help you and to never forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)
Of course the most important choice you can make is to choose to accept Jesus Christ as your savior. This is the choice with eternal consequences.
Eternity is a long time.
Choose Jesus. (see So Your Life Is Falling Apart)
References:
(The story in this post about choosing a husband without seeking God is based on true events)
Bible Gateway
JonCourson.com
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Posted on April 30, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
bad choice, Genesis 13, good choice, Lot's Choice, make good choice, why do I make bad decisions
Stop doubting and believe: John 20:24-29
Missing Sunday Meeting
It’s Sunday and the disciples have assembled together. The disciples had met the Sunday before but Thomas wasn’t with them. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to them. The disciples shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection but Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)
Too bad Thomas missed that meeting. Had he made it, he would have experienced the bodily presence of Jesus and believed a week early. His doubt would have been erased and his faith would have been increased. But because Thomas missed that last meeting his doubt endured.
You know, if you think about it, something similar happened when Jesus appeared to the 500 after the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:6 tells us there were 500 present when Jesus commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised… …in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5)
Yet in Acts 1:15 it appears that only 120 of them listened and obeyed Jesus’ words. That’s huge! That means 380 missed the meeting in the upper room described in Acts 1:15. That also means 380 missed out on the blessing of the Holy Spirit. 120 had tongues of fire on their heads and spoke powerfully in foreign languages they didn’t know. 120 were used to save the souls of 3,000 people. (Acts chapter 2) 380 were left out–because they missed the meeting.
Verse 24 of John 20 says that Thomas was also known as Didymus. Didymus means twin in the Greek, so who’s twin is he?
He’s the twin of you and he’s the twin of me.
Have you ever missed a meeting with the Lord? I know I have. Missing meetings means missing out. Missing out on experiencing fellowship with the body of Christ. Missing out on believing. Missing out on increased faith. Had Thomas made it to the first meeting he would have seen Jesus and believed. His doubt would have been erased and his faith would have been increased!
That’s what happens to us when we make meetings.
Because Thomas missed the last meeting his doubt endured. It’s the same with you and the same with me. When we miss meetings, when we miss hearing the word of God whatever doubts we have endure.
No doubt Thomas and the 380 had their reasons for missing. They worked hard all week so they were too tired, or they didn’t care for someone who they knew would be attending that meeting, or there was a good game on TV that morning. But whatever their reason, when they missed the meeting they missed out on experiencing the presence of Jesus in a unique way. They missed out on the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. They missed out on a tremendous blessing.
Oh twin of doubting Thomas, don’t you see that Thomas didn’t believe until he touched Jesus? Don’t you see it’s the same for you today? You won’t believe until you touch Him.
So touch him. Study Jesus’ life in the scriptures. Encounter Jesus with His believers. Do these things and you too will believe! Like Thomas, you too will find yourself responding to him, saying, “My Lord and my God!”
You’ll never regret it, I promise you!
Make the meeting.
Go to church.
References:
Bible Gateway
Jon Courson Sermon, 4/10/2011
The image is of the painting Doubting Thomas by Caravaggio circa 1600, Wikimedia.org, Public Domain
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
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Posted on April 23, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
Believe, Doubt, go church, go to church, Jesus Christ, John 20:24-29, Put your finger here; see my hands, Stop Doubting and Believe, Unless I see the nail marks
Genesis 13:1-9 If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.
Original photo courtesy of RomansNewsletter.Blogspot.com
Most people don’t recognize it but what we’re seeing here is one of Abram’s greatest moments! As the elder man and as Lot’s uncle, Abram could have had his own way in this matter. But he showed Lot grace and allowed him to choose his own way. Perhaps this was in response to the grace recently shown to Abram by God in Genesis chapter 12. In chapter 12 we saw that Abram lied and put his wife Sarai in a terrible and vulnerable position yet the Lord spared Sarai and Abram and sent them away with riches. (see previous post Genesis 12:10-20)
Abram allowed Lot to have it his way.
How often does this moment of truth happen upon you and me?
In the car with family I want to take the route that I think is the best.
When we’re going to a movie I want to see the one I think is best.
When we’re deciding where to vacation I want to go to the destination I think is best.
We need to do it my way!
My way is the right way!
My way is the best way!
Why can’t people see that — it’s so obvious.
But wait just a minute. Let’s take a closer look at these examples. What actually happens if we take a slower route in the car? What actually happens if we arrive two minutes later? What damage is actually done if we see a chick flick? What if we vacation in some other nice place? What problem has been caused by these outcomes? I mean really, does it make a difference that’s significant or important in any way whatsoever? Most of the time, getting your own way isn’t nearly as big a deal as it seems.
So why do we think, feel, and behave this way?
When I was younger I played some amateur competitive tennis. Oh, how I wanted to make it as a pro. Several people close to me believed that there were better paths for me to follow. I didn’t give much consideration to their wise words. I didn’t give much consideration to the path that the Lord wanted me to walk in life either. I practiced. I worked hard. I disciplined myself. I studied books on tennis technique and strategy.
I prayed for God to do it my way.
“Please Lord, help me to win this tournament.”
“Please Lord help me to get a college scholarship.”
“Lord, that other guy isn’t even a Christian, why are you allowing him to be successful? That doesn’t make sense. Lord, You’re allowing him to enjoy success and accolades while You’re allowing me to flounder! Why?
Looking back I can see now that this was my flesh speaking loud and clear. Our flesh is the reason we think, feel, and behave this way.
Ironically, today I have many friends who have been successful in tournaments. I have quite a a number of friends and acquaintances who have gone to NCAA Division 1 schools on tennis scholarships. But as it turns out, the chance of becoming a successful professional tennis player is somewhere around 1 in 13 million! Most of those guys are teaching tennis for a living. For those of you who have never tried it, that means they spend all day at work pushing tennis balls at little old ladies and at young kids that are only there because their parents make them take tennis lessons. The few rest of these that I know who aren’t teaching tennis are struggling to figure out what they want to do for a living.
I thank God I didn’t get my way. Had things gone my way I would never have entered into the fire service. My thirty years in the fire service has been a tremendous blessing. I wouldn’t trade it for a career in tennis for anything.
Getting our way. It’s interesting to me that in our culture today, getting one’s own way is associated with wealth. Yet here we have Abram, who had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold (v.2), allowing Lot to have it his way. I do believe that God sometimes bestows wealth on people who show grace to others–I’ve seen that happen repeatedly. But even if you don’t receive wealth here on earth, think of the treasure you’ll receive in heaven! (Matthew 6:20 — see previous post) Jesus told his disciples, “…he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger…” (Luke 22:26) And that is precisely what Abraham did with Lot.
Remember back in Genesis chapter 12 when Abram lied to the Egyptians and allowed his wife to be put at risk in Pharaoh’s harem? God showed Abraham incredible grace and mercy by sparing Sarah and Abraham and even enriching them in the process. In the very next chapter we see Abram showing grace to Lot. Remember the grace that’s been shown to you. “…my blood which is shed for you,” Jesus said. He spilled his blood for you, he died for you. In spite of what you’ve done, God, in His grace and mercy, has provided a way for you to enter into heaven.
So show grace to people even as God has shown grace to you by sending His only Son to die on your behalf.
Getting your own way is usually less important than you think. And most importantly, showing grace to others as Abram did to Lot is the way God desires for you.
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Posted on April 17, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, Marriage
Abraham and Lot, Genesis 13, Genesis 13:1-9, Grace Changes Everything
Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife?–Genesis 12:10-20
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe
Suspicion and Imaginings
Have you ever known someone that you suspected had ill will toward you?
Have you ever been in a situation where you had no choice but to encounter someone who you suspect has bad feelings toward you?
“Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” (v.18-19) Fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25)–apparently, even for Abram the father of faith. Based on speculation that the Egyptians had intentions of stealing Sarai and killing Abram, Abram told a half-truth about his half-sister. What if Abram had told Pharoah the complete truth about his relationship with Sarai? How much better would that have been. Imagining what others are thinking and feeling is one of the chief causes of sin. It was that way for Abram and it’s that way today for you and for me. How many sins are caused by our imaginings? Abram imagined that the Egyptians would kill him if they knew that Sarai was his wife. A man imagines that his co-worker would throw him under the bus to advance his career. A daughter-in-law imagines that her husband’s mother thinks she’s not worthy of her son.
Imaginings.
Imaginings such as these result in all kinds of destructive thinking and behavior. And here’s a surprising element of this dynamic. Imaginings such as these result in destructive thinking and behavior–even when they’re accurate! Even if Abram was correct in his assumption that the Eqyptians would attempt to kill him and take Sarai, that wouldn’t have changed the fact that Abram lied and put his wife in a very vulnerable position. Whether his imaginings were accurate or not, Abram would have been better off honoring God by telling the truth. Would not God have intervened and rescued Abram, the father of faith, and his wife?
Watch and See
Watch and see. In your life and in the lives of others, where there are assumptions and imaginings about what others are thinking and feeling, you’ll see love for others quenched, squashed, and extinguished. When she entertains thoughts that her close friend is trying to put her down because she’s jealous; when he thinks he has insight that his boss is giving him a garbage assignment to discount him; when she thinks her husband believes that she looks fat in that new dress, the love that God desires for us to show these people becomes smothered in our thoughts and imaginings of the possible ill will that they may be feeling.
If my assumption is wrong, and there is no ill will then I’m outside of God’s will by not loving that person. Because He told us to “love our neighbor.” (Matthew 22:36-40) He told us to “love one another.” (John 13:34)
If my assumption is right, and there is ill will, then I’m still outside of God’s will by not loving that person! Because He told us to “Love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, Luke 6:35)
4 Blessings From the Benefit of the Doubt
Give people the benefit of the doubt. Assume the best in others through their good days and their bad, through thick and thin, and watch what happens to your interactions with them:
Cynicism, Suspicion, and the Container That Carries Them
Will people sometimes take advantage of you? Sure, that might happen occasionally. But consider the following story.
When I was a new Captain on the fire department an older more senior firefighter who hadn’t yet made Captain used to enjoy taking shots at me. I either ignored him or took it good naturedly, until a well meaning supervisor shared that he was concerned that I didn’t realize this older firefighter was putting me down. Wow! Did that ever mess with my head! Instead of giving the older firefighter the benefit of the doubt I began to read things into every word, every facial expression, of not just the older firefighter, but of several other department members as well. I was miserable!
What kind of a life do you want to lead? Would you like to live a life with an attitude of cynicism and suspicion? An approach to life that says, “Nobody gets anything past me!” Or would you rather live a life filled with love towards others, in obedience to God’s commands for us to love our neighbors, one another, and even our enemies? We perplex and ensnare ourselves with this suspicious approach–even when we’re right.
Cynicism and suspicion rot the container that carries them.
You’ll be blessed if you choose God’s way!
Did God Give Abram a Free Pass?
He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. (v.16) Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. (v.20) What’s this? Was Abram’s half-truth about his half-sister not counted as a lie, resulting in blessings instead of consequences? While it’s true that Sarai was his half-sister, Abram neglected to share that Sarai was also his wife. Abram gave true information with false implication and that’s a lie. Those bearing false witness against Jesus in Matthew 26:61 did the same when they said that Jesus claimed He was able to destroy the temple and raise it in three days. Of course Jesus was speaking of his own body, not the temple made of stone in Jerusalem. True information with wrong implication–it was a lie.
So Abram lied and put Sarai in a terrible and vulnerable position. Does this happen without consequence? Surely God’s grace is in play here as evidenced by how Sarai and Abram are spared and sent away with riches. But though it may appear on the surface that Abram’s sin is without consequence, we should remember that one of the maidservants that Abram leaves with is an Egyptian girl named Hagar. A girl who we’ll later see break Abram’s heart and divide his family.
References:
Blue Letter Bible
Bible Gateway
Matthew Henry
John Wesley
25 Ways to Win with People, by Maxwell and Parrott
Jon Courson
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Posted on April 9, 2011 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Christian, Christian living, Genesis, Genesis 12, Genesis 12:10-20, give the benefit of the doubt, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jon Courson, trust, Why did you say ‘She is my sister’ so that I took her to be my wife?
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