Tawa Baptist

The Tamarisk Tree

Scripture: Genesis 21:22-34

Video Link: https://youtu.be/w4-ftz3ddMM

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Peace
  • Prayer
  • Purpose
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

There are two kinds of trees: deciduous and evergreen.

The word deciduous means ‘to fall off’. Deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn, to conserve energy in winter, then regrow their leaves in spring. Deciduous trees tend to have broad leaves, like oak or maple.

In contrast, evergreen trees keep their leaves all year round and generally cope better with hot weather. The leaves of an evergreen tree tend to be narrower, like pine or kānuka.

Today we continue our series, The Testimony of Trees. Last week we heard about the tree of knowledge in Genesis 2 and 3.

This week our focus is the Tamarisk tree, in Genesis 21. There are about 60 varieties of tamarisk trees growing around the world. Some are deciduous and some are evergreen.

The variety of tamarisk native to the Middle East (the geographical setting of Genesis 21) is Tamarix Aphylla. Tamarix Aphylla is the largest of the tamarisk family, growing up to 18 meters tall.

It has slender branches and scale like leaves. The tamarisk tree is known to be very tolerant of salts. In fact, its leaves excrete salty water. Due to the high salt content of its foliage tamarix aphylla is slow to catch fire. Which means it can be used as a fire barrier.

Tamarix aphylla grows relatively quickly, providing shade from the sun and shelter from the wind for stock. It also has an extensive root system which makes it good for erosion control, particularly in sandy soils. 

Basically, tamarix aphylla is a hardy, resilient tree. A friend to shepherds in the middle east. From Genesis 21, verses 32-34 we read about the tamarisk tree.

32 After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In the context of Genesis 21, the tamarisk tree is associated with at least three things: peace, prayer and purpose. Let’s begin by considering the peace connection.

Peace:

Last Thursday, the 6th of February, was Waitangi Day, a national holiday for the people of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Waitangi Day commemorates the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) in 1840.

The Treaty was eventually signed by 531 Māori chiefs and the representatives of the Crown. Queen Victoria of England was the reigning monarch of the day.

The purpose of Te Tiriti was to protect Māori and their land, as well as establishing stable government to keep peace and order. New Zealand was a pretty wild place in those days, without law or an effective justice system.

You sometimes hear the principles of the Treaty summarized by the three P’s: partnership, participation and protection.

Those who signed the Treaty in 1840 understood it to be a covenant, a forever agreement. The wording stipulates ‘forever’. Sadly, there has been much disagreement over the interpretation and application of the Treaty during the past 185 years, not helped by the fact there are two versions of the Treaty, one in English and one in Māori.      

In verse 22 of Genesis 21, Abimelech, the king of Gerar, and his general, Phicol, offer to make a peace treaty with Abraham. If you think about it, this is quite remarkable really. Normally, with peace treaties, the party in the weaker position approaches the one in the stronger position.

Outwardly, Abimelech appears to be in a stronger position than Abraham. Abraham is a wandering shepherd, a sojourner, a resident alien in the land;   he doesn’t have a fortress or an army like Abimelech and so we don’t expect Abimelech to make a treaty with Abraham. Why then does Abimelech feel the need to do this?

Well, Abimelech gives his reason in verse 22 when he says to Abraham: “God is with you in everything you do”. What does it mean that God is with Abraham?

I’ve come up with a little acronym which outlines what it means to be with someone. W is for wellbeing, I is for intimacy, T is for trust and H is for help.

You know someone is with you when they are committed to your wellbeing. When they share themselves intimately with you. When they trust you. And when they provide you with help.   

God is with Abraham, as a friend. Theirs is a relationship characterised by wellbeing, intimacy, trust and help.

One of the names of Jesus is Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’. Jesus is, God with us. Through faith in Jesus, we can have a relationship with God based on wellbeing, intimacy, trust and help.

Returning to Genesis, Abimelech has the spiritual sensitivity and insight to see that God is with Abraham. And so, Abimelech says to Abraham…

23 Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”
24 Abraham said, “I swear it.”          

By making a treaty with Abraham, Abimelech is aligning himself with Abraham’s God who holds the power of life & death. Abimelech wants Abraham to deal honestly with him and to treat him with kindness

The Hebrew word translated as kindness here is hesed. Hesed is a Hebrew term which is sometimes translated as kindness, sometimes as mercy and other times as steadfast love or loyal (covenant) love.

Hesed isn’t just an abstract concept though – it is an action, something tangible that one does for someone else’s well-being. Abimelech wants Abraham to make a solemn commitment to always treat him and his descendants with hesed, and Abraham agrees.

In agreeing to a covenant with Abimelech, Abraham shows respect, humility and meekness. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength tempered by self-control. Meekness is the twin of gentleness.

God was with Abraham and had promised the land to him. But Abraham does not let that go to his head. Abraham does not seek to take the land by force. Abraham prefers peace. He respects the people of the land and waits for God.  

Abimelech’s treaty provided Abraham with the opportunity to sort out a dispute over watering rights. Abraham had dug a well and Abimelech’s servants had seized it. Water wells were vitally important in that part of the world. Rain fall was seasonal (it wasn’t all year round) so wells were essential to the survival of people and animals alike.

Abimelech wanted peace with Abraham but without justice there can be no peace. So, Abraham sought justice over the well.

This was an awkward moment for Abimelech. The king has just given a speech about how he has treated Abraham with ‘kindness’ or hesed and now he is learning that in fact his servants have done nothing of the sort. The servants have embarrassed Abimelech and the king is quick to plead ignorance.     

What happens next is quite unexpected. Normally the one who has been wronged (in this case Abraham) would be owed some compensation. But in this situation Abraham doesn’t seek compensation for himself. He does the opposite. Abraham gives Abimelech seven sheep. Abimelech is confused and asks, ‘what does this mean?’

Abraham explains that by accepting these sheep you are acknowledging that I dug this well.

By seizing Abraham’s well, Abimelech’s servants had done an injustice to Abraham and brought shame on their master. To save face Abimelech might feel it necessary to punish his servants. But Abraham comes to the rescue of the men who seized his well by providing compensation on their behalf.  

In this way Abraham has done hesed by preserving Abimelech’s honour and shielding the servants from punishment. Indebted by Abraham’s hesed, Abimelech and his servants will now stay away from Abraham’s well.

Prayer:

It is after making this peace treaty with Abimelech that Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and there called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.     

To call on the name of the Lord is another way of saying that Abraham prayed to God and worshipped him.

Elsewhere in Genesis, Abraham is noted as building an altar and calling on the name of the Lord. In this context planting a tree is like building an altar. It designates a sacred place for prayer and worship.

Now to be clear, Abraham is not worshipping the tree. The tamarisk is not like an idol that he bows down to. Nor does the tamarisk tree in anyway represent God. We should not think of the tamarisk tree as a metaphor for God.

As hardy and resilient as the tamarisk tree is, it is not eternal like God.

A tamarisk tree might live somewhere between 50 to 100 years depending on the circumstances. In contrast, the Lord lives forever.

What we notice in verse 33 is Abraham’s prayer life. He has a special place for calling on the Lord. We can pray to God anywhere and at any time, of course. God is not rooted to one location, like a tree. The Lord will hear us wherever we are. Nevertheless, it can be helpful to us if we have a special place where we pray.   

Abraham’s special place was by the tamarisk tree he planted in the dry and desolate wilderness of Beersheba. Once grown, the tamarisk tree would act as a sanctuary, providing shade from the harsh sun for Abraham while he prayed.

Prayer is like a tamarisk tree in that it provides a sanctuary for the human soul.   

The wilderness of Beersheba is an interesting choice. Around the same time as agreeing to a peace treaty with Abimelech, Abraham sent his eldest son, Ishmael into the desert of Beersheba, with his mother Hagar and a skin of water.

Abraham’s second son, Isaac, had just been born and there was friction in the household between Sarah and Hagar. Long story short, once the water had run out, Hagar left Ishmael under a bush to die. Was the bush a young tamarisk tree? Quite possibly, we can’t be sure. From verse 17 of Genesis 21 we read…

17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.

Interesting that Ishmael became an archer. I read somewhere that the wood of the tamarisk tree is good for making bows. Apparently, tamarisk wood has the strength and flexibility needed.

What did Abraham pray about under his tamarisk tree? We are not told but probably all manner of things. As a parent, we could well expect him to pray for his children, that God would be with them and watch over their lives for good. In fact, God was with Ishmael and Isaac, even as they took different paths in life.

Prayer is like a tamarisk tree. It provides a sanctuary for the human soul.

Where is your tamarisk tree? Where is your sanctuary for prayer?

Do you have a private prayer closet in your home? Or do you prefer to pray in a small group of close friends? Maybe this church auditorium is your prayer place? Or perhaps you prefer to pray with your hands in the garden, pulling out weeds and watering the plants?  

The tamarisk tree of Genesis 21 is associated with peace, prayer and purpose. 

Purpose:

You may have heard of the term agroforestry. Agroforestry does not refer to angry trees. Rather agroforestry is a sustainable farming practice. That is, planting trees and shrubs alongside crops and livestock.

Agroforestry enhances biodiversity and mitigates the harmful effects of monoculture. (Monoculture is when just one crop is grown.)

Tamarisk trees are used in agroforestry as wind breaks and they also help with the reclamation of marginal lands. As already mentioned, tamarisk roots give stability to the soil and the branches provide shade for livestock. If pasture is scarce, then sheep and goats and cattle can feed off the leaves of the tamarisk.

What’s more, the tamarisk flower attracts bees, which are good for the pollination and propagation of a variety of plants. 

Abraham probably chose to plant a tamarisk (rather than an oak or something else) because it served a practical purpose. The tamarisk was suited to the harsh environment of Beersheba and, as verse 34 makes plain, Abraham intended to stay there for a good long while.

Planting tamarisk trees in Beersheba was an agroforestry strategy long before the term ‘agroforestry’ was coined. Planting tamarisk trees would help Abraham and future generations with farming and shepherding livestock.  

I can’t help noticing how Abraham is a bit like the tamarisk tree in some respects.

Through years of waiting in barrenness, God had grown Abraham & Sarah’s faith strong and deep and wide, like the root system of a tamarisk tree.

Abraham’s faith in God has proven resilient, prospering in even the harshest of environments.

Abraham (who is now over 100 years old) is still evergreen, fathering a son in his old age.

What’s more, Abraham is a salt of the earth kind of person. Just as the tamarisk leaves sweat salt, so too Abraham is salty. Abraham is in the world but not of it, maintaining the distinctive flavour of holiness.

Abraham and the tamarisk tree are both a blessing to the land. Abraham does not try to take the land by force. He is humble and meek, lending stability and peace. Abraham is a man of prayer and a servant to God’s purpose.

Perhaps also the tamarisk tree serves as a symbol of God’s purpose for the nation of Israel. Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God was making a nation that would be resilient and life-giving, a source of shelter and sustenance to those who find themselves in the wilderness. A blessing to the nations.

Sadly, the people of Israel fell short of God’s purpose for the nation, as we have all fallen short. But by God’s grace Jesus fulfils God’s purpose for Israel and for all humanity.

Like Abraham, Jesus serves God’s purpose as a man of peace and prayer.

Jesus did not go to war against the occupying Roman forces of his day.

Jesus chose the path of gentleness and humility, saying…

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.

And, blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

Conclusion:

At this point in the sermon, you might expect me to encourage you all to be more like the tamarisk tree; hardy, resilient, salty, lending stability to the land and providing shelter from the harsh elements of this world.

And while they might be good things to aspire to, I’m not sure that is the best application of the text. What you will notice as we go through this series is that each variety of tree we learn about is different.

A better question might be: If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? How has God made you? Some of you may be like the tamarisk tree, but not all of us are suited to a dry and desolate environment. Most of us do better when planted beside streams of water.

The point is, don’t try and be something you are not. Be who God made you to be. Whatever tree you might be like, grow where you are planted and let God fulfil his purpose for your life.

Let us pray…

Gracious God, help us to grow to full maturity in Christ and be the people together you made us to be. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What are some of the characteristics of tamarix aphylla? What are tamarisk trees useful for?
  3. Why did Abraham plant a tamarisk tree in Genesis 21? What is the tamarisk tree associated with in Genesis 21?
  4. Where is your tamarisk tree? Where is your sanctuary for prayer? 
  5. In what ways is Abraham like a tamarisk tree?
  6. In what ways are Jesus and Abraham similar? (How do Abraham’s actions in Genesis 21 point to Jesus?)
  7. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? How has God made you?
Tawa Baptist

Life Goes On

Scripture: Genesis 25:1-11

Title: Life Goes On

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Creation in Genesis 1-11
  • Creation in Genesis 12-24
  • Creation in Genesis 25
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

This morning we are going to begin with a little bit of Scrabble

–         Most of you will know that with Scrabble each player gets to select 7 unknown letters from the pile and then has to do their best to use those random letters to spell a meaningful word

–         You are of course allowed to piggy back off the words on the board

On the wall here we have a word already on the board: ORDER

–         And the letters you have to work with are below that: A E O I T C N

–         I’m going to give you about 30 seconds to come up with the best word you can, see if you can use all the letters

–         You can work with those around you if you like or you can work on your own if you prefer

–         At the end of the 30 seconds I’ll invite you to share the words you’ve made with the rest of the congregation [Wait 30 seconds]

Okay, who would like to share with us the words you came up?

–         [Listen to people’s answers]

One combination that uses all the letters could look like this…

CREATION, using one of the R’s from ORDER

Over the past several months we have been working our way through a series on the life and faith of Abraham. This morning we conclude our series.

–         From Genesis chapter 25, verses 1-11, in the NIV we read…

Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading

 

The story of Abraham isn’t just the story of one man who lived 4000 years ago in Middle East

–         Thinking more broadly than that it is the story of the genesis or beginning of the nation of Israel – it’s a creation story in other words

 

Creation in Genesis 1-11:

To gain a better understanding of the significance of this creation story we need to look at the bigger picture

–         Firstly, what do we mean by creation?

–         Well, in the book of Genesis, which reflects the thinking of people who lived in the ancient world (a very different way of thinking to us), creation was about bringing order, function and purpose to the elements

–         Sort of like Scrabble where one takes the letters they are given and arranges them in an order which makes a sensible word

Genesis 1, therefore, does not start at the material beginning of the universe when God brought the first atom into being out of nothing

–         Rather, Genesis 1 picks up the story at a point when the earth already exists in a material sense but is in chaos

–         It is formless, empty, dysfunctional and, if left to its own devices, incapable of supporting life or serving any meaningful purpose

–         At that point it is just a bunch of random letters waiting to be arranged on the Scrabble board

Genesis 1 describes how God brings order to the chaos

–         How he takes what is dysfunctional and makes it functional

–         How he takes what is empty and fills it with life

–         How he takes what is random and gives it meaning & purpose

 

In Genesis 1 the Lord’s acts of creation include separating things, naming things, assigning function & purpose to things, as well as blessing & filling things with life

For example, when it comes to separating & naming things, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’, and the darkness he called ‘night’.”

–         This pattern of God separating things and naming them carries on during other days of creation as well

–         Separating & naming is how God brought order to creation

 God also assigned function & purpose to things, for example…

–         The function or purpose of day & night (sun & moon) is to mark time

In addition God also blessed his creation and filled it with life

–         Let the waters teem with fish…

–         Let the land produce living creatures…

–         Be fruitful and multiply…

After God has brought order to the chaos everything functions well – it is paradise

–         God blesses Adam & Eve and gives them the function or purpose of being his image bearers and tells them to take care of his creation

–         Unfortunately Adam & Eve get it into their heads that they want to be like God and they choose independence from him by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge

–         As a consequence the order of God’s good creation starts to unravel

–         Things go from bad to worse and eventually God’s order returns to chaos

In Genesis 6 we read…

–         The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind… from the face of the earth… for I am grieved that I have made them. But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.

Basically humankind had returned God’s order, his good creation, back to chaos & so God decided to restore the order by wiping the slate clean & starting again

–         There was a great flood and everything with breath was destroyed, except for Noah and his family and the animals he preserved on the ark

–         The story of the flood is an account of judgement & death

–         But at the same time it is also an account of re-creation & new life

–         God restores order by separating Noah and his family and animals out from the chaos – preserving their lives in an ark

–         Then after the storm has passed the Lord blesses the survivors and tells them to be fruitful & multiply and fill the earth (much like he did in Genesis 1)

Unfortunately it doesn’t take long for things to get out of hand again and we end up with the Tower of Babel – another attempt by humankind to be like God, to reach the heavens and to make a name for themselves

–         God’s next move though is not to wipe everyone off the face of the earth with a flood (as he did in Noah’s day) but rather to redeem & transform his creation – to bring order to the chaos of the human heart

–         In the case of Babel, God initially restores order by separating people – he disperses the crowd, as it were, by confusing the languages

 

Creation in Genesis 12-24:

But then he calls Abraham with a view to making this one man into a great nation – a nation who will serve the Lord’s redemptive purpose by acting as priests of God to the other nations of the world

Like the creation story in Genesis 1, God creates the nation of Israel by separating, naming, assigning function & purpose as well as blessing and making fruitful

–         God separated Abraham out by calling him to leave his family and homeland to establish a new life in the Promised Land of Canaan

–         God also gave Abraham a new name – you may remember Abraham used to be called Abram

–         Previously Abraham & Sarah’s life had been defined by barrenness – by not having any children

–         But the Lord redefined their life with a promise that Abraham & Sarah would become the parents of a great nation

–         God blessed Abraham and filled Sarah with new life

–         He took the random letters of their circumstances and rearranged them in a meaningful way

–         God’s promise to bless the nations through Abraham and his descendants gave Abraham & Sarah’s lives a purpose greater than themselves

Separating, naming, assigning function & purpose, blessing and filling with life – all acts of creation

–         These acts of creation can be seen in our own lives too

–         Times when God has taken us out of a bad situation – creative separation

–         Or when we were baptised and took on the name of Christ

–         Or when we discovered a certain gift or resource we have and found a way to use that to bless others – finding our function & purpose in life

–         Or times of blessing & filling when we simply receive good things from God – like a friendship, or the birth of a child, or healing, or a holiday, or a job, or a home, or just a good night’s sleep

–         All acts of God’s good creation

 

Creation in Genesis 25:

Okay, so how does all that talk about creation relate to this morning’s reading from Genesis 25 – after all, Abraham dies?

–         Well, Abraham’s death is immersed in the language of creation

In the verses leading up to Abraham’s death notice the sons of his second wife (Keturah) are named, along with some of his grandsons too

–         And, if we were to keep reading after his death notice we would hear the naming of Abraham’s descendants through Ishmael and Isaac

–         All this naming implies a strong theme of being fruitful & multiplying

–         Abraham’s death is not tragic – by God’s grace he leaves a lasting legacy

–         Life goes on

 

Another creation motif noticeable in Genesis 25 is the action of separating

–         Separating things is often necessary for creating order

–  Cells reproduce or multiply by separating or dividing

– Separating plastics out from your general rubbish, for recycling, is a creative thing to do – it’s good for the environment

–         Or on the football field the ref restores order to the game by giving out yellow or red cards to separate players who are misbehaving

–         Or when we have dinner we generally keep the different elements of the meal separate on our plate

–         If we were to put the potatoes, green veg and meat in a blender to mix it all up, the meal wouldn’t taste so good

– {Obviously not all separation is creative or good – and union is also often necessary in the process of creation.}

Verses 5 & 6 tell us that Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

–         These verses talk about the separation (or division) of Abraham’s estate and the separation of Isaac from his brothers

–         Abraham had at least 8 sons that we know of – but only one of them (Isaac) could inherit God’s promise

–         For the creation of the nation of Israel it was necessary for Isaac to be separated from his brothers & become the sole heir to the Promised Land

–         But the other sons didn’t miss out altogether – they received gifts from Abraham as a gesture of goodwill

Verse 11 picks up the theme of creative blessing where it says that, After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac…

–         Isaac was blessed by God (as Abraham had been blessed) not for his own benefit but for the sake of others

–         God’s purpose in blessing Abraham & Isaac was to create the nation of Israel through which the Lord would establish his order, his Kingdom on earth

 

Separating, naming, blessing & filling with life (or making fruitful) – all themes of creation, all seen in miniature in Genesis 25

–         By immersing the account of Abraham’s death in the motifs of creation the narrator of Genesis is making it clear that death is no obstacle to God’s redemptive purpose

 

Verse 7 says: Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.

This tells us a number of things

–         We know from Genesis 12 that Abraham was 75 when God called him to leave home and embark on a journey of faith

–         Which means that by the time of his death Abraham had been following God for 100 years

–         Isaac was born when Abraham was 100, so that means Isaac was 75 when his father died

–         We know too that Isaac married Rebekah when he was 40 and that 20 years later Jacob & Esau were born

–         Therefore Jacob & Esau were 15 when their grandfather Abraham died

–         God would later change Jacob’s name to ‘Israel’ – as in the nation of Israel – once more we have the theme of naming as an act of creation

–         The point is: although Abraham didn’t see all of God’s promises fully realised in his lifetime, he did live long enough to see the nation of Israel embodied in his grandson Jacob

Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.

As Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for everything – a time to be born and a time to die

–         Abraham died at the right time – at the end of a long and full life

Verse 9 tells us that Isaac & Ishmael buried Abraham with Sarah in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre

–         In other words, Abraham was buried in the Promised Land – a sign to future generations that God would one day give Israel the land of Canaan

–         At the end of Genesis, as Jacob lay on his death bed in Egypt, he gave instructions to be buried in Canaan with his grandparents Abraham & Sarah – such was his faith in God’s promises

 

Conclusion:

God’s purpose in redeeming creation is fulfilled in Christ

–         Jesus, that great descendant of Abraham, came to establish God’s Kingdom on earth

 

It is difficult to be a Christian in this life – we live with a tension

–         On the one hand Christ has come and in Christ we have a picture of what God’s kingdom (his new creation) looks like

–         But on the other hand God’s Kingdom is not yet fully realised on earth as it is in heaven

–         So we have this expectation or this hope of what life should be like when everything is ordered by God

–         And yet at the same time we live with the reality which often falls a long way short of the heaven on earth that God has promised us in Christ

–         Consequently we might not feel at home in this world – we might feel like exiles in our own country

In speaking of Abraham & Sarah and others like them the writer of the book of Hebrews says…

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth… Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

 Abraham died the same way he lived – in faith.

–         Abraham didn’t see the fulfilment of all of God’s promises in his life time but he did receive the deposit

–         In this way we, who believe in Christ, are like Abraham

–         We live by faith in the ‘now but not yet’ of history

–         We look forward in bitter sweet hope to Jesus’ return, when God’s Kingdom on earth will be realised in its fullness.

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is meant by creation in Genesis 1?

–         How is this different from a modern understanding of creation?

3.)    What does the account of creation in Genesis 1 share in common with Abraham’s story and the account of the creation of Israel?

4.)    In what sense is separating things an act of creation?

–         Can you think of examples of creative separation?

–         Why was it necessary for Isaac to be separated from his brothers?

5.)    Why do you think the narrator of Genesis frames the account of Abraham’s death in the context of creation language/motifs?

6.)    In what sense could Abraham’s death be considered a good death?

7.)    Do you feel a tension in being a Christian in this world?

–         Why (or why not)?

8.)    Take some time this week to reflect on God’s acts of creation in your own life (I.e. separating, naming, assigning function & purpose, blessing & filling)

 

 

Tawa Baptist

Marriage

Scripture: Genesis 24:28-61

Title: Marriage – Part 1

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Marriage is an act of God, serving His purpose
  • Marriage is an act of hesed, providing security
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the life & faith of Abraham

–         Last week we heard about God’s fingerprints and how the Lord led Abraham’s servant to Rebekah at a well

–         This morning Abraham’s servant arranges Isaac & Rebekah’s marriage with Rebekah’s family

–         From Genesis chapter 24, verses 28-61, in the NIV we read…

The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring.

 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said. So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns.

And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’ “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’

“He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’

“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

“Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also. “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’

“Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.

 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.” Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewellery and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.”

But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”

Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

“I will go,” she said. So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands;
may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.”

Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

 May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

In many ways this morning’s Bible reading probably seems strange to us

–         The way people went about arranging a marriage in the ancient near east was quite different to the way we go about marriage in the west today

–         I’ve talked about the cultural differences between the ancient world and the modern west on other occasions & don’t want to repeat that now

–         If you are interested in the cultural stuff then you can read the sermon notes from the 8th July on the church website later

 

This morning our message focuses on the subject of marriage

–         This isn’t just a message for those who are married though – it has relevance for everyone, whether you are in a relationship or not

–         Today’s reading from Genesis 24 doesn’t tell us everything about marriage but it does touch on at least two very important aspects:

o   Marriage is an act of God, serving His purpose

o   And marriage is an act of hesed, providing security

–         First let’s consider marriage as an act of God

 

Marriage is an act of God, serving His purpose:

When we hear that phrase, ‘an act of God’ we tend to think of some sort of catastrophe or disaster – something going wrong outside of our control

–         For example, an earthquake or a storm is deemed an act of God

–         Acts of God aren’t just negative things though – justice, peace, healing & freedom can also be acts of God

–         In a general sense marriage is an act of God – it is his idea, his initiative, one of his positive, creative actions for our wellbeing

–         Unlike an earthquake or a storm though, which we can’t control, marriage is an act of God that we do get a say in

Those who have been following this series on Abraham will be aware of the repetition in this morning’s reading

–         When Abraham’s servant is shown hospitality by Rebekah’s family he refuses to eat until he has stated the reason for his visit

–         He tells the whole story from the beginning of chapter 24 – how Abraham sent him to find a wife for Isaac and how God answered his prayer with Rebekah

–         The main point of this retelling of events is to make it clear that God specifically wants Rebekah to marry Isaac

–         Isaac & Rebekah’s marriage is God’s initiative – it is an act of God

This is not to say that every marriage is especially arranged by God – many people get married without reference to God

–         Nor is it to say there is only one right person for you to marry in the whole world – there are any number of people that you could be compatible with and some that you will never be compatible with

–         But in Isaac & Rebekah’s case God was involved with the details

Rebekah’s brother (Laban) and her father (Bethuel) both agree that God is in this and since God is so clearly at work to join Rebekah & Isaac’s lives together, how can they object?

The fact that God is arranging Isaac & Rebekah’s marriage doesn’t mean that Rebekah has no choice in the matter

–         God gives each of us free will and he respects the choices we make

–         In verse 58 we read how Rebekah was asked, ‘Will you go with this man?’ and Rebekah said, ‘I will’

–         Interestingly, it is only after Rebekah has given her consent that she receives a blessing

–         God’s purpose is often pleasing to us, it is generally a good fit with who we are – happily Rebekah was in harmony with God’s will and prepared to marry Isaac

Marriage is an act of God, serving His purpose

–         The point I’m making here is that marriage isn’t just for the wellbeing of the couple – marriage actually serves a larger purpose in God’s plan

–         God’s purpose for Isaac & Rebekah was to keep the faith, to establish the nation of Israel and to carry God’s promises to the next generation

–         Isaac & Rebekah were part of God’s legacy for blessing the world through Christ

To those who might be looking for a partner in marriage I would say, involve God in the decision – look for his fingerprints and think about his purpose

–         Christian marriage isn’t just a commitment to mutual happiness, it’s also a commitment to each other’s usefulness in God’s kingdom

 

If you were here last Sunday you may remember the story I told about Caleb; the guy on the train who was in the right place at the right time with the right kind of presence to stop 3 drunk guys harassing a woman in her 20’s

–         A fingerprints of God moment

Caleb never actually spoke to the woman that night on the train – he didn’t know anything about her and thought he would never see her again

–         Over 2 months went past during which time Caleb had got on with the regular routines of his life – work, church, Bible study, friends

–         This was a new routine for Caleb as he hadn’t been a Christian for long

One Sunday, while in church, he thought he saw the young woman from the train sitting a few rows in front of him but he couldn’t be sure from behind – and besides what were the chances of that happening

–         It was a bit difficult to concentrate on the sermon after that

When the service had finished Caleb just sat in his pew feeling awkward

–         Probably it wasn’t her – memory can be such an unreliable thing

–         But if it was then what should he do?

–         Christian culture was still quite strange to Caleb and he wasn’t always sure what was appropriate

He was just thinking, ‘I should probably leave before she sees me’, when an elderly woman, Mrs Green, walked up and said, ‘Ah, Caleb, come and meet my grand-daughter

–         At first Caleb was relieved to be in conversation with someone safe

–         But then, to Caleb’s absolute horror, Mrs Green led him straight to the young woman from the train

–         It was definitely her – she recognised him instantly and started to blush, then quickly recovered by introducing herself as Jen

–         Caleb was too stunned to remember to introduce himself – she was even more beautiful up close and she smelled lovely

–         Fortunately Mrs Green, who was as sharp as a tack, came to his rescue and said, ‘This is Caleb. Caleb is the young man I was telling you about who came round and changed my light bulb the other week.’

–         Jen smiled, paused a moment as if remembering that night, and then said, ‘It seems you are quite the Good Samaritan’.

–         Caleb laughed nervously, unsure whether that made him weird or not

–         Jen seemed to read his face like a book and immediately put him at ease

–         ‘I’m pleased to meet you Caleb. I wanted to say thank you for what you did that night. I was really scared and you went out of your way to make me safe.’

–         ‘It was nothing really’, Caleb replied.

–         ‘Well it meant something to me’, said Jen

–         It had actually meant something to him too

–         Jen’s honesty touched Caleb’s heart and for the first time in his life he experienced emotional intimacy

 

Mrs Green could sense the connection between the two and wisely invited Caleb to join her and Jen for lunch, and Caleb accepted

–         A year later Jen & Caleb were married and four years after that they went to Carey College to train for ministry. Now they are pastoring a church

–         Each wedding anniversary they take a ride on a train and tell their kids the story of how God (and Jen’s grandma) arranged their marriage

 

Marriage is an act of God, serving His purpose

–         At its best marriage is also an act of hesed, providing security

 

Marriage is an act of hesed, providing security:

In verse 49, after having told his story, Abraham’s servant says to Rebekah’s family, Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”

 

The word translated as ‘kindness’ there is hesed in the original Hebrew

–         It’s one of those Hebrew words that needs more than one English word to capture it’s meaning

–         Sometimes it is translated as kindness, other times as mercy or steadfast love or loyalty. Hesed is often used in connection with God’s covenant

Hesed isn’t a trifling thing – hesed is an act of real importance, it’s a big deal

–         With hesed the inferior partner depends on the kindness of the superior to meet a desperate need.

–         In this case Abraham’s servant is putting himself in the position of the inferior partner by asking Rebekah’s family to show kindness, loyalty or hesed to Abraham, by giving their permission for Rebekah to marry Isaac

The point is, marriage is an act of hesed

–         God intended marriage to be characterised by kindness, mercy, steadfast love and loyalty

–         The hesed of marriage isn’t a one off thing though – it’s an on-going commitment that provides security for the whole family

We note the concern for Rebekah’s welfare & security in the speech that Abraham’s servant gives…

–         In verse 35 the servant says that his master Abraham is wealthy, with the implication that Rebekah will be looked after financially

–         Then in verse 36 the servant says that Isaac was born when Sarah was very old, implying that Isaac is still young and so Rebekah will be marrying someone close to her age

–         Also in verse 36 the servant says that Isaac will inherit everything – again implying that Rebekah will be secure financially

–         In verse 37 the servant goes on to say that Abraham won’t let Isaac marry any of the local Canaanite girls – so Rebekah’s family know that Rebekah will be the only wife, she won’t have to compete with other women

–         In all these ways Abraham’s servant is reassuring Rebekah and her family that marrying Isaac is a good deal – it will mean security for her

We might think this emphasis on wealth & prospects is a bit mercenary – where’s the romance in talking about money? But in that culture practical concerns were more important than romance

–         If you were a father (or a brother) then you needed to know that your daughter (or sister) would be taken care of

 

Often at the beginning of a romantic relationship there is a kind of blindness – when we see the other person through rose tinted glasses and we kind of ignore or overlook their bad points

–         Not only that but common sense sometimes goes out the window and we have this false sense of security

–         ‘All I need is the air that I breathe to love you’, as the song goes

–         Well, air is a good start but you also need an income and a roof over your head and a community of people around you to lend you support

–         The practical stuff matters and you need to get that sorted, through good honest conversation, before you get married – that’s partly what pre-marriage counselling is about

 

Conclusion:

Marriage is an act of God, serving His purpose

–         And (Godly) marriage is an act of hesed, providing security

In many ways marriage has lost its meaning in our society today

–         Most people these days don’t think of marriage as something that God is involved in – theirs is a cord of two strands, not three

–         A lot of marriages are characterised by violence, unfaithfulness and insecurity, rather than the security created by kindness, steadfast love and loyalty that God intends

 

At its best marriage points to our relationship with Christ

–         Marriage is meant to be a living parable or a picture of the kind of the union (or relationship) Jesus wants to have with people

–         A relationship that serves a greater purpose beyond itself – God’s purpose

–         A relationship characterised by security born of hesed

When marriage is dishonoured or abused people lose the vision of what a relationship with God (through Christ) could be like

–         By the same token, when marriage is honoured and functions as God intended, people catch a glimpse of the mystery of union with Jesus

 

In a few moments we are going to share communion together

–         Communion is a sacred ritual in which Christians remember & celebrate the mystery of our union with God through Christ

–         The musicians will come now and lead us in song as we prepare our hearts

 

Questions for discussion or reflection

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is your experience of marriage?

–         E.g. this could be the model/example you inherited from your parents’ marriage, or it might be your own experience of being married, or divorced, or widowed, or single, etc.

–         How has your experience shaped your understanding of, and attitude to, marriage?

3.)    What is the main point of the servant’s retelling of the events of chapter 24?

–         In what sense is marriage (generally) an act of God?

–         In what sense is Isaac & Rebekah’s marriage specifically an act of God?

–         If you are married, how is God involved in your marriage?

4.)    What larger purpose does marriage serve beyond the happiness of the couple?

5.)    What do we mean when we say: marriage is an act of hesed, providing security?

6.)     If you are contemplating marriage, what could you do to sort out the practicalities before you get married?

–         What might some of those practicalities be?

–         Or, if you are already married, what you would suggest an engaged couple talk about before the wedding day? (What advice would you give your kids?)

7.)    Take some time this week to reflect on how the mystery of marriage (at its best) points to the mystery of union with Christ

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/29-jul-2018-marriage

Tawa Baptist

God’s Finger Prints

Scripture: Genesis 24:10-27

Title: God’s Fingerprints

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Asking Prayer
  • Listening Prayer
  • Conclusion – Giving Thanks

Introduction:

Fingerprints are detailed, unique to the individual, difficult to alter and durable over a lifetime. For these reasons fingerprints are one means of identifying people

Today we continue our series on the life & faith of Abraham

–         In this episode Abraham’s servant finds a wife for Isaac

–         We see God’s fingerprints throughout this story

–         From Genesis chapter 24, verses 10-27, in the NIV we read…

Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

“Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.”

So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.” And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.”

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

When we talk about the finger prints of God we mean that God is involved in the details to make good things happen or to prevent bad things happening

–         We know something has God’s finger prints on it when three main variables line up: timing, placement & power

–         If you find yourself in just the right place at just the right time with just the right power or ability or knowledge to help someone, then that probably has God’s finger prints on it – God is likely involved somehow

For example, imagine you are walking down the street one day and you notice a ball rolling down a driveway with a child running after it

–         The ball hits your legs, so you pick it up and give it to the child

–         Just at that moment a truck rushes by and you realise that had you not been there at that exact moment the child would have run out onto the road after the ball and been hit by the truck

–         Right time, right place, with the right kind of power to help

God’s finger prints go by many names…

–         Theologians call it providence

–         Poets call it serendipity

–         Philosophers call it synchronicity

–         Gamblers call it luck

–         Scientists call it evolution

–         Pagans call it fate

–         And cynics call it coincidence

Whatever we call it though, prayer is the lens through which we see God’s fingerprints – as we pray we notice God’s timing, placement & power at work in our lives

–         In today’s reading from Genesis 24 Abraham’s servant prays and, as he does, he sees God’s finger prints in finding a wife for Isaac

–         The servant’s prayer includes asking God for help, listening for God’s response and giving thanks for God’s answer

 

Asking Prayer:

Abraham’s servant sets out to find a wife for Isaac with 10 camels

–         Camels are sort of the ancient equivalent of a late model Land Rover

–         They provide reliable transport over variable terrain and are the sort of vehicle only the rich can afford

Although the journey from Hebron to Aram Naharaim is hundreds of miles and would have taken weeks, the author of Genesis skips over that part and focuses on what happens when the servant arrives in the town of Nahor

–         As it happens Abraham’s servant arrives towards the end of the day when the women normally came to draw water from the well

–         The timing and placement has God’s fingerprints all over it

–         However the servant needs power to discern which of the women is to be Isaac’s wife

 So he prays, asking God for help…

–         “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water…

The servant’s prayer is interesting – it shows us that Abraham didn’t keep his faith a secret – he must have shared his faith with others in his household because Abraham’s servant knows about the Lord and he understands that faith has to do with depending on God

The servant says “Give me success”, which in the Hebrew literally means, “make happen before me” [1] (I’d like to see your finger prints here God)

–         The servant is asking the Lord to make it clear which one of these women is to be Isaac’s wife – he is asking for power to discern

–         But the success isn’t for himself – the success is for his master Abraham

–         The servant asks the Lord to show kindness to Abraham

The word translated as kindness there is hesed in the original Hebrew

–         You may recall me talking about hesed on other occasions

–         It’s one of those Hebrew words that needs more than one English word to capture it’s meaning

–         Sometimes it is translated as kindness, other times as mercy or steadfast love or loyalty. Hesed is often used in connection with God’s covenant

Hesed isn’t a trifling thing – hesed is an act of real importance, it’s a big deal, life & death stuff

–         With hesed the inferior partner depends on the kindness of the superior to meet a desperate need. [2]

–         So in this case the inferior partner is the servant and he is depending on God’s kindness/hesed to meet the desperate need he has of finding a wife for Isaac and being released from his oath to Abraham

In asking God to show hesed or kindness to Abraham the servant isn’t telling God what to do, nor is he asking God to do something out of character

–         God loves hesed – hesed is at the core of who God is

–         The servant is simply saying, be true to yourself God – keep your promise to Abraham by helping me to find a wife for Isaac

 

The servant also believes that God is present there with him – he says, ‘See, I’m standing here beside this spring…’

–         Unlike most other people of his time, who believed there were many gods who were limited to specific territories or domains, Abraham’s servant believes that the Lord Almighty is with him everywhere – because Abraham’s God is Lord of all the earth

This is amazing – the servant has caught something of the spirit of Abraham’s faith & theology, and we hear it reflected in the opening lines of his prayer

The servant continues praying…

  • – May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

Abraham’s servant is asking for a sign and he’s telling God what the sign ought to be – something quite extraordinary

–         Giving a drink to a stranger would be expected of a woman in that culture but volunteering to go the extra mile, by watering 10 camels as well, would not be expected – it was quite a stiff test for Isaac’s would be wife

Now at this point I want to make a distinction between looking for God’s finger prints and asking for a sign – they are not the same thing

–         It is good for us to look for God’s finger prints

–         Part of listening to God includes looking for evidence of his presence in our lives – those little details which suggest that God is involved here

–         When we look for God’s finger prints we leave the initiative with God and we give him considerable freedom to act as he wants

–         But asking for a sign is like creating a little artificial box and expecting God to only do things inside that box

–         As a consequence we are less able to accept what God might want to do outside the box

Asking God for a sign is not generally a good thing in the Bible – in fact it usually reveals a lack of faith

–         When Gideon asked for a sign by laying a fleece – he did that because he didn’t really believe God [3]

–         Likewise when the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, Jesus was like, ‘Really? You’ve just seen me heal all these people and reveal all this wisdom and you still don’t believe me. The only sign you will get is the sign of Jonah.’ [4] (That’s my very loose paraphrase)

The tricky thing is that faith doesn’t just require us to trust God, it also requires us to trust ourselves (that we have heard God correctly)

–         Asking for signs suggests we have little or no faith in our own judgement

–         By asking for a sign I’m abdicating responsibility for my actions

–         I’m saying, ‘I don’t really trust myself to discern God’s will in this situation, so if things go wrong, it’s your fault Lord’

–         In a sense, asking God for a sign is like using God to cover your backside and that’s not cool

Part of having a mature faith is owning the decisions we make

–         Now some people have too much confidence in themselves – they have illusions of grandeur and need to question their own judgement more

–         Others of us don’t trust ourselves enough and need to take more risks

–         Managing our self-confidence is like riding a bike – it requires balance

–         We need time and truth to grow in self-awareness and humility

–         If we do our best to discern God’s will and still get it wrong then we don’t blame God, but nor do we lose heart and give up on ourselves

–         We ask for forgiveness and trust that our relationship with God is strong enough to handle it

It seems to me that Abraham’s servant trusted God – he just didn’t trust himself, and that’s why he asked for a sign

–         Even though it is not best practice, God in his grace accommodated the servant’s request – after all the servant was trying to discern God’s will for Abraham’s benefit

 

Listening Prayer:

Prayer is the lens through which we see God’s fingerprints – as we pray we notice God’s timing, placement & power at work in our lives

–         Sometimes we think that prayer is simply us talking to God

–         We might have a quiet time in the morning during which we say some words to God then get on with the rest of our day, completely forgetting our earlier conversation with the Lord

–         But prayer has a much broader application than simply talking to God

When the apostle Paul said, ‘pray without ceasing’,[5] he didn’t mean talk to God all the time – he meant, ‘live your whole life in conversation with God’

–         Sometimes that will mean us speaking to God but most of the time it will mean listening to God by looking for his finger prints, both in the bigger picture and in the details of our daily lives

 

Let me tell you a story…

–         Once there was man, called Caleb, who came to Christian faith at the age of 34

–         Caleb was a big bloke – tall & thick set, ideally suited for the position of lock in a rugby scrum

–         Despite his menacing physical presence Caleb was actually quite a gentle soul

Caleb caught the train to and from work and usually redeemed the time by reading the Bible on his phone

–         One evening he was kept late at the office to meet a deadline

–         By the time he made it to the station, the platform was virtually empty, except for a girl in her 20’s all alone

–         He stood a little way off from her, because he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, and busied himself by reading the Bible

–         It was that part in Exodus where some women were being harassed at a well and Moses protected them [6]

–         Caleb was just thinking about the qualities of a good shepherd when he noticed 3 young guys standing around the girl – they had been drinking

–         She didn’t seem to like it much and tried to move away but they kept following her

Caleb had a strong sense that he should walk over – so he did

–         He didn’t say anything – just stood there between the 3 guys and the girl

–         The guys shuffled off to the side but the girl stayed near him – she seemed grateful for his presence

–         The train arrived and the five of them; Caleb, the girl and the three young guys, all got on board

–         Caleb didn’t talk to the girl or sit too close to her either – he didn’t want to appear creepy – but his presence kept the drunk guys in check

Caleb was meant to get off at Tawa but when he noticed that the girl was staying and would be alone in the carriage with the three drunk guys he decided to stay too

–         The train went all the way to Waikanae before the girl got off and by that time the 3 guys had fallen asleep

–         When the girl saw that Caleb wasn’t leaving the carriage she realised he had stayed for her benefit and smiled at him as if to say ‘thank you’

As Caleb sat in the train on the way back to Tawa he thought about what had happened and realised that this situation had God’s finger prints all over it

–         It was unusual for him to be kept late at work

–         Not only that but what were the chances of him reading the story about Moses at just the moment the girl was being harassed

–         It was like God had arranged for him to be in the right place at the right time with the right kind of power to provide peace & prevent harm

 

Prayer is the lens through which we see God’s fingerprints – as we pray we notice God’s timing, placement & power at work in our lives

The bigger part of prayer and perhaps the more difficult part, is actually listening to God

–         Before Abraham’s servant had even finished praying Rebekah comes over with her jar on her shoulder

–         Apparently God had anticipated what Abraham’s servant would ask for and was already at work answering his prayer

–         So the servant asks for a drink and waits to see what will happen

He thinks he has set a pretty stiff test for God & Rebekah

–         You see, the water jar Rebekah was carrying most likely had a capacity of about 3 gallons or 13½ litres

–         Giving the servant water was no big deal

–         He might drink only 1 litre, if he was thirsty, but watering a camel was a far bigger task

Camels can drink up to 25 gallons at a time if they’re empty [7]

–         25 gallons equates to over 113 litres – that’s quite a bit of water

–         If Rebekah was using a 3 gallon water jar then it would take at least 8 trips from the well to the watering trough to satisfy just one camel

–         And Abraham’s servant had 10 camels – so that’s potentially more than 80 drawings from the well – over 1130 litres of water

–         As you can imagine this would take some time and effort

The fact that Rebekah volunteers to go the extra mile to help a stranger like this speaks volumes about her character

–         It shows she is strong and not afraid of work

–         It also shows that she has an outward focus and is hospitable

–         You will remember that hospitality (as opposed to consumerism) is one of the key characteristics of Abraham’s household

–         Furthermore it shows that Rebekah knows what is important for life – in this case water

–         One of the problems with affluence & wealth is that it tends to make people forget what matters

–         Rebekah is in touch with reality – she has her priorities right

In verse 21 we read, Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

–         The servant’s patient waiting & watching is an act of listening to God and is just as much a part of his prayer as the talking he did at the beginning

 

Conclusion – Giving Thanks:

Once the camels have had enough to drink Abraham’s servant asks whose daughter she is and learns that Rebekah is in fact Abraham’s great niece – that is, the grand-daughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor

–         That clinches it for the servant

–         After giving Rebekah generous gifts of gold the servant bows down and worships the Lord, saying,

–         “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness [his hesed] to my master. As for me the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

–         In other words, this has God’s finger prints of all over it

The servant’s prayer started with petition and ended in praise but was filled with listening. (Listening was the greater part)

–         Prayer is the lens through which we see God’s fingerprints – as we pray we notice God’s timing, placement & power at work in our lives

 

Let us pray…

–         Holy Spirit, help us to see God’s finger prints in our lives

–         Give us ears to listen and eyes to see you at work in the world around us

–         Encourage us by your presence and make us ready to do your will as we live for the praise of your glory. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What do we mean by the phrase, ‘the finger prints of God’?

–         In what ways do we see God’s finger prints in finding a wife for Rebekah?

–         How might we see the finger prints of God in our own lives?

–         Do you have a ‘finger prints of God’ story?

3.)    What does the servant’s prayer (in verses 12-13) reveal about Abraham?

–         What does the servant’s prayer (in verses 12-13) reveal about God?

4.)    How is ‘looking for God’s finger prints’ different from ‘asking for a sign’?

–         Why is asking God for a sign less than ideal?

5.)    How does your faith in God compare with your faith in yourself?

6.)    What do you think the apostle Paul meant when he said, ‘pray without ceasing’?

7.)    What does it say about Rebekah that she volunteered to water the servant’s 10 camels?

8.)    Take some time this week to listen to what God is saying to you?

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/22-july-2018-gods-finger-prints

[1] Bruce Waltke, Genesis, page 328.

[2] Ibid

[3] Judges 6

[4] Matthew 12:38-39

[5] 1 Thessalonians 5:17

[6] Exodus 2:16-20

[7] Bruce Waltke, Genesis, page 328.

Tawa Baptist

Faith Tested

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14

Title: Faith Tested

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s test
  • Abraham’s faith
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

When I was applying for ministry training with Carey College in Auckland they required us to do some testing

–         We were interviewed by a psychologist and by various other people and we had to sit a psychometric test

–         I remember being put in a small room by myself, given a questionnaire and told to answer as many of the questions as I could within a certain time frame – it wasn’t long, only about 30 minutes or so, if my memory serves me correctly

While I was sitting the test someone walked by the open window behind me – it was clear they needed help and so I was faced with a choice:

–         Do I stop what I’m doing to help them and thereby jeopardise my psychometric test results? Or, do I just ignore the person in need?

–         I decided to see if I could help the guy

–         I don’t remember what he needed now (it was nothing major) but it chewed up a few minutes and consequently I wasn’t able to complete all the questions

–         It didn’t matter though because they accepted me anyway

–         Carey must have been desperate that year

At the time I didn’t think anything of it but, it occurred to me afterwards, that maybe the guy stopping by the window asking for help was actually part of Carey’s test

–         I thought I was sitting a written tick box test when in fact the real test was whether I would interrupt what I was doing, while under pressure, to see to the needs of someone else. I guess I’ll never know.

 

Today we continue the series on Abraham, focusing on Genesis 22, page 24 near the front of your pew Bibles

–         Just to bring you up to speed, Sarah has by this stage given birth to Isaac, the long awaited son & heir to God’s promise

–         Ishmael & Hagar have left home and Isaac is probably in his mid to late teens by now, maybe around 17 or 18 years’ old

–         In these verses the Abraham cycle reaches its climax with God putting Abraham’s faith to the ultimate test. From Genesis 22, verse 1 we read…

Some time later God tested Abraham; he called to him, “Abraham!” And Abraham answered, “Yes, here I am!”

2 “Take your son,” God said, “your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.”

3 Early the next morning Abraham cut some wood for the sacrifice, loaded his donkey, and took Isaac and two servants with him. They started out for the place that God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham saw the place in the distance. 5 Then he said to the servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.”

6 Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice, and he himself carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together, 7 Isaac spoke up, “Father!”

He answered, “Yes, my son?”

Isaac asked, “I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.” And the two of them walked on together.

9 When they came to the place which God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he picked up the knife to kill him. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He answered, “Yes, here I am.”

12 “Don’t hurt the boy or do anything to him,” he said. “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.”

13 Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham named that place “The Lord Provides.” And even today people say, “On the Lord‘s mountain he provides.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

God’s test:

In the 1971 movie version of Roald Dahl’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka is in search of someone to take over his chocolate business

–         To select the right person, someone he can trust, Mr Wonka devises a test

–         Those lucky children who win a golden ticket get a tour through his chocolate factory

–         Before they enter the factory however, a villain by the name of Slugworth, approaches each child individually and offers to pay them a large sum of money if they will steal an everlasting gobstopper for him

–         During the factory tour each child gets given an everlasting gobstopper and so the test is set

One by one each of the children eliminate themselves by some moral failure until only Charlie is left – but even Charlie has disqualified himself by stealing fizzy lifting drink, so he is dismissed by Mr Wonka without getting anything

–         Charlie’s grandpa Joe storms out in a rage determined to sell Slugworth the everlasting gobstopper but, even though there is nothing in it for him, Charlie quietly leaves the gobstopper on Mr Wonka’s desk

–         Charlie would rather remain in poverty than betray Mr Wonka

–         “So shines a good deed in a weary world”

–         Charlie has passed Mr Wonka’s test and inherits the chocolate factory

 

Genesis 22 starts with the narrator telling us that God tested Abraham saying…

–         [Please] Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.

Probably the first thing we notice here is how out of character God’s request is

–         It does not make sense, it goes against who God is, it seems to be a contradiction of God himself

–         Previously the Lord had promised a son to Abraham & Sarah, and Isaac was born. It was Isaac that God said would inherit the promise

–         Isaac was the one through whom God’s blessing would flow

–         And yet God is now telling Abraham to kill Isaac

–         “The command and the promise of God are in conflict” [1]

Quite apart from being illogical, God’s request for Abraham to sacrifice his teenage son seems immoral

–         Some centuries later, in the Bible, God makes it clear that child sacrifice is evil and therefore not to be practised, although at that point in history the law had not yet been given

–         What we have to keep in mind here is that God never intended for Isaac to be sacrificed – as verse 1 makes clear, this was just to test Abraham

–         We might listen to this story and think that Isaac’s life is at risk here

–         But Isaac’s life was not at risk – we know God would not have let any harm come to Isaac because of the promises God had made about Isaac

–         The real risk here is to Abraham’s relationship with God – because it’s the relationship that’s being tested

–         Will Abraham trust God with everything?

–         Of course Abraham doesn’t know it’s a test, at least not yet, just as Charlie didn’t know he was being tested by Mr Wonka and just as I didn’t know the true nature of my test to get into Carey – this sort of test only works if the one being tested doesn’t realise it’s a test

 

The other thing, which isn’t so obvious in our English translations, is the gentleness or tenderness with which God speaks to Abraham here

–         Most English translations have God saying: Take your son…

–         But the Hebrew has a particle of entreaty attached, which gives this phrase a feeling of tenderness:

–         Please take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love so much…

–         Gordon Wenham sees here a hint that the Lord appreciates the costliness of what he is asking Abraham to do [2]   

It’s interesting that God requires Abraham to travel to Moriah to make the sacrifice. Moriah is 3 days journey away from Beersheba

–         Three days walking and thinking

–         Three days for the reality of what God is asking to sink in

–         Three days to change your mind

–         But Abraham doesn’t change his mind

 

The exact location of ancient Moriah is disputed – some say Moriah is where the temple in Jerusalem would later be located, which has a certain poetry to it

–         But others say this is unlikely

–         What is perhaps more significant (and more knowable) is the name itself

–         Moriah is derived from the Hebrew word ra’ah which primarily means to see to or provide

–         So in the very word Moriah (which means something like provision) we have the seed of salvation & deliverance [3]

–         If Abraham reads between the lines then he will find a hidden message of providence from God

The bigger principle we draw on for our own application is that God’s testing usually contains his provision, his salvation, his grace

 

In Mark 10 we read how Jesus tested a man who came to him. From verse 17…

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’ ”

20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

 

This gospel story shares a number of things in common with Abraham’s story in Genesis 22

–         In asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, God was basically asking Abraham to give up everything

–         Likewise Jesus was asking the rich man to sacrifice everything

–         And, in both stories, the Lord’s testing contained his provision, his salvation, his grace

–         We’ll get to God’s provision for Abraham shortly but in the case of the rich man, Jesus wasn’t asking him to sacrifice everything for nothing

–         Rather he was saying that his giving to the poor would be transferred for him into heaven, so it wouldn’t be lost

–         What’s more Jesus wasn’t asking the rich man to step into a vacuum

–         Rather he was inviting the rich man to walk with him – so the man would be provided for within the community of Jesus’ followers

–         The Lord’s testing contained his provision – it just required a step of faith

 

Another thing we note is the Lord’s love

–         God was testing Abraham in a spirit of love – not in order to catch him out or disqualify him

–         Likewise we read that Jesus looked at the rich man and loved him

–         Jesus wasn’t trying to make it harder for the rich man – he was helping to set the man free so it would be easier for him to find eternal life

–         To be tested by God is difficult but it’s also a sign of respect & affection

–         If God tests us it’s because he believes in us – he thinks we will pass the test. God doesn’t test us beyond what we can handle

–         His testing is done in love, to strengthen us – it is not meant to destroy us

 

There’s at least one more thing these two stories share in common

Walter Brueggemann says:

–         “God tests to identify his people, to discern who is serious about faith and to know in whose lives he will be fully God” [4]

You see, it’s possible to obey God in some aspects of our life but not in others

–         The reality is: God is Lord of our life in those aspects where we trust & obey him, but something else is lord of our life in those aspects where we don’t trust him and therefore don’t do what he wants

–         For God to be fully God of our whole life we must be willing to trust him with every aspect

–         The whole meaning and purpose of Abraham’s life hinged on Isaac

–         So in asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac God was asking everything of Abraham

–         By choosing to obey God in this, Abraham was saying that he trusted God completely with Isaac’s life and with the meaning of his own life

–         Therefore the Lord knew he could be fully God in Abraham’s life

In the case of the rich man and Jesus (in Mark 10) we don’t know what the rich man chose in the end – we only know he went away sad

–         If he chose his wealth over Jesus then he was basically saying he didn’t trust God with his wealth and consequently he wasn’t willing to allow Jesus to be fully Lord of his life

 

Okay, so we’ve talked about God’s testing of Abraham

–         Now let’s consider how Abraham handled God’s test

 

Abraham’s faith:

Verse 3 tells us that early the next morning, after God had told him to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham cut some fire wood, loaded his donkey and headed off to Moriah with Isaac and two servants

–         The point is, Abraham wastes no time in obeying God

 

As they draw near to the place, Abraham tells the two servants to stay where they are, while he takes Isaac with him

–         Isaac carries the wood & Abraham carries the knife & coals for the fire

–         As Christians we look at this picture and are reminded of Jesus who carried a burden of wood on his back in preparation for his sacrifice on the cross. Isaac points to Jesus.

 

As they walk along Isaac asks Abraham, where is the lamb for the sacrifice?

–         And Abraham answers, “God himself will provide one”

 

The Hebrew word for ‘provide’ used there is ra’ah – from the same root used for Moriah – it means to see to it, as in God will see to it

–         Our English word ‘provide’ comes from the Latin word ‘pro-video’ [5]

–         Video means to see and pro means before

–         So pro-video means to see before

–         God is able to provide because he can see what is needed beforehand

–         Abraham doesn’t know how God will provide he simply trusts that God will see to it – such is Abraham’s faith in the Lord

 

In verse 9 we read that when Abraham came to the place God had told him about he built an altar, arranged the wood on it, bound his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood

 

Again we see something of Jesus in the way Isaac submits to his father’s will

–         As a boy of 17 or 18, strong enough to carry a heavy load of fire wood, Isaac could have easily resisted his elderly father – but Isaac doesn’t resist, he is the picture of meekness

–         What was it Jesus said? Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Isaac actually did inherit the land

 

Abraham lifted the knife and was about to kill his son when, at the last second, the angel of the Lord called to him, from heaven, to stop

–         Speaking on God’s behalf the angel said, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.”

–         This sentence is interesting, especially the first part…

–         Now I know that you fear God…

 

What does it mean to fear God?

–         In the Bible, to ‘fear God’ is a term which basically means to obey God

–         Fear God is code for obey God

–         People might obey God for any number of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with fear, in the sense of being terrified or anxious

–         In this context Abraham doesn’t obey God because he’s scared of what God might do to him if he disobeys

–         No. Abraham is remarkably calm about all of this – he obeys God because he trusts God and believes God will somehow provide a way

 

But the really interesting thing here is that little phrase at the start of the sentence: ‘Now I know…’

–         ‘Now I know’ seems to imply that God didn’t know something about Abraham previously

–         What? Isn’t God supposed to know everything already in advance?

–         Shouldn’t the Lord have known beforehand what Abraham would do?

 

John Walton offers a good explanation I think. He writes…

–         “We must differentiate between knowledge as cognition and knowledge as experience” [6]

–         You see, there are different types of knowledge, aren’t there

–         There’s knowing something in your head, cognitively, and there’s knowing something practically, from experience

 

Cognitive knowledge by itself is not enough – it’s less than satisfying

–         For example, I have here a bar of chocolate

–         Looking at this bar of chocolate I know cognitively (in my head) that I will enjoy it, but knowing that in my head doesn’t actually satisfy me

–         It’s only when I experience the chocolate by eating it that I know the enjoyment of it

 

Or take another example…

–         R. knows cognitively (in her head) that I love her, but if she went through our whole marriage only ever knowing that in her head, then we would have a pretty sad and empty marriage

–         But when I do the housework or I buy her something I know she likes

–         Or I give her my undivided attention and listen to her

–         Or I tell her how much I like what she is wearing, or I take her out on a date or on a holiday, then she knows in her experience that I love her

–         And knowing something in your experience is far more satisfying

 

Because we believe that God is all knowing we can agree that God knew, cognitively, what Abraham would do (in advance) – but he didn’t know it in his experience until Abraham actually obeyed him

 

God’s test enabled the Lord to taste the quality of Abraham’s faith

–         I believe God experienced Abraham’s faith as genuine and pure

–         We know his faith was genuine because he obeyed God

–         And we know it was pure because Abraham obeyed even though there was nothing in it for him & in fact obedience would have cost him dearly

–         Knowing the purity (the quality) of Abraham’s obedience of faith, in his experience, delighted God, it blessed him

 

When was the last time you did something for God that caused him to know, in his experience, that you love him?

–         We can demonstrate our love for God in a whole variety of ways, both large & small

–         We can put our shopping list prayer aside for a few minutes and spend time simply adoring him, praising him, telling him how much we appreciate and value him

–         We can love those people he places around us – even people we find difficult

–         We can forgive others as he has forgiven us

–         We can give the Lord our undivided attention, spending time in the Bible trying to listen to what he is saying

–         We can follow the promptings of his Spirit

–         We can respond in obedience to his call on our life

–         And when it feels like our life is being emptied and we can’t see the way ahead we can trust that God will provide a way, somehow

 

In verse 13, having been stopped by the angel of the Lord, Abraham looks around and sees God’s provision in the form of a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Abraham sacrifices the ram and Isaac lives

–         Then Abraham named that place Jehovah Jireh, ‘the Lord provides’

–         And guess what, the Hebrew word translated as provide is: Ra’ah

–         God saw beforehand what was needed and put the ram there in advance

 

Conclusion:

The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews makes this comment on Abraham’s faith…

 It was faith that made Abraham offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice when God put Abraham to the test. Abraham was the one to whom God had made the promise, yet he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice. God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised.” Abraham reckoned that God was able to raise Isaac from death – and, so to speak, Abraham did receive Isaac back from death.  [7]

The writer of Hebrews is drawing a connection between Abraham’s faith and our faith, as Christians, in the resurrection of Jesus

–         If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. [8]

 

It has been a testing time for many people in this congregation lately

–         Some of you have experienced significant loss and all the pain and disorientation that goes with that

–         In Genesis 22 God preserves Isaac’s life, but we know from our own experience that he doesn’t always preserve life

–         To those of you who have lost the Isaac in your life, the good news is: death does not have the final say. God has provided a way

–         Through Jesus’ resurrection God has seen to it that our losses can be restored and our mistakes redeemed

 

Let us pray.

–         Loving Father, save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

–         But if it is your will that we be put to the test, grant us the grace to keep trusting you and give us eyes to see your provision within the test. Through Jesus we ask it, Amen.

 

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    How do you feel reading this story of Abraham being tested by God?

3.)    Have you ever sensed that God was testing you in some way?

–         How? What happened?

4.)    In what sense was God’s test of Abraham illogical and even a contradiction of God’s own character?

5.)    Compare & contrast God’s testing of Abraham in Genesis 22 with Jesus’ testing of the rich man in Mark 10. How are these stories similar? How are they different?

–         How is God’s love evident for Abraham and the rich man?

–         How did God provide for Abraham and the rich man within the test?

–         Is there any aspect of your life that you are yet to trust God with?

6.)    Can you think of other examples from the Bible, or from your own experience, where God’s testing also contained his provision?

7.)    In what ways does Isaac remind us of Jesus?

8.)    What does it mean to fear God?

9.)    In what sense did God not know? (refer Gen 22:12)

10.)       How do we know when our faith in God is genuine?

–         How do we know when our faith in God is pure?

11.)       Take some time this week to express your love for God.

 

[1] Calvin quoted in Walter Brueggemann’s commentary on Genesis, page 188.

[2] Gordon Wenham quoted in Paul Copan’s book, ‘Is God a Moral Monster?’ pages 47-48.

[3] Paul Copan, ‘Is God a Moral Monster?’ page 48.

[4] Walter Brueggemann’s commentary on Genesis, page 193.

[5] Karl Barth referred to in Walter Brueggemann’s commentary on Genesis, page 191.

[6] John Walton, NIVAC on Genesis, page 514.

[7] Hebrews 11:17-19

[8] Romans 10:9