The Testing of Delay is One of the Hardest Ones to Pass
Last time, in Episode #3 of Biopic #1, we learned about Abram’s latest encounter with God. It came on the heels of his victory over the four Kings from Mesopotamia, his meeting with Melchizedek, and the temptation presented to him by the King of Sodom. During this encounter, God expanded upon His revelation to Abram, revealing to him for the first time that he would father a son of his own. Emphasis was placed on the fact that, at this promise of a Son, Abram believed God and his faith was credited to him as righteousness.
At the time, God also reaffirmed His promise that Abram’s descendants would inherit the land, prompting Abram to ask for some tangible evidence—a guarantee of some sort—that this would be so. His request was followed by a dream in which God revealed to Abram the future of both those descendants and the land—a dream which was followed by a Covenant-Cutting Ritual in which God bound Himself by blood to fulfill His Promise.
In reality, this Covenant represented the Marriage Contract between God and Abram, in which Abram pledged his descendants—the future nation of Israel—to be God’s Wife. As such, it marked Israel’s Official Engagement to God and the beginning of their Betrothal Period—which would last until Moses (acting as God’s Proxy) comes to deliver Israel from her Egyptian bondage and carry her away to Mount Sinai, where their Marriage Ceremony is to take place. As this was an Unconditional Covenant on God’s part, all that was left for Abram to do was to Believe God and Wait on Him for its fulfillment.
Here, in Episode #4, we will see just how successful Abram was in doing that. As we await its commencement, here are a few that we need to keep in mind…
When this Episode opens, we don’t know how much time has passed since the end of Episode #3 but, because of the ages given for Abram, it probably wasn’t very long;
Although Abram has had a faith-producing encounter with God, his wife Sarai has not; and,
Not only is Abram at least 85 years old, but Sarai is at least 75—well past the age of childbearing—so the idea that God would give Abram a child through her is humanly impossible.
Episode #4 for Biopic #1 Cast: Narrator Sarai Abram Angel of the Lord Hagar
Bearing these things in mind, then, and with the curtain now rising on this Episode, we hear the voice of our off-stage Narrator once again, as he announces…
Narrator:Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram…
Sarai:See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.
Narrator:And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram…
Sarai:My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me. So Abram said to Sarai…
Abram:Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.
Narrator:And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said…
Angel of the Lord:Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?
Hagar:I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.
Angel of the LORD:Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand. I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.
Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Narrator: Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
A Human Solution is Never a Good Solution
At this, the curtain descends, not only marking the ending of this Episode, but also the beginning of our Critical Review.
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Our Review
So far, in our journey with Abram, we have seen God slowly and methodically revealing Himself and His plans for Abram. We have also seen that following each of these revelations, there has been a period of testing—with this latest revelation proving to be no exception. In this case, however, Abram wasn’t being tested by fear for his own safety, the lure of riches, or the threat of warfare, but by the Silence of God as he waits for Him to honor His promises.
The Test of Silence— or, Learning to Walk in the Light of the Last Revelation
Shhh–The Test of Silence is Underway
I’m inclined to think that after such an exhilarating experience as the covenant-cutting ritual, Abram was expecting to see God act on his behalf immediately. After all, what would be the point of any further delay…
Both he and Sarai were already well past childbearing ages, so the birth of a son now would still be a miracle for which God would get the glory;
Having lived in the Land of Promise for ten years and having paid their dues there by now, they had already waited long enough; and,
With God having made such a big production of this latest Revelation, wouldn’t this have been a good indication that its immediate fulfillment was all but guaranteed?
So why the silence, why the wait, why the delay?
In order to answer this question, we first need to determine just what God wants to accomplish through our testing? We can get an idea of His objectives in the following passages of Scripture…
Some of God’s Objectives in Testing
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That being said, let’s now look at the particulars of our Story to see if we can determine what God wanted to accomplish in the lives of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar through the Test of Silence and Delay…
Who initiated the action in this episode and why?
Sarai did—no doubt because she felt like a failure as a woman. To be unable to bear a child in that culture was considered to be a sign of God’s displeasure. If Abram had come home and told her all about his encounter with God, thinking that it was her fault that they were still childless, she may have thought it was her responsibility to remedy the situation.
Was Sarai’ssolution to their problem a legitimate one?
While it was perfectly legal and culturally acceptable at this time to use one’s servant as a surrogate, it was not God’s solution to the problem. It demonstrated a lack of Faith in His Promises and His ability to do the impossible.
Abram“heeded the voice of his wife”—what past event does this recall? What was the outcome of that event?
This, of course, takes us back to Man’s Testing in the Garden of Eden. Here, just as in the case of Adam and Eve, instead of acting as Head over his household, Abram caved into pressure exerted by Sarai—with likewise disastrous results. In this instance, pleasing his wife (perhaps silencing her complaints and laments) became more important that believing God.
How does Sarai respond to the circumstances which she brought about?
Rather than admitting that she made a mistake and taking responsibility for the consequences of it, she blames Abram. Like Eve, she shifts the blame—this time to Abram, who then shifts it back to her.
Hagarflees…what kind of treatment should Hagar have expected from people professing to know God?
Since Hagar was Egyptian, Abram and Sarai most likely brought her back with them when Pharaoh kicked them out of Egypt. As an idol-worshiper who had come to live in the home of “God’s People,” she should have expected to be treated with more consideration, rather than as a baby-making machine.
The Angel of the Lord makes His first recorded appearance here. Who does He appear to and what does He do?
The appearance of the Angel of the Lord here is likely a Pre-Incarnate Visitation of Christ—who, instead of appearing to Abram or Sarai, seeks out the lost and the outcast Hagar. This is reminiscent of the Good Shepherd who, in pursuit of the one lost sheep, leaves the ninety-nine behind.
What is significant about the Angel’s instruction to Hagar?
It is very much like what we read in 1 Peter 5:6-7…
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Although Hagar has been treated badly by Sarai, she is told to go back and submit to her authority once again. In so doing, she and her child would be protected and provided for by the Lord.
What does Ishmael represent? In Galatians 4:22-26, the Apostle Paul explains his spiritual significance in this way….
…that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
As Hagar is a picture to us of the Old Covenant which gives birth to bondage, Ishmael becomes a picture of the Works of the Flesh produced by those living under that bondage.
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Now, to see what the Test of Silence, Delay, and Waiting accomplished or revealed in the lives of the parties involved, let’s assess them in the following way…
A Scorecard for Abram, Sarai, and Hagar
In Summary—
Before leaving this Episode, and in order to complete our Review, we need to ask ourselves these all-important questions…
What Life Lessons can we take away from Abram’s experiencehere?
One of the most important lessons that we can take away from this is, if we fail or refuse to wait upon God and attempt to accomplish His Will through our own human wisdom and fleshly means, we will…
Wreak havoc in our homes and in our relationships;
Delay even longer the fulfillment of God’s Promises to us; and,
Give our enemies and the enemies of God an opportunity to question our salvation and to bring a reproach upon God.
Does this Episode make any contributions to God’s One Big Story of Redemption?
As a result of his lapse of Faith and his failure to wait on Godfor His Provision of a Son, Abram‘s self-effortsproduced Ishmael—whose descendants have been Israel’s enemies throughout most of her history.
Are there any Revelations of God to be found in this part of HisStory?
Although Godis noticeably silent where Abram and Saraiare concerned, He reveals Himself to Hagar as the Godwho desires that all—both Jew and Gentile—to come to Repentance and Faith through His Son,Jesus Christ.
Your Assignment
Images of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar courtesy of freebibleimages.com.
When we left Abram at the end of Episode #2, he had just returned from the daring and successful rescue of his nephew, Lot, along with the other inhabitants of Sodom and the surrounding cities. Although, before he could return the captives and the loot taken in the raid, he was met by Melchizedek—the Priest and King of Salem—with whom he shared communion and to whom he gave tithes from the spoils of that war. As a result of this worshipful encounter, when he was offered the recovered loot by the King ofSodom, Abram was fully prepared to turn it down, choosing instead to maintain his integrity and witness before the pagan king and the peoples of the land.
This temptation turned out to be the third in a series of Tests that Abram has been undergoing. As we have seen in our study of him, God has progressively been revealing Himself and His plans for Abram and his descendants through a series of revelatory encounters—with each one involving a promise, and each one followed by a period oftesting. This chart summarizes Abram’s progress so far…
Abram’s Report Card
This, then, brings us to Abram’s next revelatory encounter in Genesis 15. Although he doesn’t know it yet, throughout this process, Godhas been preparing him to become the Father of Israel, a role we will see him step into here in Episode #3 of his story, as he enters into a marriage covenant with God for his descendants–those who will eventually become the nation of Israel, theWife of Jehovah.
With the lights now going down now in the theatre and the curtains slowly starting to rise, we hear the voice our off-stage Narrator once again, as he begins setting the stage for us…
Episode #3 of Biopic #1 Cast: Narrator God Abram
Narrator:Lot has just departed on his merry way to Sodom, leaving Abram shaking his head and wondering whether all his efforts to rescue and restore his backsliding nephew have not been totally in vain. The king of Sodom has left, rubbing his hands over the recovery of all his goods, at no cost to himself and, no doubt, discussing with the secretary of his treasury what particular form of insanity possessed Abram so that he refused his share of the spoil. Melchizedek has gone, leaving Abram with only a memory and a new appreciation of God. Aner and Eschol and Mamre have gone, congratulating one another on their prowess in war and gloating over the rich profits they have reaped. And Abram is left alone, somewhat depressed and a little fearful perhaps lest his unexpected display of military power might not stir the Canaanites into a league against him. Moreover, he has probably been listening to the excited chatter of Lot’s children, which reminds him—he has no child of his own. It is at this point that God, in His love and care, comes to talk with Abram about the building of his family…[1]
Narrator: After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying…
God:Do not be afraid, Abram. I AM your shield, your exceedingly great reward.
Abram:Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!
Narrator:And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying…
God:This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.
Narrator:Then He brought him outside and said…
God:Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them….So shall your descendants be.
Narrator:And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then [God] said to him…
God:I AM the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.
Abram:Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?
God:Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
Narrator:Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then God said to Abram…
God:Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
Narrator:And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying…
God:To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
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With nothing further to add, this Episode comes to a halt, indicating that it is time for us to pull out our Critic’s Caps and begin our Review of it. As always, we will be approaching this Episode from three levels…
TheEarthly Level—where we will be looking for any Life Lessons that we can take away from it;
TheHeavenly Level—where we will be looking for the Contributions it has to make to God’s One Big Story of Redemption; and,
The Eternal Level—where we will be looking for the Revelations of God contained in this part of the Story.
So, with these as our goals, let’s begin our Review by first going over…
The Most Important Points in this Episode
1. In our previous episodes, when God “spoke” to someone, it was not made clear just what form that took. But here, the Word of God came to Abram in a vision—making this the first mention of a vision in Scripture. This kind of appearance is called a Theophany, and is a pre-incarnate vision of Jesus Christ.
2. With this visitation coming closely on the heels of his battle experience, God reassures Abram that he did the right thing in rejecting the spoils, and that whatever happens as a result of his “military offensive,” He would be Abram’s protector and provider.
3. Given that in each of his previous encounters with God, Abram was promised either a nation or descendants, when he meets with God this time, it only seems logical that the first thing he mentions is his lack of children—after all, how can you have descendants if you don’t have any children?
In response, the Lord promises him—for the first time—that his heir will not be his adopted servant but a son born from his own seed. At this, he is told to count the stars. Back in Genesis 12:14ff, God told him that He was going to make his descendants as the dust of the earth. These two promises speak of Abram’s two seeds—his natural and supernatural descendants, with the natural being those who are born of the flesh—the Jews, and the supernatural descendants being those who are born of the Spirit—the Church.
4. The Lord’s self-identification as I AM is used here for the first time. Later, in John 8:56-59, Jesus stated unequivocally that He was the I AM. In this particular confrontation with the Jewish leaders, when He told them…
…if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death…
…the Jews said to Him…Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?…
Jesus answered…Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.
Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?
Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.
5. Although Abram had believed God before—enough so that he packed up, left his homeland, and became a wanderer in the Land of Promise—this is the first time that it has been said that his belief has been accounted to him for righteousness. Why do you think that is?
Unlike all of God’s previous promises to Abram, this is the first mention and direct promise that a son would be born to him, and that this son would also be in the lineage of the Seed promised to Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15. It was his faith in this promised Redeemer that is being counted or credited to him as righteousness.
6. In spite of the fact that we have just been told that AbrambelievedGod, when God promises him the land again, he asks for a sign—why? Does this demonstrate a lack of faith?
No. Back in Genesis 9:8-17, God gave Noah the Rainbow as a sign or reminder of their Covenant that He would never again destroy the earth by a flood. So, in asking for a sign, Abram was asking what the tangible reminder of this Covenant would be. We can regard the sign, then, as the equivalent of God’s signature on this contract.
Abram Prepares and Protects the Sacrifice
7. To this, Abram is told to prepare an offering/a sacrifice. Even though he very quickly obeys, there is a long delay before anything else happens—other than him having to chase away the What do you think these things might mean?
The delay was probably meant to indicate that the fulfillment of this Covenantal Promise would not be immediate; while the Vultures were meant to be a picture of the demonic forces that would be at work until then, trying to keep this Covenant from being fulfilled. Later, in Luke 8: 5, 12, in the Parable of the Sower, Jesus used a similar analogy to illustrate this practice of the enemy…
A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it…
Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
8. After protecting the sacrifice all afternoon, when darkness falls, a deep sleep overtakes Abram and in it, he is shown in dream of the future of his descendants, where they will be afflicted in a foreign land for 400 years. This raises such questions as…
After giving the Land to Abram, why would God allow them to be taken out of the Land of Promise?
In later chapters of Genesis (especially chapter 28), we find that the corrupt culture of the Canaanites was beginning to impact the behavior of Jacob and his family. To protect them from these negative influences—while giving the people of the land plenty of time to repent before bringing judgment upon them—God removed HisPeople from the land and sequestered them in Goshen, the best land in all Egypt.
Why would God allow HisCovenantPeople to be subjected to such suffering and affliction?
During the first part of their sojourn in Egypt, as the family of Joseph, the Israelites enjoyed special treatment and were being provided for by Joseph. Even during the great famine, they were prosperous, not really needing to look to God for anything because their needs were being met by the government. But, when a ruler came to power after Joseph, they lost their privileged position and were reduced to slavery instead. It was then that they began to call upon the Lord again. So, their affliction can be seen in one of two ways—as the means God used to restore His People to faith in and dependence upon Him, and as a picture of the persecution that the World routinely inflicts upon the PeopleofGod.
Abram, on the other hand, was promised that he would live a long life and die in peace.
9. While he is asleep, the Presence of the Lord passes between the sacrificial elements. What do you think is significant about this?
In the Ancient Near East, when a covenant was made, it was ratified by first slaughtering animals and then creating a path between their divided carcasses. Both parties would walk through these animals, pledging to fulfill the terms of the covenant…
By cutting the animals in half during covenant ceremonies, the parties making the covenant were effectively saying, ‘Let this be done to us if we break the terms of this covenant…’
By being the one who passes between, Yahweh places the penalty of violating the covenant on Himself. He is showing Abram how serious He is about His promises.’ [2]
God Ratifying the Covenant
In Summary…
…we have learned that…
For the first time, Abram has had a face-to-face encounter with JesusChrist—an encounter of faith which has made Abramrighteous in the eyes of God;
God allays Abrams’fears about his past actions and assures him of a glorious future with a Son of his own to be his heir;
This Son of Promise will be the foundation stone upon which the nation of Israel will be built; and,
As a sign of this Promise,God “Cut a Covenant” with Abram in which He swears by oath that He will fulfill every promise He has made concerning Abram and his descendants.
Now, in conclusion, we need to ask ourselves..
1. What Life Lessons can we take away from Abram’sexperience in this episode?
Everyone, no matter how important or insignificant they may be, must come to God in the same way—that is, through a personal faith encounter with His Son, Jesus Christ;
Once they stand righteous before God, He will cover their pasts, and protect and provide for them as they follow Him into the future;
God’s testsare not punitive butpreparatory. They are designed to grow everyone in faith and in righteousness, and prepare them for their divinely ordained destinies.
Like Abram, Believers today are participants in a Covenant with God—a NewCovenant, written in the very Blood of Jesus, in which the Spirit of God comes to live within them, writing God’s Laws upon their hearts and teaching them to live like Children of the Most High God.
2. What Contributions does this episode make to God’s One Big Story of Redemption?
This episode marks a pivotal point in God’s One Big Story. Everything that has gone before has merely been preparation for this event—the cutting of the Covenant between Godand Abram. In reality, this Covenant is a Marriage Contract in which Abram betrothsIsrael—the Nation that will come from him—to God.
In the Ancient Jewish Wedding Tradition, which provides the format for the StoryoftheBible, the three phases in a Jewish Marriage are…
The Negotiation or Arrangement Phase—in which the Bridegroom’s Father, the Bridegroom himself, or his Agent goes to the Father of a Bride and negotiates a marriage contract. If arrangements acceptable to both parties can be arrived at, and if the bride gives her consent, then the Bridegroom and Bride become legally betrothed or engaged. At this point, the Bridegroom returns to his Father’s house and begins preparing a home for his Bride.
The Betrothal Phase—which usually lasts for about a year, is a time during which the Bridegroom is at work building a home and the Bride is busy preparing her wedding garments
The Consummation Phase—which includes the actual Marriage, its consummation, and the Wedding Feast that follows, only happens when the Father of the Bridegroom is satisfied with the work of his Son and gives him permission to go and get His Bride.
So, with the MarriageCovenant between God and Abram having been ratified by blood, the NegotiationPhase is now complete and God and Israel have entered into the Betrothal Period.
3. What Revelations of God does this episode give us?
As we have just learned, God is seen here as the Celestial Suitor, the Bridegroom who has just become betrothed to the Nation of Israel. And, even though she isn’t even a reality in the natural as yet, in the mind and heart of her Beloved, she has been in existence since before the foundation of the world.
Here is a video that will help explain the Love Story behind the One Big Story of the Bible a little better…
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Early on in our study of Abram, we learned that he was called to Wander, Worship, and Witness, and in our last episode, we learned that he was also called to Warfare. In our next episode—in Chapter 16—we will discover that he has also been called to do one of the hardest things ever—and that is, to Wait!
[1] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1992), 132.
For those of you who are joining us for the first time, we are currently engaged in a study of the Bible, being presented here in the form of a two-act play which we’ve entitled, God’s One Big Story. In Act 1, Scene 1, we covered Genesis 1-11—the Overture to our story—and now, in Act 1, Scene 2, we are studying the lives of the Four Patriarchs found in Genesis 12-50. They are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, the four men most responsible for the birth and development of Israel—the nation who would one day become the Wife of Jehovah, and the one through whom Jesus Christ would later come into the world.
We are referring to the stories of these important men as Biopics, short for Biographical Pictures, and in our studies of them, we are looking specifically for the…
Life Lessons they have to teach us;
Contributions they have to make to God’s One Big Story of Redemption; and,
Revelations they provide of God and His Purposes.
During our last visit together, in Episode #1 of Biopic #1, we learned that Abraham—or, Abram, as he was named at birth—was…
Called by God to Wander; Called by God to Worship; and, Called by God to Witness.
Following him through his first faltering steps of faith, we watched as he navigated his way through a series of DivineRevelations andTestings—after which, when we left him, he had arrived in a very good place. He had returned from a disastrous trip into Egypt (a picture or type of the world) where, in a backslidden condition, he had managed to compromise…
His relationship with God;
His relationship with his wife; and,
His witness to the world.
However, once Abram was back in the Land of Promise…
He restored his relationship with God through a renewal of Worship;
His restored his Witness following his Separation from Lot; and,
He was given a renewed and expanded Revelationof God’s will for his life.
Afterwards, Abram relocated his headquarters from Bethel (the House of God) to Hebron (the Place of Fellowship)—which is where we will find him today when Episode #2 of his story begins. As we wait expectantly for it to get underway, we suddenly hear our Narrator, somewhere off-stage, giving us an update on the events that have taken place in Abram’s world since we saw him last…
Episode #2 of Biopic #1 (Genesis 14) Cast: Narrator Abram Melchizedek King of Sodom
Our Narratorbegins…
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
Five Kings versus Four
As our Narrator continues with his report, we can also hear the distinctive sounds of a battle taking place in the background, as…
…the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
At this, the curtain rises and we see Abram, minding his own business and enjoying his peaceful life in thePlace of Fellowship with God in Hebron—when suddenly, his life is turned upside down by this series of events which, on the surface, seem to be totally unrelated to him. This upheaval begins when…
…one who had escaped [from the war] came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.
Now when Abram heard that he [Lot] was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
Although Abram was greatly outnumbered…
He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus…
…which was over 150 miles to the north of Hebron. Following his victory…
…he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
And, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.
However, there someone far more important who went out to meet Abram first…
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed [Abram] and said…
Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.
In response to this blessing, Abram…
…gave him a tithe of all.
After his encounter with Melchizedek, the king of Sodom approached Abram with the following offer…
Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.
In other words, just return the people and you can keep all the loot—to which, Abram responded without hesitation…
I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
With this response, this brief and somewhat puzzling Episode comes to an abrupt ending. That doesn’t mean that we are finished with it, though, for there is still much for us to discuss, once we don our Critic’s Caps again and begin our Review of the events which have transpired here.
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Time to Put on the Cap Once More
Episode #2–Review
To aid us in this Review, let’s first take a look at the most important points of this story…
I. The War of the Kings—since this is the first mention of a battle, king, or war in the Bible, it must be significant.
The Coalitions—
Why were Kings from so far east interested in the area around Sodom and Gomorrah?
Although this was not the first war in human history, since it is the first one recorded in the Bible, it becomes a template for all the others that would follow. As in most of those cases, the motivating forces here can be attributed to Egos and Economics—that is, to a Lust for Power motivated by Pride, and to a Lust for Wealth motivated by Greed. The Apostle James, many centuries later, described these powerful forces in the following way….
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:1-3)
So, what was it that Sodom and the surrounding cities had that provoked such lusts in the Kings of the East? It was their…
Position—they were located in close proximity to the major trade routes connecting the East with Egypt, the Bread Basket of the World at the time;
Natural Resources—the valley in which they were located was full of asphalt pits, a material highly prized because of its uses in building and road construction, the waterproofing of boats, and even as medicine; and,
Wealth—these cities, because of their location and natural resources, had become extremely wealthy—wealth which made possible their lavish and decadent lifestyles.
The Kings of the East and the Coveted Trade Routes
The Conflict—
Why did the Canaanite Kings rebel? What made them think they could win? What might God’s motive been in allowing this to happen?
After being bled dry by the Eastern Kings for twelve years, the cities in the Valley of Siddim had had enough. Having lost the lifestyle to which they had hoped to remain accustomed and tired of being fleeced by foreigners, they—no doubt also motivated by Egos and Economics—must have thought the battle to reclaim that their wealth and lifestyle would be well worth the effort.
As for God’s part in all of this, while it is not spelled out for us here, considering what happens to Lot and Sodom and her sister cities later on, their defeat and looting could very well have been God’s wake-up call to them—giving them the opportunity to repent and get right with Him, in order to stave off the judgment that was soon to come.
The Conquest–-
What spiritual picture does this paint for us?
Throughout Scripture, we find instance after instance in which God raises up someone to fight for right even in the face of overwhelming opposition. Think of the victories of Gideon and his three hundred men against the Midianite army, David and his five smooth stones against Goliath, and Jonathan and his armor-bearer against the Philistines—who, at the time, rightly declared…
For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few (1 Samuel 14:6).
The spiritual principle for us, then, is that when we are called to warfare—as we surely will be—the battle belongs to the Lord; for, we have His assurances that…
A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you (Proverbs 21:31); and,
The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the LORD. (Proverbs 21:31).
II. The Rescue of Lot
–Where was Lot living at the time?
Because he was taken prisoner along with everyone else in Sodom, it seems that he was no longer living on the outskirts, but had become a permanent resident in the city.
–What does this tell us about Lot?
It seems to say that either Lot did not share the same faith in God as his uncle Abram; or, if he did, that he had been lured away from that faith by the worldly attractions of Sodom.
–Do you think Lot merited Abram’s intervention? Why or why not?
On the surface, Lot doesn’t appear to have been worthy of Abram’s rescue but, because Abram had “adopted” Lot following the death of his father, he had a moral obligation to go after him and rescue him. No doubt, he also felt a spiritual obligation to do so, in the hopes of giving his nephew a chance to repent before he lost everything he held dear—that being, his family.
Peter later gives us this insight into Lot’s spiritual condition at the time, when he says, if God…
…delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority (2 Peter 2:7-10).
–Can you think of a parable that might apply in this situation?
The one that comes to my mind is the Parable of the Lost Sheep, found in Luke 15:4-7…
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Abraham’s Worshipful Encounter with Melchizedek
III. Abram’s Encounter with Melchizedek
–Who was Melchizedek?
In this episode, we are told that he was the King of Salem (the city that would later be called Jerusalem), and the PriestofGod Most High. The name used for God here is El Elyon, a name which…
…emphasizes God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy. In Genesis 14:20, Melchizedek said to Abram, ‘blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’ He understood that the Lord is extremely exalted. Let us say as the Psalmist did—’I cry out to the Most High Elohim, To El who is perfecting all matters for me’ (Psalm 57:2).[1]
–Where did he come from?
Unlike everyone else of significance in the Book ofGenesis, no genealogical information for Melchizedek is provided—no record of his birth, his death, or his parentage.
–Where else is he mentioned in Scripture?
In addition to this passage in Genesis 14, where Melchizedek serves in the dual roles of King of Peace and Priest of the Most High God—the one who sets a table of communion before Abram—King David references him in Psalm 110 when he prophesies of the coming Messianic King who will one day come through his line. This King will be held in higher honor than Melchizedek, because He will sit at the right hand of God and rule over the nations. He, too, will serve as Priest of the Most High God, something which is elaborated upon at length in Hebrews 7. There, the writer elevates Melchizedek to the status of a pre-incarnate figure of Christ; who, without father or mother, is eternal and who, unlike those in the Levitical Priesthood, will continue as a Priest forever.
–How do you think a King of Righteous could have come to rule over the ungodly people of [Jeru] Salem?
When we consider that the Canaanites were notorious idol worshipers, it seems highly unlikely that a Righteous King would be ruling over one of their cities. However, Seth, the righteous son of Noah, was still alive at this time, leading some to think that he could have been Melchizedek (Melchizedek being a title rather than a first name). However, in addition to Arphaxad, the ancestor of Abram, Seth had four other sons through whom his Faith in God could have been passed on. So, it is entirely possible that Melchizedek might have been one of them.
–Why are the bread and wine, the tithes, and the blessing an important part of this Story?
As elements of the Covenant, the Bread and Wine represent the Communion that Abram shared with God as part of that Covenant. In the giving of his Tithes, Abram was recognizing and honoring Melchizedek as God’s Chosen Mediator of that Covenant; and, in his blessing of Abram, Melchizedek was reaffirming God’s Covenantal Promises to Abram.
IV. Abram’s Encounter with the King of Sodom
–What was the King’s offer?
According to the rules of warfare at the time, the spoils of war belonged to the winner of the conflict which, in this case, would have been Abram, and would have included the people as well as the material objects. It seems, then, that the King of Sodom was trying to cut a deal with Abram where the spoils were concerned.
–What did it represent to Abram?
Abram had been made extremely wealthy through a compromise of his faith and integrity when he went down to Egypt—a compromise which put him on the “outs” with God, and wealth with brought strife and division into his home. So, for Abram, this represented another Test—one designed to reveal whether or not he had learned anything from those earlier mistakes.
–What, if anything, do you think is significant about Abram’s response?
For one thing, in using the same name for God that Melchizedek had used—that is, the LORD, God Most High,the Possessor of heaven and earth—Abram revealed that the decision to reject the offer of the King of Sodom was made as a result of his worshipful encounter with the King of Salem. Then, in his speedy response to the offer, he was demonstrating that he had learned that his relationship with God, and his reputation andwitness were more important to him than anything the world had to offer.
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In Summary
–What, if any, Life Lessons can we take away from Abram’s experience in Genesis 14?
As we are going about our lives of wandering, worshiping, and witnessing, there will be times when we, like Abram, will be called to do warfare at a moment’s notice. But, unlike the fleshly battle that he was called to, the warfare that we will be engaged is one that is spiritual in nature.Like it or not, there will be times when we will be called to do battle on behalf of those who seem to be totally undeserving of our intervention, and those who may not even appreciate our efforts to rescue them.
And, for every victory we experience, we can be sure that the Enemy will be there trying to steal it away through some sort of compromise on our parts. But, like Abram, we need to settle the issue beforehand of what is most important to us—our walk with God and our testimony before others, or the temporal gratification of material rewards or recognition.
–What Contributions does this Chapter Make to God’s Big Story?
In Melchizedek, Abram was given a preview of the coming Messiah—his very own descendant who even now, is serving as our Great High Priest in heaven, and the One who will one day reign forever as the King of Peace and Righteousness in the New Jerusalem.
–How is God Revealed in this Chapter?
In His relationship with Abram,God reveals Himself as Jehovah-Nissi—the Lord is My Banner—the God who goes before us into battle and secures the victory for us through His own power. And, in His relationship with Lot, He reveals Himself as the Guardian and Deliverer of His People—even in the midst of His judgment upon the wicked.
So far in this study, we have seen how God has been revealing Himself through His Promises to Abram, and then Testing him to reveal his Faith in and Stewardship of those Promises. In the next chapter—Genesis 15—we will begin to discover the Purpose behind all of this Preparation.
Welcome back to Act 1, Scene 2 of God’s One Big Story. Although it has been a while since we last met, when we did, we were introduced to Abraham, the first of the four Hebrew Patriarchs who are showcased in Genesis 12-50. Since these men were the ones most responsible for the birth and development of the Nation of Israel—and, since Israel will be making her first appearance on our stage in the next scene—this one will be given over to an examination of the Biographical Pictures—or, Biopics—of these important men.
As for Abraham/Abram,[1] here is what we have learned so far about the Man who would eventually become known as the Father of Israel, the nation that would one day become the Wife of Jehovah…
He was a descendant of Shem through his son, Arphaxad;
He appeared on the human stage sometime between 2100-2200 BC;[2]
He came from a family of idol worshipers;
He was born as Abram in Ur of the Chaldees, left Ur with his family to travel to Canaan but was waylaid for a period of time in Haran, an important trade city about 600 miles northeast of Ur (an area part of southern Turkey today); and,
He was married to Sarai, who was childless.
With this brief but valuable background information now in hand, we are ready to launch out on our journey with Abram, just as he is preparing to embark upon his journey of faith with God. In our travels with him, we will be privileged to share in his Spiritual Transformation, witnessing his growth from Paganism to Faith—from his first faltering steps of obedience to his complete surrender to the will and purposes of God.This transformation will certainly not be an overnight occurrence but will take a lifetime to accomplish; and, as we shall soon see, it will be achieved through the on-going process of Revelation and Testing, in which…
Abram will first have an Encounter with God, when God will reveal more of His plans and purposes for Abram; after which,
Abram will undergo A Period of testing (usually an extended one), designed to reveal how faithful a steward he has been with the revelations received so far.
Since this process is in no way unique to Abram, but is the same one God uses in the training of all of His Children, it will serve us well to pay careful attention to Abram’s experiences; for, through them, we will be discovering some valuable Life Lessons, as well as some important insights into the Nature and Purposes of God.
Abram’s Journey from Ur to the Land of Promise
Episode #1 of Biopic #1—Showtime! (Genesis 12:1-13:18)
Cast: Narrator God Abram Lot Sarai Pharaoh
Now that Episode #1 of Biopic #1 is ready to begin, let’s get settled in our seats, for the lights in the theatre are dimming and the curtain is slowing starting to rise. As they do, we can hear the resonant voice of our Off-Stage Narrator, informing us that at some time in the past, God had met with Abram and instructed him to…
Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
With the Stage now fully lit before us, we can see a large company of people on the outskirts of Haran, packing up and preparing to leave that bustling caravan city. And, we hear our Narrator again, as he begins detailing the action taking place on the Stage before us…
It’s Off to Canaan–after too long in Haran!
So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
After what must have seemed like an interminable five hundred-plus mile journey, Abram and his company finally arrive in Shechem; and, in spite of the fact that the land is currently occupied by the Canaanites, once he is there, theLord appears to Abram and makes him this surprising promise…
To your descendants I will give this land.
We watch as Abram responds to this amazing promise by building an altar and worshiping the Lord on the very spot where He has just appeared to him.But, Abram doesn’t linger in this place for long because, as our Narrator quickly informs us…
…he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Now, It’s Off to Egypt!
All is not well for very long, however, for our Narrator soon adds…
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that…
…we find Abram, motivated by fear rather than by faith, acting very deceptively when he says to his wife, Sarai…
Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister,[3] that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.
Here, our Narrator interjects…
So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
However, God was not at all pleased with this, so…
…the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
When Pharaoh discovers the source of the plague, he calls Abram and demands an explanation for his deception…
What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.
And, It’s Out You Go!
At this, our Narrator resumes his commentary…
So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had…
Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
Next, we hear Abram—the epitome of grace and generosity—tell Lot…
Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.
To which, our Narrator adds…
And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
With Lot’s separation from Abram, we hear the LORD addressing Abram once more, telling him to…
Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.
At this, our Narrator closes out this episode with these fitting remarks…
Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.
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Episode #1—Review
It’s Been Way Too Long!
With this first Episode of Biopic #1 now behind us, it’s time for us to pull out and put on our trusty, albeit somewhat rusty, Critic’s Caps, and begin our Review of this segment of Abraham’s Story. Given that it’s been so long since we last did a review of this sort, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of what we will be looking for.
From the beginning of this Study Tour, it has been our practice to examine each Bible Story on the following three levels…
First, we approach it from an Earthly Level, analyzing the everyday events taking place on the Earthly Stage before us, looking specifically for any Life Lessons that we can take away from it;
Once we understand the practical significance of these events, we then move on to a Heavenly Level examination, where we seek to identify the contributions they have to make to the One Big Story taking place simultaneously on the Heavenly Stage above us; and,
Finally, we re-examine these events on an Eternal Level, looking for any Revelations of God that they may provide.
The Earthly Level Review
Revelation #1…
For reasons known only to Himself, God chose Abram and initiated a relationship with him while he was still a sinner, living in a family of idol worshipers, and living in a culture completely given over to idolatry. Then, in order to get Abram to the place where He wanted him to be, both physically and spiritually, God met with him three times during this one episode—each time revealing a more expansive view of His Will and Purpose for Abram’s life;
During their first meeting, God gave Abram a very specific set of Instructions and an incredible set of Promises—these being…
God’s Initial Instructions and Promises to Abram
While it may not be readily apparent, theseInstructions are actually God’s Short-Term Goals for Abram, and were meant to move him from where he was to the place where God would begin fulfilling His Promises—or, His Long-Term Goals for Abram.
For these Long-Term Goals to be realized in his life, though, Abram would have to learn…
To live a life of Separation—from the evil influences that he had known in his homeland, influences which would hinder him from living a holy life;
To Wander, walking by Faith and becoming totally dependent upon God (because it was going to take a lot of faith on his part to meet the challenges that would be waiting for him in the future);
To Worship, something we have no record of him doing while he was in his homeland;
To become a Witness of God’s Grace and Mercy to the people already living in the land.
…in Progress
Test #1—When called to a Life of Separation, Wandering, Faith, Worship, and Witness, what was Abram’s Response?
While he succeeded in separating himself from his country and his extended family, he failed to leave his immediate family behind—a decision which not only delayed his arrival in the land, the beginning of his worship and witness, as well as the Fulfillment of God’s Promises to him, but which revealed how immature his faith was at this point in his journey.
Revelation #2…
In spite of this failure, however, once Abram arrived in the Land of Promise, he was blessed by another visit from God. As brief as it was, this encounter served as a confirmation that he had indeed arrived in the place of God’s choosing—and, it was also an opportunity for God to add to His earlier Revelation to Abram.
In this newer Revelation, in spite of the fact that the Canaanites were already occupying the Land,God promised to give it to Abram’s descendants. This surely must have come as a shock to Abram because, at this point in his life—at seventy-five years of age—he didn’t have even one son to carry his name forward into the future—or the hope of ever having one! Since it was going to take a lot of faith for Abram to believe this promise, and since his faith was still so immature, a lot more testing was going to be required.
…In Progress
Test #2—What was Abram’s Response when promised Descendants to possess the Land?
His immediate response was to build an Altar and Worship God, first at Shechem and then at Bethel. Later, however, when faced with a Famine in the Land, and seeming to forget all of God’s Promises, Abram abandoned the Land and his new Walk of Faith, and headed for Egypt—a picture of the World—in an attempt to deal with this situation on his own.
However, this proved to be a costly decision, because it…
Caused him to break fellowship with God and to stop worshiping;
Caused him to jeopardize not only his relationship with Sarai, his wife, but more importantly, her life;
Destroyed any witness he may have had to Pharaoh and the Egyptians;
Brought him so much wealth that it later created strife and division within his household.
So, after being unceremoniously booted out of Egypt, Abram chose to do the best thing possible, and that was to go back to Bethel and start over again. When he did, his fellowship with God was restored and he became a worshiper once again.
Revelation #3…
Even though Abram’s relationship with God was restored at Bethel, his problems didn’t automatically disappear. In fact, they only increased. Because both he and Lot had become very rich in Egypt—not just in gold and silver but in livestock, too—when they returned to the Land and it couldn’t support their greatly increased flocks and herds, conflict arose and the two men found it necessary to separate. (This would have been unnecessary had Abram let Lot remain in Mesopotamia, as God had originally instructed him to do.)
While Lot’s choice to relocate to the suburbs of Sodom would later prove to be a disastrous one for both him and his family, the decision to separate turned out to be a blessing for Abram, as it resulted in a third visitation from God. In this latest encounter, God expanded on His earlier Revelations even more; this time marking out the boundaries of the Land He was giving to Abram, to as far as his eye could see in all directions—and by increasing his descendants to more than could ever be numbered.
…In Progress
Test #3—What was Abram’s response to this latest Revelation?
He packed up and left Bethel, the place of repentance and restoration, and moved on to Hebron, the place of Fellowship withGod.
Life Lessons from the Earthly Level Story
In this first Episode in the Abram’s Story, it should be relatively easy for us to see that our Life Lessons closely parallel the Short-Term Goals which God had established for him. Like Abram…
Those of us who have come to Faith in God, have done so because of God’s gracious intervention in our lives, and not because of any merit of their own;
We, too, have been called to a life of Wandering, Worshiping, and Witnessing;
We have also been called to Walk by Faith, not by sight, learning to depend upon God and His provision for us;
In our walks with God, we are going to be Tested so that the faithfulness of our Stewardship of God’sRevelations can be revealed;
Disobedience on our parts will not only delay the work that God wants to do in and through us, but also the fulfillment of His Long-Term Goals for us;
God will not give us any New Instructions until we have obeyed the last things He told us to do; and,
Even though God watches over us during our periods of disobedience, He will not negate the poor choices (and their consequences) that we may have made (and incurred) during that time.
Heavenly Level Review
In the reviews of the Bible Stories we’ve studied so far, we have learned that in addition to their valuable Life Lessons, the people and events in each one were also intended to paint a Spiritual Picture for us. This is certainly true of the Story of Abram; for, when we backup and look at God’s Big Picture of Redemption, we can see that in this Episode…
Abram was being prepared to step into his role as the ExaltedFather of Israel, who, at the appropriate time, would enter into a Marriage Contract or Covenant in which Israel would be Promised to God.
Abram was being re-located to the Land where God would eventually make His home, where he would live among His People in an Earthly Tabernacle.
God, from this Pivotal Piece of Real Estate, would establish a Witness to the World through Israel. As long as she remained faithful to Her Husband, He would bless her to such a degree that she would become the Light of Truth to all the Nations of the Earth; and through her, God’s Son would come into the World to provide for its Redemption.
Eternal Level Review
In the past, we have described the Bible as the Progressive Revelation of God, in spite of the fact that He rarely gives us a verbal description of Himself in Scripture. Instead, He has chosen to reveal Himself through the things He does and the ways that He relates to people. So, if we are going to uncover the Truths about God hidden in this Episode, then we will have to look closely at His actions and His relationships with the people involved in this portion of the Scriptures, if we are to discover that…
God Reveals Himself in Everything He Does
As you can see, there is a lot to be learned about God and about Living a Life of Faith in this one Episode of Abram’s Story. But, there is even more to be discovered when we get into Abram’s Call to Warfare coming up next, in Episode #2 of Biopic #1. In anticipation of that, please read through Genesis 14, asking yourself the following questions…
Why is this Episode important enough to be included in this Story?
What part does it play in the Life of Abram?
What Life Lessons are there to be learned from it?
Does Worship, Witness, Separation, or the Principle of Expanded Revelation play any part in it?
Something to Ponder…
Have You Been Able to See God Creating Faith in You through Your Trials?
* Some illustrations courtesy of Free Bible Images at http://www.freebibleimages.org/
[1] For clarity’s sake, we will use the name Abram until the point in the story when God changes his name to Abraham.
[2]Note on Calculations—In 1 Kings 6:1, we learn that the 4th year of Solomon’s reign—966 BC—was 480 years after the Exodus [966+480=1446], and from Exodus 12:40-41, we learn that the Israelites lived in Egypt 430 years. So 1446+430=1876, making that the year that Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. Since Jacob was 130 when he appeared before Pharaoh, Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born, Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born, and Abraham was 75 when he entered the Promised Land, this would mean that the total time spent in Canaan would have been 215 years [130+60+(100-75)=215]. Adding 215 years to 1876, then 75 (for Abraham’s age until then)—the year that Jacob and his family moved to Egypt—we arrive at a date of 2166 BC for Abram’s birth.
[3] In Genesis 20:12, we learn that Sarai is Abram’s half-sister—the daughter of his father Terah and another mother.
As promised at the end of our last workout session, we are back to finish what we started in our exercise on Service: Women and the Work of God.There, in Part One, in pursuit of a better understanding of the role God intends for Women to play in the Service of His Kingdom, we once again went back to the story of Adam and Eve, looking at it to determine…
God’s Purposes for the Sexes;
God’s Punishment of the Sexes; and,
God’s Promise to the Sexes.
As a result, we discovered that in His quest for a Family to love, God created Man as a Spirit Being, a Spirit which He then placed in the two houses He called Male and Female. As a Spirit,Man could relate to God and in the physical houses of Male and Female, he could (re)produce the Family that God has always desired. We also learned that because he was created first, the Man was placed in the Position of Head over God’s Creation, with the Woman being created later to be his Companion and Helper in carrying out the Work of God. This arrangement, however, did not mean that the Male was superior to the Female, for from the beginning of their history together, they were both…
Equal in their standing before God; Equal in their call to the work of God; and, Equal in their blessing by God.
Something else that we learned was that in his Position as Head, the Man was meant to reflect the Headship of God the Father, while the Woman was intended to be a picture of the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. As such, the Man possessed what the late Dr. Myles Munroe referred to as Position Power, while the Woman possessed what he aptly described as Influence Power. In the words of Dr. Munroe…
Power and influence are equal, but different…
First, position-power generally comes with a title, such as king, governor, doctor, or pastor. Second, position-power is usually executed through commands, whether verbal or written. It is the authority that goes with the position, and the commands, that is the nature of the man’s power.
Influence-power manifests itself in a very different way.
First, a woman may have a title, but she doesn’t need a title to lead. She leads by influence…Second, a woman doesn’t need to talk in order to run things. She leads just by her influence…the woman doesn’t need to say a word; she just looks, and people respond. This is a very powerful influence.[1]
Position-power announces itself. Influence-power just comes in and controls things. By the time you realize its presence, it has already taken over.[2]
We will learn more about these differing leadership functions as we progress in this exercise—especially when dealing with Man’s Testing in the Garden, and the consequences of his failure there. Since that was where we left off in Part 1, that is where we will begin this time—as we continue our look into…
God’s Punishment of the Sexes
No matter how well you package it, testing is one gift that I think few, if any, would look forward to receiving. At its mere mention, most of us shrink back, no doubt put off by the mental images it evokes—images of the hard work and preparation it requires, the struggle involved in making the right choices, and the thoughts of failure and the consequences which that would bring. Given the amount of angst involved in testing’s anticipation, it was probably a good thing Adam and Eve did not see it coming.
God, on the other hand, not only knew that it was coming but He purposely allowed it into their lives. That’s because to Him, testing is essential to the proving of one’s righteousness and obedience to the Word and Will of God; so essential, in fact, that He required the same kind of testing of His Son, Jesus Christ. For immediately following His baptism and just prior to the beginning of His public ministry…
…Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).
The Apostle James explains some of the principles of testing in this way…
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death (James 1:12-15).
While this sort of downward progression is something we see taking place in the testing of Adam and Eve, of more immediate interest to us is the cunning plan lurking behind Satan’s temptation, and the bearing it will have on God’s punishment of Man’s transgression.
The Cunning Behind the Con
InService: Interrupted…By Devilish Design, we learned of Satan’s goal to subvert the Kingdom of God and supplant it with his own. Since God’s Kingdom is a Spirit-Down one, ordered in the following way…
God first; The Man next; Then the Woman; and, Lastly the Animals…
…for Satan to achieve his goal, he would have to overturn God’sSpirit-Down order and replace it with a Flesh-Up one. By Flesh-Up, I mean that Man would be living life no longer under the direction of the Spirit of God, but according to the fleshly dictates imposed on him by his body and soul. In a Flesh-Up order, Man would be dead to the things of God, and the line of communication between him and his Maker would be severed. In this condition, he could not become a Child of God, and any Service he might have rendered as such to the Kingdom of God would be eliminated. This, of course, is exactly the type of situation that Satan was hoping to create when he approached Adam andEve in the Garden.
The Effects of the Fall
As for his method of achieving this end, instead of confronting Adam directly, the possessor of the Position Power and the direct Word of God, Satan made his sly and subtle appeal to Eve.
The devil is clever…he was after the man, because the man is the foundation, but he couldn’t get to the man because position-power can usually stand firm as long as its position is genuine. You can’t destroy position-power directly; you have to destroy it through influence.[3]
So, appearing in the form of a Serpent, he beguiled Eve into eating of the Forbidden Fruit and then, through the manipulation of her Influence Power, he succeeded in enticing her husband to join her in her Sin. As a result of this coup, Satan’s reversal of God’s order was complete, for…
A member of the Animal Kingdom had usurped the authority of the Woman;
The Woman had used her Powers of Persuasion to usurp the authority of the Man; and,
The Man had rejected the authority of God and His Word and abdicated his position of Headship in the process.
The Consequences of the Con
In Genesis 3: 14-19, we find the record of God’s judgment on this upheaval of His divine order, a judgment in which the punishment was meted out in the same order in which the crime was committed. Addressing the Serpent first, God said…
Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Next, He came to the Woman and said…
I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband [for your husband, in some translations], but he shall rule over you.
Then finally, to the Man, He had this to say…
Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Looking closely at these judgments, we can see that in each case, the punishment was appropriate for the crime—something to be expected, given that everything in God’s Creation was designed to reproduce “…after its own kind.” We know this to be true because God said so ten times in the Creation Story found in Genesis 1—a principle which was later affirmed by the Apostle Paul in this very familiar passage…
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life (Galatians 6: 7-8).
And… there is NO Way of Getting Around This
Here, then, is the way this Sowing and Reaping Principle played out in God’s Judgment on the perpetrators of this crime…
The Serpent—as an Animal
Because it had presumed to raise itself above its divinely ordained station in life, it would be brought down, cursedas the lowliest of creatures, to spend its days slithering on the ground.
Because it had tempted Eve to eat what she shouldn’t have, it would have to eat what it didn’t want to—which was dust.
Instead of being looked upon as the beautiful creature that it once was, it would forever after be regarded as a loathsome beast.
Instead of the friendly relationship it had shared with the Woman in the Garden, from then on, their relationship would be one of mutual hostility.
The Serpent—as the Devil
As the one who had exalted himself in rebellion against God, leading others to do the same, he was given notice that eventually he would be “…brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit (Isaiah 14:15).”
Here, he was presented with a “Declaration of War” by God—the notice of perpetual warfare between his kingdom and the Kingdom of God, between his offspring, the Wicked, and the offspring of the Woman, the Righteous.
And, because it was the Woman whom he had beguiled, here he was notified that it would be through her childbearing of the Righteous Seed of God that he would ultimately suffer defeat and meet his doom.
The Woman
The blessing of childbearing, which prior to the Fall, was to have been a joy, would now be accompanied by pain and sorrow.
Submission to her husband, which before the Fall, would never have been an issue or a hardship, would now be a daily struggle.
Her Influence Power, which before the Fall would have remained unchecked, would—until the coming of the promised Deliverer and Restorer—have to be regulated by means of external restraints. For, apart from the internal control provided by the Holy Spirit, the Woman would continue to use her Influence Power to manipulate and control the Man, while he would use his Position Power to try and dominate her in an effort to keep her “in her place.” For some examples of a Woman’s Influence Power gone horribly wrong, we need look no farther than the Old Testament…
— To Sarah who, through her Influence Power, convinced Abraham to have a child by her maid, Hagar, rather than wait for God to fulfill His promise;
— To Delilah who, through her Influence Power, succeeded in bringing down Israel’s most powerful judge, Samson; and,
— To Jezebel who, through her Influence Power, manipulated her weak-willed husband, Ahab, and corrupted Israel with her idolatry.
The Man
His habitation from then on would be among thorns and thistles, instead of the lush beauty he had experienced in the Garden.
His occupation would become a toil, instead of the pleasure that it had once been in the Garden.
His food would become difficult to obtain, instead of being readily available, as it had been in the Garden.
His life would be shortened, and he would be returned to the soil, instead of living forever in the Garden of God’s Fellowship.
At this point, it is important for us to note that God’s Punishment on the Sexes here was in no way a Curse. That’s because, back in Genesis 1: 28, God had already blessed the Man and Woman. And, from what we learn later in Numbers 23: 8,20, when the prophet Balaam was hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel, every time he tried, a blessing would come out instead of a curse. Balaam’s explanation at the time was this…
How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom God has not denounced? …he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
Since that which God has blessed cannot be cursed, the only things to be cursed here were the Serpent and the Soil. For the Serpent, there is no hope that his curse will ever be removed; but, for the Soil, there is such a hope, and it will be realized when God’s Promise to the Sexes has been fulfilled…
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now (Romans 8: 19-22).
God’s Promise to the Sexes.
The Promise that God made to the Sexes may be hard for us to spot at first, and that’s because it’s contained in the unlikeliest of places—it was not given to the Sexes directly but was first spoken of in the curse which God pronounced on the Serpent. His Promise was that one day, a Holy Offspring would be born to the Woman—the One by whom Satan would finally be crushed, and all that the Sexes had lost in the Fall would be restored. Of course, this Redeemer and Restorer was none other than Jesus Christ, who, through His obedience to the Father, not only secured our Salvation, but restored us to the Purposes of God. Matthew Henry describes the work of Christ on our behalf in the following way…
How admirably the satisfaction our Lord Jesus made by his death and sufferings answered to the sentence here passed upon our first parents.
— Did travailing pains come in with sin? We read of the travail of Christ’s soul (Isaiah 53:11).
— Did subjection come in with sin? Christ was made under the law (Galatians 4:4). — Did the curse come in with sin? Christ was made a curse for us, died a cursed death (Galatians 3:13). — Did thorns come in with sin? He was crowned with thorns for us. — Did sweat come in with sin? He for us did sweat as it were great drops of blood. — Did sorrow come in with sin? He was a man of sorrows, his soul was, in his agony, exceedingly sorrowful. — Did death come in with sin? He became obedient to death.[4]
Through His substitutionary death on the Cross—dying the death that should have been ours—Christ redeemed us from the power and the penalty of the Law, delivered us from bondage to sin and death, reconciled us to the Father, gifted us with eternal life, and empowered us with His Holy Spirit. With the Spirit now living within us, writing God’s Laws on our hearts, the restraints previously imposed on us by the Old Testament Law are no longer needed.
Now, empowered from within by the Spirit of Christ, the Man can love his wife as Christ loves the Church, regard her as his equal in the work of the Lord, and not have to resort to his Position Power to dominate her into submission. The Woman, empowered by the same Spirit, can respect her husband and submit to his leadership—for the sake of order—just as Christ has submitted to the leadership of the Father. She can keep her Influence Power in check herself, making sure that it is used to glorify God and not to manipulate others—because…
Under the redemptive work of Christ, the woman is not only restored to fellowship with God but is restored to the position of partner with her male counterpart. Therefore, she is no longer to be dominated or ruled by the male, because, if she were, it would mean that the redemptive work of Christ had not been successful.[5]
If the Spirit of God can raise Christ from the dead, He can certainly control a Woman’s Influence Power!
Scriptural Stumbling Blocks to a Woman’s Service
Now that we have established the fact that, in Christ,Male and Female are once again…
Equal in their standing before God;
Equal in their call to the work of God; and,
Equal in their blessing by God…
…why is it that Women are still being denied the freedom to exercise their God-given gifts of Leadership in His Service? I think that, in most cases, it can be traced back to a misunderstanding of the two most troublesome Scripture passages that relate to Women. Both of these were penned by Paul, with the first one being found in 1 Corinthians 14: 33-35…
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church…
…and the second one being found in 1 Timothy 2: 11-15…
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through [the] childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
Doesn’t the Church have more important issues to deal with than this?
The reason these passages have created so many problems is that they have, more often than not, been taken out of their immediate context; and instead of being interpreted in light of the cultural conditions of the day, they have been isolated from the rest of the passage and elevated to the stature of a doctrine which, in its meaning, flies in the face of not only Paul’s but Jesus’ attitudes toward women.
For example, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul was dealing with a number of problems creating disorder in their church—problems such as spiritual pride, the misunderstanding and misuse of spiritual gifts, marital issues, confusion concerning the resurrection, and even incest. Please note Paul’s emphasis on God not being a God of confusion, but of peace. This is a good indication that there was confusion in the church, and it was being caused by some unruly women.
So what did Paul mean when he told the women to keep silent? If he was indeed saying that women should not minister publicly, he was contradicting what he said earlier when he gave instructions for women’s dress code while prophesying! There must be an explanation. As we examine these verses, we will see that Paul was definitely not teaching against women ministering publicly. Rather, he was correcting the way in which women were ministering in the Corinthian church.[6]
In his letter to Timothy, however, Paul was addressing a different set of problems; ones created as a result of false teaching infiltrating the church at Ephesus—the church where Timothy was ministering. In all likelihood, this false teaching involved some “old wives’ tales” which were being passed down from the older women to the younger ones; tales promoting Eve, in her sin, as a benefactor to humanity, instead of as the transgressor that Paul later states she was. To counter this heresy, Paul first addressed the women of the church in general, instructing them on how Godly women should dress and behave. Then, he directed his attention to one woman in particular—the one most responsible for promoting the false doctrine—and commanded that she not be allowed to teach. Instead…
Paul…commanded this woman to learn but not to teach. Why? Because she had been teaching false doctrine. Therefore, Paul set aside the normal link between learning and teaching in her case. For a season, she was being disciplined, corrected. She couldn’t be allowed to continue spreading false doctrine. It was time for her to abstain from teaching altogether and dedicate herself to study alone.
Paul silenced this woman not because she was a woman but because she was teaching false doctrine to others.[7]*
Now, concerning the question of women being saved through motherhood…
The phrase “the childbearing” is unique. It isn’t found anywhere else in the New Testament…it’s a noun, dramatically preceded by the definite article (‘the childbearing’) to point to one particular childbearing…
‘The childbearing’ refers to the one mediator between God and persons, the person Christ Jesus, the promised seed of Eve, the Child born of a woman. The issue at stake here was salvation, not motherhood. Women aren’t saved by getting pregnant and having babies. They’re saved by the child who was born–Jesus! Throughout this passage, Paul was talking about how men and women are redeemed, not about how they procreate. The central truth of this entire passage is Jesus and God’s desire for all to be saved through the promised childbearing.[8]
As for Jesus’ attitude toward women, I think we can agree that He always treated them with respect. We have no record of Him ever rebuking a woman and telling her to be quiet or forbidding her to minister in some fashion. Following His encounter with the woman at the well, she left Him and immediately went back to her town and started preaching about Jesus—something which He did not criticize or attempt to discourage. It was to a group of women that He entrusted the good news of His resurrection, and it was to His Bride, the Church, that He entrusted the good news of His saving grace; charging her to use her Influence Power to convince the world of His Truth, and to…
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Matthew 28: 19-20).
Now, for those who may still have issues with Women in Leadership, I would like to offer this suggestion from Dr. Munroe…
…if you as a male have problems with a female preacher, I encourage you to close your eyes and listen to the spirit-man speaking. This approach has helped many men. Listen to what’s being said. If the female house is the problem, then ignore the house and listen to the resident, the spirit-man within, because God speaks through the spirit-man. It is the Spirit that gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6) [8]…
…and, to bring this session to a close with this thought from J. Lee Grady…
Jesus’ blood was shed for all women, and it is the only covering they will ever need. Blood-bought women don’t need a man to bring them closer to God. Blood-bought women don’t need a man to legitimize their ministries. Blood-bought women don’t need a man to ‘cover’ their spiritual endeavors or to replace the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
The blood of Christ is a woman’s true covering. For the church to require anything more is to renounce our faith.[9]
In the Spirit-Man there is No Male and Female
*Since space and time will not permit a further examination of the passages here, I would like to suggest these books as resources for those interested in a more in-depth study of the subject…
Understanding the Purpose and Power of Woman, by Dr. Myles Munroe; Why Not Women? by Loren Cunningham and David Joel Hamilton; I Suffer Not a Woman, by Richard Clark Kroeger and Catherine Clark Kroeger; 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, by J. Lee Grady; and, What Paul Really Said About Women, by John T. Bristow.
In keeping with the theme of this exercise, here is Shackles, by Mary Mary…
[1] Dr. Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Woman (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2001), 185-186.
Please be sure to check out the new article, Seven Lessons I’ve Learned through Testing,that has recently been added to the Room for Meditation at https://histruthmyvoice.org.
During our last time together, we began a discussion designed to lead us to a better understanding of the age-old problem of why, when we want to obey God in the spirit, do we so often failto follow through in the flesh? It’s the old flesh-versus-spirit battle; a battle that we will need to learn to win if we are ever going to become overcomers like Jesus.
We began our search by going back to the beginning of time and looking at the first manGod created,so we could see how he and we were originally designed to function. What we learned was that when God created man, He first fashioned a physical bodyfor him, then He breathed His Spirit into that body and when He did, the human soulcame into being. This set up the system of communication that God intended to use when He wanted to relate to the man whom He had created. Once again, here is the way it worked: God’s Spiritwas to speak to man’s spirit, man’s spirit would speak to his soul, and then man’s soul would speak to his body—each part relaying to man the will of God that He wanted to be carried out on the earth on His behalf.
In the ordering of things in this way, God not only established a “top-down” system of communication, but He also put into place a “top-down” structure of authority(this will prove to be important later on, so pay attention), one that looked something like this:
God was in charge, but He delegated the management of His affairs on earth to Man;
Man, as the steward/administrator/manager of God’s creation, was under God’s authority,and would be held accountable for everything that went on under his administration;
Later, when the woman was created as man’s helper and partner in the stewardship, she was to come under his authority; then,
Finally, the animal kingdom and the entire natural realm were to be subject to the authorityof both of God’s human agents.
Everything was bopping along like it was supposed to and everyone was happy—so why did it all have to change? Why couldn’t things just stay that way forever?
That’s a good question but before we can answer it, there is another question that must be answered first, and that is, why did God create man in the first place—just what was His intention for man? If all He wanted was more servants, He could have created a few more angels; but He didn’t do that, did He? No, because God’s purpose in creating man was to provide Himself with Sons, not more servants. As we learn in Ephesians 1: 3-14 (ESV):
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making know to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Family Has Always Been God’s Goal
From this passage, we learn that even before the foundation of the world, God had a plan in place that would provide Him with the “Sons,” or the family that He desired;a family upon whom He could lavish His love. In pursuit of that family, God predestined—that is, He predesigned man (every man and woman) in such a way that he/she could:
Be legally adopted as His spiritual child;
Be conformed to the likeness of His Son; and,
Inherit all the riches of His glory.
Wow—is this mind-boggling, or what? Almighty God designed and created him, and us, with every endowment we would need to become His children—every endowment with the exception of one: righteousness.
This brings us back to the question of why things couldn’t stay the way they were. You see, although man was created with the capacity for holiness, he was not created holy. At the time of his creation, he was living in a state of innocence, not in a state of righteousness or holiness. In order for him to be found righteous by God and holy and blameless before him, he would first have to be tested to see if he would remain a faithful steward of God’s Word, maintaining his innocencethroughout the test.
So, in Genesis 2: 16-17, we find a testing situation being set up when…
…the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’
God gave the man His Word(that is, He made known to him His will) concerning one of the trees that the man was responsible for tending, thus making the man the steward of that Wordand responsible for its implementation. Therefore, when tested, if man kept God’s Word, he would be found holy and blameless, declared righteous by God and be made a Son–then he could eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in the presence of God. However, if he failed to keep God’s Word, his disobedience or sin would cut him off from the God who longed to make him His son, resulting in the immediate death of his spirit and the eventual death of his body.
Oh, the drama! There is certainly a lot on the table here—life or death, heaven or hell, living as a Son of God or as a slave to sin and Satan–not only for the first man and woman, but for every one of the generations to come! With so much at stake, how is it that they were so easily seduced into giving it all up?
With nothing further to add, this Episode comes to a halt, indicating that it is time for us to pull out our Critic’s Caps and begin our Review of it. As always, we will be approaching this Episode from three levels…
