(Key verses: Gen 16:1-16)

Our natural mind is made to be ruled by spiritual darkness by God’s design and purpose, and we are naturally destitute of the wisdom of God (Psa 69:5; Joh 1:5; 1Co 1:20; Jer 17:9). God created the darkness first in us before He brings the Light (Gen 1:2-4; Isa 45:7; Jer 18:4; Rom 8:20; 2Pe 1:19). In this darkened state of mind we joyfully follow our own foolish counsel, also referred to as the “wisdom of this world” (Pro 12:23; 1Co 1:20; 1Co 2:6; 1Co 3:19):

Pro 15:21 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly. .

Pro 19:3 The foolishness of man [Hebrew: “âdâm”] perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.

Pro 28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

In this discussion on the foundational theme of faith, we will find that folly is indeed a subtle counterfeit of faith which few can see before they experience its devastating effects in their own lives. We all, like Job, witnesses this in others first before we see it in ourselves:

Job 24:12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
Job 24:13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

When folly also masquerades as faith it takes on a deeper deception. Foolishness has the appearance of light when it ministers to us its own righteousness and wisdom:

2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

All things God reveals about the kingdom of heaven in us have a dark (a negative application) and a light side (a positive application), for those who can receive this. So also is the spiritual meaning of the number five in scripture. Through the scriptures, we learn that the number five is spiritually linked to God’s grace which comes through faith (Exo 25-27; Lev 1-5; Eph 2:8-9). Foolishness also has a counterfeit application through the number five:

Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Foolishness relates to our natural disregard to heed God’s word (His spiritual oil) when following the advice of our natural mind. Our old man Adam is the fool in us as he is naturally “full of words” which in the end will swallow and judge him (Luk 19:22):

Ecc 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
Ecc 10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
Ecc 10:14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
Ecc 10:15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.

This is also what we learn through the life of Abram (later called Abraham) – one of the main characters in the Old Testament whom God used to bring to us a picture of what the faith of Christ in us also has to endure. We will never receive the righteousness of Christ by following our own foolish ideas of flesh:

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

In this discussion we will focus on how the folly of our own understanding obscures the path of the faith of Christ in us for which we will pay painful lessons which God causes to achieve humility in us. Abram, his wife Sarai and his offspring help us to see how foolishness plays itself out through bitter and regrettable decisions we all make. The first time we meet Sarai in the scriptures, we see her as a woman who is unable to bring forth children:

“Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children”

Gen 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Bareness is indeed a reflection of our first spiritual condition from the hand of the Potter as we all bear the terrestrial body of flesh with its dark carnal mind (Psa 51:5; 1Co 15:40). The second time we read about Sarai’s barrenness another interesting lady is mentioned in the same breath:

Gen 16:1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Hagar was part of “all that he had” when Abram went out of Egypt after he went there to get away from the grievous famine in Canaan:

Gen 12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Gen 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

Gen 13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

Longsuffering and patience are parts of the fruit of the spirit of God and are therefore not part of the natural mind as created by God in the beginning (Gal 5:22-23). The natural mind is lawless and cannot please or obey God, which Adam and Eve also proved by their disobedience in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-24; Rom 8:6-8; 1Ti 1:9). The carnal mind wants everything instantly or in the shortest time period and will actually come up with ingenious ways and means to get what it wants. One of the biggest deceptive schemes of the carnal mind is to convince us that we are actually walking in faith, when it is actually following its own twisted concept of faith – when we believe in our faith and not in God:

Gen 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen 16:3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

After ten years in Canaan, the flesh of Abram and Sarai revealed its inherent impatience. This is a sure sign of folly in our lives. The number ten spiritually indicates completeness of flesh as we also think we can please God through our fleshly ideas of the operation of faith. Like faith, folly will also make sacrifices, and this case Abram and Sarai sacrificed their marriage to accomplish God’s will for them to have children – or so they thought and were sincerely convinced about. By God’s design, it is our carnal striving and impatience which sets us up for our biggest battles which will teach us so much of how we need to wait on the Lord. Here again we see a pattern which was started in the garden of Eden when Adam listened to the words of Eve instead of the Word of God. Godly faith comes via the Word of God exclusively (Rom 10:17):

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Sorrow and cursing are what we reap when we follow our flesh – our deceived wife and not the Head, Jesus Christ and His Word (Hos 1:2; Pro 7:10; 1Co 11:3; 1Ti 2:14; Rev 17:1-6). This is what Abram will also learn since this action of theirs brought forth an offspring which will be a thorn in the flesh until this day. How deceitful is the heart of natural man when it brings a beautiful solution but hide the enormous price attached to it (Jer 17:9). The folly of the flesh is actually seen as a work of faith when we do not as yet have the patience to wait for God’s perfect time (Ecc 3:1; Luk 21:19):

Pro 8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
Pro 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me [this is Godly wisdom talking], watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
Pro 8:35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
Pro 8:36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Isa 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Our natural folly “would not” listen to wise counsel because it cannot – it is an obstinate and stubborn beast (Isa 48:4; Hos 8:9; Psa 32:9; 2Co 2:14). Living according to our physical understanding is what God ordained in order that we should not see His purposes and plan until His appointed time:

Ecc 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Our folly is witnessed in our words and actions – through the fruit we bear, God reveals to us what tree we are living of (Gen 2:9; Mat 7:16). Abram and Sarai are learning the folly of laying hands on someone in haste (Heb 6:1-2; 1Ti 5:22):

Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Hagar’s heart could not resist the despising of her mistress. She found favour from God above her mistress. Our natural offspring will always be there long before the spiritual fruit can be brought forth, and very few can resist the temptation to show off their physical blessings in this age. Our own sins will reveal to us our folly, and this is what Sarai also found out (Jer 2:19). Sarai did what all natural minds do when caught – it shifts the blame ‘out there’, even as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:12-13). In Sarai’s eyes Abram was the main culprit. Like Adam, Abram also brought in the “hand of man” to solve the problem (Gen 9:5; 1Ch 21:13):

Gen 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
Gen 16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

King David said these words which reflect the mercilessness of the natural hand and heart in all of us, which Sarai also showed to Hagar. This is yet another sign of folly in our lives – harshness – when we forget that we have received mercy (Rom 11:29-32):

2Sa 24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

This is what also happened to Hagar – she mercifully fell into the hand of the Lord:

“the angel of the LORD”

Gen 16:7 And the angel [Hebrew: “malak” = messenger] of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

The phrase “the angel of the LORD” appears 59 times in the KJV, and this is the first time this phrase is used in the scriptures. Here in Genesis 16 the identity of this angel is also revealed through Hagar’s words:

Gen 16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

It was the Lord Jesus Himself who spoke to Hagar. Jesus is indeed “the angel of the LORD” as He is the angel of God to whom the Father said these words:

Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Jesus said that these words of David refer to Him as the Christ and the Son of David, as “the angel” at the right hand of God, the Father which the Pharisees could not see:

Mat 22:41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
Mat 22:42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
Mat 22:43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
Mat 22:44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?

The angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar in the desert and posed some of the most important questions humanity is struggling with:

“….where did you come from? and where will you go?”

Gen 16:8 And He said, Hagar, Sarai’s slave, where did you come from? and where will you go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

Our human answers are limited to what we can perceive in our earthly lives from physical birth up until this point in time. Hagar answered according to her limited understanding of things. Through this interaction we also learn how to submit to God as He is the One who wrote all our days in His book (including all our thoughts and actions), and everything in our lives is 100% according to His plan (Psa 139:16). Flesh and blood has no truth of its true origin without the Word of God, neither does it have any idea of the destination or the purpose to its existence. So God answers us according to our level of faith and understanding at each point of our journey (Psa 18:25-26):

Gen 16:9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
Gen 16:10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

The promise of the angel of the Lord also relates to these words of God to Abram:

Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

A split in the offspring of Abram is first introduced here, as Hagar will bring forth a multitude from the seed of Abram. This multitude must be seen in terms of the multitude (or the “many”) that will be the enemy of the few in this age. It refers to those who cannot hear the spiritual words of God (Luk 22:47; Luk 23:1; Act 16:22; Act 21:36):

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Hagar and her offspring in us are very much part of God’s plan. During our whole lifetime in the flesh, the same “multitude” will always be there to be a servant to God to humble us and force us to always look to God and not depend on our own ideas and solutions. Hagar and her offspring are those who can see only as far as the Lord can supply their physical needs:

Gen 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
Gen 16:12 And he will be a wild man [Hebrew: “pereh”]; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Gen 16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
Gen 16:14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi [“well of the Living One seeing me”]; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

The “wild man” is also referred to as a wild ass (the same Hebrew word is used: “pereh”) whom God has set free in the wilderness, and there He also provides for the “wild asses” (Job 39:5-6)

Job 24:5 Behold, as wild asses [Hebrew: “pereh”] in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

Jer 2:24 A wild ass [Hebrew: “pereh”] used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

The flesh also has a well of water which God supplies for our temporary needs, even as we “eat…every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink…every one the waters of his own cistern” (2Ki 18:31; Pro 5:15). The well where the angel of the Lord spoke to Hagar was between Kadesh and Bered. Bered means “hail” and hail is a symbol of God’s judgment on all the lies and folly in our hearts (Isa 28:15-17). However, this judgment is only reserved for the true sons of God, the house of God, which Abram’s offspring through Isaac spiritually represented (Gal 3:29):

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Kadesh (meaning “holy”) links with the name “Kadesh-barnea” which is significant in physical Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness (Deu 9:23-24; Num 13:26; Num 32:8; Num 20:1-16; Num 27:14; Num 33:1-49). Miriam died here, and it is also the place where the impatience and folly of Moses was displayed to the whole nation when he hit the rock twice instead of speaking to it, which action prevented him from entering the promised land (Num 20:1-12; Psa 106:32). Kadesh is also where the report of Joshua and Caleb was different from that of the other ten spies about the land which they were to enter (Num 13:1-33; Num 32:8). It was at Kadesh where the separation came between those whom God ordained to enter the land and those who died in the wilderness because of unbelief and foolish rebelling against God (Num 13-14). This split is very significant in terms of Sarai and Hagar and our own distinction between what is of faith and what is of folly in our own walk (Psa 29:8):

Gal 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Abram’s firstborn is the type of our own “wild man” who thinks he has a free will. Our flesh with its carnal mind is also representing “the abomination of desolation” who sits in the temple of God thinking he is God (Mat 24:15; 2Th 2:3-4). That is the man of sin who lives in the wilderness in a house which is built on sand and will indeed fall during the judgment of God (Mat 7:26-27; 2Th 2:7-8):

Gen 16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
Gen 16:16 And Abram was fourscore and six [eighty six] years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

To obey God has nothing to do with our clever and intelligent ideas, but everything to do with keeping His commandments according to our level of faith in God’s provisions and timing at all times. God willing, we will receive the faith to see that it is our own pride and lusts which are the driving forces when we want to show God and others our commitment to fulfill His plan long before it is ordained to take place (Isa 40:30-31). Before that happens we will follow the devastating route of folly, and we will indeed reap what we sow (Gal 6:7-9):

Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

————-

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Numbers in Scripture
Job 24:1-13 “Yet God Layeth Not Folly To Them”
Ecclesiastes 10:11-20 “The Labour of The Foolish Wearieth Every One of Them”
Is Christ an Angel of God?
Revelation 7:9-17
Why Are the Multitudes Not Given to Understand?
Christ is Preached Even in Babylon

Key verses: Gen 11:26-28

[Study Posted July 18, 2014]

We all descended from Adam through the three sons of Noah whose offspring were distributed and separated by God according to diverse languages after the global flood (Gen 9:1; Gen 10:5; Gen 11:1-9). The first eleven chapters of Genesis prepare us for the focus of the rest of Scriptures. From chapter 12 of Genesis, and for the next fourteen chapters, the Bible brings one man and his generation into our focus, namely Abraham and his family. Through Shem, one son of Noah, Abraham is the person whom God will use to introduce the vital aspect of faith in our spiritual life which will be the theme of our discussions for the next few weeks, God willing:

1Ch 1:24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,
1Ch 1:25 Eber, Peleg, Reu,
1Ch 1:26 Serug, Nahor, Terah,
1Ch 1:27 Abram; the same is Abraham.

Abraham’s father, Terah, had three sons of which one, Haran, died even before His father died. Haran’s death opened the door for Lot, one of Haran’s three children, to be associated with Abraham. Lot also played an important role with regards to this aspect of how faith in Abraham’s life developed, for our learning:

Gen 11:26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Gen 11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
Gen 11:28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

Abraham and his other brother, Nahor, then took wives, and they all lived in Ur of the Chaldees, which was in the region of Shinar (later known as Babylonia) from where God also dispersed all nations according to diverse languages from the city of Babel (Gen 11:1-9). Marrying your blood relative was not at that stage prohibited:

Gen 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

Gen 20:12 And yet indeed she [Sarai, later Sarah] is my [Abraham’s] sister; she is the daughter of my father [Terah], but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

Interesting to note at this stage is the fact that through Nahor and Milcah the generational line for the birth of Leah was established, who would later marry Abraham’s grandson, Jacob (Gen 24:45-47). Our attention is first focused on Abraham who was used by God to typify what “the faith of Christ” is all about, and this foundational theme helps us see how we can please God and be accepted by Him, and even more so when that gift of faith is taken through a fiery process in us (Php 3:9; Heb 11:6; Eph 2:8-9).

Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

The faith of Abraham is also the type of what the righteousness in Christ is all about, and in the life of Abraham this long process of spiritual sanctification and justification is introduced and further developed later through the life of His son Isaac and his offspring:

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

No one in the first Adam has the faith of Christ by nature – it only comes in a prepared heart with the acceptance and receiving of the preaching of the Word of God only:

2Th 3:2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

It is very significant that this type of faith, and the path and growth of that faith through Abraham’s life, was revealed in a much deeper way after the global flood. It points out that the gift of the faith of Christ is intimately linked with fiery trials and much tribulations. Faith needs trials and the fiery judgment of God to make it grow stronger to full maturity to produce fruits of righteousness to the praise and glory of God (Jer 5:14; 1Co 3:13-15; Heb 11:6):

Php 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Php 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Through the life and pilgrimage of Abraham we can learn so much of our own journey and growth in terms of the faith of Jesus in us:

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Faith is indeed one of the “the principles of the doctrine of Christ” or what is also labeled the ‘milk doctrines’, which we are told to leave if God permits. That is causing confusion in some if one must have faith to please God all the time, and yet also leave it (Heb 11:6):

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving [this verb is in the Greek aorist tense meaning a progressive process is to be understood – not in the sense of abandoning/leaving behind the principles, but moving onward] the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

To understand the concept of the “leaving” of the principles of Christ, we also need to see how we ourselves, and the church of God in general, are typified in Scripture. Two of the metaphors used in Scripture in that regard are that of a garden and a building, and these types will also help us to understand the concept of “leaving” of the principles of Christ:

1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1Co 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
1Co 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

These two concepts used here, a plant and a building, have a few things in common, and one of these relates to the roots of the plant or the foundation of the building, which is invisible yet it supplies the important substructure on which the whole superstructure grows and develops. As a plant cannot grow strong (toward the light) without proper grounding, even so a building cannot stand without a solid foundation. There is a false doctrine that claims that we should totally let go of and even despise the ‘milk doctrines’ of Christ which allows for a false appearance of maturity in Christ, and even the unwise “comparing themselves among themselves” in the church through the years (2Co 10:12). This is why this following admonition is so important to see because we are naturally haughty and think we have arrived at the destination long before we really do, as the life and journeys of Abraham also reveals (1Co 10:13):

Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Both these opposing views have one thing in common – immaturity in one sense or another. Everything we have is received from God (a gift), and despising or judging before the time (or before the beam is removed from our own eye) have both a false sense of maturity and of fleshly perfection (Mat 7:1-5; 1Co 4:5-7). As Noah and His offspring were given meat to be added to the initial “green herb” diet after the flood, so both are still applicable as we grow and mature in different areas of our own life at different stages “until the harvest” (Gen 1:29; Gen 9:3; Mat 13:30). This harvest or judgment is also subjected to a multifaceted and progressive process (Exo 23:30; 1Co 15:31):

Isa 28:27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
Isa 28:28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

Faith, as one of the foundational or roots of the doctrine of Christ, gives us a wonderful picture of how each of these so-called “milk doctrines” (and those who are still limited to those doctrines) should be handled throughout a Christian’s growth process (Exo 23:19; Rom 14:1-13; 1Co 4:5; 1Co 5:12). Although a baby’s initial diet is exclusively based on milk intake, milk can still be consumed for the rest of earthly life to guarantee, among other benefits, strong bone structure and even good healthy teeth to chew the solids and the meat (Num 13:27; Deu 6:3). Faith “abides” always and is essential in the whole process, especially to those who will be “faithful” to endure every day and to eventually also be there at the end of the process (1Co 13:12-13):

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

The first thing we get to know about Abraham and his walk of faith in us, is something interesting about his wife which links to this initial stage in Christ in our lives:

Gen 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Sarai could not conceive children initially and had to wait until after she was ninety years old before that could happen (Gen 17:15-21). Ninety has the number nine multiplied with the number ten, emphasizing again that spiritual fruit comes through the judgement (9) on the flesh (10). The proper noun “Sarai” is the feminine version of a ruler or a person who has dominion. As with Sarai’s initial barrenness, sterile faith cannot produce or take hold on God’s spiritual promises. In our delusion when we think we are mature in faith, those carnal convictions will be the instrument God uses to get us into a position where we will take wrong advice. Like with Eve in the garden of Eden, the spiritually immature flesh will always take the lead to draw the weak husband to follow the wife’s leadership and doubtful disputations – all as God ordained it for our personal learning (Gen 3:1-6; Rom 14:1). Although we naturally follow the wrong leadership of flesh, we are admonished to learn from those mistakes and then turn from around and convert from those wrong models to be diligent in doing what is right – “wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2Pe 3:13-14):

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The carnal faith of Sarai and her “doubtful disputations” convinced Abraham to obtain a fleshly offspring and then, God willing, to be despised and be dragged to the desired haven in the faith of Christ (Psa 107:23-32):

Gen 16:1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Gen 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen 16:3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Gen 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

By Godly design and plan, the faith of the flesh will indeed produce miracles in the physical realm, and that is one of the most powerful delusions from which few escape in this age. To receive something from God in the physical realm is always of a temporary nature and will be taken from us only through severe trials which few can receive now (1Pe 4:12-19). Ishmael, the first born of Abraham, represents our firstborn and our attachments to our earthly faith in its fleshly solutions:

Gen 16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
Gen 16:16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Sarai is the symbol of our time in the beliefs of the false church in us with all its delusions and counterfeits of the real faith of Jesus. This time of barrenness in the lives of God’s elect relates to our time when the Lord’s wife, the church in us, is unfruitful and clinging to its own fleshly answers and beliefs. We are overwhelmed by our own convictions according to “the wisdom of men” – a kind of natural or carnal orientation of faith when we also know Christ “after the flesh” (Joh 8:15; Joh 20:25; 1Co 2:5; 1Co 3:1-3; 2Co 5:16; 2Co 11:17-18). Natural or carnal faith in God (or what is perceived to be God) is also what is given to all evil spirits (Mat 8:29; Luk 4:34; Act 16:17; Act 19:15):

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Many people talk about “their” faith, and that can be an indicator of carnal-orientated faith which cannot produce spiritual fruit but can indeed perform natural wonders and physical miracles through which the whole world is deceived by God. This is also for what the religious beast on the earth is well known:

Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

It is only at a later stage that Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah which coincides with the name change of her husband Abram who became Abraham. This is when Sara obeyed Abraham and the Godly order is established in us, and even the deadness of a womb is no obstacle to the faith of Christ in us (Gen 17:15-16; 1Pe 3:1; Rom 9:9).

1Pe 3:6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

Rom 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb.

The new name, Sara, means “noblewoman” and princess of the true doctrine of Christ in us. This name change connects with the covenant cutting between Abraham and God which also relates to the new covenant and the faith of Christ in which all nations of the whole earth will be blessed:

Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

It is only after the name change and after the failure of bringing forth the true seed, that the following words can be said of the faith of Sara when she was “past age” (at the proper time of her maturity in that respect):

Heb 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age [Greek: “kairos” = proper time + “hēlikia”= maturity], because she judged him faithful who had promised.

This “past age” also indicates the end of the carnal age of our old man and how that reflects on all the Old Testament proponents of faith who all “died in faith” (1Co 10:11):

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Carnal-orientated faith is dead faith because it comes from the spiritually dead natural mind:

Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Carnal faith causes a strong conviction in many to be brazen and actually believe they can present that faith to God to obtain spiritual salvation to enter the spiritual kingdom of God!

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

———-

Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-faith-of-christ/
http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-three-barren-wives-of-the-patriarchs/
http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/refuge-of-lies-and-mingling-of-faith/
http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/does-everyone-have-faith/
http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/studies/numbers-in-scripture/

Audio Links

Video Links

In the last study, we have seen that the “Awesome Hands” of the Lord, as shown to us in the story of the flood, are there to rescue us from our history and the “world” that has been corrupted.

Once we are given salvation via the ark, the way out that the Lord has provided for us, we are then going to be nourished by and also devoured by the beasts that the Lord preserved with us while we were in the ark.

Praise the Lord that He has given us a dove to guide us, to bring into the ark so that we know what to do next. It is a process, but it is a sweet smelling savor to the Lord as He works out of us the things that the blood on our hands are required to happen.

God has made a covenant with us that says He will finish the work in us that He has founded in the Christ, since the foundation of the world.

In part 5, we will continue to look at the next scriptures dealing with God’s awesome hands working in our Way, Truth and Life with Jesus the Christ.

Lord willing, we see what the Lord has prepared for us at His altar as we see what we can learn from Abram and Lot’s departures from one another in Gen 13:9.

Abram’s livestock

Up until now, we have studied various examples of God’s “awesome hands” working in our lives. We started at the beginning with the first Adam and his wife Eve, and then we went out from the garden of Eden to later find ourselves in the story of Noah and the arc.

Now, we find ourselves in our next verse dealing with “hands” as they are mentioned in the OT, and we find ourselves in a very peculiar situation.

In Gen 13:9 we see:

Gen 13:9 –  Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

In order to set the tone for the study and the area where this verse is found, I want to take a few minutes and read the story as it leads in verse 13:9.

Gen 12:17 –  But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
Gen 12:18 –  So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
Gen 12:19 –  Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.”
Gen 12:20 –  And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

Right away, this should sound very similar to a story that happens to Israel as they are slaves in Egypt and we’ll study this story out to see if there are any similarities.

Earlier in this story, God tells Abram to leave Egypt and “go to the land that I will show you”.

Gen 12:1 –  Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Gen 12:2 –  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Gen 12:3 –  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God tells Abram to go to a land that He will show Abram by going away from his country, his kindred and his father’s house, but how do we initially see Abram live out what the Lord had said?

Gen 12:4 –  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Gen 12:5 –  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Gen 12:6 –  And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
Gen 12:7 –  And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

Did anyone notice that God told Abram to go out from his country, kindred and father’s house? Well, Abram did but he took a little something- something along too …. his brother’s son.

This sounds very similar too what God tells Moses he must do, but Moses seems to always want to add a little something- something to God’s plan and commandments.

Of course, we all know it is completely the Lord’s will that is working it out that these men do this, but that is no different than Pharaoh being setup to have a hardened heart.

Still, we are going to live it out as the Lord has planned and we must see that our will, our “self “ is nothing if we are dead to our own works, dead to our own fleshly desires and rising daily in a newness of hope and faith in Him.

Now, what do Abram’s plans yield him as he travels into the land of Canaan? It is in this part of our walk that even though we think we are doing as the Lord commands, and we are according to His strong delusion, that we go away from the north [ judgment] and towards the south, the wilderness, the place where God will be with us in longsuffering because WE HAVE NO FAITH.

Gen 12:8 –  And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
Gen 12:9 –  And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

So, why do I say this is when we have no faith? Well, we know from scripture that Abraham is the father of the faithful, but here we don’t see him acting faithful. In fact, he is so fearful of what is about to happen to him that he gets Sarai to lie about being his wife which in turn has God spook the Pharoah to “let my people go”.

Gen 12:10 –  And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
Gen 12:11 –  And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
Gen 12:12 –  Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Gen 12:13 –  Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

What does this all have to do with the hands of God and this study? Doesn’t it seem like Abram is being setup along with Sarai? Well, they are.

Isn’t that how we feel when we cry out and try everything we can do rid ourselves from “His wrath” though we don’t know that is truly what is happening until we can look back to it?

However, while we are going through it like Abram and Sarai are in this story we too try to continually take things into our own hands and help God along.

Gen 12:14 –  And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
Gen 12:15 –  The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
Gen 12:16 –  And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
Gen 12:17 –  And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
Gen 12:18 –  And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
Gen 12:19 –  Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
Gen 12:20 –  And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Our Lord is so patient and long suffering with us while we are in this wilderness. As soon as we “take actions into our own hands” due to lack of faith in the Lord, he blesses us still by having mercy on us and blessing us while we yet harm ourselves.

In Abrams case, the Lord has pharaoh bless Abram with all sorts of livestock and workers just in time to then send plagues on the pharaoh and his house. So, we are sent away out of Egypt and back into the wilderness and we take with us a RENEWED mind that we have done well because it went well with “our plan”. Lo, unto us the fools!

Remember, we are still heading south and away from judgment so that Lord tells us to remember His commandments, remember his judgments because they are a huge part of the promise as well.

Deu 8:11 –  Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
Deu 8:12 –  Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
Deu 8:13 –  And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
Deu 8:14 –  Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Deu 8:15 –  Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
Deu 8:16 –  Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
Deu 8:17 –  And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
Deu 8:18 –  But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

God made a covenant a long time ago with our father and it didn’t start with Abraham. It started from the foundation of the world which is what we have being talking about and building upon since we started this series.

We are Christ’s inheritance, so God has promised His Son a wonderful bride fit for Him. God the Father will continue establishing this covenant by proving and humbling us so that our latter end will be good.

Divide with Lot

Until this point we have been building up to the verse that this study is focused on, Gen 13:9. Now, we are getting close to what God is going to do about our disobedience.

He obviously has led us into this land, has given us the heart that doesn’t have faith yet but we still must continue to go through the motions of whatever He has planned for us and in this story of Abram and Sarai, we come now to being divided by Lot.

Our brother’s son, whom we were told to “go from your kindred” now must be given his portion too, because we always want to hold on to something that we have been delivered from initially.

Ultimately though, we must be separated from our “brethren”.

It is God who endures us with long suffering because the verses leading up to this whole story are about Noah and the nations created from those on the arc and them being of one language.

God then sees that we are going to be “of one language” and confounds the one language of the earth into multiple languages thus we eventually end up in this story today. Just as God confounded us and split us up in Babel, we too must have this happen again.

Continuing with verse 13:1 we see:

Gen 13:1 –  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
Gen 13:2 –  And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
Gen 13:3 –  And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
Gen 13:4 –  Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

Abram is simply being extremely blessed as the Lord continues to build the house of Abram and of Lot. Then, we see Abram make a full circle back around to the place He had been before.

Gen 13:5 –  And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
Gen 13:6 –  And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
Gen 13:7 –  And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
Gen 13:8 –  And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
Gen 13:9 –  Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

There is so much growth for Abram during this time where Abram is doing exactly as God has planned…. being blessed immensely, that when he comes back around to where he started there is no longer room for both what Abram has accumulated while do as the Lord has commanded and also what has been built up from His BROTHERS HOUSE.

The wheat and the chaff truly must grow up together until the harvest when then the wheat can be separated without harm coming to the wheat AND ITS SEED.

What are we going to do we cry out, just as Abram says…. let’s get along…. we can have the best of both worlds. Let not my olds ways conflict with the new ways shown to me of the Lord…. surely, we can dwell together in peace, right?

We have SO LITTLE FAITH. We think we can do something, so we again go to Lot and try to work this thing out. What is actually about to happen is that we are going to let “our brethren”, our old man, call the shots.

Guess what, it’s going to backfire for us but according to the Lord’s plan and we are about to read how.

Gen 13:10 –  And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Gen 13:11 –  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

See, our brother has always belonged in the east…. just where the Sun rises. Our brother has his purpose, but ours is to head west not east. Before that though, we will continue to stay separated and dwell where we are which is still west of Lot.

Gen 13:12 –  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
Gen 13:13 –  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

So, we thought we would be slick and let our brother choose the way from which we would go, eh? Well, now we get to find out about the wrath of the Lord in full glory.

We are going to need to go down and see that our brethren are more inclined to look towards Sodom than they are towards the plain, and I mean that figuratively and literally in Lot’s case.

Before we do this though, we must receive yet another blessing of the Lord and this one is HUGE. We get control of everything we can see to the north, south, east and west.

Gen 13:14 –  And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
Gen 13:15 –  For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Gen 13:16 –  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Gen 13:17 –  Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Gen 13:18 –  Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Sodom and Gomorrah go to war

At this point, we are about to see a war happen, and it is going to be a big one. It is going to be such a big one that our brother Lot will be caught up in it and we will need to rescue him.

I’ll start in verse 14, but before that just know that this war is between 4 and 5 kings.

Gen 14:8 –  And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
Gen 14:9 –  With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

Here is how the story goes:

Gen 14:10 –  And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
Gen 14:11 –  And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
Gen 14:12 –  And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Gen 14:13 –  And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
Gen 14:14 –  And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Gen 14:15 –  And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Gen 14:16 –  And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Abram, though all the things he has yet to be faithful in has been used to bring salvation to his brothers son, whom Abram calls his brethren, because of all the things God has done up to this point.

However, we are about to have a live changing event happen to us. We are about to see a High Priest of God and this event will forever direct the children of Israel in the OT and the future children of the promise of God.

On the scene comes Melchizedek, bringing BREAD and WINE. He brings grain and drink, not a sacrifice but something of the field, the earth…the church of God to us. Let’s see how the story plays itself out.

Gen 14:17 –  And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
Gen 14:18 –  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19 –  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:20 –  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Gen 14:21 –  And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Gen 14:22 –  And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
Gen 14:23 –  That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Gen 14:24 –  Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Melchizedek lets us know that what we have had happened to us was done because the Lord has given our enemies into our hands. In return, we “lift up our hands”. We now have the mindset that we will not take anything for this salvation ability that the Lord has blessed us with. We can save our brethren!

Belief starts in the wilderness

Why is this story so important? In Hebrews, we see a very nice picture painted for us of what the Lord brings us through in order to have just a few actually believe in the end. It is in the wilderness that some of use are “Jacob and Caleb” and believe we can go conquer the giants in the land we have been promised.

It is in the wilderness that we see this play out and Faith is a huge miracle in and of itself.

Melchizedek comes to Abram BEFORE the law of Moses was ever in existence, so just like the cloud the leads Israel through the wilderness which we are told was Christ, we too can see here that God has always had His Kings and High Priests who come to bring the gospel of the Lord.

In all this, it is faith that we are finally given and Abram is going to become Abraham the father of the faithful lateàwhich is also Christ we know via scripture. So how do we all relate to this in our lives and God’s hands in them?

Heb 6:10 –  For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Heb 6:11 –  And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
Heb 6:12 –  That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Heb 6:13 –  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Heb 6:14 –  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
Heb 6:15 –  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Heb 6:16 –  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Heb 6:17 –  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Heb 6:18 –  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Heb 6:19 –  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 –  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Did Abram really patiently endure when he and Sarai got the show on the road and conceived Ishmael? Well, they hadn’t been given faith yet. So like them, we diligently work out our salvation through faith and patience as that is INHERITING the PROMISE.

We are just like Melchizedek in that we are spiritually born into a faith that is just s miraculous as a virgin birth. We are suddenly born by a spiritual Father.

As such, we are babies first who are sons who inherit the kingship and priesthood later via enduring the fiery trails of life as we are trained to know it is all of the Lord.

Conclusion of Awesome Hands Part 5

As we conclude part 5 of the awesome hands of God study, we have learned that though the Lord comes to us and we call on His name in the wilderness, it is during this time that we really don’t have much faith to begin with.

We always want to get the show on the road and do something for God once we know He is working in our lives. However, because we want to do it in our way and our time, we will reap what we sow.

Through all of this, it is the Lord who directs our steps to bring good from it because while we are yet not in the fullness of faith, the Lord can and will use us to save our brethren. We are called behind in no gift, but we have yet to move on to have our seed come to fruition.

As we have seen with Abram, we are to go to war and battle those who are our enemies. They will be delivered into our hands but unlike a tenth that was instituted as type and shadow; the promise will be given to those who are completely the Lords …. and that is when we take on His new name… being renamed in Abraham and Sara.

In our next study, we will see how we continue to move towards getting things done quickly in our lives but ultimately the Lord will bring about His will so that His covenant will stand will Christ, His bride starting in Gen 16:6.

We all are God’s and He will mold us all into being all in all.

Psa 139:14 –  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.