Led by the Hand of God

[Studies Aired December 2, 2025]

Introduction

Throughout Scripture, we encounter a truth that challenges modern notions of independence: mankind is entirely God’s creation, designed to be completely subject to His desires and purposes. Yet this complete subjection is not that of lifeless puppets mechanically moved by external strings, but rather of beloved children being led by the tender hand of a loving Father. We are His workmanship, fashioned by His hand from beginning to end, every step ordered by His sovereign will.

The Apostle Paul declares this foundational reality: “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). This declaration establishes that everything—from cosmic movements to personal choices—operates under God’s sovereign direction. As Daniel proclaimed, “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35).

Understanding this complete sovereignty transforms how we view our relationship with God. We are not autonomous beings who occasionally receive assistance, but rather children held by the hand of our heavenly Father. The psalmist captured this intimate guidance: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way” (Psalm 37:23). Every footfall, every decision, every moment unfolds under His watchful care.

Created Subject to God’s Purpose

The Foundation of Creation

From the very beginning, Scripture reveals that mankind was created with a specific design and purpose. The prophet Isaiah records God’s own testimony: “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8). This imagery establishes the fundamental relationship between Creator and creation—we are entirely shaped by His hand according to His purposes. The Hebrew word for “work” (ma’aseh, H4639) denotes both the act of making and the thing made—we are both God’s creative process and His finished masterpiece.

Paul expands on this truth in Romans 8:20: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.” Mankind was not created in a state of perfection that was later lost, but rather was fashioned from the beginning to undergo a divinely ordained process of transformation. We were made subject to vanity—to the limitations of natural, earthly existence—by God’s deliberate design, not by accident or rebellion. The Greek word for “vanity” (mataiotēs, G3153) speaks of emptiness and purposelessness, yet this was a temporary state imposed for redemptive purposes.

This intentional subjection serves God’s redemptive purpose. David confessed, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). This is not an indictment of David’s parents, but rather a recognition that all humanity is formed from corruptible flesh, created “of the earth, earthy” as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 15:47. We were fashioned this way by divine intent, for His redemptive purposes.

God’s Total Sovereignty

The extent of God’s sovereignty over creation cannot be overstated. Through Isaiah, God Himself declares: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). This sweeping declaration demolishes any notion that some aspects of existence operate independently of God’s will. Both light and darkness, peace and adversity—all proceed from His sovereign hand.

This absolute authority extends to every detail of existence. Solomon wrote, “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:1). Even our thoughts and words find their source in God’s working. Again he states, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

The prophet Jeremiah provides another powerful image of God’s complete control: “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it” (Jeremiah 18:4). The potter deliberately creates vessels according to His purposes—some for honor, some for dishonor—all serving His ultimate design. As God continues through Jeremiah, “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6).

Paul develops this potter imagery in Romans 9:20-21: “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” The clay has no legitimate objection to the potter’s purposes.

The Purpose of Subjection

This universal subjection to God’s will serves a specific purpose—transformation from the natural to the spiritual. Paul explains, “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46). God deliberately created humanity in a natural, corruptible state as the first stage of His redemptive plan.

This process culminates in conformity to Christ’s image. Paul declares, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Everything about our creation and subsequent transformation aims at this singular goal—that we might bear the image of Christ. The subjection to vanity was never the end, but rather the means to this glorious purpose.

The natural creation itself groans under this design, awaiting its fulfillment. Paul continues in Romans 8:21-22: “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” All creation anticipates the revelation of the sons of God.

Not Puppets, But Children

The Nature of Divine Leading

While God’s sovereignty is absolute, Scripture consistently presents our relationship with Him not as mechanical manipulation but as intimate paternal guidance. We are not puppets on strings, but children being led by a loving Father’s hand. This distinction is crucial for understanding how total sovereignty coexists with genuine relationship.

The imagery of being led by the hand appears repeatedly in Scripture. Isaiah writes, “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee” (Isaiah 41:13). This is not the image of a puppet master pulling strings, but of a father steadying a child’s first steps. The psalmist Asaph declares, “Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Psalm 73:23-24).

This leading involves genuine guidance rather than coercion. God does not force us as external objects but forms us as living beings. Paul explains God’s method: “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). The Greek word for “worketh” (energeō, G1754) means to be operative, to energize—God works within us, shaping our desires and actions from the inside. This is not violation of our personhood but rather the very formation of it according to His design.

Paul proclaimed this truth to the Athenians: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Our very existence—every breath, every movement, every thought—occurs within God. We are not separate entities He manipulates from outside, but beings whose life is sustained within His life.

Jeremiah captures this internal working beautifully: “Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God” (Jeremiah 31:18). The prophet recognizes that even his turning to God must come from God’s own turning work within him.

Led by the Spirit

For those in Christ, this leading becomes even more intimate through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul declares, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Being led by God’s Spirit is the very mark of sonship. This is not external compulsion but internal guidance, the Spirit working within our spirits to align us with God’s purposes.

Jesus described this Spirit-leading as essential for true worship: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). The Spirit guides us into the truth, conforming our minds and hearts to God’s reality.

This leading by the Spirit involves communication and fellowship. Isaiah promises, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). The psalmist adds, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8).

The Intimacy of Fatherhood

This relationship transcends mere control to embody the intimacy of fatherhood. Paul declares, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). We are not slaves responding to a master’s commands from a distance, but children in intimate fellowship with our Father.

Jesus Himself modeled this relationship. He repeatedly referred to His Father’s will guiding His actions: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). Yet this submission to the Father’s will was not servile obedience but the natural outworking of intimate fellowship. Jesus declares, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).

Even Christ, the eternal Son, was led by the hand of the Father throughout His earthly ministry. He testified, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19). The Father guided every step, and the Son followed in perfect communion. This pattern becomes ours through union with Christ. John declares, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). As Christ was led by the Father, so we are led—not as external compulsion but as beloved children walking in intimate fellowship. What was true of Him becomes true of us.

This father-child relationship involves discipline, but even discipline flows from love. Hebrews 12:6 explains, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” The writer continues, “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Hebrews 12:9).

Workmanship of His Hands

Created for Good Works

Paul’s declaration in Ephesians 2:8-10 provides a comprehensive picture of how divine sovereignty and human identity harmonize: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Even our faith is not of ourselves but is God’s gift. This eliminates any grounds for human boasting. Yet this complete dependence establishes us as God’s workmanship. The Greek word translated “workmanship” (poiēma, G4161) gives us our English word “poem”—we are God’s artistic masterpieces, His poems created with purpose and beauty.

The good works we perform were foreordained—predetermined—by God. He prepared these works in advance and created us specifically to walk in them. Isaiah confirms, “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 54:17). Even our righteousness originates from Him.

Every Step Ordered

The comprehensive nature of God’s ordering of our lives is beautifully expressed in Psalm 37:23: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” The Hebrew word for “ordered” (kuwn, H3559) means established, confirmed, or prepared. God establishes every step before we take it.

This heavenly orchestration extends to both great and small matters. Proverbs 20:24 states, “Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” Even the lot—the ultimate symbol of chance—operates under God’s direction. Solomon writes, “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33). What appears random operates according to sovereign design.

James reinforces this truth: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:13-15). Our very existence from moment to moment depends on God’s will.

The Potter’s Purpose

The potter-clay relationship provides one of Scripture’s most powerful images for understanding God’s complete sovereignty over His creation. This imagery appears repeatedly because it perfectly captures the nature of His absolute authority.

Jeremiah received this revelation: “O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6). The clay possesses no independent agency. The potter forms it entirely according to his own purposes and design.

God’s will is irresistible not because it violates personhood but because it creates and sustains personhood. We cannot resist His will because our very existence and every faculty we possess originates from Him and depends upon Him. Yet this does not reduce us to lifeless objects. Clay in the potter’s hands becomes vessels with purpose and function. Similarly, God shapes us according to His purposes, forming us into vessels fit for His service.

From Beginning to End

Predestined According to His Purpose

Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that God’s work with us begins long before we are aware of Him. Paul declares, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5). Our adoption as children was predestined—determined beforehand—according to God’s pleasure.

Romans 8:28-30 provides one of Scripture’s clearest statements of this truth, revealing an unbroken chain: foreknowledge leads to predestination, which leads to calling, which leads to justification, which leads to glorification. No link depends on human decision. God foreknows, predestinates, calls, justifies, and glorifies. From start to finish, salvation is entirely His work.

The purpose of this predestination is conformity to Christ’s image. Peter writes, “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:20). Christ Himself was foreordained, and we were chosen in Him before creation began. Paul adds, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4).

David marveled at this predetermined design: “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16). Before we drew first breath, God had written our complete story.

Called According to His Will

The calling that brings us into relationship with God originates entirely from His sovereign will. Jesus stated plainly, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). We did not choose Him; He chose us.

This calling operates through specific supernatural action. Jesus explained, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw (drag) him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). The Greek word for “draw” (helkuō, G1670) means to drag or pull, indicating active, irresistible drawing.

Paul experienced this drawing dramatically on the Damascus road. He was actively persecuting Christians when Christ confronted him. Christ’s words are revealing: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? … it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:4-5). “Kicking against the pricks” refers to an ox resisting the goad that drives it. Saul had been resisting God’s prompting by design, but God’s purpose prevailed.

This calling extends to all who will ultimately be saved. Jesus declares, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw (G1670 drag) all men unto me” (John 12:32). Paul confirms this universal scope: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). The “all” who die in Adam corresponds exactly to the “all” who will be made alive in Christ.

Guided Through Every Stage

God’s leading does not end with our calling but continues through every stage of our spiritual journey. David testified, “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). God Himself leads us in the paths we should walk, and He does so for His own name’s sake—for His glory and intent.

This continual guidance involves both direction and correction. Proverbs 3:5-6 counsels, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Acknowledging God in all our ways positions us to receive His direction.

Sometimes this guidance comes through difficult circumstances. Job testified after his trials, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). God knows our path even when we cannot see ahead. The psalmist adds, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands” (Psalm 138:8).

This perfecting work continues until completion. Paul assures us, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). The same God who began the work will complete it.

The Certainty of His Purpose

Because everything depends on God’s sovereign will rather than human decision, the outcome is absolutely certain. Paul declares, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Nothing can separate us from God’s love because that love does not depend on our maintaining it. We are kept by His power. Peter writes, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

God’s purpose cannot fail because it depends entirely on His will. Isaiah records God’s declaration: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10). God declares the end from the beginning because He has determined both.

Lamentations confirms this absolute sovereignty: “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?” (Lamentations 3:37-38). Nothing happens that God has not ordained.

This certainty extends to the ultimate redemption of all creation. Paul reveals, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” (Ephesians 1:10). God’s purpose is to sum up all things in Christ.

The universe itself awaits this completion. Paul explains, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God … Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:19, 21). All creation will be delivered because God subjected it to vanity with this very deliverance in view.

Conclusion

We stand before a profound mystery that Scripture presents without apology: mankind is entirely God’s creation, completely subject to His will in every respect, yet we are beloved children guided by His loving hand, not puppets manipulated by external strings. The universe itself operates entirely under His sovereign control, every atom moving according to His purposes.

This is not the picture of a distant deity who wound up creation like a clock and stepped back to watch it run. Rather, Scripture presents an intimately involved Father who works all things according to the counsel of His own will, who guides His children every step of the way, who shapes us as the potter shapes clay in his hands. From the moment of our creation through every stage of our transformation until our final glorification, God directs, sustains, and perfects us.

This complete sovereignty does not diminish us but rather establishes our true dignity and security. We are not autonomous beings struggling to find meaning in a random universe. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Our steps are ordered by the Lord. Our lives unfold according to His design.

Understanding this truth transforms how we live. We no longer bear the impossible burden of creating our own meaning or securing our own future. We rest in the hands of the Potter who forms us according to His purposes. We trust in the Father who holds our right hand and says, “Fear not; I will help thee.” We walk the path knowing that He who began a good work in us will complete it.

The psalmist captured this rest beautifully: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:1-2). This is the life of those who understand God’s sovereignty—not anxious striving but peaceful following, not independence but intimate communion with the One who leads us by the hand.

Paul’s great doxology in Romans 11:36 provides the fitting conclusion: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” All things originate from God, proceed through God, and culminate in God. We exist from Him, through Him, and for Him. This is not constraint but liberation—the freedom of living in harmony with our created design, walking in the purposes for which we were made, guided every step by the hand of our loving Father.

May we rest in this glorious truth: we are God’s creation, subject to His will, yet cherished children led by His hand from beginning to end. In this complete dependence we find our true identity, our ultimate security, and our deepest joy. For His glory. Amen.

[Study aired August 11, 2019]

Isa 44:21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
Isa 44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Isa 44:25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
Isa 44:26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
Isa 44:27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
Isa 44:28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

In this study we will see how the Lord uses a Gentile king as a “shepherd” to care for His people while He delivers them from their Babylonian captivity and has this Gentile King to help His people to begin to build His Temple. This is not the first time the Lord has used a pagan king to work His will.  The fact is that Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who carried the Lord’s people away into captivity is also called by the Lord, “Nebuchadnezzar, My servant”, when the Lord uses Nebuchadnezzar to carry His spiritually adulterous people into Babylonian captivity for their apostasy.

In other words, our own flesh is the Lord’s servant to make us to err (Isa 63:17), just as Nebuchadnezzar symbolizes our old man, “the beast” who rules over all men (Rev 13:16-18):

Jer 27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
Jer 27:7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
Jer 27:8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD , with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Babylonian captivity is not optional. She rules over all the kings of all the world… “all nations shall serve” Babylon (Jer 27:7). Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth, also rules over all kings and all kingdoms:

Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Hosea tells us the same thing:

Hos 11:5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian [Babylon] shall be his king, because they refused to return.

When the Jews which Nebuchadnezzar had left in the land refused to obey the Lord’s commandment to submit themselves to the king of Babylon, they instead fled into Egypt. When they rebelled and did so then the Lord simply gave Egypt as a gift to the king of Babylon. The Lord sent Nebuchadnezzar “[His] servant” down into Egypt to destroy them right there in Egypt.

Jer 42:7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

Jer 42:11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD : for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
Jer 42:12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
Jer 42:13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,
Jer 42:14 Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
Jer 42:15 And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
Jer 42:16 Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

When “[we] say, We will not… obey the voice of the Lord [then the very things we] feared shall overtake [us]…” When our own will becomes our God and we do what we want rather than trusting the Lord to protect us, at that point all of our protection has been removed, and we are a sitting duck for the adversary. When we trust in the Lord in spite of all the outward circumstances which make us want to lean to our own strength, then the Lord promises to keep and to save us:

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD , and depart from evil.
Pro 3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

The whole world was against the Lord and His Christ, but He, and they in Him, were given to remain faithful to the end, and because of that gift for those who remain faithful to the end will be given a part in the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Exactly what that “bless[ing]” is, and what the phrase “marriage supper” means is explained for us in the very next chapter:

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The “marriage supper of the Lamb” is the first resurrection. The point being made in every Old Testament story of how the Lord delivers His people is that because “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”, and because Babylon must be destroyed before the Lord’s kingdom can be establish, it is therefore in the destruction of Babylon we are told, “You shall go… to Babylon: there shall you be delivered”.

Mic 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

There really is an order in which the Lord is working His plan in the lives of every one of His elect “in this present time” (Rom 8:18). So it is counter-productive for us to get weary in well doing and just give up and return to Egypt. Our lives will follow the Lord’s order of events which He has laid out, and the idols of our hearts will not subvert that order. It is in Babylon that we will be delivered, and it is there the Lord will redeem us from the hand of our enemies:

Hos 11:5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian [Babylon] shall be his king, because they refused to return.

Mic 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

Those who depend on the Lord for their deliverance do so with no regard whatsoever for their physical lives. Whether it was Isaiah, Jeremiah, the three Hebrew children, or Daniel, or any other Old Testament type of those who are faithful to Christ, they one and all demonstrated that their fidelity and fear was toward the Lord and not toward men.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego expressed this mindset eloquently with these words before a furious king Nebuchadnezzar when he demanded they worship his golden image:

Dan 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
Dan 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
Dan 3:15  Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Dan 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
Dan 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
Dan 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

These men are types of us if we remain faithful to the Lord to the end. As with us, this part of the “cloud of witnesses” of the Old Testament knew there was to be a resurrection, and they were given the desire of “a better resurrection”, even if they are ordained to come up in the great white throne judgment

Heb 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

The “better thing” was not provided for those who were the symbols of the true men of faith. The true men of faith are those who place the words of Christ above all the words of all the ministers of all the religions of Babylon.

It is very little understood, but the fact is that both Hebrews and 1st Peter teach us that this “better thing for us” is “not unto them… but unto us” as Peter so clearly tells us:

1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

“The angels desire to look into… the glory that should follow… the sufferings of Christ”.

This is how our last study ended:

Isa 44:19 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
Isa 44:20 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

Everything that will burn up is the same as “ashes”. When all of our doctrines are false lies, then all of our spiritual nourishment is “ashes”. The Lord would have us to ask ourselves if we would be so foolish as to craft our own doctrines, and He poses the question for us:  “Is there not a lie in my right hand”.

But He tells us “a deceived heart has turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul”, and He also tells us:

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

Then He tells us:

Isa 44:21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

He tells us “remember these, O Jacob and Israel” because we just naturally forget that our thoughts are not His thoughts, and that is exactly what we have all done, and yet, in spite of our sins against Him, He still informs us of what He is doing with us. [We] are [His] servant [simply because that is what He] has formed [us] to be. We may indeed forget Him but “[We] will not be forgotten of [Him]”.

Paul says the same thing in these verses:

2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
2Ti 2:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
2Ti 2:14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

Look at the harmony of Isaiah with Paul. Through Isaiah the Lord tells us:

Isa 44:21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

Through the apostle Paul the message is the same:

2Ti 2:14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers…

2Ti 2:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

This being true, we will indeed deny the Lord just as Peter did. Peter typifies all of the Lord’s elect in that he denied the Lord, and the Lord denied Peter’s fearful, unfaithful, old man, but Peter himself was not forgotten by the Lord, and the Lord abode faithful. He could not deny Himself, He could not deny His entire body, which is what Peter’s denial typifies. Peter typifies all of us:

Luk 22:54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off.
Luk 22:55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
Luk 22:56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
Luk 22:57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
Luk 22:58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
Luk 22:59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilæan.
Luk 22:60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
Luk 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luk 22:62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

The bitter tears of repentance are the fire which will try every man’s works:

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Works which are burned up have an application to us in this present time as well as those whose works are destined to burned up in the lake of fire. But “in this present time”, Christ will not forget His elect, and we will be made to know that our salvation is completely His work in spite of us, and we will be made to know that we accomplish nothing of ourselves:

Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
Isa 44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

Where is our righteousnesses in those verses?

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Where are any of our “idols of [our] hearts”? It is the Lord who redeems us, and we will “hold [our] peace”:

Exo 14:11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
Exo 14:12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
Exo 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.
Exo 14:14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

The Lord does all of our fighting for us, and the least we can do is to shut up and watch Him work His work. But even the ability to do that must be given to us.

Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD , thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

That is right. The very thoughts in our ‘heavens’ as well as our words and works on this earth “are of the Lord”:

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

The Lord “knows our thoughts” because He gives them to us. The preparations of our heart takes place in our thoughts, and those thoughts, good and evil, are a work of the Lord.

So, it behooves us to know that these next words also apply to the Lord’s elect as well as all the rest of mankind:

Isa 44:25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

The Lord delights in making our old man, and mankind as a whole, to be manifested for the ignorant fools we are by nature:

Psa 53:1 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

Pro 1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Pro 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

These words here in Isaiah 44:25 are just filling in some of the details of what we are made to know by these words which were written several generations prior to Isaiah:

Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

The liars and diviners of verse 25 are the so-called wise men whose supposed wisdom is revealed by the Lord for the foolishness it really is.

These words are addressed to us first and foremost. It is the Lord who makes our old man ‘wicked’ for our own “day of evil”, and there is no way to short circuit the way in which He is working inside each of us. When He makes us to err from His ways, we will err from His ways:

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Isaiah 63:17 confirms:

Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
Isa 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
Isa 28:12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

“That they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken” is also confirmed by:

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

This next verse explains why we must first be deceived and be made to err from the Lord’s ways and fall backward and be snared:

Eze 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.

If we don’t even “think above that which is written” (1Co 4:6), the Lord’s word will always confirm itself, as the Lord assures us:

Isa 44:26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:

The Lord “confirms the word of His servant, and [He] performs the counsel of His messengers” simply because:

Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

“His messengers” do the same because we are very careful never to think above that which is written:

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other.   (ACV)

We are as Christ is in this world (1Jo 4:17). Therefore, like Him we can never “think above that which is written”. We are very careful to speak only His “words [and His] counsel”. If we never “think above that which is written”, then like Christ we will “of [our] own selves do nothing” and we will never “seek… [our] own will”. It is our own will and our own idolatrous words to which “the deep” and “[our] rivers” refer in our next verse:

Isa 44:27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:

The Hebrew word translated ‘deep’ in this verse is:

H6683
צוּלָה
tsûlâh
tsoo-law’

From an unused root meaning to sink; an abyss (of the sea): – deep.
Total KJV occurrences: 1

‘Tsulah’ is one of those few words which is a root word but is not used anywhere else in scripture. But considering the negative context this word, it has very much in common with the ‘deep’ found in these two verses in Proverbs:

Pro 22:14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

Pro 23:27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

“Strange women [and] a whore” are both types of false religions with false doctrines. So when the Lord tells us:

Isa 44:27 [He] saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:

Right after telling us:

Isa 44:25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

It is obvious that the Lord is telling us that any false doctrines within us, and even the religions of this world, will in His timing be subdued by those who are serving Him and His purpose.

Just as our old man is used by the Lord as the man of sin who sits in the temple of God saying he is God, and is even now being judged, so the Lord uses the wicked of this world to work as His servants to rule over the nations of this world and to do and to work His purpose in the kingdoms of this world:

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

In Job 1 and 2, Satan is called “Thy hand”, meaning the Lord’s hand:

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD , and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD , and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD , and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

In the second chapter this whole process is repeated, and the Lord sends Satan to afflict Job with boils “from the sole of his foot unto his crown”:

Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD , and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

The Lord simply uses the Devil, and those who are “of [their] father the Devil”, to work out His plans for us and for all of mankind.

The Lord plainly tells us that “even the wicked” men are the work of His hand:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

He tells us that “the wicked [are His] sword”:

Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

He calls wicked King Nebuchadnezzar “My servant”:

Jer 27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

And here He calls another pagan king “[His] shepherd [who] shall perform all [His] pleasure”:

Isa 44:28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

So Nebuchadnezzar was used to punish the Lord’s people for their sins, and when that was accomplished, He used another wicked man to punish Nebuchadnezzar and rebuild His temple. All these wicked men are one wicked man, the man of sin, whom the Lord uses both to destroy our old man, and in that destructive process He uses our corruptible flesh to begin the process of rebuilding and producing in us, our new man, a rebuilt temple, “another vessel”, conformed to the image of Christ.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

But it all begins much earlier in our lives than we tend to think. The fact is, God knows each of us before we are ever born:

Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

What an all powerful, loving, heavenly Father we serve! Nothing is left to chance; not the hairs of our head, not the sparrows that fall (Luk 12:4-7).

Our God is love, and He has devised means that even His banished be not forever expelled from Him:

2Sa 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

That “means… He has devised… that His banished be not expelled from Him” is you and me, and the mercy we will show to all who are cast into the lake of fire if indeed we are His “very elect”:

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

In our next study, we will continue to see how the Lord works with our corruptible flesh to bring us to His mind. We will see how He, and He alone, can “create evil” and bring good out of evil and light out of darkness. We will see how He forms “the mind of Christ” and conforms us to the image of Christ, via our own flesh, our own Cyrus:

Here are the verses for our next study:

Isa 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Isa 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD , which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Isa 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Isa 45:5 I am the LORD , and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD , and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Video Links

In “awesome hands” part 11, we read and studied many things concerning God’s work with Abraham as Abraham was instructed to sacrifice his son at the altar.

Of great interest and focus in the last study, we saw that that place of the altar is very significant as well as what is going to happen on that altar.

Abraham was fully prepared to sacrifice Isaac, but at the last the Lord stopped Abraham from following through.

Gen 22:2 –  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Gen 22:11 –  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Gen 22:12 –  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

So, where is this land of Moriah? There is one other place that H4179 is mentioned. It is in 2h 3:1.

2h 3:1 –  Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Why is the threshing floor important?

1h 21:1 –  And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

1h 21:21 –  And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

1h 21:22 –  Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.

“The household of Faith”

Gen 22:13 –  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Continuing this study from part 11, we now come to see that God has provided a sacrifice since before He was going to call Abraham to the altar to sacrifice Isaac.

Just as a sacrifice had been prepared for the first Adam to make a covering for His nakedness, we now see a sacrifice that was prepared for faithful Abraham, in the form of a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.

Indeed, we can only see this in our own lives and walk with Christ as we look back behind us and see how the Lord brought us to being in the situation to being faithful. I think most know that this is through trial, just as with Abraham.

In today’s study, we are going to continue with this mindset and look at the next time we see the “hands” of the Lord working within the scriptures.

We will be continuing to Gen 24:2, and here will read:

Gen 24:2 – And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

Before we get to this verse, we have a whole chapter of events which lead up to verse 24:2, but it all happens in a short 20 verses.

At the end of chapter 22, we see and are told that our brother’s house is increasing as well because we know that the Lord said that He is going to bless even those around us. God is going to bless both seeds of Abraham, the seeds from both the bondwoman and the freewoman.

In like fashion, we see that the Lord increases our enemies around us and blesses us and them by it.

Coupled with this, we are going to see something brand new happen to this “new man of Faith” in God. This new thing will be a tough trial and one which will also remind us of where we come from.

We are going to see the death of our first wife, our first love.

Gen 23:1 –  And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
Gen 23:2 –  And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
Gen 23:3 –  And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
Gen 23:4 –  I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
Gen 23:5 –  And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
Gen 23:6 –  Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
Gen 23:7 –  And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

Notice that Abraham is dwelling in Canaan and in type and shadow, he is about to be forever connected to his “old man”. He is going to purchase land to “bury his dead’ because that is the state in which the Christ comes dragging us to the Father.

We, as the ambassadors for Christ, will be the pillars of the church in which others will come to see their own demise. We come bringing death in our words, and with it we also bring Life.

For us and those receiving the mind and the Words of the Living God which have been given to us, we find that fire isn’t always an easy place to dwell.

However, no where are we told this will be an easy trial. It will be a life- long trial and God is going to continually put “our Faith” to the test.

Whose faith is it that is being purified within us each time we are put through a trial which leads us to call out to God and be delivered from the things which He has control over?

Gen 23:8 –  And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
Gen 23:9 –  That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.
Gen 23:10 –  And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
Gen 23:11 –  Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

We now are among those who are dead in Christ and are going to bury their dead. Our “soon to be” Canaanite enemies are made to dwell peaceably with us and we even make a purchase of the land we are going to bury our dead in from them. The old will indeed stay with the old.

Gen 23:12 –  And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
Gen 23:13 –  And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
Gen 23:14 –  And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
Gen 23:15 –  My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
Gen 23:16 –  And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

We are all paid for in full, but as His disciples we must still pick up our cross and follow Him. In type and shadow, our father Abraham is going to pay for the land for which he is going to bury his dead.

He is paying for that which he is due in order to “count the cost” and take care of that which is dead and this is something which we all must do in our own order. We follow Christ into death, but we are always contending with this flesh, that which comes first and natural…Sarah our first wife.

Now we have arrived at the verses we are covering for today’s study in how God works His will and his hands through the hands of His servants and His prophets.

Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh

Gen 24:1 –  And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
Gen 24:2 –  And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand [ H3027 – yad] under my thigh:
Gen 24:3 –  And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
Gen 24:4 –  But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

Now, in type and shadow, we are given a new wife through the seed which comes from God’s covenant with us.

Abraham identifies with the ram caught in the thicket by its horns. Christ himself is dwelling at the right hand of His Father in the heavens which are with you and me Lord willing. As such, we are risen each day with Christ and we identify aioniosly with our daily bread of dying daily.

We are given bread, a grain of wheat daily, to live in us as the Word of God and bring life daily in the daily nourishment Christ, the Word of God brings.

Joh 12:24 –  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

It is Christ Himself, caught in the thicket of us, His earth and His inheritance in which the Head of Christ has placed Christ in. Christ’s anointing comes from the Truth that even Christ the first fruit, is under the Will and control of His Father.

With this mind, we too are seated together with Christ, and we take on our new Love … our “new wife”, Christ is our Head and He has a body.

We become the wife and work together as one, and then we will bring forth fruit that a healthy wife can provide to her Husband.

How this plays out practically for us now, is that we know that Christ is going to reveal to us what he wants us to do daily and how to live by the things He reveals to us when we “be still, and know that I am God”.

Psa 46:10 –  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psa 46:11 –  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

With this faithful mindset, we are going to go forth and look for a wife.  I know we are talking about Abraham and Isaac, but there are many types and shadows which exist at the same time, much like Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God.

Christ Himself told us that He and the Father are One. As Abraham is the Father of Isaac, Christ is our Father and Head, we go forth as Abraham looking for the will of God to be done in the selection of our son’s wife.

For us now, we don’t swear at all because we know that there is nothing that we can swear by that will make our will come to pass versus God’s will and His sovereignty .

In the OT version, we that God has already ordained what will happen but as it plays out God orchestrates the whole scenario to make Abraham and his servants prayers come to pass.

Gen 24:5 –  And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
Gen 24:6 –  And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
Gen 24:7 –  The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

The Lord indeed keeps us connected to our old man via our “father’s house”. He tells us to leave that land which we find ourselves out of currently and still He also tells us to take a wife from the same “land of my kindred”.

We see this working as we find the next two verses in the “hands” He works through by Abraham’s servant.

Gen 24:8 –  And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
Gen 24:9 –  And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
Gen 24:10 –  And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
Gen 24:11 –  And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

Interestingly, Abraham’s servant is going to use what Abraham has been blessed in the flesh, the old man in type in shadow, to appeal to the wife of his seed. Abraham’s earthy completeness, the blessings of his fleshly life, as being carried on ten camels.

For us, the Lord tells us that He will call us in a calling we are in so that He can use what talents He has given us to now be used to glorify Him.

How many of us have things which we now have turned over to the Lord, of His will in us, to be used for His benefit and the benefit of His body.

After all, we are “dead” and we are the Lord’s. As we rise each day, we are given His spirit and breath to continue on in His ministry, our reasonable service to His body.

Gen 24:12 –  And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
Gen 24:13 –  Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
Gen 24:14 –  And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
Gen 24:15 –  And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

The Lord has blessed Abraham to find a wife for his son Isaac by hearing also the prayer of Abraham’s servant. The wife that is found is Rebekah but even she is from Abraham’s father’s house, from the original birth place of Abraham.

Truly, the Lord is with us the entire time of our existence.

We see that as we come to our next verse in this hands series, in verses 24:18 and 24:22.

Gen 24:16 –  And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
Gen 24:17 –  And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
Gen 24:18 –  And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
Gen 24:19 –  And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
Gen 24:20 –  And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
Gen 24:21 –  And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
Gen 24:22 –  And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
Gen 24:23 –  And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?
Gen 24:24 –  And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
Gen 24:25 –  She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
Gen 24:26 –  And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

We can see the progression of the Lord’s work within His people. He has worked all of these folk’s lives so that they can be used to establish a physical lineage on this earth.

In working with our flesh, the Lord promises that when we call on Him in our distresses and in our most vulnerable time of Faith, we will be delivered.

We will not only be delivered, but just like Job who had everything taken from Him initially save his life,  we will be given everything back double and then some. The NT way of saying it is, “a hundred fold”.

When we obey the commandments of the Lord and do things as He commands us, we are given “ten skelels of gold” upon our wrists.

In other words, the Lord surrounds and prospers the works of our hands, which are His righteous works, while we are still in this tabernacle of clay.

When Faith is given us, and we can call on the Lord as Abraham’s servant saying, “my masters will be done”, then we will have our prayers answered and the Lord will give us confirmation of that just as He does to “the man who bows his head”.

With this humility, the Lord will prosper us in our way.

If we have eyes to see and ears to hear it, we will see that the Lord uses all we are blessed with in this life to benefit His house, His body, and His temple.

Abraham has been blessed among his brethren so that He can be used later to take those blessings to his father’s household and bless “the body”.

This body is the wife Rebekah. The head is Isaac in this type and shadow, and that healthy combination is being set into motion with what we read in the rest of chapter 24.

Gen 24:26 –  And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
Gen 24:27 –  And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.
Gen 24:28 –  And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.
Gen 24:29 –  And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
Gen 24:30 –  And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
Gen 24:31 –  And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
Gen 24:32 –  And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.

The Lord has truly directed all the steps in this story as we can see because as Abraham’s servant witnesses, it is the Lord that has taken the seemingly random events and connected all the pieces of the story puzzle together.

When we are given a task of our master, we are to have the same diligence and whole- heartedness as we see in this unnamed servant. We do the work and need no credit, and we do only the task that we are sent to do…nothing more and nothing less.

Gen 24:33 –  And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

Gen 24:42 –  And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:
Gen 24:43 –  Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;
Gen 24:44 –  And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son.

In truth, we will be so lead of the Lord as we come to see by Faith, that these things will happen to us “before we are done speaking in our heart” and we will be given confidence to continue through by seeing this confirmation come from others in our lives and walk as well.

Gen 24:45 –  And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
Gen 24:46 –  And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
Gen 24:47 –  And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
Gen 24:48 –  And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.
Gen 24:49 –  And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

Conclusion of “Awesome Hands” part 12

The Lord has shown us in this study that we are completely reliant on Him. Abraham was sent to sacrifice Isaac; yet, upon Abraham being led to prove his faith, the Lord also had already prepared a sacrifice, “a ram stuck in the thicket by his horns”.

This sacrifice is to show us that we are doing the Lord’s will when we can look back and see that we were given Faith via the trial of sacrificing all that we hold dear. Alas, our “wife” will die and we will continue on to prosper and be blessed to take on our new wife, our spiritual “temple of the Lord”.

This “first wife” that which comes natural, will be buried in the land of our future enemy.

Through all of this, we will send our servant out to do our will. We know as shown by the Faith we see displayed in the NT, that a master’s servant is the same as the master.

We too, are ambassadors for Christ, and as we pray “thy will be done”, we are living out the function of obeying our master and doing only what He has sent us to do. Once that work is done, we will know that the Lord is in control and is working all things for our good.

Mat 8:8 –  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mat 8:9 –  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
Mat 8:10 –  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Gen 24:50 –  Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
Gen 24:51 –  Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken.
Gen 24:52 –  And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
Gen 24:53 –  And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. Gen 24:54 –  And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.

We too can’t wait to bring news to our Master that we have accomplished that which He sent us to do.

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Awesome Hands – Part 10

Ezekiel 21:8 –  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 21:9 –  Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
Ezekiel 21:10 –  It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.
Ezekiel 21:11 –  And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
Ezekiel 21:12 –  Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
Ezekiel 21:13 –  Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

Recapping last study, we saw that we are indeed between the Rock and a hard place. The Lord has sharpened us, the sword and the rod to be perfect instruments in His hands.

In the verses we just read, we see that the sword is sharpened and furbished so that it is going to make one strike only and that strike will be all that is needed.  When we look at other translations, we can see that this sword glistens as if it were lightning. Indeed, the Word of God is swift and sharp.

This sword is going to be upon the body of Christ, the church of the living God. As such, we are not left to guess why this is the case, “because it is a trial”.

It is a trial to those who are the people of God because simply put, we must have our flesh, our natural man, our carnal mind eradicated. No flesh shall glory in the presence of the Lord.

1Co 1:29 –  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

As the Lord sees us as He created us, He indeed knew what He was saying when He calls us out in Leviticus.

Lev 11:27 –  And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

This word translated as paws, is hands in other scripture. More correctly and closely translated to its meaning, we discover that it is that beast that goes upon the palms of their hands, the innermost part of the hand.

It is here, the innermost man, which the Lord knows everything that we are about because He has furbished us into exactly what we are and are going to be. Indeed, He knows us so well and loves us so much that He has gravened us onto His hands!

While He sends judgment on His house now, He does it lovely. Though it is a FIERY trial now, we must rejoice in the love that is being shown to us!

The sword that is sent to His people is one to cleanse and purge us of our old ways of living and thinking, those things which are decaying day by day and will soon no longer matter.

Isa 49:13 –  Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isa 49:14 –  But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isa 49:15 –  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isa 49:16 –  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Wow, why me oh Lord? I am chiefest of the scum of the earth, I will always choose the ways of my father the devil and like him I will always eat of the dust of the ground, the earth I shall soon join…. why have you chosen me Lord?

Thy walls are continually before me

Zion cried out and said, “why have you forsaken me,” so what makes me think that I too wont question why my Father does what He does to me and to others in my life? In today’s study, we will see more examples of just how gravened we are on our Father’s hands.

In the last study, we left off with the last verse having to do with hands in Gen 20:5. Today, we will be looking at Gen 21:18 and the story that builds up to it from Gen 20:5 to Gen 21:18.

Generally speaking, most Christians are familiar with the story of Isaac being born because this is partly where we get the meaning to see where Abraham’s title of the father of the faithful comes from.

Of course, we should see Christ within every story we read thus seeing ourselves there with Him as His body.

Gen 21:1 –  And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
Gen 21:2 –  For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Gen 21:3 –  And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
Gen 21:4 –  And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Gen 21:5 –  And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
Gen 21:6 –  And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
Gen 21:7 –  And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

Given all that we have said already, we know that God has everything under control. When God told Abraham and Sarah that they were going to have a son, Sarah laughed.

Here, it is said that folks will laugh with Sarah that she has child…. denoting joy. After all, having a child in old age is a blessing for mostly anyone that receives that blessing. Notice though, that it is when Abraham Isa 100, think 10 x 10 or 10, the perfection of the flesh because we see that God commands the Abraham circumcise Isaac and bring in the new man. Amen, I laugh with joy with Sarah in this spiritual new man!

However, this new man does need to grow and as such be weaned from milk. So, we see the next progression of this new man. He must be separated from His brethren…. He will not be in league with the son of the bondwoman!

Gen 21:8 –  And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Gen 21:9 –  And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
Gen 21:10 –  Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
Gen 21:11 –  And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

O that Ishmael might live before thee

If you will recall, Abraham didn’t even want Isaac to share in Ishmael’s heritage and laughed about God saying Isaac would be coming along. Abraham laughed about this though Sarah gave him a son when he was 99. Isn’t it funny how quickly we forget just how powerful the Lord is?

Gen 17:17 –  Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Gen 17:18 –  And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Gen 17:19 –  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Now, we have Abraham torn again and it takes the Lord once again showing up and leading Abraham to do what he needs to do in order that the Lord’s plan continue to progress.

Of course, the Lord uses us for His purposes and we have nothing to do with it. We are just the finally sharpened tools gravened into His awesome hands!

Gen 21:12 –  And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Gen 21:13 –  And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

Did anyone pick up on what we were just told? God tells us to not let what He is doing in our lives be grievous in our sight. In two very succinct verses, we are told that God is blessings us in ALL THAT WE DO. It is our sight that “sees” the situation as grievous.

“Hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” is coupled with “the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation because he is thy seed”.

God knows what He is doing. It is we who laugh and mock God. It is we who are being sent packing down the way which leads to death. God is blessing our old man, our old ways, our natural man and carnal mind so that He can bring it to the point of being burned up during the fiery trial of the situation.

The only thing we need to do is DO what the Lord COMMANDS, but even that is of Him. We are doers of the Word and not hearers ONLY.

So, how are we doers in type and shadow as being Abraham?

Gen 21:14 –  And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

We keep His commandments and we LIVE out what we are told to do. We get up early in the morning with bread and water, the Word of God, Christ and His body….. and we send our old man packing!

In a very quick manner, and under this pattern of how to deal with the things in our old man way of thinking, we will see that our old man simply will begin to die. If it is not being nourished, it will die and Lord willing that happens daily with us!

Gen 21:15 –  And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
Gen 21:16 –  And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
Gen 21:17 –  And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Gen 21:18 –  Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

Here, we have finally arrived at the word for today’s study which directly deals with God’s hands in that as we have been discovering through this entire, even when the Lord works through our hands it is Him doing it and He is running the show the entire time.

Simply put, God even blessed us while in our old man state of mind to come to Him initially by opening our eyes, giving us a deadly wound which will be healed so that our old man can again thrive in the ways of the flesh until the time appointed of the Lord for this no longer to be the case.

Gen 21:19 –  And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
Gen 21:20 –  And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
Gen 21:21 –  And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

Previously, we also saw that it was initially in the wilderness that God found Hagar weeping and promised that He would make of her son a great nation.

Isn’t it intriguing to anyone else that this is all happening at the same time to both the old and the new man, spiritually speaking?

Gen 16:7 –  And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
Gen 16:8 –  And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
Gen 16:9 –  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

Firstly, Hagar is found by a fountain that she obviously can see if she is at that fountain, but this second time she is led to one which she can now she because the Lord has opened her eyes. I sure can relate you how she must feel.

Another interesting point is that the Lord has used Sarah to be the mouthpiece for His will during this time. The Lord originally told Hagar to go back and submit herself to her mistress, and then He tells Abraham how to deal with Hagar by telling Abraham to hearken unto the voice of his wife, Sarah.

Doesn’t it seem like the Lord uses the wife, the body in type and shadow, to institute whatever His will is whenever His will is being revealed. Well, that is exactly what the Lord does. He works through His body, the church, with Christ being the Head by which is is governed.

Gen 21:22 –  And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Gen 21:23 –  Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
Gen 21:24 –  And Abraham said, I will swear.
Gen 21:25 –  And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.
Gen 21:26 –  And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
Gen 21:27 –  And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
Gen 21:28 –  And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
Gen 21:29 –  And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
Gen 21:30 –  And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

It seems like poor Abraham just can’t help himself. Each and every example that we have seen through these studies thus far, as they pertain to Abram and Abraham throughout them, have all shown that the Lord continuously blesses Abraham even while Abraham is allowing his flesh to do some atrocious things all while being a prophet of the Lord.

In this example and directly after finally sending the bondwoman and her son packing on the road, Abraham makes a covenant with the Philistines who dwell in the land with him! This is after they have “shown their hand” so to speak, by violently taking a well that belonged to him.

We truly just cannot help ourselves when it comes to what we are going to do based on what the Lord is doing in our lives.

In verse 21:30, we see this happen with Abraham. Abraham is completely committed to this covenant “made with his own hands”.  The word used as hand here is the same Hebrew word “yad” that we have been studying throughout most of this series.

Is it any wonder why the Lord tells us that now we are to “sware not at all”? We love to show our preeminence in what “we are going to do”. Ha!

Gen 21:31 –  Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Gen 21:32 –  Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
Gen 21:33 –  And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Gen 21:34 –  And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

Conclusion

Wrapping up this short study, we have seen again that the Lord works all things after the counsel of His own will via His awesome hands.

Our walls, our hedge that He has placed around us is there simply because He is the one who is the watchman over them. He doesn’t change, but we continually do whatever is in our best interests.

We can see this happening in the stories as they play out in Genesis and it ultimately shows is that we are indeed just beasts.

Lev 11:27 –  And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

Abraham, us in type and shadow, is never going to do things according to how the Lord commands him unless the Lord puts things in motion to make it happen that way.

With all of the different characters playing their roles throughout this study today we have seen that the Lord knows what He is doing.

In that, he calls us beasts and sometimes dogs.

Pro 26:11 –  As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

2Pe 2:20 –  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 –  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 –  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Though we are dogs who continually want to return to that which is only vomit, we also have been created to be arguably the loyalist animal to mankind. In other words, our master also knows of the great love, kindness and loyalty that He has created within that same dog.

Though that point isn’t brought out in these verses, we know that it is a dog who sits at his masters feet waiting on crumbs.

It is the same beast both going back to its own vomit who also waits patient on a crumb, but the Lord deals with us as His children.

One day, that beast will no longer walk on all fours … on the palms of the work of our own Hands, but instead we will stand upright and go on towards being able to “keep the faith” just as we are going to see Abraham do with Isaac in next week’s study, Lord willing.>