One of the most remarkable traits of Abraham was his faithfulness to God while being uninformed. So often we are willing to obey God if we know why we are doing certain things. We will do what God says if we understand why. But what about the times we don’t have the understanding and knowledge of what He has asked?
Consider the faith of Abraham. God says, “Go. Leave your family. I’ll tell you when you’ve gotten to the place you are going.” Abraham says, “Okay” (Genesis 12:1-7). Abraham is told his seed would bless the entire world. For many years (until he has Ishmael by Hagar) Abraham moves forward with life trusting in God. Abraham finally has a son, Isaac, and is told, “Take Isaac with you to offer him as a sacrifice to me. I’ll tell you when you’ve come to the right mountain.” Abraham’s response? “Okay” (Genesis 22:1-6).
Can you imagine taking your heir, the son you have waited so long to have, and offering him as a sacrifice? That’s faith. How did Abraham do that? What was it about Abraham that caused Him to trust in God so much that He would obey—even when he didn’t know what was going to ultimately happen? The answer is found in Genesis 22. Isaac asks his father, “Where is the lamb?” Abraham answers, “God will provide” (Genesis 22:7-8). How could Abraham obey God in these circumstances? Because he understood that God would always provide.
No matter what, Abraham was always blessed by God. Even when Abraham made horrible decisions, God continued to provide for him. In Genesis 12, Abraham and Sarah deceive Pharaoh saying that she is his sister. God’s providence is seen as he protects the union of Abraham and Sarah and ensures their safe departure from Egypt. In Genesis 16, Abraham has a son by Hagar and God provides for the son, Ishmael. In Genesis 20, Abraham and Sarah deceive Abimelech in the same way they had Pharaoh. God not only protects the union of Abraham and Sarah but also provided more livestock and a place to dwell through Abimelech. Abraham had seen God’s providence. He knew God would take care of him.
What did Abraham mean when he said, “God will provide…”? Did he know there would be a ram caught in the thicket on the top of the mountain? If so, why did he bind the hands and feet of his son and raise the knife to slaughter him (Genesis 22:9-10)? I am convinced that even as Abraham raised that knife he didn’t understand the providence of God but he trusted it. He knew that somehow God would provide. All of the trials and temptations suffered by Abraham and his family prior to this event had trained Abraham to know one thing: God will provide.
Uncertainty cripples us. We don’t like moving forward in genuine faith. Real faith is assured of what we don’t know and can’t see (Hebrews 11:1). We want to know and see before we act. It’s similar to the young man in high school. He doesn’t mind asking a girl out if he knows she’ll say, “Yes.” But asking a girl out without having that assurance from her friends is too much of a risk. It requires too much faith.
Why didn’t you talk to your neighbor about Christ? Because you aren’t sure how they’ll react. It takes too much faith. Why don’t you talk to the brother in Christ who is acting in ways that concern you? You don’t know what they’ll do in response. It takes too much faith. Why don’t we tell our children “no” and raise them in the training of the Lord? We’re afraid they might be so angered that our relationship is forever damaged. It takes too much faith.
When we face difficult challenges such as these in life shouldn’t our response be, “The Lord will provide”? We need to have faith that trusts in the providence of God to see us through. God will help us in our efforts to save the lost. He’ll provide. He will help us in our attempts to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters. He’ll provide. He will assist us in the training of our children when it is done in the proper spirit. He’ll provide.
Friends, cast off the doubt. Lay aside the problems of uncertainty. Step out in faith. Live with the understanding that “God will provide.” Follow the example of Abraham.
This is one sadness I have found in me as a Christian. For my first few years as a Christian I had little knowledge. I did not have a great grasp of the deep things of God But I had an amazing faith. I believed God coudl do anything. I acted for God with no hesitation. I truly believed people would repent, God would change hearts, and his power would be seen. I believed the church was going to change the world.
Now, I have a solid grasp of the deeper things of God, I have knowledge and experience... BUT much less faith. I've seen failures and mediocrity, and good Christians acting poorly too often. It has caused me, (not in theory, or in thought) but in PRACTICE to be much less faithful.
In other news, we announced our intentions yesterday to have a Summer Preaching Internship at East Shelby this year. I'm excited about the opportunity to work with someone and help them in their desire to preach the gospel.
PS3!!!! That is AWESOME! The Halo kool-Aid is pretty addictive...be careful. Call of Duty is a good one. Yeah....Couldn't ask for a better father-in-law. He is a great man. Jumped on Deep Waters....cool site!
And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left." –Genesis 13:5-9
I’ve often heard people discuss the situation between Abram and Lot and condemn Lot for making the wrong choice. The arguments range from a variety of angles. Some say Lot should have known that Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked and should’ve chosen differently. Others say if Lot had respected Abram’s age then he would have given Abram the good land and Lot would have never been in the location near Sodom and Gomorrah. Could it be that we’ve made too much out of this decision? Consider a few points:
* Someone was going to live near Sodom. If Lot had not chosen the plains, the Abram would have. Are we to assume that Sodom and Gomorrah would have naturally turned “good” because of Abram’s presence? Personally, I don’t think so. The reality is that one person was going west and another was going east. Someone was going to end up near Sodom.
* How would they have known about the wickedness of Sodom? We assume that Abram and Lot would have known the great evil of Sodom and Gomorrah. The bible records the wickedness of Sodom after Lot’s decision is made and he has relocated (Genesis 13:11-12). We don’t know that Lot knew about their evil. The days of Abram and Lot were different than ours. They couldn’t research a place online or call someone to see if Sodom was full of evil. . They didn’t have that ability.
* We assume Lot was younger. It seems to be a safe assumption but it’s not always the case. We are never told who is actually the older of the two men. There are cases where an uncle is younger than his nephew. If we stick with the historical record, it is difficult to make such statements regarding the age of Abram and Lot.
* We would have made the same choice. Almost all of us would have chosen the better land. We would have wanted what was best for our cattle. I know that is an admission of selfishness, but it is also an honest approach. Let’s be careful how critical we are of the Bible characters who make the same decisions we would have made.
So what can we learn from the story of Abram and Lot concerning the choice of where to live. I think we’ve wasted enough time dealing with assumptions and possibly inaccurate views of the passage. Let’s look for the positives lessons we can gain from the text:
* We can make a more educated decision about where we live. While Lot didn’t have the ability to get online or call friends to see if there were faithful churches in Sodom, we do. We need to make educated decisions about where we live. In other words, don’t follow the money trail! That’s what we do. We move where we can make more money. Or, we send our kids to school where they can get a bigger scholarship or a better educated that leads to more money in their job. Generally speaking, we’ll figure that church stuff out when we get there! So what does one do when they move their child into Harvard and find out the closest congregations are one hour away? What do we do when we move to Montana and realize the closest church is two hours away? While we can’t lay blame necessarily on Lot for an uneducated move in a spiritual sense, we can’t claim ignorance today. Get educated about these kinds of decisions.
* If you’ve made a bad decision, then change! The one thing we can blame Lot with is his failure to move away from Sodom when he saw it was wicked. In fact, Lot not only refused to move it appears he got more involved. Early on Sodom pitched his tent towards Sodom. By Genesis 19, Lot is living in Sodom in an established house when the angels visit. He and his family had become so involved in the lifestyle of Sodom that his sons-in-law (men who would marry his daughters) would not leave and his wife held high affection for the town as well. It is safe to say Lot knew the wickedness of Sodom by his reaction to the scene in Genesis 19:5-10. The question is, why did he remain in Sodom? Why did he move from his tent to an established dwelling place? If we want to place blame on Lot, then let’s put the proper blame on his shoulders—he chose to stay in an evil city and we see the end result of the pollution of both his wife and daughters. Fathers, learn from Lot’s mistake. If you make a bad decision, then change it. Don’t “stick it out” for whatever reason you may have. Change your decision and do the right thing. In doing so you not only protect your family, you save your soul and serve God properly.
