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"On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you'" (Gen. 22:4, 5 NKJV).
This is one of the most remarkable statements of faith ever uttered. We will worship and then we will come back to you! God had instructed Abraham to take his son - his only son, Isaac, whom he loved - to the region of Moriah and offer him on one of the mountains. Early the next morning (notice that Abraham did not delay) he arose, saddled the donkey, split the wood, and departed for Moriah. On the third day they arrived and that is when Abraham made this remarkable statement to his servants. Did the servants think anything was out of the ordinary? Probably not. I doubt that Abraham had shared what God told him with anyone. Not even Isaac understood the import of what his father had just said. It was not until later that Isaac caught on to what was happening.
Abraham's declaration was more for himself than anyone else. The Ryrie Study Bible says, "Abraham's confidence that Isaac would return with him from the place of sacrifice stemmed from his implicit belief in resurrection." Study the parallel passage of this account in Hebrews 11:17-19. "Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death" (Heb. 11:19 NIV). Had Abraham ever seen anyone raised from the dead? No. But did He believe that God could do it? Yes. Because of this tremendous demonstration of faith in the resurrection power of God, Abraham received God's assurance and confirmation of the covenant (vs. 15-18). Abraham and his son then descended the mountain, just as Abraham had promised the servant who was told to stay with the donkey (v. 19). The servant was probably as clueless as the donkey as to the drama that had taken place on Mt. Moriah. Worship is sometimes a breathtaking experience as Abraham and Isaac found out that dramatic day.
Prayer: Father, grant to us the third-day faith of our father Abraham! Through Christ, our sacrificial Lamb, we pray.
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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"And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken" (Gen. 21:1 NKJV).
Does it ever pay to doubt God? How many times have we disappointed Him with our unbelief? For my own part, way too many times! I like our verse for today. God visited Sarah as He had said. The Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. Wow. I wonder how Sarah felt now? A little sheepish perhaps? God is God and He can do anything He wants. He keeps His promises. He is all-powerful and performs what He has promised. Oh, that we had the faith from the outset to believe Him, trust Him, and react with sheer delight when those promises come true. The birth of Isaac, the promised son, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that God can be trusted.
Politicians cannot do this. Many times they break their campaign promises the same day they are elected. It was all a sham. For shame! This can never be said of the Creator of the Universe! What He says comes true. He does for us as He has spoken. Just study all the promises and all the prophecies of the Bible. Does God keep His word or not? Read Joshua's "farewell address" one more time. "Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed" (Josh. 23:14).
Prayer: Lord, give us the faith of Joshua to trust you in every circumstance.
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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"And Abraham said, 'Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife." (Gen. 20:11 NKJV).
Human thinking, analysis, and reasoning can sometimes get you in big trouble. When Abraham and Sarah traveled south they concocted a scheme they thought would work. They would say that Sarah was Abraham's sister in order to spare Abraham's life. What were they thinking? Why not just trust God? Abraham's deceit nearly brought disaster to King Abimelech and his people. Abimelech had integrity in his heart. God said so (see v. 6). At this point in time he had more integrity in his heart than did Abraham. Those three words "Because I thought" led Abraham to the brink of disaster. He thought there was no fear of God in the land. Actually, Abimelech showed more fear of God than did Abraham! Sometimes thinking that is fueled by fear can lead us into great trouble. Sometimes we think there is no hope when there is plenty of hope. Sometimes we fear failure when success is just around the corner. We must be careful not to let our negative, fearful thinking guide our actions.
Not including God in our thinking leads to serious consequences for all involved. At the end of this story (read all of Gen. 20) Abraham prays to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. What had happened to them? Because of Abraham's lack of trust and made-up story "the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife" (v. 18). Notice that the writer of Genesis gets it right: Abraham's wife, not sister. It is always better to say "I trust God" than "Because I thought." It is better to live by faith than by your wits. Someone has wisely said: "Care not whether men say you are a great thinker. See to it that they know you as a great believer." You can be at your wit's end but you need not be at your faith's end. You are at your best when you stand still and trust God.
Prayer: Holy Father, forgive us when we trust our wits more than we trust You. Empower us by Your Spirit to trust You in every circumstance of life or trial that we face. Through Christ we pray.
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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"But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, 'Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.'" (Gen. 20:3 ESV).
Abraham's travels had taken him into enemy territory. He told the king that Sarah was his sister. The king, believing Abraham's story, took Sarah. When God informed Abimelech what he had done, he was thunderstruck and pleaded for God's mercy. God granted him mercy and Abimelech returned Sarah to her husband (read the entire story in Gen. 20:1-18).
The following is excerpted from my article "Dead Men Walking" (Double Exposure, (c) 1999). From the President to your paperboy, from the Queen to the choir director, from the media elite to the man on the street, we're all dead men walking. There are no exceptions. The corporate executive who climbs into a cab in Chicago is just as dead as the faceless cabbie who drives it. Every person on this planet is a walking dead man of one kind or another. Whether we are dead in sin or dead to sin. God told Abimelech, "Behold, you are a dead man." He was dead though alive! So are we. One way or another. The Bible says some are "dead in sin" (Eph. 2:1) but others are "dead to sin" (Rom. 6:2). Both are susceptible to sin. But one man is insensitive to sin while the other is sensitive to sin. One revels, the other repents.
One man is dead to sin, even in the dead of the night. Whether he's in Minneapolis, home of Billy Graham, or in Las Vegas, home of bawdy girls and gambling. The other man is dead in sin, even as he sins in the night, night after night, into eternal night. Real dead men don't go to bed with dead women ~ those who are dead while they live (1 Tim. 5:6). There is no porn again for the one who has been born again. What's a dead man to do? The world will tell you, "Live hard. Die young." Drive your Infiniti right into eternity. But I'd like to say, "Die hard ~ to sin. Live life to the hilt ~ for God. And you'll be 'Forever Young.'"
Those who wear loincloths in the Outback of Australia or those who wear Cotton Dockers in America are all headed for The Dock. It makes no difference if you wear Guccis or sandals, you are a dead man walking. It matters not whether you stay in a fine hotel in Atlanta with all the amenities or in a poor hovel in Africa with none, you're a dead man walking. The question is: Which kind of a dead man do you want to be?
Hymn: "Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus has bled, and there is remission; Cursed by the law and bruised by the Fall, Grace has redeemed us once for all." (Philip P. Bliss)
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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"But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt" (Gen. 19:26 NIV).
This is a very sad verse to read and ponder. Lot's family had been instructed to leave Sodom. The angels practically had to drag them out of the city and shoo them on their way. One of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" (19:17). So, why did Lot's wife look back? The Ryrie Study Bible says, "Lot's wife, who was trailing behind him with her heart still in Sodom, looked back, died, and possibly was enveloped by blowing salt, which formed a 'pillar' around her body." That may or may not be. Perhaps she was just curious. Perhaps the earth shaking sounds and light flashes of God's judgment were just too much and she turned around to take a look at the devastation. We may never know for sure the motive that caused her to turn around and look. The last thing she saw was the terrible destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah - burning sulfur raining from heaven on the condemned cities.
In the New Testament, Jesus cited the destruction of Sodom and likened it to the day in which He would return to judge the earth (Luke 17:28-36). Jesus understood the account of Sodom and Gomorrah to be factually true. Then He warned, "Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife!" (Luke 17:31, 32). It does us no good to be constantly thinking about what we have left behind when we started on the road to heaven with Jesus. Those who are tempted to turn back need to remember the story of Lot's wife. Onward and upward is our goal. Our old life is behind us and eternal life is before us. Don't look back! Remember Lot's wife! Every time you pick up a salt shaker, you should think of Lot's wife.
Chorus: "The world behind me, the cross before me . . . no turning back, no turning back!"
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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In my travels, both domestic and international, I have flown into many cities. As the plane begins its descent to the airport I often close my book and look down on the thousands of rooftops below. I wonder what is going on in those houses below me. How many wives are being beaten, how many children are being abused, how many children are being told they are no good? Morbid thoughts? I guess so. But God knows the answers to all those questions. He sees all and knows all. Nothing escapes His attention. He hears the cries of the abused.
Case in point? The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. "Then the LORD said, 'The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to Me. If not, I will find out'" (Gen. 18:21 CSB). It must have been awful in those wicked cities. It is a sin so serious and grievous that we have a word in our dictionary today to describe it ~ "sodomy." While some engaged in it for perverted pleasure, others (innocent travelers seeking lodging?) may have been victims of this grievous sin. Their cries reached all the way to heaven. In essence God said to Himself, "This is unbelievable! This is so rotten I am going to have to go down and investigate for Myself." What He saw sickened Him, so much so that He declared He would destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. At this point Abraham intercedes for the cities (probably because his nephew Lot and his family was now living in Sodom). But Sodom was so wicked that not even ten righteous people could be found. Genesis 19 records the divine destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. "Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground" (Gen. 19:24, 25 ESV). The devastation was so great that nothing grows there today. The utter destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah reminds us that God takes sin seriously. He sees all , He hears all, He knows all, and He will deal with all. Only those who are righteous in His sight will be delivered from Destruction II, coming soon, sooner than we may think.
Prayer: Holy Father, hear our prayers today. Find in us the righteousness of Christ that will prepare us for that great day of judgment. May we be found in Him, faultless to stand before Your throne.
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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Have you ever laughed at an inappropriate time. Maybe it was at a wedding or even a funeral. Maybe it was in church on Sunday morning. I'm not talking about laughing at an amusing and appropriate illustration. I mean laughing when we shouldn't be laughing, especially when in concerns God. Sarah found herself in just such a situation one day. The Lord reminded Abraham, now 99, that his wife Sarah, now 90, would have a son. Sarah, inside a tent, heard this conversation.
"Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself . . . And the LORD said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.' But Sarah denied it, saying, 'I did not laugh,' for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh!'" (Gen. 18:11-15 NKJV). I notice several things here that are of interest. Sarah's laughter was suppressed ~ she "laughed within herself." Can't you just see her bending over with her hand over her mouth? Second, God knew she was laughing at what He promised them. He even read her mind and thoughts and quoted them back to Abraham. Third, there is a gentle rebuke for both of them ~ "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" That is something we need to keep in mind when we think we are in an "impossible" situation. Fourth, God has an "appointed time." We operate on the clock and the calendar but God does not. His time is always the right time. Fifth, He promises a return. So did Jesus ~ "If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself" (John 14:3). You can always trust God to show up on time ~ His time. Sixth, what God promises He is well able to perform. He said a 90-year-old woman would have a child, and she did! Seventh, we are very foolish to deny our doubt to God. He knows our heart. He knew that fear forced Sarah to nervously laugh, and then deny that she had done so. It is better to tell God our doubts and fears and then do our best to trust Him and His Word.
Hymn: "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word; Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know, 'Thus saith the Lord.' Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I've proved Him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!" (Louisa M. R. Stead)
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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Have you ever had the urge to change your name? Three of my classmates that I went to high school with in Illinois have changed their names ~ and I am not talking about your last name being changed by marriage. I am perfectly content with the name my mother gave me and have no intentions of ever changing my name. But one day God changed Abram's name. The big name change is found in our text today. "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be called Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations" (Gen. 17:5 NKJV).
Abram. Abraham. It doesn't seem like a significant change. But it really is a big change. "Abram" was given to him by his earthly father. "Abraham" was was bestowed upon him by his heavenly Father. "Abram" means "father of heights." In my book The Biblical Roots of Islam I write, "This could be in reference to the pagan practice of those who lived in Ur and worshiped the moon from the highest platform of the ziggurat (stepped pyramid), as high to the sky as they could get. Abram's father, Terah, was a worshiper of other gods (Josh. 24:4)." Now, when Abram is 99 years old (Gen. 17:1), God gives him a new name ~ "Abraham" ~ which can mean either "father of a multitude" or "father of many nations." This was because of God's covenant with Abraham, first given in Genesis 12, reaffirmed in Genesis 15, and now sealed with the rite of circumcision in Genesis 17, that his descendants would be as numerous as the sands of the sea and the stars in the skies.
Did you know that you also have been given a new name by the Father? If you have accepted Christ and are living for Him, you are now known as "Christian." God declared that one day His people would "be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name" (Isa. 62:2). I believe that new name was revealed for the first time in Acts 11:26 ~ "And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." My Greek teacher in college, Donald G. Hunt, writes in his commentary on Acts (Simple, Stimulating Studies in the Great Book of Acts) that the Greek word for "called" is chrematizo and could just as well have been translated were divinely called. God has given you a new name too!
Hymn: "What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, since Jesus came into my heart! I have light in my soul for which long I had sought, since Jesus came into my heart!" (R. H. McDaniel)
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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One of my father's most famous sermons was taken from Genesis 16:13 KJV. It reads, "And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also looked after him that seethe me?" The NKJV translates this verse as follows. "Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen Him who sees me?'" The one speaking, of course, is Hagar, Sarah's handmaid. Sarah convinced her husband to take a short cut to the promised heir and the end result was a wife's fury and jealousy and poor pregnant Hagar being sent packing into the desert. An angel meets her in the desert, but it is not just any angel. It is The Angel of the LORD. Many believe this to be one of the few theophanies in the Bible, i.e., a self-manifestation of God. It may have even been a preincarnate appearance of Christ Himself.
Dad's sermon, "Thou God Seest Me," is remembered by many for its emphasis on how God is with us even in the darkest of our circumstances. The Angel/LORD spoke kindly to Hagar, promising her a son (Ishmael) "because the LORD has heard your affliction." God know exactly where we are in life, even when we are in a desert of despair. He hears our cries for help. He offers words of comfort. Scripture is chock full of comforting passages that come to from God. "Inspiration" means God-breathed. God breathes His Word to us in difficult times. And we are inspired to go on and not give up. A poet has said...
With eyes that see He's everywhere,
With ears that hear He's always near ~
Leading us out of our wilderness,
Guiding with strength and tenderness.
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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How's your credit report? Many people are worried about their credit report. Enterprising companies have build a profitable business on credit reports. You can check your credit report on some Internet sites. But how is your spiritual credit report? That is our question for the day. Let's take a look at the finest credit report a man could ever have. Our text is found in Genesis 15.
God had promised Abram an heir. But Abram was childless. He humanly thought that perhaps one of the slaves born in his house (Eliezer of Damascus) might qualify for the promised heir (15:2,3). But God had other plans, more noble plans, higher plans! "Now the word of the LORD came to him: 'This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.' He took him outside and said, 'Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' Then He said to him, 'Your offspring will be that [numerous].'" (15:4, 5 CSB). Isn't that amazing? Man proposes but God disposes. Eliezer was not whom God had in mind. Abram himself would father a child and he would be the heir. The tent conversation moves outside where Abram can scan the sky. Even without a telescope he was overwhelmed with the starry host. Innumerable! Yet God tells this old man that his descendants will be that numerous.
Now here is Abram's "credit report." Look carefully at the next verse. "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited to him as righteousness" (15:6 CSB). God chalked it up to Abram's account. Because He believed. The Amplified Old Testament says, "He counted it to him as righteousness [right standing with God]." Paul cites Genesis 15:6 in Romans 4:3 to prove his point that Abraham was justified by faith and not by works. Ten years had come and gone since God first promised Abram with an heir. Why should he trust God? But he did! He "believed" God. The Hebrew verb is aman, "to confirm, affirm." We get "amen" from this word. Faith is saying "amen" to God! And that is what gave him the highest credit report possible ~ God credited his faith, his "amen," as righteousness. So, how's your spiritual credit report?
Prayer: Everlasting Father, God of Abraham, may we always say "amen" to You, in faith, believing Your promises, even when it seems humanly impossible to do so. We place our faith in You, in Your Son's blessed name, Amen.
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| Posted by Victor Knowles at | | | |
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