#77 Camouflage Genesis 28

Blue Belly swift

Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, "you shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan," and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. Also Esau saw the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had. Genesis 28: 6-9 NKJV

I've heard it explained that Esau sees Jacob receive this blessing and instruction, then out of rebellion marries someone that will displease his father and mother even more. I am quite certain that is not the message here or the case. Esau was the number one son in his father's eyes, and though he is a grown man, I think this a ploy to regain favor. It is rather like the family vultures, that are always far and away, until a family member is sick and dying. They are then the most accommodating and caring. I believe Esau is still angry but has resigned from rage to imitate works he thinks will be pleasing. He has become a politician or what my one friend at work refers to as a snapshot guy. I think Esau is not trying to understand the situation from the perspective of God's will and choice, but would rather elevate the position of the patriarchal blessing. He does not realize that the words of his father can in no way change or influence the words of God. Jacob was chosen by God, outside of works, and there is no amount of kissing up that can change this. Esau was concerned with his appearance to men, but God looks at the heart.

And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with Him. So He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. Then the lord said to him, "now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have, then indeed all things are clean to you. Luke 11: 37-41 NKJV

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#76 Lay Low Genesis 28

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham." So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. Genesis 28: 1-5 NKJV

It was easy for Rebekah to get Isaac's support in sending Jacob away. He blesses him again but charges him not to take a wife of the local tribes, like his brother did. God is setting apart those to whom He will reveal His law, but those who worship other God's and idols will not be on the same path. It is a marriage of contention or compromise, but if the God of Abraham will have no other gods then to compromise is to deny who He is. Jacob is sent to Laban, not only to look for a wife, but to let his brother have time to cool down. 

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV

There is a certain incompatibility in a marriage between those who would seek God's will and those who would seek their own. If you put a yoke across a strong bull and weaker bull, you will not get a straight path, but fight going in circles. This does not suggest that Christians should not interact with unbelievers, but marriage is also considered a spiritual union. How can you be one with each other when you are like oil and water. No one can serve two masters, so any relationship that would deny God as the head should be avoided. 

Isaac again blesses Jacob before he leaves and this time knowing it is the younger son. He invokes the Abrahamic blessing, and shows that his own understanding has changed toward obedience in God's will and purpose. Jacob is on his way.

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#75 What You Did To Him Genesis 27

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "the days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob." When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living." Genesis 27: 41-46 NIV

Esau is angry with his brother, and rightly so, but not right to the point of murder. He made his own choices. He despised his birthright, and on that matter he should blame no one but himself. His father should have made God's will and purpose clear to him from the beginning. Esau is in no way upset that his father would favor him over his brother, but probably resents the favoritism his own mother shows towards Jacob. He has been deceived, and Isaac has also. The actions of mother and younger brother are deplorable and wretched, but murder will not be the answer. Be angry and sin not. There is no way to justify anyone in this story by actions. They are all equally depraved.

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. Matthew 18:15 NIV

I'm not saying that all Jacob needed to do was talk to his brother; it would have been better to confront him in love, and if he did not agree then there was still no need for the deceit. Jacob needed to learn the sort of wisdom that none of us is born with. The wisdom that would suggest to and from our hearts that God is greater than this issue, and that He has forgiven much more than I will ever have to forgive. The soap box of self righteousness and the delusion of entitlement will not hold your weight. Those who seek closure and find it necessary to hear over and over again that I was wrong; you are chasing rainbows. You think far too highly of yourself, and you have not forgiven me. Why do we want those who hurt us to pay a penalty a hundred times greater than the infraction. Who am I?

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:28 NIV

I know what you're thinking, you're not a door mat, and you are working on your self esteem. You are trying to find yourself and promote yourself, but your eyes are on yourself. You are not on the path to fulfillment but rather the path that opposes God's word. It is all to be placed in God's hands.

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#74 Trembled Genesis 27

Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, "let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me." And his father Isaac said to him, "who are you?" So he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, "who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him- and indeed he shall be blessed." When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "bless me-me also, O my father!" But he said, "your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing." And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!" And he said, "have you not reserved a blessing for me?" Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?" And Esau said to his father, "have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me-me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and the dew of heaven form above. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck." Genesis 27: 30-40 NKJV

When it says that Isaac trembled, I don't think this was just from anger. He had pursued blessing the eldest son, and had done this outside of God's will. The birthright had already been sold, and Isaac now acknowledges, "indeed I have made him your master." God had already done this before they were born, but Isaac has confirmed it and though he is angry with Jacob, I believe the fear of the Lord is also upon him. 

Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. Romans 11:29 NKJV

God does not teach us to sin, but rather let's men go in its pursuit, so that their nature and His mercy can be revealed. Jacob is about to feel the effects of his deceitfulness and Esau, like a small child, cries for the blessing of the parent, but from a heart of entitlement. 

For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. Hebrews 12:17 NKJV

Do you want God? Do you want humility and a heart that hurts more over its own sin, and pleads for mercy over others? I would even have to pray, Lord, teach me how to pray.

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#73 Esau or Not Genesis 27

So he went to his father and said, "my father." And he said, "here I am. Who are you, my son?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." But Isaac said to his son, "how is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "because the Lord your God brought it to me." Isaac said to Jacob, "please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "the voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. Then he said, "are you really my son Esau?" He said, "I am." He said, "bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, "come near now and kiss me, my son." And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: Surely the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!" Genesis 27: 18-29 NKJV

This is a difficult section to read. Jacob's actions are deplorable, but I can't imagine there being no hurt in pretending to be another, to gain the blessing of your father. Isaac gives the boy several opportunities to end the deceit, but he marches on, and he receives the blessing that Isaac intended for his other son. Both men are wrong here, if you look at the blessing that Isaac gives him; in the end, it is the covenant blessing. God had already given this to Jacob; neither man was trusting in God's will and purpose. The father is acting no better than the son, and the son will suffer for this. The wisdom of the patriarchs is passed down in the honest telling of the stories. They were men like us; they were sinners. What Jacob receives from God is apart from any good dealings of his own. It is in spite of who we are in sin, but rather and by faith who we are in Christ.

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8 NKJV

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#72 Ingredients Genesis 27

Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and eyes were dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, "my  son." And he answered him, "here I am." Then he said, "behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die." Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother saying, 'bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.' Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death." And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver; and I hall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing." But his mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me." And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 

Isaac had gone blind in his old age and may have felt this was an indication that he needed to bless his son soon. He actually lives 43 more years, but it would also appear that he is taking it upon himself to bless the son of his choosing. God has spoken to his wife, Esau bartered his birthright for some beans, and he has married women that grieve his mother and father. This is the son of Isaac's pride, and the beans are one thing, but ignoring the word of the God who speaks to you, hmm. I suppose I'm not much different. The word of God is there for me to read or recall whenever I want to, but when I don't is that the same as not listening? When I hear the word of God, and choose my own way, is that not the same arrogance as here? When my wife speaks to me from the word of God and I am not moved in my resolve, then have I not told her that the word of God is of low account to me?

Isaac's disobedience does not justify his wife's trickery, and Jacob is at first not willing to be cursed by his father. His mother, who has received the word of God, now puts so much weight on the Patriarchal blessing, that she will take any curse upon herself. Jacob is reassured in this, but also in that he is obeying the words of her voice. She told me to do it. I was just doing what I was told. In the corporate world this is considered and asset, but I have always preferred a different approach. It is impossible to know all things and predict every outcome perfectly. When I have the choice to hire, I always look for the person who will stand up to me when I am wrong. This may stunt my corporate rise, but I make and help those above me not just make a decision, but make the right decision. When I am in the position of having to listen to a yes man, I can't put the same amount of weight on his words. I have to find other counsel and it slows the process down, but the counsel of the man who wants what's right over your approval will keep you from a poor decision. Jacob could have disobeyed the words of his mother and been justified in it. God would have dealt with his father and brother.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1 NKJV

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#71 A Word From The Lord Genesis 26

From there he went up to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for My servant Abraham's sake." So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well. When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, Isaac said to them, "why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?" They said, "we see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord." So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac set them on their way, and they departed in peace. That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, "we have found water." He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. Genesis 26:23-35 ESV

God is more than just aware of our interactions with those around us. Reaffirming the Abrahamic covenant with Isaac is also reassurance in his present relationship to those around him. They envy him, which he is aware of to the point of later referencing as hate. Their actions suggest hostility, but what peace must come from the word of the God of his father. "Fear not, for I am with you." I feel better just reading this. 

I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. Job 23:12 NKJV

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and  comfort  of the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4 NKJV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 NKJV

God has given us His word and has opened the door so that we may enter through the blood of His Son. I cut myself off from other believers for many years, and I also cut myself off from the word and prayer. If you truly believe the Bible is God's word then why cut yourself off from the words of your heavenly Father? If it is God's word, than why do you try so hard to impose your will and sinful desires into its text? Though His word may often be a most painful and humbling reminder, that you are still struggling with your pride; it is a most wondrous and gracious reminder that He is with you. Though your neighbors and friends remind you of who you use to be, and are quick to point out your every present fault, He is with you. There is no need of malice or revenge; there is no need to stay offended. I no longer defend my person, for my hope is in the words of Almighty God.

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#70 It is Well Genesis 26

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. the Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) And Abimelech said to Isaac, "go away from us, for you are much mightier than we." So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the valley of Gerar and settled there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. and he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "the water is ours." So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, "for now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." Genesis 26: 12-22 ESV

Isaac doesn't go to Egypt, but stays in the land and is blessed in a place that was suffering from famine. He does so well that he becomes wealthy and the envy of his neighbors. Because his possessions have grown so large, Abimelech, the Philistine king, asks that he leave. The Philistines had filled the wells that Isaac's father had dug, and in an arid land, a place of famine, this could have led to war. Isaac does not seem so greatly moved by this and even later when his men quarrel with the herdsmen of Gerar, he does not run to any king. He does not state his case, but behaves as a visitor in the land. He simply digs another well and calls it "room enough".

By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:9&10 NKJV

Maybe the well wasn't such a big deal after all. Maybe the God who created the earth and the water had something else in mind. God was the one who told him to stay and not go to Egypt. Isaac does not despise the covenant promise; he is content that it is not the Lord's time. "For now the Lord has made room for us." He does not have to fight with his neighbors, or make claim of rights. They can envy him all they want, but all he has to do is trust God. The same God that revealed Himself to Isaac when he was weak before the king. That same king made it a death sentence to harm Isaac or touch his wife.

I hear a call to war with a lot of christians these days. "Claim what's rightfully yours, take hold of your blessing, don't be a door mat." The Bible tells us that Isaac's servants dug a well, but the testimony is that he dug another one. It is a fight most certainly, but not with our neighbors.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6&7 NKJV

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#69 Fear Falling Genesis 26

So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "she is my sister," for he feared to say, "my wife," thinking, "lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah," because she was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, "behold she is your wife. How then could you say, 'she is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "because I thought, 'lest I die because of her.' " Abimelech said, "what is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, "whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." Genesis 26: 6-11 ESV

Like father, like son. Sin is so easily passed down, whereas the relationship with God must be established each time. He has spoken to Isaac and given him the same covenant He had with Abraham. Isaac will have the same fear and doubt that his father had, that anyone would have, in a land where people kill you because your wife is attractive. 

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. Proverbs 29:25 ESV

It is a difficult thing. I tell my children to tell the truth without regard to the possible outcome. In the case of wrong doing it only compounds it to lie, and the ability to trust diminishes. I have let fear decide for me on so many occasions that the choice of it has caused missed opportunities and damaged relationships. There is the fear that comes with ego, the fear of pain, of life and loss. We can be so afraid of embarrassment or the judgment of others that we stay silent or project an image that will please them. It is funny, she is my sister in this instance is for preservation of life. I have said, "she is just my friend", for fear of hurt. It is the path of least resistance, the path that doesn't give another the power or motive to crush you. It is not trusting God.

"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father." Matthew 10: 26-29 ESV

God, help me to not be ruled by fear, and help me to share your word without hesitation or watering down. I trust Your Spirit to perform your will. Tell the truth; its not a bad habit.

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#68 Famine in the Land Genesis 26

Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, "do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Genesis 26: 1-5 ESV

I decided to continue with my study, and look at my third question at a later time. It will present itself often, but in reflection during the Exodus of the next book. This is what happens when you give someone with ADD a Bible and a blog spot. So back to Genesis 26.

God told Abraham to leave the land of his fathers, and Abraham obeyed. There is another famine in this land now, and apparently the natural course for Isaac to take, is to pack up and go to Egypt. Sometimes God tells us to go, but this time He is telling Isaac not to. Whether He shows us a different path or tells us to stay and stand fast, it is ours to trust and obey. God speaks to Isaac and reassures Him of the covenant He had with his father.

"I will be with you":
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23: 4 ESV

"will bless you":
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5

"I will give all these lands":
Abraham had received a national promise, and these lands would be given to this nation as its home.
"Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord God promised you." Joshua 23:4&5 ESV

"I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven"
He does not here make the earlier statement of sands of the seashore, but carries it with you and your offspring. He then moves in to the spiritual blessing of stars of heaven, and the blessing that will come to all nations through this covenant.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1: 3-6 ESV

 "because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
And how did Abraham keep these?
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8 ESV

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#67 In Love

First, let me apologize for my last post. These are the things I believe, but after reading it aloud, it is clear I entertained the argument without disclosing the spirit of the matter. I do not want to alienate my Arminian brothers, for that is the tradition from which I came. In the spirit of the matter, I am imploring not just the reader but myself to test what we believe against that of Holy scripture. Where my heart can so easily deceive me, the scripture itself cannot lie. It is not for God's word to conform to my opinion but rather for me to take the whole counsel of God and conform to the mind of Christ. 

And I brethren when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1Corinthians2: 1-5 NKJV

I am a Christian. I believe that I was a sinner, as was pointed out to me by Holy Scripture. 

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:19 - 26 NKJV

And so the law was my teacher, revealing to me the righteousness of God, and the inadequacy of my own righteousness. The law was not weak in it's declaration, but pointed to my inherent inability to attain righteousness. It pointed me to Christ. 

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish law. Romans 3:27-31 NKJV

In the old testament, our sin was revealed along with our inability to stand before a righteous judge. Only the priest could enter the house of the Lord. 

All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. But let no one come into the house of the Lord except the priests and those of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 23: 5b - 6 NKJV

This painted the picture of One who would enter for many on their behalf, and pay the price of all, so that all who believe could enter through Him.

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another- He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Hebrews 9: 22-28 NKJV

We have a new High Priest who sits at the right hand of God and we have become part of the body of Christ and priest unto God.

"You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth." Revelation 5: 9&10 NKJV

We are to share the gospel.

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10: 15 -17 NKJV

As for doctrine, I believe it should be grounded in Holy Scripture. As to Sola Scriptura it does not denounce tradition, the organization of church or the wisdom to be gained from those who God has called as teachers and ministers. Solo Scriptura, of the anabaptist movement, denies the community of believers and is the believer and the Bible alone; Sola vs. Solo. That would defy Hebrews 10:25.

The Bible does not use the words Sola Scriptura for those that would argue the superiority of tradition. 

As my Muslim, Jehovah Witness, and Mormon friends often point out, the Bible does not use the word Trinity either, as they prefer to denounce the Deity of Christ. 

That's why I always ask, "do you believe the Bible is God's word?"

What led the early reformers to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura? God's word tells us that:

Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16&17 NKJV

As for the traditions of the early church:

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (+ca.195):

We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.

(Against Heresies, 3:1.1, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, p. 414.)

St. Athanasius (c.296-373):

The holy and inspired Scriptures are fully sufficient for the proclamation of the truth.

(Against the Heathen, I:3, quoted in Carl A. Volz, Faith and Practice in the Early Church [Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1983], p. 147.)

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430):

Let them show their church if they can, not by the speeches and mumblings of the Africans, not by the councils of their bishops, not by the writings of any of their champions, not by fraudulent signs and wonders, because we have been prepared and made cautious also against these things by the Word of the Lord; but [let them show their church] by a command of the Law, by the predictions of the prophets, by songs from the Psalms, by the words of the Shepherd Himself, by the preaching and labors of the evangelists; that is, by all the canonical authorities of the sacred books.

(On the Unity of the Church, 16, quoted in Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, Part I [Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971], p. 159.)

St. John Chrysostom:

Regarding the things I say, I should supply even the proofs, so I will not seem to rely on my own opinions, but rather, prove them with Scripture, so that the matter will remain certain and steadfast.

(Homily 8 On Repentance and the Church, in The Fathers of the Church, Vol. 96, p. 118.)

St. Basil the Great:

What is the mark of a faithful soul? To be in these dispositions of full acceptance on the authority of the words of Scripture, not venturing to reject anything nor making additions. For, if “all that is not of faith is sin” as the Apostle says, and “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,” everything outside Holy Scripture, not being of faith, is sin.

(The Morals, in The Fathers of the Church, Vol. 9, p. 204.)

St. Basil the Great:

We are not content simply because this is the tradition of the Fathers. What is important is that the Fathers followed the meaning of the Scripture.

(On the Holy Spirit, 7:16.)

St. John of Damascus (c.675-c.749):

It is impossible either to say or fully to understand anything about God beyond what has been divinely proclaimed to us, whether told or revealed, by the sacred declarations of the Old and New Testaments.

(On the Orthodox Faith, I:2, in The Fathers of the Church, Vol. 37.)

Again, I am a Christian, and I believe that Salvation is of the Lord. People will call me a Calvinist because I take views similar to His in regards to doctrine, but John Calvin is a man, and I follow Christ. 

For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 1Corinthians 3:4-6 NKJV

I hope this answers some of the emails and G+ issues brought up as to what I believe. I hope you read it, in the light that it comes from, which is my love of God's word and you as my friends. 

Thank you, Calvin

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#66 Summation of Genesis 25 Study Part 2

I am speaking the truth in Christ - I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit - that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "through Isaac your offspring be named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of promise are counted as offspring. for this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son." And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of His call - she was told, "the older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed by in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, "why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will? But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory - even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, "those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call beloved. And in the very place where it was said to them, 'you are not my people, there they will be called 'sons of the living God" and Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." And as Isaiah predicted, "if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah." What shall we say, then? That gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, "behold I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offenses; and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame." Romans 9 ESV

Paul, in speaking of Israel, is overwhelmed with compassion and love for his Jewish brothers, so much that he would wish that which he cannot perform. He would that he could be lost for the sake of them to be found. It was they, who according to God's Sovereign choice, were adopted to receive the oracles of God and through them God brought up, according to the flesh, Christ. And not just any Messiah, but Christ who is God overall, again pronouncing His deity. 

They had received the word of God, the prophecies of Messiah, the law that they could not keep but should convict the heart, they had the covenants, and the stories of the patriarchs. They had all these things which pointed to a God who does not choose by merit where there is none. So did the word of God fail?

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55: 10&11 NKJV

It did not fail, it accomplished God's will, as Paul points out not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, but "through Isaac your offspring be named." Before Jacob and Esau were ever born, outside of tradition, God chose that the older would serve the younger before either had done good or bad. I use to believe that God's foreknowledge implied him seeing the actions of Jacob verses Esau despising His birthright. But here, the writer states it is not based on good or bad. If it were based on merit it could not be by faith. Paul goes even further to state that it was that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of His call. As a young man I asked and it was explained to me that it was of faith, but the faith of those who believe, and that it was not based upon a work but on God's foreknowledge of those who would believe. It was also explained that Jesus would never interfere with my free will, but rather woo or convince me until I chose Him, based again on already knowing that I would. I accepted this in my early years as a boy in a Southern Baptist church,  a non denominational church, and later as a young man in the Pentecostal movement. I grew to despise men like John Calvin, John MacArthur, and was admittedly shocked to find that such a kind and loving soul, like I found in Charles Spurgeon, could ever believe such a thing as reformed theology. Nevertheless, when I needed a good commentary, I would always find myself reaching for one of MacArthur's. I respected his reverence for the word of God and though I prayed at Ligoneers one year that he would brake out in tongues, it was my own that ceased. But that is another story. It was there that I started to have the desire to know God's word as he intended and not based upon my wants or emotions. This led to more questions:

First, if it was based upon choosing God from my own "free will", then why did the apostle Paul say it was not based on human will or exertion?

The view I was being taught required the exertion of my will to except or allow God's work to take place. When I asked, it was explained to me that we believe this because it is an Arminian view and consistent with Scripture. That is really not true on both accounts.

1. Arminius, passed away before providing a work on his view, so his followers or Remonstrants wrote the 5 Articles of Remonstrance, which states, Salvation (and condemnation on the day of judgment) was conditioned by the graciously enabled faith (or unbelief) of man;

So what my "Arminian" friend was describing to me was not classical Arminiamism, but rather more in the way of Semi-Pelagianism, which teaches that the beginning of faith is an act of the free will. I have a hard time finding the distinction between this and Pelagianism, where man effects his own salvation. One blatantly claims works at its core while the other tries to deny such claim by way of cooperation. It requires an act of the will which is based in the faith of the one believing, independent of grace, and then later increased by God.  This was like me saying I use to be a humanist but now I am a semi-humanist.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2: 8&9 NKJV

If I read the words above, not as one trained in the Greek, but within the context of this passage on salvation, it would appear that faith is the antecedent to that or in some translations, this. Being an Arminian, but not exactly sure what that meant, I decided at the time, with some help from someone familiar with Greek, to approach it by way of the phrase, rendering grace through faith as the antecedent, and thus salvation being the gift of God. This approach based upon the gender of the pronoun, this. Salvation is the gift of God, but the statement brakes it down to the level of its components preceding the pronoun. As John MacArthur so straightly and simply puts it: " 'That' refers to the entire previous statement of salvation, not only of grace but the faith. Although men are required to believe for salvation, even that faith is part of the gift of God which saves and cannot be exercised by one's own power. God's grace is preeminent in every aspect of salvation." The interpretation by phrase and or rule of pronoun gender did not help my Arminian stand.

Another point made, in an Arminian argument I saw against this interpretation, was that the word for gift here, was also used as the word for offering in the Greek, but as coming from man to God. I am really trying not to be sarcastic here, but plug that into the verse: you see it follows grace and faith and that not of yourselves, it is the offering from man to God of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. I'm not seeing how that changes anything. What was the sacrifice for your sins? If you answer, Jesus, then who is Jesus? If you answer God, then Who's offering was found acceptable?

   2. What is the reason, when I was an Arminian, that I should reject J. MacArthur's above interpretation of these verses?

"The Arminian holds that Christ, when He died, did not die with an intent to save any particular person. And they teach that Christ’s death does not in itself secure beyond doubt the salvation of any one man living. They believe that Christ died to make the salvation of all men possible; and that by the doing of something else, any man who pleases may attain unto eternal life. Consequently, they are obliged to hold that if man’s will would not give way and voluntarily surrender to grace, then Christ’s atonement would be unavailing. They hold that there was no secure particularity and specialty in the death of Christ. Christ died, according to them, as much for Judas in hell as for Peter who mounted to heaven. They believe that for those who were consigned to eternal fire, there was as true and real a redemption made as for those who now stand before the throne of the Most High."

Charles Spurgeon

I had not seen this in some time and you can imagine my shock as a young Arminian, reading further in to the works of Spurgeon and finding "Why I am a Calvinist." I respected the man's love of God enough to listen, but thought I had maybe cornered him in the way of 2Peter 3:9:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV

This along with 1Timothy 2:4 were the bullets that I could fire back at the likes of John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and John MacArthur. Around the same time I was loading these into their respective chambers, I ran into an old friend from the Pentecostal movement, he had found something even more profound in these verses. It was a special sort of knowledge, an epiphany he called it. He said, "I read it over and over again. No one goes to hell, He is not willing that any should perish, and from 1Tim., He desires all men to be saved." I contested that he was taking this out of context, in a passage talking just  prior, of the judgment of ungodly men, and in 1 Timothy where Paul, not only names two false prophets, but declares that they have been delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. He was leaving the whole counsel of God, for an emotional interpretation of scripture, but I wondered, could I somehow be doing the same?

Paul starts this whole message of Romans 9 with an emotional decree, declaring his sorrow and the unceasing anguish of his heart, the will of compassion, not wanting his brothers to be punished. Paul states, "I could wish". He does not here change the message  to match his sorrow though but rather presses on to give the doctrine of election. Can God also not wish that any should perish, but have already judged sin, and by grace save those, whom He has chosen of His active will and pleasure? The Bible never considers it a dichotomy to put together both God's truth and God's love or God's love and God's justice. Is it here any different when we speak of God's will in love, not wanting that any should perish, but allowing in His will that justice be done? And yet again, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy. Can we declare God unjust in this? Being that not only did He choose His elect outside of both good deed and good will, He also does not ignore justice in this, but rather pays the price in His Son. It pleased the Lord. I will leave this and move on to the next major question I had as young believer. The next post will continue with questions that came from reading in Genesis of Sodom, and then later in Romans of God's will and election. I will also leave you with an excerpt from Pastor Samson on 2Peter, good stuff:

Without doubt, 2 Peter 3:9 is the single most popular verse used to dismiss the reformed doctrine of election, bar none. Usually the meaning of the verse is assumed without taking any time to study it, which is the very hallmark of tradition. In fact, traditions are so strong that many do not even see the need to study the verse because they believe there is no need to do so. I have to admit that I did this for many years. Those most enslaved to their traditions are those who believe they do not have any. First of all then, let us read the verse in its context.

2 Peter 3:1-9 - This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

The first thing we notice is that the subject of the passage is not salvation but the second coming of Christ. Peter is explaining the reason for the delay in Christ’s second coming – He is still coming, and will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night (v. 10).

The second thing to notice is the clear identity of the people he is addressing. He speaks of the mockers as “they”, but everywhere else he speaks to his audience as “you” and the “beloved.” This is very important because the assumption that is usually made is that the “you” the “any” and the “all” of 2 Peter 3:9 refers to everyone on the planet.

But surely "all" means “all,” right? Well usually, yes, but not always. This has to be determined by the context in which the words are found. For example, when a teacher is getting ready to start a class and asks his students, "Are all here?" he is not asking if every last living person on planet earth is present in the room. Rather he is referring to all the students enrolled in the class. It is context that provides the basis for a sound interpretation.

So, the question in 2 Peter 3:9 is whether "all" refers to all human beings without distinction, or whether it refers to everyone within a certain group. The context indicates that Peter is writing to a specific group and not to all of mankind – “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours” 2 Peter 1:1. The audience is confirmed when Peter writes, “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved.” (2 Peter 3:1)

Can we be even more specific? Yes, because if this is the second letter addressed to them, the first makes it clear who he is writing to. 1 Peter 1:1 - “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect…” So Peter is writing to the elect in 2 Peter 3, saying:

“This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved.... But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (v. 1, 8, 9 - emphasis mine)

If the "any" or “all” here refers to everyone in human history, the verse would prove far more than Arminians would want to prove - it would prove universalism rather than Christianity. (Universalism is the false doctrine that teaches that everyone will ultimately be saved, with no one going to hell). If God is not willing that any person perish, then what? No one would ever perish! Yet, in context, the "any" that God wills not to perish must be limited to the same group he is writing to, the elect, and the "all" that are to come to repentance is the very same group. Christ’s second coming has been delayed so that all the elect can be gathered in. God is not willing that any of the elect should perish, but that all of them come to repentance.

Rather than denying election, understood in its biblical context, it is one of the strongest verses in favor of it.

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Spurgeon

An interesting history in the Baptist Church.
http://www.spurgeon.org/downgrd.htm

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#65 Summation of Genesis 25 Study Part 1

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, "let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, "sell me your birthright now." Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" Jacob said, "swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. Genesis 25: 29-34 ESV

An interesting scene, Esau is being more than a little dramatic, as the Scriptures would indicate. He is hardly dying, he is tired and hungry, and is willing to trade his birthright for the desires of his appetite. He is described here as despising his birthright, and used later by the writer of Hebrews as an example of those who grow weary of the sanctifying work of God. The Abrahamic covenant carried with it two branches, that of the material (the sands on the seashore), but most significantly that of the spiritual (as the stars in the heavens). It is God who is Sovereign over both, and the spiritual blessing is eternal, far out weighing real-estate or other temporal possessions.

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. Hebrews 12-17NKJV

In the same manner that Esau despised his birthright do we not also take lightly the cross? Though we are no longer under the law is it the work of grace that we should live unto the flesh? Should we profane the word of God by teaching that which is more appealing to our life style, or those of our friends who might take offense at some of God's word? Is that  responsible apologetics, consistent with the doctrines set forth in the Bible? How will those who know us by the name we call ourselves, Christian, ever want to hear us speak of sin or the need of a Savior when we do not come bearing the truth in peace? Where are the pears telling me this is not an apple tree? It is a sad thing to see men, who do not claim Jesus as Lord, live humanist lives much more morally compelling than our own. As a young man not wanting the things of God, I clung to the words of David Hume, Socrates and Gandhi.  In David I did not find a moral teacher and in the end, though an intelligent philosopher, his circular reasoning fell apart. But I still took solace in the moral logic of Gandhi, and his words echoed my own problems with the church: "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ,' or as some others have stated that he most likely put it, 'Oh, I don't reject Christ, I love Christ; its just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ." That was all the confirmation I needed ,at least at the time. It reinforced my issue with the hypocrisy of those in church, but it did not resolve the issue of the hypocrite I couldn't see. Even at first light, when I came to suspect his existence, I decided to confront him myself, in the flesh. I did not take to knee, but rather tried to find hope in the religious, and in my own works. And yet it is still not a call to the holiness of the law which was insufficient, but rather a call back to your first Love. So lightly I held this thing, it was more like a necklace with a cross hanging on it or a tattoo of Calvary. I read where Paul cried out, "O wretched man that I am!" And now why was Paul calling himself wretched? This is disturbing for me because if I compare my life to his, my words to his, my walk with God to his, how is he after everything he has been through, wretched? Unlike me, Paul was not comparing his holiness to Gandhi, to himself to aim higher, or finding someone more wretched, like me, to be content with how far he has come. He is not sinning more, but rather comparing his holiness to God's, and exposing his every weakness. He does not crucify Christ anew nor despise the cross, but rather despises his sin.

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, "this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," then He adds, "their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Hebrews 10:14-18 NKJV

"There is only one way to have assurance of salvation: that is, to realize we are condemned, and be satisfied that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ alone can wash us and cleanse us." - John Calvin

"The adoption of Jacob was founded on the sole good pleasure of God...lest men should attribute something to their own preparatory acts." John Calvin

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#64 Jacob and Esau Genesis 25

These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) they settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen. These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, "if it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, "two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger." When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau, Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Genesis 25: 12-28 ESV

By custom and tradition, the elder would receive the birth right, but God has made it clear to Rebekah that this is not His choice. Esau's children will not carry the blood line for the continuation of the covenant He made with Abraham. God has chosen, outside and above man's tradition, to keep His covenant with the younger, Jacob. Isaac has chosen Esau, he relates to the eldest and enjoys the game he brings home. He is a man's man, a hunter and he is the oldest. God has chosen Jacob, he is a mama's boy and later a calculating deceiver. He is the favorite of his mother, and she probably feels justified in this since God has said that the older shall serve the younger. There was never a need for favoritism, but only trust in God's will. Man's intervention will in no way thwart God's plan nor will it ever be a necessity to His work, but the choices we make with our children can have long lasting ramifications. Here, it works to be divisive, between not only brothers but also between husband and wife.

There is a Messianic theme in here along with the doctrines of grace that Paul will later reference in his defense of election. Before we dive so deep, I would like to touch on some other points often overlooked in favor of the debate. There is in this the matter of preference both in respect of person, and in the handling of God's word.

Abraham was given God's covenant and told that Sarah would have a son, but in view of the natural he opted for plan B, and had a son by his wife's handmade. God's plan had not changed and he did not ask for this intervention, and when they speak again, Abraham, who loves Ishmael and has grown attached to him, tries to slip him in to the conversation as the heir. This does not change God's mind, and God does not settle for less than what He sets out to do. It is in doubt because he is old and his wife is passed the time of children. It is also an easy way out. I have done this outside of Your will, now if You could just change Your will, and make Ishmael the heir, we could just sweep the whole thing under the rug and no hard feelings. I have spent much time there and the wounds, they do run deep.

So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "surely the Lord's anointed is before Him!" But the Lord said to Samuel, "do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as a man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1Samuel 16: 6&7 NKJV

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form nor comeliness; And when wee see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. Isaiah 53:2 NKJV

Quite honestly, I would have chosen Esau too. I like to hunt and fish, and he represented the manly ideal that would have been a natural choice later for a robust and strong Messiah. While Jacob does not represent Jesus in character, he shares in the representation of God's will and the glory of His volition. Jesus came as a servant, washing people's feet, and not seeking the acceptance of the religious rulers. He came to seek and to save the lost, and not bearing a sword, he instead commends a Roman centurion of his faith. He is not the preferred Messiah then or now, and it is only through faith that men come to see, that He is the only choice and the rightful heir to share in God's glory. The Jews wanted a Messiah that would destroy Rome, they did want a Messiah to point out their sin nor a lamb to fulfill the word of God that had been spoken and revealed since the beginning of time. It is the same today; we want miracle Jesus, we want to share in the power of God, we want closure from the world and it's suffering, but we do not want to wash feet or forgive. We love debate, and though we should not shrink from defending the gospel, we should do so in love.

The world still seeks it's own Messiah and we are told that he will come promising peace and instead bring destruction. Many false Messiah's have come, and they preach to men's pride. They are politicians, they are personalities, television stars, and those who try to appeal to the whims of man rather than the will of God. Men blame God for their disbelief, or some say that God does not exist, and that the Bible is not the inspired by God. They claim to seek truth, but I contest, for all I see is men seeking to prove true that which they already believe. They sacrifice the truth to turn to their own way.

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#63 Burying Together Genesis 25

Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. Jockshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east. This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred and seventy five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi. Genesis 25: 1-11 NKJV

It is interesting in verse 9 that both Isaac and Ishmael bury their father Abraham. Abraham has scattered Isaac's half brothers away, and to the East. This is most likely to ensure that there will be no contest for the inheritance. But here we have Isaac and Ishmael, though estranged from each other early on, now returning to pay their respects and bury their father together. 

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from the east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. Matthew 8:10-13 NKJV

Here, Jesus defines the kingdom of God and defies the rabbinical teaching of the time. It is not the nation physical, but that of faith, theirs had become a religion based upon birthright. The glorious thing is that the remnant of Israel who do believe, seeing that there is no way by physical means, nor by birth to enter the kingdom of heaven. They, who see that there is only one way by which men can be saved, will in and by trusting Jesus Christ as Savior, be joined to those who were once estranged but have trusted the same. There and only there is true peace found, in that we are all reconciled to God through Christ, and now one body. Many of Ishmael's children will sit down with Isaac's children at the great feast. Even now through Christ I have been able to witness the reconciliation of those who were born enemies. Remember, if you are a Christian, that in God's kingdom the lion will lay down with the lamb, and if you are a Christian then even now your testimony is that of one, who by faith, walks in that kingdom even now. I love you regardless of your phenotype or place of birth, even if you have chosen to be my enemy; it is not for me to hate you. 

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