Chapter 13-Funeral for a Friend (Genesis 23)

...[S]hare in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel...

(2 Timothy 1:8-10 ESV)

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

(1 Corinthians 15:54-58 ESV)

In our text for this lesson, we see Abraham burying his beloved wife, Sarah. She who was with him from the beginning of his journey out of Ur was laid to rest in a cave in the land of promise. In verse 2, Abraham mourns and weeps for the loss of Sarah. And this is as it should be. Our Lord wept upon arriving at the tomb of Lazarus, even though he was about to raise him from the dead. As Dr. Duguid alludes to in our chapter, death is a result of sin; there is a sense in which death is not "how things are supposed to be." Death is profoundly saddening, on many levels, and it is right for us to grieve.

But consider the texts above. Christ has won the victory over sin and death. Therefore, we do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13). This is not the end. As Christians, we have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ (1 Peter 1:3), and we know that not only will we see those whom we love that die in the Lord again, but that we will one day be with them in the presence of Him who set His love upon us from before the foundation of the world.

Chapter 12-Faith Put to the Test (Genesis 22)

"...through Isaac shall your offspring be named."

This is the last time Isaac is mentioned in the text prior to chapter 22, where God then tells Abraham to sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. How do we then see Abraham respond to God's command? Do we see hesitancy on Abraham's part, as we saw Lot lingering in Sodom prior to its destruction? If we were not privy to the entire story from our perspective, we might not be surprised to see Abraham delay the journey to Moriah, or even intercede on behalf of Isaac, much like he did when he asked God to spare Sodom if ten righteous men could be found there; however, we see no trace of hesitancy or reluctance on Abraham's part in carrying out God's command.

He rose early. He cut wood for the burnt offering. He built the altar. He bound Isaac. He took the knife to slaughter his son.

Genesis 22 does not tell us what was going on in Abraham's mind during this time, but in Hebrews 11, we see that it was by faith that he offered up Isaac:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

(Hebrews 11:17-19 ESV)

Abraham did not rely primarily on the promise, but on the God of the promise. He did not focus on his current circumstances in a manner that caused him to be rapt with doubt about the outcome. Only because Abraham understood Who it was that was asking him to sacrifice the son through whom the promise was to be fulfilled, did he unflinchingly set out to do so.

As Christians, we have been promised eternal life through our union with Christ. What things come our way that might make us shift our focus from the God of the promises to the "promises in jeopardy"? Illness? Job loss? Death? Consider what Paul states in Romans 8 regarding the God of the promise, our circumstances, and the assurance of our relationship with him through Christ:

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:32-39 ESV)

God has provided a sacrifice in our place. We who deserve wrath and fury have received mercy and grace. And by faith in Christ, we can know that God will never leave us or forsake us, and we can do whatever we have been called to do, not focusing on the present circumstances, but upon Christ and his finished work.

Chapter 11-Crossing the Rubicon (Genesis 21)

Gentlemen,

My apologies, but there will be no formal entry this week. Please read the lesson and the text in preparation for your meetings.

Blessings

Richie

Chapter 10-Two Steps Forward, One Step Back (Genesis 20)

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

(2 Corinthians 3:18)

In our text this week, we see Abraham once again lying to protect himself from danger. To be sure, the danger was certainly real, for it was not uncommon for those in a position of power to take from others in a weaker position. However, had not Abraham just served a meal to the Creator of the Universe? And hadn't God just shared with Abraham his plans for Sodom? How could Abraham have acted in this manner after all that God had said and done?

I have posed the same question to myself more times than I wish to recall. Do we, despite God's faithfulness and goodness to us, falter and fail at times?

Keep in mind, in Romans 4:19-21 Paul states that Abraham did not "weaken in faith" and that "[n]o distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God." How do we reconcile this with what we read in Genesis 20? It is important to remember that while Abraham was chosen by God, and was considered righteous, he was not perfect. However, the attitude of his heart was not that spoken of in James 1:6-8, the "double-minded man" who is "unstable in all his ways." While Abraham had his moments of weakness as a sinful human, he "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." By God's grace, the trajectory of his heart followed the path of the promise that ultimately led to the cross.

What we see here should be both sobering and comforting. Despite God's promises to us in his word, we sin. But because of God's faithfulness and our union with Christ, we can be assured that not only is God working in and through our failures for our good and his glory, but he is also working in us by the Holy Spirit to accomplish our transformation into the likeness of his Son.

Concerning our progressive sanctification and ultimate glorification, know this: "He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:24)