1. He prayed for success (v12)
2.  He was specific in asking for divine leading and dared to ask for a sign as a confirmation of that leading – something that will help him recognise the answer from God when it came (v13-14)
3. He was continually tuned to the Lord’s wavelength. “Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful”(v21)
4. He worshipped and praised the Lord for answered prayers(v26 – 27).
5. He did not hesitate to testify to others on how the Lord had answered his prayers. (v42-49)

The passage says “Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor”(v15). Having agreed with God on how to recognise the person, he swung into action playing out, the strategy he had agreed with God as it were! While the lady was watering the camels, “Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful”(v21)!

The Lord’s promise through Isaiah still stands true that “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear”(Isa.65v24). The Lord Jesus in the sermon on the Mount instructed his servants to ask, seek and knock. He said “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened”(Mat. 7v7-8).

Lord Jesus, Help me today and always, to dare to take you at your word and pray with faith that you are willing and able to answer if only I dare to ask in your name. Help me to expectantly wait for your answer as I pray. Amen

His first response was Prompt obedience!  “Early the next morning Abraham got up,  and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about”(v3). How tempting it might have been to do either of the following:

1. Interpret the voice of he heard with the instruction as an enemy attack and reject outright that voice!
2. Go into prayer and fasting to plead with God to change his mind (since he did not doubt that it was a clear instruction from God). He would have even reminded God of all the promises God had made regarding this child
3. Did he take Sarah into confidence? How would Sarah have responded?

The very next day, early in the morning, Abraham headed for the place God had instructed – a three day journey!

And how prompt obedience gladdens the heart of God! God promptly too, reaffirmed His promise to Abraham with an oath! He said, “I swear by myself, declares the    Lord,    that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,   I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,  and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”(v16-18).

Dear Father, Please help me to recognise your voice when you speak and to  respond promptly in obedience , like Abraham. This I pray through your son, my saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

What a heart warming  commentary on the life of a man whose only recorded commendable act in the scriptures was that he, like his uncle Abraham, practiced hospitality and took into his home strangers and in the process entertained angles, even putting his life at risk for them (v9) ! Every other recorded act was laced with self interest and  poor choices for example:

1. Against expected traditional norms, he accepted to make the first  choice ahead of his much older Uncle that brought him up.  Gen 13v10- 11 reads  “Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the    Lord, like the land of Egypt, towards Zoar. (This was before the    Lord    destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah). So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out towards the east. The two men parted company”
2. It appears he could not resist the lure of cities! When he parted ways with his Uncle, “Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom”( Gen 13v12) Even though his core investment was in livestock  having regard to the fact that it was his economic interest that clashed with that of his uncle (Gen 13v7), he pitched his tents near Sodom. By the time of this rescue, he had moved right into the city of Sodom, built a house and fully integrated into the life of the city and become one of the elders sitting at the city gate (19v1)! Even at his rescue, he negotiated a relocation to another city, Zoar (19v18-22) and yet he knew very well that the city of Zoar was in alliance with Sodom and had even gone to war together during which he was captured and Abraham had to intervene to rescue him and his family (14v8).
3. When it dawned on him that even Zoar was not that safe, Lot, in fear, moved and settled in a cave on the mountain alone with his 2 daughters and ended fathering their 2 sons (19v30-35),

Despite all the poor choices, we are told that Lot was a righteous man who experienced divine mercy! Peter commenting how God intervenes on behalf of the righteous used Lot as an example. He said “if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;  and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men  (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) – if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment”(2 Pet. 2v6-9).

If mercy is defined as a companionate response that moves a person to help one who is helpless and in need, Mercy could as well have been Lot’s middle name:

• He lost his father as a child but was brought up by both grand father and uncle who loved him
• He was caught up in a war he had no hand in and taken as a prisoner of war but was rescued by his Uncle and his allies.
• The friendship between his Uncle and God and the intercession of his Uncle laid the foundation for his rescue from the punishment that was visited on Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of his fascination!
• The intervention of the Angels as they pulled him back into the house saved him from being manhandled by the men of Sodom.

• Even   “When he hesitated [leaving that city], the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them”(v16).

How true that “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,”(Titus 3v5-6)

Father, I thank you for your mercy, which I enjoy on daily basis. Lord, help me to be thankful through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen

Abraham, by this singular act, once again, demonstrated that his wealth, rather than defining him or being a measure of significance, was in fact mere resources to be deployed in service!

In the process, unintended or intentional reward accompanied this act of  hospitality including:

1. The confirmation of the eminent fulfillment of the promise of God. God had promised him a son. The fulfillment of that promise had been delayed for 14 years and counting.  While eating the meal that was served by Abraham,  “the    Lord    said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”  (v10).
2. He developed deep friendship with God such that he became a confidant of God. The Lord said  ”Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”  (v17) and in the process he dared to intercede on behalf of Sodom in order to save his Nephew Lot (v23-33). Even Jehoshaphat, generations later, acknowledged the friendship between God and Abraham (2 Chron. 20v7). David, on the same note, observed that “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them”(Ps 25v14).

Generations later the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the creator of the whole universe takes off His robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, stooped down and began to wash the feet of his disciples! He said “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you”(Jn 13v13-15).

The new testament is replete with injunction to believers to serve one another and be give to  hospitality. The writer of Hebrews  alluding to this encounter of Abraham with the angels of the Lord enjoined us  not to “ forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it”(Heb 13v2).

Dear Father, despite the challenges of present day living, I pray that you will grant me and sustain in me, the heart of obedience to follow the example of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in serving others that you bring my way. This I pray in His precious name. Amen

He had, in faith, believed God when promised the whole land of Canaan as his possession and the inheritance for his generations to come even when, as yet, he had no child and he was already advanced in years.

Slow and steady and legitimately, he had accumulated wealth in that land to the extent that the land could no longer support him and his nephew Lot and they had to part ways as discussed earlier. He had been blessed to such an extent that “When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”( 14v14) – in pursuit of the captors in order to rescue his nephew Lot.

In appreciation of the rescue of not only Lot but also everybody captured along with Lot, the King of Sodom offered to Abram all the goods and plunder that had been rescued along with the people but Abraham  refused saying “that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.‘  “(v23)

Clearly, Abraham had very clear understanding of wealth including the following:

1. That wealth come from God. He refused to yield  to the temptation of giving man the credit of making him rich or contributing to his riches.  Rather he held on to the promise of God who called him and promised him the whole of Canaan as an inheritance. He believed God who said to him in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield,  your very great reward.” (v1). How often we need the reminder God spoke to the Children on Israel in  Deut 8v 17-18 “You may say to yourself, My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.”
2. That God had the first call on all he had. Met by Melchizedek, king of Salem, the priest of God Most High,  Abraham, in worship, gave a tenth of all that he had (v20)!
3. That Wealth is a great servant.  It is amazing how throughout the story of Abraham, what he had was used to serving God, serving other,  practicing hospitality and in the process, entertaining  the Angels that were on their way to destroying Sodom and Gomorrah! As observed by Solomon, the Preacher, “ wealth hoarded [is] to the harm of its owner” (Ecc 5v13).
4. That wealth has its place in one’s set of priorities – There was no doubt that having an offspring was more important to Abraham than whatever possession he had and could amass. In fact he told God so (15v2-3). Given the assurance that he will have a son, (despite his age), he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. (v6). Much later, when Jesus came, he taught that it is foolish to trade one’s life for his possession. He said “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”(Mk 8v36-37).

Dear Lord, I pray that I will have and maintain a clear understanding of the purpose you entrust any resources into my hand and use it in a way that would bring pleasure to your heart. This I pray through Jesus Christ, your greatest gift to me. Amen

Lot never knew about the call of God on Uncle Abraham  but as a dependent, he [Lot] had journeyed to Canaan with Abraham, explored the land together, migrated to Egypt during the famine and back to Canaan together.

Lot had grown, acquired personal possessions of his own while still under Abraham’s roof “but the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together”(v6).  In the process, ”quarrelling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot”(v7).

Against all expectation, against all tradition, Abraham, for the sake of peace surrendered his perceived rights to his baby nephew including:

• The right to choose first as the elder, the benefactor and the only father figure Lot ever new
• The right to the whole of the promised land as promised by God

How was Abraham able to expertly manage this delicate situation that would have exploded into an all out war in the ‘family’?

1. He was a man of peace. Paul in Rom.12v18 encourages us that “if  it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”.
2. He valued relationship over and above personal rights and resources. He said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers”(v8).
3. He lived by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor.5v7). His sense of worth and his significance was anchored more in the God who called him out and promised him rather than what he immediately had in hand thus, he was not tempted to rush to exercise His right to choose “  the whole plain of the Jordan [which] was well watered, like the garden of the    Lord,    like the land of Egypt, towards Zoar”(v10) but offered that right to his nephew which he prompted took!
4.  He knew when to let go. (v9). He said to Lot “Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” How often, we fail to let go when it is time to let go! How often we hold tight to relationships, traditions and rights that have out lived their purpose either for selfish reasons or for fear of what family or people would say?  May the Lord grant us the courage to obey Him and let go what we must!

Its refreshing to  experience the benefit of pursuing peace!  Abraham stayed focused on his purpose and mission – the pursuit of God and the ways God was leading him rather than being consumed with bitterness, anger and unnecessary war with someone who has turned out to be ungrateful for all he had do for him! “ The    Lord    said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.  All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring for ever.  I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.  Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”(v15-17).

Father I pray that I would pursue peace all my days and be driven by the desire to please you all my days and to fulfill the  purpose for which you have so wired me. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and saviour. Amen

This move appeared more reckless given the fact that he did not know the specific place he was going! All he knew was that  “The    Lord    had said to him [Abram], “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”(v1).

He got to Canaan and  “The    Lord    appeared to him [Abram] and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the  Lord,    who had appeared to him”(v7). The problem however was that:

1. The place was already occupied by the Canaanites (v6)
2. The place was not really that developed and better than where he was coming from for he had to be living in tent and moving from place to place (v8-9).
3. The promise was fine-tuned to apply to the offspring that he did not have (since Sarai his wife was barren (11v30).
4. Soon after arriving, there is a great famine that necessitates his moving on to Egypt! (v10)

So what prompted this seventy five year old to behave so recklessly (almost bothering on foolishness)? We can glean several reasons from the story including the following:

1. He had a vibrant friendship relationship with God (v1). One that was not once off but continuous such that he could recognise the voice of God when God spoke personally to him. He had a sort of relationship that he could  act on. It was not a casual relationship buy one that both parties took seriously.
2. He heard the Voice of God (v1).  God had instructed him to get up and leave the known for the unknown, one that would be revealed to him in due course. Like his great, great father Noah, He recognised that the command of God was to be obeyed even if it did not make sense and he did.
3. He in faith, believed the promises of God (v7). His wife was barren and he was 75 years old and on arriving in Canaan, “The    Lord    appeared to him [Abram] and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the    Lord,    who had appeared to him”(v7).  Abraham believed God and worship! There was so much to challenge his faith – the fact that the place was already occupied, the fact that he was already old and the fact that his wife was barren. However, rather than focusing on the realities on ground, he believed God. He worshipped God who had promised! Half way through the story of His walk with God, by the time he was approaching 100 years of age and the promises of God appear to be delaying, he engages God and again reassured by God, “Abram believed the  Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness!”(Gen 15v6)

Dear father, help me in the midst of the many noises around me to hear your voice and, in faith, to choose to obey you, even when it does not quite make sense. This I pray through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Then seven days to the start of the rains, with no sophisticated weather forecast capabilities ( as we see on CNN these days), Noah started loading the ark with materials, livestock and birds as God had commanded (v9).

On the day before the rains came, “On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.”(v13)! His sense of obedience must have been very infectious – His wife, three sons and their wives – entered the ark with him!

“And Noah did all that the  Lord   commanded him” (v5) – irrespective of the decadence of society around him for earlier we read “The    Lord    saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”(6v5-6). Noah was not swayed or distracted by the goings on in society around him. He steadfastly focused on doing what he had heard from God and resolved to obey!

No wonder “Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord”(6v8).  No wonder God could testify this about Noah “ The    Lord    then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.”(v1)

Dear Lord, I pray that I will be found righteous in this generation as I commit daily to obeying you even when it does not make sense, even when I do not understand. Give me the grace to be continually tuned into your wavelength that I may recognise you when you speak and Father, give me the courage to obey you. This I pray in Jesus name. Amen

]]> http://eaocholi.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/noah-a-man-of-obedience-genesis-7/feed/ 0 eaocholi http://eaocholi.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/noah-a-man-of-faith-genesis-6/ http://eaocholi.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/noah-a-man-of-faith-genesis-6/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:30:05 +0000 eaocholi http://eaocholi.wordpress.com/?p=2661 Continue reading →]]> In the midst of the decadence of his day, Noah dared to be different! While “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence” (v11), “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.”(v9) No wonder  that “… Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD.”(v8)

While Noah, by personal choice, dared to live a righteous life in the midst of the corruption around him, there is no doubt that his godly heritage might have contributed to inculcating the priceless qualities of living by personal convictions in him. His great grand father, Enoch “walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (5v24). That only Noah and his nucleus family were saved in the flood indicated that he also dared to pass on to his children the faith of his fathers!

Like all men of faith who constitute the great cloud of witnesses, Noah’s spiritual antenna was tuned to the divine to pick up signals that were not visible to the ordinary! Thus he could hear God’s verdict on his generation, foolishly (at least by the world’s standard) set out to do “all that the LORD commanded him” (6v22; 7v5). He mobilises his family to build an ark while the society was enjoying themselves, marrying and giving in marriage and no doubt jeering at Noah’s craziness and folly!

At personal risks but in obedience to God’s command, he admits every type of creature into the ark and then God takes over! What a faith! Hear what was written about him in Hebrews: “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”(Heb.11v7)

How true that faith honours God and God honours faith! Hebrews observed that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”(Heb.11v6). After 5 months of flood, “God remembered Noah”( 8v1), stopped the flood, dried out the flood water and in response to the sacrifice and worship of Noah, enters a covenant with him to the extent that he reverses the earlier curse God had placed on the ground for the disobedience of Adam. God said “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”(8v21).

Father, I pray for the faith of Noah to hear you and obey you even if circumstances look foolish and may I like Noah find favour in your sight daily through the atoning work of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Some personal qualities  he had to develop in other to get to this point include:

1.  A commitment to knowing the purpose of his being – If John had settled into fulfilling the traditional role cut out for him by heritage, he probably would have been totally unknown – one of the thousands of priests down the ages who were not even recorded in the genealogies or whose only remembrance was that they were priests! He, no doubt, learnt from his parents the circumstances surrounding his birth and committed himself to fulfilling the purpose of his birth. He must have committed himself to learning more from the scriptures and honing his spiritual antenna into constant communication with the God that brought him forth for that purpose – How many of us go through life without given any thought to the issue of the purpose of our being and as a result we pass by just like an event – actually as non-events, easily forgotten as if we never were – how sad!
2.  The courage to take on his world – Empowered by the knowledge of who he was and why he was here, John, displayed a courage that is unequaled in communicating the message of God to the society of his day – everybody who dared to listen! The leadership of his day were not spared of his frank remarks about their bankrupt state! Even the King, Herod, was challenged for taking his brother’s wife! His message was clear – Let there be a clear alignment between what you do and what you profess! Of course the leadership did not find it easy. Eventually it cost him his life but John no doubt fulfilled the purpose of his being.
3. Self denial – His mode of dressing, his meals and even his pulpit were a far cry from the opulence of the priesthood that were rightly his. John, like other priests, was entitled to a tenth of all the gifts brought to the temple by the worshippers; They had the Levites to wait on them and assist them; they were a protected specie. John walked away from all these in fulfilment of the purpose of his being and in the process lived a live of self denial. Paul later observed – “All things are permissible but not everything is beneficial; everything is permissible but not everything is constructive….”(1 Cor. 10v23)
4. Humility – John was never carried away by his popularity to the extent of mistaking his role for that of  his Lord and  Saviour Jesus Christ! Asked by the leadership about who he was or whether he was the Christ, He did not hesitate to declare that he was only the Lord’s forerunner (v11-12)! It did not diminish him to be who he was rather than claiming to be somebody else! He had a clear understanding of his purpose in life and did not compete with the Lord Jesus Christ for supremacy.
5. Heart of Obedience – Deriving from the above, it was not difficult for him to obey the Lord when directed to carry out a baptism that he believed was unnecessary or out of order (v13-15). Even his taking on the ministry of a preacher against what was expected of him as an heir to the priesthood was an act of unquestionable obedience.

Father, I pray like John, to have the courage to seek to know and to obey the purpose of my being  to your glory in Jesus Name. Amen