For my recent Bible time, I have been reading the book of Genesis. I just finished the story arc of Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish and the Christian faith. Abraham, to me, is an amazing model of faithfulness and obedience. You have to remember that he lived a life without Scripture, without the Bible, without anything written. There was no guidance, but the voice of God.
Indeed, many New Testament writers uphold Abraham as an example of this trait. My study Bible keeps pointing out that not only did Abraham obey God when he heard from Him, he also obeyed him promptly. Just for example, when God made the covenant of circumcision to Abraham and his household (to show that they were set apart, consecrated and served the Lord), he did it that very day. Similarly, when God asked him to take Isaac up to Mount Moriah to sacrifice him, Abraham set out for the journey early the next morning.
Think about it. If you were asked to sacrifice “your son, your only son, whom you love” by God, what would your reaction be? I think most of us would drag our feet and look for a way out or ways to delay this process.
This was no ordinary request by God. This was something else entirely, something that had to cause Abraham stress and grief. He had to sacrifice the son that he loved, his heir, his blessing. But, yet, early the next morning, he gets everything ready and sets out. There was no begging or pleading or waffling. He trusted God had a reason for asking what He was asking. He obeyed God, promptly. Nothing deviated him from his obedience.
What an amazing example of utter obedience. Can we say the same for ourselves? Can people look at us and go, “That’s a person that faithfully and promptly obeys God”? If not, then we need to ask ourselves some tough questions.
-Matt
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Obedience
March 22, 2012
Calvary
Comments Off on Obedience
Matt
For my recent Bible time, I have been reading the book of Genesis. I just finished the story arc of Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish and the Christian faith. Abraham, to me, is an amazing model of faithfulness and obedience. You have to remember that he lived a life without Scripture, without the Bible, without anything written. There was no guidance, but the voice of God.
Indeed, many New Testament writers uphold Abraham as an example of this trait. My study Bible keeps pointing out that not only did Abraham obey God when he heard from Him, he also obeyed him promptly. Just for example, when God made the covenant of circumcision to Abraham and his household (to show that they were set apart, consecrated and served the Lord), he did it that very day. Similarly, when God asked him to take Isaac up to Mount Moriah to sacrifice him, Abraham set out for the journey early the next morning.
Think about it. If you were asked to sacrifice “your son, your only son, whom you love” by God, what would your reaction be? I think most of us would drag our feet and look for a way out or ways to delay this process.
This was no ordinary request by God. This was something else entirely, something that had to cause Abraham stress and grief. He had to sacrifice the son that he loved, his heir, his blessing. But, yet, early the next morning, he gets everything ready and sets out. There was no begging or pleading or waffling. He trusted God had a reason for asking what He was asking. He obeyed God, promptly. Nothing deviated him from his obedience.
What an amazing example of utter obedience. Can we say the same for ourselves? Can people look at us and go, “That’s a person that faithfully and promptly obeys God”? If not, then we need to ask ourselves some tough questions.
-Matt
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