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In chapter
20, father Abraham journeyed to Gerar, about 10
miles south of Gaza, which was in the territory
of the Philistines. While he was there, he repeated
the same deceptive story to the people of Gerar,
that he had told the Egyptians - that Sarah was
his sister - not his wife. As his sister, she
was unmarried and available to other men.
Now, she
actually was his half-sister, but she was also
his wife, and so this half-truth was really a
lie. Abraham tells us why he lied about his marital
relationship to Sarah. He was concerned that "ayn
yee-rat Eloheem ba-ma-kom ha-zeh - there was no
fear of God in this place" - and Abraham knew
that what human beings think about God affects
their behavior and their morals and ethics, or
lack thereof.
If a person
believes that this universe began with an impersonal
Big Bang, and will continue for billions of years,
and then experience either a gradual heat death,
ultimate entropy, so that there is no activity,
or that the universe will start contracting, and
all the galaxies will begin to reverse themselves,
and everything will return to its beginning point
- one singularity, where perhaps it will form
another impersonal Big Bang; if a person believes
he started off as a one-celled organism, and is
ultimately nothing more than glorified slime mold,
an advanced sea slug, a meaningless bit of temporary
matter, and that when we die we die, because there
is no after-life, no God, and therefore no moral
or spiritual absolutes, no "thou shalt nots,"
no Day of Judgment when each human being will
give an account of his actions to His Creator,
no Heaven to be gained, no Hell to be avoided,
no punishment, no rewards, no eternal life that
is possible, then a person's motivation to strive
to do what is right will almost always be less
than what it should be. With tens of millions
having a worldview like this, no wonder there
are so much unhappiness, so much mental instability,
so many suicides, crimes, murders, so much sexual
immorality, so many abortions, so much drug and
alcohol abuse!
This strategy
to not tell enough of the truth, left Sarah exposed
and unprotected. And not surprisingly, Avimelech
the king of Gerar, a city of the Philistines,
took Sarah to be one of his wives.
But God
is so good, and so capable, that He is able to
make good come from some of our bad decisions.
He is so great that He can make good come from
evil! Even though Avimelech didn't know that he
was doing something wrong, he nevertheless was
doing something wrong - taking another man's wife
is a terrible sin. You see, we can do something
wrong even unknowingly, which displeases the Lord,
and which brings serious consequences. Ignorance
is no excuse. We need to make sure that everything
we are doing is right, and pleasing to the Lord.
The Lord
came to Avimelech in a dream, and threatened him,
telling Avimelech, "heen-cha met al ha-ee-sha
asher la-kach-ta - see, you are a dead man because
of the woman whom you have taken!" In addition,
if the king did not immediately return Sarah to
her husband Abraham, who was a prophet, someone
who hears clearly from God and speaks God's truth
to the rest of us, the Lord told Avimelech that
he and his family would all die.
Because
Avimelech did not intentionally sin in this matter,
and was lied to by Abraham and by Sarah, the Lord
was especially merciful to him, and prevented
the king from an even greater sin, by having sex
with Sarah.
The king
listened to God's warning, and returned Sarah
to Abraham. Avimelech also gave magnificent gifts
to Abraham - sheep and oxen, male and female servants,
and a thousand pieces of silver - to make up for
having harmed him. Sarah was vindicated. Father
Abraham forgave the king, and prayed that God
would forgive the king's sin, and the Lord heard
the prayer of his Chosen One, His prophet, and
forgave the king, and healed Avimelech's family.
After having taken away their ability to have
children, He enabled them to have children again
once again.
We see
here God honoring His promise to Abraham and His
descendants: "I will bless them that bless you
and curse him that curses you: this is one of
the basic principles with which God deals with
individuals and with the nations, and is still
valid for today. Avimelech, even though it was
unintentional, harmed Abraham and Sarah and was
cursed. Haman cursed the Jewish people and forfeited
his life. As we look back over 4,000 years of
history, we can see how every nation that has
cursed the Jewish people has indeed been cursed.
Those nations that have treated the Jewish people
with kindness have been blessed. One of the reasons
why the United States has been so greatly blessed
is because this nation has been a blessing to
Israel and the Jewish people. May it always be
that way! Watch out, nations of Europe. Be warned,
Islamic peoples that curse Israel. Take care,
U.S. State Department!
I'd like
to point out one other interesting and important
thing that is found in verse 13, where Abraham
is talking to Avimelech, and told the king that
Eloheem - God, caused him to wander from his father's
house. Eloheem comes from a root that means "strength,
might, or power." When referring to the God of
Israel, Eloheem means the Strongest One, the Mightiest
One, the Most Powerful One. Is a noun that is
both singular and plural. Normally "Eloheem" is
followed by a singular verb. But there are several
fascinating instances when "Eloheem" is accompanied
by a plural verb, and this is one of those instances.
The Hebrew literally says that "Eloheem (God)
they caused me to wander from my father's house..."
A plural/singular title for God, that is accompanied
by a plural verb, is a hint in the Torah of the
Trinity - the singular/plural nature of God!
Chapter
21 records the birth of Abraham's true heir, Isaac.
Isaac is very important because the covenant that
God made with Abraham, that includes the salvation
of all the families of the Earth, will go through
Isaac.
When the
Lord had appeared to Abraham near Chevron, He
had promised Abraham that Sarah, who had never
been able to have a children, and now was old
and past her child-bearing years, would have a
son. Sure enough, as the Lord had promised, with
His help, it happened! The child was named Yitz-chak
- laughter, because this miracle child brought
joyous laughter into the life of his parents.
Isaac
was circumcised on the eighth day, and then when
he was weaned, Abraham celebrated with a great
feast. But Isaac did not cause everyone to laugh
from joy. Sarah saw Ishmael, Abraham's son by
Hagar, "m'tza-chek" - laughing with scorn, a mocking
kind of laugh, at Isaac. He was contemptuous of
his younger brother, and perhaps jealous of him
as well. Ishmael's scorning laughter directed
at Isaac foreshadows the hostility that the Arab
peoples and the Moslems have shown to us to this
day.
Sarah
saw the danger to Isaac, and demanded that Hagar
and Ishmael be sent away. This distressed Abraham,
who loved Hagar and his son Ishmael, but the Lord
spoke to Abraham, and told him that Sarah was
right, and to listen to her, because Isaac would
be Abraham's full heir, the one through whom God
would carry through His plan to save the world.
The Almighty would not completely disinherit Ishmael.
This son of Abraham would become a nation. No
doubt Abraham was comforted.
And so
Abraham, diligent to obey His Maker, got up early
the next morning, provided Hagar and Ishmael with
bread and water, and sent them away. Hagar and
Ishmael got into serious trouble, and ran out
of water in the wilderness around Beersheva, but
the Lord was true to His word, and an angel spoke
to her, and God helped her find a well that had
water. They survived, and Ishmael grew up, became
a man, and married an Egyptian (like his mother).
The rest
of chapter 21 describes an oath made between Avimelech,
who was a king in that region. Avimelech knew
that God was close to Abraham, and he wanted a
treaty with Abraham, that Abraham and Avimelech
and their descendants would always treat each
other with kindness.
Abraham
then told the king that Avimelech's servants had
taken over a well that Abraham had dug, and been
using. It would seem that this king of the Philistines
made sure the well was returned to Abraham. For
his part, Abraham gave sheep and oxen to Avimelech.
In addition, Abraham gave seven lambs to the king,
as a witness that the well that Abraham discovered
belonged to Abraham. Therefore, Abraham called
the name of that place "Beersheva" which means
both "Well of the Seven (Lambs)" or "Well of the
Oath." And, there is a city of 200,000 Israelis
in that same area, called Beersheva, today!
I like
what Abraham did next at Beersheva. He planted
a tamarisk tree there. It's a beautiful tree,
with long feathery branches and tufts of tiny
leaves, which produces spikes of beautiful pink
blossoms. Often when I see a beautiful tree, it
reminds me of the Creator, and I praise God, for
as the poem reminds us, "only God can make a tree."
And there, at Beersheva, which had a good well
that provided water for the people and the flocks,
and a beautiful tamarisk tree, Abraham called
on the name of the Adonai, El Olam, - worshiping
and praying the Self-Existent One who has life
and being and inherent in Himself, the Source
of our existence, the Supremely Powerful One,
the Eternal One who is without beginning and without
end because He always was, He is, and always will
be - the God of Eternity, who alone can enable
human beings who draw near to Him to live forever
and ever!
Chapter
22 records the highpoint of faith in the life
of Abraham. Abraham was a human being, and made
a few mistakes in his long life, but in general,
his life is characterized by great love for God,
and faithfulness to Him.
God tests
Abraham, and demands that he sacrifice his son
and heir Isaac on one of the mountains of Moriah.
Abraham and Isaac, accompanied for most of the
way by two other men, go on a three day journey.
When they get there, Abraham and Isaac go alone,
and Abraham prepares Isaac to be sacrifice. As
he is about to kill his son with a knife, an angel
calls out to him, and prevents him from killing
his child. Instead, the Lord provides a ram, that
is caught in a thicket, and Abraham sacrifices
the ram in the place of Isaac. He calls the name
of the place "Adonai Yeer-eh - the Lord Will See,
and therefore when the Lord sees, the Lord Will
Provide." The angel speaks to Abraham again, and
reaffirms God's covenant with Abraham, promising
that the children of Abraham will become as numerous
as the stars of the Heaven and the gains of sand
on the seashores of the world. Abraham's children
will be victorious over all their enemies, and
they will have a world-wide impact for good on
all the nations of the Earth. All the peoples
of the world will experience blessing through
obedient and faithful Abraham, and through his
descendants.
There
are many important lessons to be learned from
this story. First, God tested Abraham. The essence
of the test was, "Abraham, who is most important
to you? Who is in first place in your life? Your
Creator, Your Maker, Your Lord, Your God, or your
special son whom you love, and your heir?"
What will
Sarah think when she finds out I've killed our
miracle child, the son of our old age, who has
brought joyous laughter into our lives? How will
this affect my relationship with her? What will
my family think? My friends? But instead of wavering,
Abraham remained committed to the Lord, and even
grew stronger in his faith.
Abraham
was not alone in this test. Isaac too was tested.
At this point of his life, he was a "na-ar" -
not necessarily a boy, but rather a young man,
probably old enough and strong enough to overpower
his father if he wanted to. But Isaac didn't fight
his father, even when he finally understood that
Abraham was planning on killing him. Instead,
he cooperated with his father, and was willing
to be sacrificed. Nor did he get resentful later
in life towards his father or towards the God
of Abraham.
Why would
God test Abraham, or anybody else, for that matter?
The Lord knows that we are created in such a way
that we will only function the way we were designed
to, and only be fully human, and only reach our
potential, when the Creator is at the very center
of our lives, when we love Him with the totality
of our being, with all our heart, all our soul,
and all our strength. Abraham was tested to see
if he would love and honor God more than Isaac,
that very special son, that miraculous son that
he and Sarah conceived, Isaac, his promised heir
and the inheritor of the promises and the covenant
that God made with him.
The all-wise
and good God knows that is destructive to us if
anything else usurps His rightful place in our
lives. Anything that comes before God is destructive,
and the Almighty, being the merciful God that
He is, will not allow that destructiveness to
go unchallenged.
Our relationship
to God is the most important thing about us. It
is our most important possession. Our relationship
with God is what saves us. Our relationship with
God is what protects us. Our relationship with
God is far more valuable than gold or any earthly
wealth. Our faith will be tested so that our faith
will be refined, so that we can be greatly rewarded
at the completion of the refinement process. If
we, like father Abraham, are tested, and pass
the test, so that we continue to trust God and
do His will above anything else, then we will
be greatly rewarded with everlasting praise, glory
and honor! And isn't that what life is really
all about?
Just as
God tested Abraham and Isaac, the Lord will test
us in various ways. He will ask us to do difficult
things, or make difficult choices, in order that
He may come first in our lives - above all else.
Messiah tells us that in order to for us really
be His disciples, and truly follow Him, we must
love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all
our soul, and all our strength. Nothing must come
before God - no earthly possession - not even
those whom we love, our dearest relations, our
husbands or wives, our children, our people, even
our own lives, for the one who saves his life
will lose it. - nothing. Our God must come first
in our lives, above everything else.
This is
true Judaism. This is what it means to be a genuine
"son of Abraham" - either physically by being
born Jewish, or spiritually, by having faith in
the Messiah that God has sent. Judaism is not
just being part of a special people, and observing
commands and traditions, but above all it is entering
into a personal relationship with the Living God.
Do you have that kind of relationship with God,
like Abraham and Isaac did? That same kind of
faith and faithfulness? That same kind of commitment
to God above all else?
Another
lesson to be learned is about Te-chee-at HaMay-teem
- the Resurrection of the Dead. The concept of
the resurrection is an essential part of authentic
Judaism, and must be accepted and believed.
Abraham
said to his servants who went with him to the
mountains of Moriah, "I and the young man will
go there and worship and return to you." We are
informed in the book written to the Messianic
Jews (Hebrews) that Abraham knew that God had
promised that Isaac was the special inheritor
of God's promises to Abraham, and he believed
that God would raise Isaac from the dead, in order
to fulfill His word to Isaac (Hebrews 11:19).
Abraham's faith was strong enough that he believed
that if he sacrificed Isaac, God would raise Isaac
up from the dead!
Abraham's
faith was a resurrection faith. He had enough
confidence in God that the Almighty could raise
the dead, and restore Isaac to him, so that Isaac
could fulfill the things that God had said about
him.
Faith
in Te-chee-at HaMay-teem, the resurrection of
the dead, has been and will continue to be an
essential part of genuine Judaism, and true Christianity.
We need to have that resurrection faith too! A
Judaism without faith in the resurrection of the
dead is a terribly deficient Judaism. How sad
it is that so many of my Jewish people no longer
believe that a resurrection will take place, a
resurrection of the righteous, who believe in
and obey Messiah Yeshua, and a resurrection of
the wicked, who ignore God and the wonderful Messiah
that He has sent to us. Blessed is the one who
takes part in the first resurrection. Do you know
that there will be a resurrection of the dead,
and that you are part of that first and blessed
resurrection?
Another
lesson to be learned from the binding of Isaac
is the importance of the Substitute and the Sacrifice
and the Atonement. They are essential parts of
authentic Judaism.
God provided
a substitute - a ram that was sacrificed in place
of Isaac. On Passover lambs were killed so that
our first-born sons would be spared from death.
On Yom Kippur a scapegoat died in place of the
whole nation. 2,000 years ago, during Passover,
on a cross in Jerusalem Yeshua of Nazareth, the
son of Abraham, the son of Isaac, the Righteous
One, the Lamb of God died to take away the sin
of the entire world! This is where the Torah and
true Judaism was leading all of us - Jews and
Gentiles. Is Yeshua your Substitute? Have you
participated in His sacrifice? Is He your atonement?
The last
lesson to be learned is that we are to look to
God to provide everything that we need for life
and godliness. God saw Abraham and Isaac's need
for testing, for a pure faith, for atonement,
for salvation, for eternal life, and then He provided
the ram as a substitute and a sacrifice. Therefore
Abraham called the name of that place, "Adonai
Yeer-eh - The Lord Will See," in the sense of
seeing our needs, and therefore when the Lord
sees, the Lord will Provide" for our greatest
needs. Man's greatest need is the knowledge of
God and the acquisition of atonement, and in that
holy place, God saw our need, provided atonement
for us, and revealed Himself to us.
The name
"Moriah," where this took place, comes from this
same Hebrew root - to see. Moriah means "that
which is seen of the Lord." Tradition teaches
us that the mountains of Moriah are the same as
the mountains that surround Jerusalem, and according
to one source (Midrash Tehillim 76), the name
"Jerusalem" comes from this same root - to see,
and so Yerushalayim can be understood to mean
"peace will be seen" and therefore provided.
This is
the same place where King David was shown the
angel with the sword about to destroy Jerusalem.
And so David built an altar there and offered
sacrifices to avert God's judgement, and God revealed
Himself in mercy, and provided pardon for Israel.
That is
the same spot where Solomon built the Temple,
the place where God was seen, through the sacrifices,
the place where God was seen through the temple
ceremonies, where God was seen through His She-chee-nah,
His glorious dwelling presence, manifesting Himself
in the Temple.
This is
the same location where the Son of God, our Lord,
our Kind and our Savior, was sacrificed, where
the love and mercy and goodness of God is forever
most clearly seen.
This is
the same spot where we will see God and the Lamb
forever. John writes that he saw a new Heaven
and a New Earth. He saw the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, where the dwelling place of God is
among men, and He shall dwell among them. The
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it,
and His bond-servants shall serve Him; and they
shall see His face. "Bahar Adonai yi-rah-eh: on
the mountain the Lord will be seen."
God chose
this holy spot to disclose Himself to the fathers
of Israel and to their descendants for all time
and eternity. God revealed Himself and his mercy
to Abraham and Isaac on Moriah 4000 years ago.
God revealed Himself and His mercy to David and
Solomon there 3000 years ago. On Moriah God revealed
Himself in the clearest and most powerful way
in the Messiah 2000 years ago. God will reveal
himself forever on Moriah to all whose who trust
and believe in Yeshua.
Judaism
has always looked to this special spot, to Moriah,
to Jerusalem, to Adonai Yeer-eh, the Lord who
provides, and to provide everything that we need
- our deepest spiritual needs and our physical
needs for life in this world.
I love
that special place! "How blessed is the man whose
strength is in You; in whose heart are the highways
to Zion." "May my tongue cleave to the roof of
my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not
exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy."
One last
thought: Abraham, the father of Isaac, is like
God, our Father in Heaven. Abraham had a great
love for His only son, who was the heir of the
promise. God has a great love for His only Son,
the Heir who will fulfill all the promises that
God has made to mankind. God didn't ask of Abraham
what He ultimately demanded from Himself. He didn't
allow Abraham to kill his only son. But God did
not spare His own Son. He willingly gave Him up
as a sacrifice for us, to provide atonement for
our sins and make reconciliation with God possible.
And Yeshua
is like Isaac, who allowed himself to be bound
and offered on Moriah. And just as Isaac didn't
resist his father, so Yeshua also knowingly obeyed
His Father and willingly gave up His life, placing
God's will above His own. He passed the test and
was willing to drink from the bitter cup of death
and suffering that the Father offered Him, and
as a result, provide the forgiveness of sins for
all of mankind.
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