Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

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Category: Through the Bible Page 27 of 46

Between God’s House and Ruin

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On June 3, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 12:8-9 reads “And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.” 

What is interesting to note is that the location where Abram pitched his tent was between Bethel and Hai (or Ai). Bethel means “House of God” while “Ai” means ruin. So Abram pitches his tent in a place between what would be referred to as the house of God and a place known as ruin.

Points to ponder:
Many a times, we find ourselves in a similar situation on our life’s journey. We find ourself at the crossroads between the house of God (heaven) and a place of ruin (earth) where all creation groans as a result of sin which entered it with the sin of the first Adam. Unfortunately, instead of proceeding to dwell in the house of God, we find our allegiances and anchors in the place of ruin. Let us henceforth, be like king David, who sought to be in the house of the Lord all the days of his life … that one thing, let us seek (Psalm 27:4). Where are you now? Where does your allegiance lie? Where are you anchored?

Genesis 12:8-9 (KJV)
8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

God shows up, Do we wow up?

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On May 30, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 12:7 reads “And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.” 

God shows up to Abram and promises his seed an inheritance of the land. Note, Abram at this time is childless (no seed) but we see that Abram builded an altar unto the Lord, implying that Abram trusted God fully at his word and wow’ed up.

Points to ponder:
When the Lord appears to us through his word, do we end up worshiping him by building his altar and presenting our lives as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) unto him. When God promises us what may seem impossible, do we fully trust him at his word as Abram did and wow up. When God shows up, do we wow up?

Genesis 12:7 (KJV)
7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

God amongst the gentiles

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On May 29, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 12:6 and 7 reads “And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.”

Did you notice that in the land where the gentiles (Canaanites lived), the Lord appeared unto Abram, the one deemed as the Father of the Jews (John 8:39). One of the meanings of the word ‘Moreh’ means teacher. When Jesus was on earth, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, recognized him as a teacher from God, for the miracles he did (John 3:2). Jesus later expresses to the unbelieving Jews, that Abraham saw his day (the Seed who would be given all the land) and rejoiced (John 8:56), which fits perfectly to this verse in Genesis, that the Lord appeared unto Abram, in the land of the gentiles. This is Jesus amongst the gentiles.

Points to ponder:
Today, in this gentile world, all Christians can take heart for God is amongst the gentiles. God the Father is in heaven, God the Son is along side him in heaven but God the Holy Spirit is amongst us. Has he appeared unto you, teaching you of his ways?

Genesis 12:6-7 (KJV)
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

 

Spouse, Son, Substance and Souls

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On May 28, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 12:5 reads “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.” 

Did you notice that Abram took with him his spouse Sarai, which is not surprising or his nephew, Lot who would have been like a son to him, for Lot’s father Haran had died, his substance (or wealth), but what is interesting is that Abram took with him, all the people (which the Bible refers to as souls) that he had gotten in the land of Haran.

Points to ponder: First, let us lay up our substance (wealth / treasures) in heaven where it lasts forever. Second, many of us focus on our families (wife and children), but tend to forget the people i.e., souls around us. To all who believe in Jesus, who are assured entry into the promised land, but when we enter into the promised land, will there be other souls to whom we have declared the gospel of Jesus Christ, along with us? Abram took all the souls he had gotten into the land God had promised him to, will we?

Genesis 12:5 (KJV)
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

‘Leave’ – of faith

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On May 27, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

One of my favorite movies is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which is the story of Indiana (played by Harrison Ford), an adventurer who is seeking the holy grail i.e., cup of Christ, which in the movie story, would give unto the person, who drinks from it, eternal youth. The movie is certainly a dramatic thriller, and one scene that left an indelible imprint in my mind, since I saw it as a child, is toward the end of the movie, where Indiana is faced with what would seem like an impossible situation. In order to get to the holy grail, Indiana comes to a cliff with a chasm so wide that no human can possibly jump it, to get to the other side, while his father (played by Sean Connery) lies dying from being shot. Indiana resorts to the grail book with decipherable clues and finds that in order for him to successfully cross this chasm, he would need to follow the clue “Only in the leap from the lion’s head will he prove his worth.” Indiana then tells himself, “Impossible, nobody can jump this.” while his dying father keeps muttering “You must believe, boy, you must believe.” Finally, Indiana realizes that this is a test of his faith … and a leap of faith is necessary. He takes the step out of the safety of the cliff end where he is standing and just as he is about to fall, he lands on a perfectly camouflaged rock bridge, that he uses to cross over.

Genesis 12:4 reads “So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” Why did Abram depart from the land of Haran at the age of seventy five? Because, God told him to do so. Where was Abram going to go? Where God was going to show him. This speaks of Abram’s leap of faith; a leap into the safety and surety of God’s hand who was going to guide him. Abram had to depart … meaning he had to take steps out of the land where his father Terah had settled and died, which is Haran, to go where God was taking him.

Points to ponder:
Remember, faith without action (steps) is dead. When God is asking us to do something, we need to take a step of faith, out of the place where we have settled into the surety and safety of God’s hands. We need to depart, i.e., leave with a leap of faith, just as Abram did. Only in the leap into the Lion of Judah’s hand will we prove our worth.

Genesis 12:4 (KJV)
4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

God’s I Will

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On May 23, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 12: 1-2 lists out three of God’s “I will” statements to Abram, which are:
I will show you (Genesis 12:1)
I will make you into a great nation (Genesis 12:2)
I will bless you and make your name great (Genesis 12:2).

Today, God’s three “I will” statements to you and me, who have believed in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, are the same.
God will show us … and we are asked to “O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). i.e., the Salvation of God shown to us in and through Jesus, who is good.
God will make us … into a new nation, for whoever is in Christ Jesus, he is made a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17) … made into a holy nation, a peculiar people, who will sing forth the praises of him (1 Peter 2:9), who is a great God (Psalm 86:10).
God will bless us … for we are blessed in Jesus (John 20:29) and our names are made great by being engraved in the palm of his hands (Isaiah 49:16)

Points to ponder:
Have you tasted and seen the Salvation of the Lord in Jesus Christ?
Have you been made into a new creature, by believing in Jesus Christ?
Have you been blessed in Jesus Christ?

Genesis 12:1-2 (KJV)
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Leave one tie for another

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On May 22, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 12:1 records the edict of the LORD to Abram, wherein God asked Abram to leave his people (kindred) and his father’s house (family) to go to a place that God was going to show him. Genesis 12:3 ends with the words “and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

In these two verses, we can unearth a couple of invaluable hidden treasures …
First, God wants us to love him and obey his commands more than we love our own (people/family).
Second, God wants us to leave our earthly ties so that we can belong to the family of God and as children of God, we would be a blessing to many (many more than our own families and people). The greatest blessing of God to mankind, through the seed of Abraham is Jesus Christ, in whom all nations are blessed.

Points to ponder:
Ask any missionary who has left their own families, responding to the call and command of God, and you will find that their willingness to leave their own ties, so that they could belong to the family of God, brings with it many blessings, not only to themselves but to other families as well. All who believe in Jesus Christ are on a mission as missionaries on earth. Are you willing to leave earthy ties to be a blessing to many by pointing them to Jesus Christ, the greatest blessing above all to mankind? What is God asking you to leave today? How do you respond?

Genesis 12:1, 3 (KJV)
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

“Get Out” says God

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On May 21, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 12:1 reads “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” In other words, God was commanding Abram, to Get Out.

Get Out of what?
Joshua 24:2 give us the clue, for it reads, “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.”
The land where Abraham lived, which was the Ur of the Chaldees was a pagan land, and his father Terah, himself, served other gods.

So, God was telling Abram to Get Out of the pagan land, from a pagan people, including his own pagan family … to a promised land, that God was going to show him. In other words, God did not want Abraham to have any patriotic (country), people (kindred) or progeny (father’s house) ties that were pagan.

Points to ponder:
God may be asking you to leave your pagan ties … so that you may worship and serve him alone (Matthew 4:10). Actually God is commanding you to “Get Out” of all pagan influences. How do you respond?

Genesis 12:1 (KJV)
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Barren for a reason

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On May 20, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 11:27-32 gives the account of the generations of Terah, the Father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Interestingly though in the middle of the account of Terah’s generations there is a note about Sarai, the wife of Abram, which seems odd. It states in verse 30, “But Sarai was barren; she had no child.” 

Haran the son of Terah had a son Lot and two daughters, Milcah and Iscah (Genesis 11:27, 29) in his native land, the Ur of the Chaldees.
There is no mention of Nahor, traveling with Terah from the Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan, and later we learn that Nahor had sons and daughters and dwelt in a town named after his own (Genesis 22:20-22 and 24:10).
But Sarai was barren and had no child, in Ur of the Chaldees.

Why is the barrenness of Sarai, which seems like an unusual piece of detail, of any significance, when the generations of Terah is being listed. One plausible reason, is that, to ensure that the promised seed of Abram, who was to come, would come from the promised land and not any other place, her womb was stopped. Sarai was made barren so that her son could not be born in the land of the pagans (the Ur of the Chaldees), where Terah, her father-in-law, served many other gods (Joshua 24:2).

Points to ponder:
Jesus Christ, the promised seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16) would one day come to us, not from any unrighteous place, but from the presence of the Holy of Holies in heaven, where only God is worshipped. He affirmed that he came from God in heaven (John 3:13). So if you are wondering as to why you are barren and not fruitful, you can be assured of one thing that, even in and through your barrenness, God’s purposes will always be fulfilled!  So be ye of good cheer for God is just working through you!

Genesis 11:27-32 (KJV)
27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Delay’s in the LORD’s purposes, by people and place

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On May 19, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 11 can be divided into two main parts. Verses 1 to 9 give the account of the Tower of Babel. Verses 10 to 32 is a genealogical record of the godly son of Noah, Shem – from Shem to Abram, the son of Terah, through Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor.

Verses 27-32 is dedicated to the generations of Terah, Abram’s father. Terah had three sons, Abram, Nahor (probably named after Terah’s father) and Haran in a place called the Ur of the Chaldees. Haran had a son, named Lot, and two daughters, Milcah and Iscah (Genesis 11:27, 29). Haran died in his native land, the Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:28) before his father Terah (Genesis 11:38). Abram married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah his neice, the daughter of Haran. Now, Terah took his son Abram and his daughter-in-law Sarai and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and went forth from the Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan. The LORD had told Abram to leave his country (Ur of the Chaldees) and his kindred and father’s house and go to the place where God was showing him (in this case Canaan) (Genesis 12:1). However, enroute to Canaan, we learn that when Terah came to the land of Haran, he tarried (delayed) his journey and dwelt there, until his death there (Genesis 11:31-32), thereby delaying Abram in following God’s purpose for his life. We also learn from Joshua’s record, that Terah was one who served other gods in the place where he dwelt (Joshua 24:2), which is the most likely reason, for the LORD to have commanded Abram to get out of his country and leave his kindred and father’s house.

Interestingly though, while the exact etymology of the name ‘Terah’ is inconclusive, most Biblical translations of O.T. names, by scholars tend to agree that Terah means “Wanderer”, “Loiterer” or “Delay”. If we accept the latter as a translation of Terah, we can say that Terah lived up to his name – wandering about delaying the purpose of God in Abram’s life.

Points to ponder:
What is God wanting you to do? What is his purpose in your life? Are you being delayed in following the LORD’s purpose for your life? People (like Terah) and place (like Haran) can delay us in fulfilling the LORD’s purposes in our life. Be aware and beware, for sometimes the cause for delays, may be from close quarters, even our own families. Follow God, even if that means you have to leave your own, especially if they are serving other gods. Otherwise, you’d be delayed and wandering around, loitering your little time away. Who is your Terah? What is your Haran?

Genesis 11:27-32 (KJV)
27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

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