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Tag: Church unwilling to follow

Not again

Genesis 24:6-8 records the response that Abraham gave his eldest servant who had questioned, if the bride-to-be for Abraham’s son, Isaac, was unwilling to follow him into their land, should he bring Abraham’s son into the land from where he had come? Abraham’s response was an emphatic ‘No’. He bookends his response by starting out saying “Beware that you bring not my son there again” and assures his servant that the LORD God of heaven would ensure success in the servant’s mission but if the woman is not willing to follow him, then the servant would be cleared of his oath, but reasserts his response “Do not bring my son there again.”

The Bible does not explicitly state the reason for Abraham’s response as to why he did not want Isaac to be taken into the land where he came from (a pagan land called the Ur of the Chaldees), and we can only speculate on the plausible reasons. The one most plausible reason is that Abraham did not want his son to be exposed the pagan customs of the Chaldeans (Joshua 24:2), which in latter times is referenced along with Babylon and Assyria and its vices (Isaiah 13:19; Ezekiel 16:29; Ezekiel 23:14).

However, deeper scrutiny of the text, brings to light a hidden treasure of significance. Notice the word “again”. Isaac had never left the promised land and so this text, I believe symbolically reference Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). Unlike Isaac, who had never left the promised land, Jesus Christ, The Son of God left heaven, the land promised to all of us who believe, and came into this pagan land on earth, where he gave himself for the redemption and salvation of each one of us. He is never again to be brought back by the Holy Spirit of God as a son, but when he returns he will return as a mighty King – the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Points to ponder:
The response of God to the Holy Spirit as to whether Jesus should be brought into this sinful world, to marry his woman – the Church – should the Church be unwilling to follow the Holy Spirit into the promised land is an emphatic ‘No’ – Not again.

Genesis 24:6-8 (KJV)
And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

What if? – Unwilling to Follow

When the eldest servant in the household of Abraham was asked to promise him that he would go to Abraham’s country and kindred and find a wife for his son, Isaac, the servant questioned reasonably – “But, what if the woman is not willing to follow him into this land (the land of Canaan), should I take your son to the land where you came from?” (Genesis 24:5). Unknown to us are the reasons for this question and we can only speculate on some plausibilities – some of which could be “The parents of Isaac’s bride-to-be would not want her to be far away from their home or The parents of or the bride-to-be herself would not want to move to Canaanite land, that was known for its sinfulness, which was accursed from the time of Noah (Genesis 9:18-25) or for any other reason” The question in essence was what if – what if the woman is unwilling to follow the servant into the land? However, it is important to note that this land wherein iniquity was found was also the promised land to Abraham. This may seem insignificant until we recognize how applicable this question is to our times analogically.

The world we live in today is just as sinful as the land of Canaan or even more. The unnamed servant (Genesis 24:2) on the mission to bring the bride to the Son can be likened to the Holy Spirit (the only person of the Trinity who is unnamed for God the Father is Yahweh or I AM THAT I AM and God the Son is named Jesus). Jesus is the Son of God as was Isaac the son of Abraham. Believers who believe in Jesus and who have trusted him as their Lord, Savior and King are the ekklesia or the Church which is likened to be the woman, the bride-to-be of The only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ himself (Revelation 19:7-9). Now the question posed becomes, What if? – What if the Church is unwilling to follow the Holy Spirit of God into this sinful land to be married to the Son (Jesus Christ)? What if the Church is unwilling to follow the Holy Spirit of God into the promised land for the marriage supper of the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of this world? What if?

Points to ponder:
If you and I are the Church, are we willing to follow the guidance and instruction of the Holy Spirit of God to follow him into the sinful land we live in as a bride, chaste (as a virgin) due to the adorning of the clean and white garments of righteousness (Revelation 19:8) imputed on us (2 Corinthians 5:21), and willing, making ourselves ready (Revelation 19:7) for the marraige supper of the Son of God, Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:9)?

Genesis 24:5 (KJV)
And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

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