Bible Students

Abraham

In Genesis 22, Abraham is called to sacrifice Isaac, the promised son of Sarah’s barrenness. Abraham, as a human with human understanding, had some sort of reason to doubt God. God had told him to go up on a mountain and kill his son, the son of the promise. Now, to Abraham, this almost definitely meant the death of his son. Why would God give a promise to Abraham, fulfill part of it with the birth of Isaac, and then kill the boy before the rest was fulfilled?

The Abraham story here parallels the Jacob story, when Joseph was supposedly killed by an animal. Both Isaac and Joseph had prophetic encounters telling about their futures, and both of them faced death from their father’s point of view. Jacob believed his son had died, even though God had given Joseph a prophecy about the future which could not be fulfilled if he was dead. Abraham was different. His basis for faith was the birth of Isaac to a barren wife. God promised Abraham two things: One impossible by human hands, and one possible. Because Abraham had already seen God do the impossible with the birth of Isaac, he was able to believe God for the possible (a great nation) and even more (raising Isaac from the dead).

In my own life, I need to remember that God will make good on His promises. When He promises comfort and presence, I need to understand that my situation isn’t too gloomy for God to shine through. God gave such comfort even to people like the Apostles, who mostly went to their deaths by the hands of those who hated them. I need to not be like Jacob, who at the first sight of danger broke his belief in the God of the dead. Where he should have believed in the God who can resurrect, I need to also believe. 

Israel’s Wilderness Wanderings

Deuteronomy eight is a command from God to obey all of His statutes. He recalls the many blessings He has given to Israel, showing them His faithfulness through manna, protection, water, and chiefly the great exodus from Egypt. The people, however, would be quick to forget God. They were going into a foreign land of foreign gods, with whom they would surely commit adultery. God’s command was clear, but the hearts of the people were easily led astray. 

The Israelites, however, had a great confidence to depend on. God had been faithful to them for over forty years, and not only them but their fathers before them. God recounts all of these events for them plainly. He reminds them of the exodus from Egypt, the manna he provided for them, the deliverance from enemy nations, and the protection from poisonous animals. He gave them sustaining and miraculous waters and far more grace than they deserved. Those who knew the Lord would surely fight to remember Him and the great things He had done, as they should. What more could a person ask for, in terms of proof of God’s faithfulness, than this?

I don’t believe one could ask for much more. The reminder of God’s faithfulness is something not to be forgotten. The whole of Scripture is a reminder of the faithfulness of God and His promise to bring a redeemer for His people. Scripture traces how this promise was fulfilled in Christ, and we shouldn’t be quick to forget all of the wonderful things He has done throughout history to bring us the salvation we claim for ourselves today. To look on history is a reminder of God’s faithfulness. Never forget the near-infinite amount of things God has done to show Himself faithful to His people time and time again. 

Jephthah

The book of Judges contains many terrible stories of godly men committing ungodly acts. A prime example of this is in the story of Jephthah the judge. Jephthah was raised up as a judge over Israel in order to subdue the Ammonites. This was a man who God Himself chose to judge Ammon. However, out of his foolishness, Jephthah swore to God Almighty that whatever should meet him when he returned home, he would sacrifice to Him. When he returned home, his unmarried daughter went out to meet him. Jephthah fulfilled his vow to God and sacrifices his daughter. 

Why would Jephthah follow a God who had him sacrifice his daughter? It was not God’s foolishness that brought this upon Jephthah and his daughter, but Jephthah’s. It was he who swore to the Lord quickly. However, there must be a little comfort for Jephthah. Though he would kill his daughter, his God would hold her. After the death of Jephthah’s only daughter, she would not be subjected to a cruel world. Forever she would be in rest with the Lord. Furthermore, even though she was Jephthah’s only child, Jephthah would never be alone, for God would always remain with him. 

It seems to me that death is not the worst thing a person can experience. Though many starve in their poverty every day and all around the world, what they need is not food. To live another day on bread will not change the course of eternity. To know Christ and die today is better than to eat bread today and die tomorrow. A Christian can find great distress in the troubles of the world, but they must not be consumed with sorry for material life. The world is corrupted and awful, but something much more important than temporal life is the comfort and life that comes from the gospel. It is better to change the eternal than it is to change the temporal. 

Lamentations

In Lamentations, Jeremiah wept over his nation of Judah. Judah had been unfaithful to God and would be crushed by Babylon, taken into exile for 70 years. Judah’s demise had been pronounced by God Himself, so He was not coming to save them. The God of love and mercy had promised to slay Judah and imprison her by the hands of the Chaldeans, and Jeremiah knew that would mean the death and destruction of the land he knew as home. His faith was surely tested. However, Jeremiah also had reason to find comfort in God. This God had revealed Himself to His people time and time again, and had been patient for as long as He had. Jeremiah must have known that God had been so patient as to not utterly crush Judah so many times before. This God had protected Jeremiah, and as surely as He promised destruction He also promised to ultimately save His people through the survivors of the exile and ultimately the messiah. 

This is a challenging thing for all Christians. Surely every Christian has known trials, and surely every Christian will know trials in the future. I am not exempt from that. In the middle of the storm, where can I find rest? Even more than that, at the beginning of the storm, when I can see the full storm coming, what do I do? 

God’s comfort is more than any storm. Even when I see a storm coming, I can brace myself in the Lord. He has revealed Himself to be the God of storms, especially through Christ walking through the storm on Galilee. He is in control of all storms, literally and figuratively. So then if I follow the God of all storms, I can know that God has purpose through each storm to grow me. Even when I know a storm is coming, I will rest in God knowing ultimately He works all things for the good of those who love Him. While Jeremiah wept over the wrath of God, another prophet was frustrated by His patience. 

Habakkuk

Habakkuk was an Old Testament minor prophet who predicted the destruction of Judah by the Chaldeans (Babylonians). His book includes two questioning prayers from Habakkuk, two responses from God, and one conclusion prayer from Habakkuk. His challenge to faith is the patience of God. He sees the horrors of the wicked people who oppress the righteous, but he does not see their destruction. To Habakkuk, it seems God has almost sided with the wicked to spare them and condemn those who pursue God. His ministry was just before the exile of Judah, when God decided Judah had become wicked enough to require strong chastisement. Habakkuk’s contemporaries were truly evil at this time.

However, God responded to Habakkuk. He gave Habakkuk an assurance of God’s coming judgment, demonstrating to Habakkuk both His wrath and His patience. Habakkuk even gives a prayer of response, showing how his faith has been assured by God. Though God’s patience confounded him, he writes that he now knows the ower and terror of God, who will not be held back by anything except His own will. 

Habakkuk’s faith was tested because God was patient with an evil people, and assured through the revelation of God. Could there be a more relatable experience? Today’s age is evil in all aspects, not only outside of the church but inside the congregations. People go to church because of tradition, not because of the love of God. The leaves are there, but where are the fruits? The evil of this day has infected nearly everyone. How long will God be patient with this generation and spare them? I read the Bible and I see God’s wrath and patience. God has revealed His power to me, so I have no worry for God’s patience. I see God’s patience throughout Scripture, so I have no worry for His wrath. 

Lazarus

Why would God choose me for tragedy? This thought must have been in the minds of the recently deceased Lazarus. The Lord of the earth was walking around, healing and loving His creation; But raising the dead back to life was entirely different than healing diseases. In John 11, Lazarus, a friend to Jesus and the brother to Mary and Martha, became very ill and soon after died. His sisters must have been frustrated at God, who while He was on earth with them did not intervene to save their brother. Do they have a right to be frustrated at God?

Nobody has any right to be frustrated at God, but they may have a right to mourn and be sad. However, they also had a basis for the hope of God. They knew Jesus and knew of the miraculous things He did on behalf of God above. They also knew, from their Scriptures, that God was the God of the living and the dead. In fact, Jesus taught that the Scriptures clearly show God is the God of the dead when He explains that God claimed He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They had all the pieces to believe God could raise Lazarus, if He so pleased. 

I too need to take the pieces I have and apply them in the way they should be. The character of God is shown all throughout the Old Testament, ultimately leading to Jesus’ crucifixion, and expounded upon by the New Testament epistles. These pieces should not be glossed over as the first century Sadducees may have glossed over God’s claim to be (currently) the God of all three patriarchs. I need to not forget that God has provided an image of His character, and know that God is capable of whatever He pleases, as shown throughout all the Scriptures. 

Job

Does suffering disprove the existence, omnipotence, or omnibenevolence of God? The book of Job is a discourse on this great philosophical question. Now, Job was a man who loved God but was suddenly thrown into intense suffering. There are many biblical stories similar to Job’s downfall, including the stories of Joseph and Jesus. Job did not understand why God would throw him into suffering, despite the love he had for Him, so his friends attempted to correct Job’s ignorance with their own knowledge. However, God knew the heart of Job: The heart of humility. 

The basis of Job’s faith, the reason Job did not curse God through his suffering, was that Job knew God was wiser than he. The creator of the world must be extremely wise, knowledgeable, and powerful to make everything. He certainly could erase evil, but Job did not understand why He wouldn’t. In his ignorance he chose the better path: Rather than curse God and depend on his own understanding, he trusted God through suffering. His basis for his faith was the revelation given to him through the nature of an incredibly powerful and wise God who certainly knew better than him. 

This is the pinnacle of all applications. The basis of my faith in God should be His knowledge and power in contrast to my own ignorance and weakness. Regardless of what trials come, my faith should be in God who created the universe. Do I have the power He has? Then I will not trust in my own power. Do I have the wisdom He has? Then I will not trust in my own wisdom. Do I have the knowledge He has? Then I will not trust my own knowledge. Do I orchestrate the universe? Do I set prophecy into motion? Do I descend from heaven to earth? Then in all things, I must trust God over myself, who is all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful.