King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Chapters: Genesis 22-24
Message: God Chose You
Hello My Friend,
“Here am I”, these three words are crucial to not only our salvation through Christ, but to our receiving further promises from God. So, here is the thing, we may have the freewill to call upon the name of the LORD, but God chose us well before we made that decision. What sealed the deal was when He called us, and we accepted that call. All men and women of faith are chosen by God first, Noah, Moses, David, Mary, and the disciples, all of them were chosen, but it was only when they said, “Here am I” so to speak, when He called, that He followed though with His plan. Remember, king Saul? God had chose him to be the first king, but he turned on God, and therefore, God moved on to David. Every soul, it does not matter if it is one that was birthed into this world or never had that opportunity is given the call to become of the sons of God, those who never left the womb are blessed as such because they never knew sin, the rest of us must make that call, or He will pass us by.
[And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. – Mark 6:47-50]
Abraham, was no exception, he too was chosen by God to become the father of many nations of people who, many would also become the sons of God. And as we continue in the reading of Genesis, God had finally fulfilled His promise to give Abraham a son, and that was Isaac. Now, Isaac is about thirteen years old, God calls Abraham and gives him the most unthinkable command of all.
[And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. – Genesis 22:1-6]
[that God did tempt Abraham,] Remember, to be tempted also means to be tried or tested, God was testing Abraham’s faith, although He already knew how Abraham would handle this challenge, He still gave him this test. God gives us these tests also, and it is not for Him to know, it is for us to know, including those who follow us, that we truly have accepted Christ as our Saviour, [Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. – James 1:3-4]
[Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,] Why did God say that Isaac was his only son when we already know that Ishmael is his son as well? Isaac is the only begotten son of the covenant that God had made with Abraham. We can think of it this way, every person conceived is a creation of God. We only become sons (and daughters) of God through our true faith in Him alone, and of course, by calling upon the name of the LORD, who is none other than Jesus Christ Himself, God’s only one begotten Son, [For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16]
Now, here is Isaac, he was well aware that they needed an animal for the offering, and even asks his father where it is, [And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. – Genesis 22:7-12]
[God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:] Many of is would ask ourselves if we would have this same faith, but remember, Abraham knew that Isaac was the promised seed from God that would start that nation of people who would become true sons and daughters of God. We actually believe in the same promise of God sending His only begotten Son, He indeed provided Himself a lamb for the burnt offering.
[And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. – Genesis 22:13-18]
[for because thou hast done this thing,] Do you see how this is the same as when Jesus would have passed the disciples by? There must always be a sacrifice in the place of redemption. God provided the sacrifice, He always provides the sacrifice, He literally sacrificed His only begotten Son so that we might have eternal life. Remember, God’s tests always lead to life, not death, even upon our physical death we have eternal life with Jesus, and the hope of the resurrection as He arose three days after His death. When we have obeyed God to the uttermost and glorified Him through all the tests, there is no limit to the increase of blessing that we will receive the second we called upon the name of the LORD, and stayed true to our faith. Now, this chapter ends with an account to Abraham’s brother, Nahor, and his children, [And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. – Genesis 22:20-23]
[And Bethuel begat Rebekah:] The whole purpose for this being written in the Bible has to do with Rebekah as she would become Isaac’s wife, which we learn of in chapter 24. Before we learn of how Rebekah would become Isaac’s wife we learn that Sarah has died, and both Abraham and Isaac are grieving their loss.
[And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth. – Genesis 23:1-4,13-15,20]
[what is that betwixt me and thee?] Ephron was willing to give Abraham the land and tomb, but he insisted on purchasing it. While Abraham was thankful for his generosity, he did not want to do anything that would make things strenuous or difficult later on down the line so, he thought it best to purchase the land. Honesty, as well as honor, forbids us to take advantage of our neighbors liberality, not to mention keeps from stirring up anything should there be a falling out. Think about what this represented when he purchased the land that would be for not only his wife’s burial, but his and Isaac’s. First; it was bought and paid for with a price. Second; it was a sure place, meaning, the purchase was sealed, never to be sold again. And third; It was a token of Abraham’s belief and expectation of what was to come of God’s promise, [These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. – Hebrews 11:13]
Now, after Sarah was buried, Abraham’s health started deteriorating, he decided it was time for Isaac to have a wife, but did not want him to marry someone from Canaan, or send Isaac out of Canaan, so, he decided to send his servant to seek out one for him, he did not give any specifics, only that she must be kin to his brother.
[And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. 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? 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. – Genesis 24:2-7]
[Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.] I am sure that the reason why Abraham did not want to send Isaac over there himself was because he had something in the back of his head that if he did he would not return. Abraham was not going to take any chances, so, this man was also chosen by God and said, “Here am I”, would soon find out just how fast God listens to those who call upon Him. As the servant arrives into town, he stops by a well where the women would come to get water, he stands by the well and starts praying, even before he could say the word, Amen, her comes she comes.
[And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. – Genesis 24:12-15]
[shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.] This mans answer to his prayer even before he stopped praying was all he needed to call upon the LORD, and worship Him, [And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren. And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. – Genesis 24:26-29,53-54,58]
[and his name was Laban:] Later on, we will learn how Laban would play another part in this puzzle that God had planned out for Abraham, and Rebekah, she too was chosen by God, when she said, “I will go”. Piece by piece, we all play a part of this huge puzzle that God planned out for Abraham, well, believers are anyway as God will only reveal Himself to those who come to Him by faith. We are all chosen by God Himself, actually predestined to be one of His sons, but He will only accept us if we choose Him, [And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. – Romans 8:27-30]
Today’s Prayer: God, Although you tempt us by testing our faith, it never comes without void, and while we do not always understand the ways in which You do test our faith, everything You do has a purpose and a meaning, and comes out good if we simply trust You. I will never forget the day You came to me and revealed Your purpose for my life and here am I to continue to fulfill that purpose. Lord, Lead me and guide me, give me Your power to trust You no matter what You ask of me, keep my heart tender and fearing You, not out of obligation, but out of respect. Give me Your strength to fight evil temptation, let me not be hindered from fulfilling Your will for my life, and fill me with Your love, mercy, and grace that I may accomplish all that You have for me to do. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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