The Art of Obedience...

Since I last wrote about my journey through Genesis, I've moved from Chapter 15 to Chapter 33. That's way more history than I can cover here. I've seen the lives of Abraham and Isaac played out and am in the middle of Jacob's life. God used these three men to create the foundation of the Christian faith. One thing is clear from reading about their lives - they were not perfect! And I am so glad! That gives us all hope and promise that He will use us and our imperfections and missteps to bring about His will in our world and in our personal lives. We don't have to be perfect - just obedient.

Abraham (Abram) was a descendant of Noah's son Shem. We are not told why God singled him out to become the Father of Many Nations, but we do know that Abraham loved the Lord God, and, thus, found favor in His sight. He married Sarah (Sarai), and she was barren for MANY years. God continued to bless Abraham and Sarah and brought them into the land of Caanan and told him that his discendants would possess this land and they would number more than the stars.Now Abe and Sarah were getting on up there in years (much like Zach & Liz from Luke 1) and still, they had no children. Abe talked this over with the Lord on different ocassions - how was he to be the father of many nations when he wasn't even a father of one child? But God kept promising him it would happen.  And, by-golly, it did - when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was only ten years younger! Now much happened in between including Abe fathering a child, Ishmael, by Sarah's servant. Like I said, he wasn't perfect! But we know that when Isaac was born, Abraham and Sarah were filled with unspeakable joy! God had blessed them and had proven faithful!

Over those years, Abraham learned a lot about what it means to walk with God. He made some serious mistakes along the way, but he never let his mistakes turn him away from following the Lord. Through those years, he also learned about obedience and the consequences of disobedience. He grew into the man who, indeed, could and would be the patriarch of the Christian faith. All of his mistakes, all that sojourning through the countryside, and all the challenges that his life had brought, prepared him for a final test of faith.

God asked Abraham to sacrifice that precious son for whom he had waited so many years. WOW! How could He ask such a thing? It's one thing to sacrifice your best lamb or goat, but it's another thing to give up your only son! Why would He ask such a thing? He had promised that son and had promised to multiply his descendants - he couldn't do that without Isaac.Talk about a turn-of-events that you don't understand! But Abraham didn't even question Him. He just went about being obedient. Now, in the old days, the younger Abraham would have barked back at God much like he did when God told him that Sarah would bear a son. He fell on his face and laughed and scoffed because of their age. But this Abraham was more seasoned in the knowledge and ways of God.

Now, let's stop for a minute and think about this situation. Abraham is walking his only son, the one he had waited many years for, up the hill in order to build an altar and lay Isaac on it and watch him burn to death! What gut-wrenching turmoil must Abraham been going through! Was he arguing with himself, torn between his love for his son and his love for God? He had to be! When that sweet little boy asked "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb?" didn't he want to gather him in his arms and run back down the hill? Sure he did!

Was Abe really willing to go through with what God had asked of him? The answer is yes. He built the altar, then took Isaac and bound him and laid him on top of the wood. He took a knife and stretched out his arm to slay him, but an angel stopped him. I picture this as Abe holding that knife in the air, praying to the Father, and as his hand begins to come down toward the boy, the angel speaks - and Abe is stopped in mid-air. I think that because I think God wanted to see into his heart and know that he was willing to give his very best to Him.

Am I willing to give my very best to the Lord?

He was willing to give His very best to me...in Jesus Christ. And He went through with it! The parallel between this event and the sacrifice of His only son is undeniable. God loves us so much that He called for His own Son's sacrifice to take the place of our own. He watched His Son walk up Calvary's hill and be laid out on that wooden cross and die a horrible death - so that I wouldn't have to. "For God so loved the world (that's you and me) that He gave His only begotten Son (that's Jesus) so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

And just as Abraham was obedient to the point of sacrificing his son, Jesus was obedient to the point of literally giving his life for me. God desires obedience. Obedience allows His plan and purpose for our lives to be fulfilled. Abraham did go on to become the Father of Many Nations and the patriarch of our faith.

What is His plan for me, for you? We will never know all that He has planned for us until we learn the Art of Obedience.Sometimes it may be costly; however, He provides the strength and grace we need to get through it.

Where's the Bitterness???

 The writer of Hebrews defines Faith as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Hoping for children was what all young married couples did. Zach and Liz were no exception. They hoped, they prayed, they hoped, they prayed, and it did not happen. Elizabeth was branded as “barren”, and Zacharias could have put her away and taken another wife. Being barren was not a good thing in those days. That label brought with it serious social consequences, and she certainly faced raised eyebrows when she approached gatherings of other ladies in their community. They were surely known as the old couple who could never have children. A mixture of shame and pity shrouded them.

I can’t even begin to imagine her surprise when she learned that she was pregnant! Today we think it odd when a woman over forty gives birth; just imagine what we would think if an eighty year old lady became pregnant! My mind won’t even go there! But let’s look at how Liz handled her surprise.

Scripture tells us that she kept herself in seclusion for five months. Apparently, that time was a time of spiritual soul-searching for her. She concluded that the “Lord had taken away her disgrace among men.” It’s important to note here that when she and Zach are introduced to us in Luke 1, they had been living with their disgrace for many years. Furthermore, we should remember that they were “both righteous in the sight of God and were walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Law.” Now here’s my question. How did Liz keep bitterness from consuming her? She had every right to be disappointed that she had not been able to have a child. Disappointment breeds anger, and anger breeds bitterness. Where’s the anger and where’s the bitterness in her life? How was she able to continue walking blamelessly with the Lord throughout her life? I think it was her relationship with the Lord that gave her an uncommon peace.

It wasn’t just those five months of seclusion that had been a spiritual journey for her. Most of her life had been a spiritual journey. Even when she was a young woman and barren, she walked blamelessly in her relationship with God. Years down the road, when other couples their age were becoming grandparents, she walked blamelessly with God. Scripture doesn’t give us detailed insight into Liz’s mind through those years, so we don’t know how much she wrestled with anger and bitterness or if peace came easy to her. When big things don’t happen for me the way I hope, I do wrestle with anger and sometimes bitterness. Oh, that I could continuously walk blamelessly with God!

Let’s continue Liz’s story. While she was in seclusion, the same angel that had appeared to Zach, appeared to her cousin, Mary. In the proclamation that Gabriel gave to Mary about giving birth to the baby Jesus, he told Mary that Liz was also pregnant with a special child. The last thing the angel said to Mary was, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one! Not only had God allowed Elizabeth to become pregnant in her old age (and she would later give birth to a healthy baby boy), now Mary was going to become pregnant while still a virgin. Soon after learning the news from the angel, Mary went with haste to see Liz.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. At that point, Liz cried out a blessing upon Mary and her baby, who was to be the Lord. Liz seemed to understand her pregnancy and the roll her child was to play in the coming of the Lord.

Her faith had seen her through to the purpose of God in her life. She faced a crisis of Faith early in her marriage, but did not allow anger and bitterness to ruin her life. Keeping her relationship with God from being stained by bitterness allowed her to protect her relationship with Zacharias. 

So….. What do we learn from Zach and Liz’s crises of Faith? How we react at that critical and decisive moment may frame the rest of our lives. It certainly impacts our spiritual journey. Sometimes we react with anger, fear, and doubt. However, if we give that over to the Lord and walk with Him through the crisis, we will grow stronger and taller in our relationship with Him. How we react may also frame some aspect of another’s life. We’ll never know until we walk through the crisis with Him. I think Elizabeth would tell us that God was with her at the beginning of the crisis, in the midst of the crisis, and through the end of the crisis. That’s what walking blamelessly with Him means.

Where will we go from here? Next time…