906 Biblical Characters - Abraham & Sarah Pt.3 (Gen.18.16-33;19.1-29)
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- Amy & Brad have had mice in their home as many have experienced recently
- They have a spare room that had no skirting boards around the edges. What it had there instead, were cracks big enough for mice to come through
- I went to Bunnings to purchase the skirting boards that would go around the walls of this spare room to cover the gaps in the floor
- When I purchased these skirting boards, the guy who served me put down the wrong price – he scanned the wrong QR code & the price was a bit less than the cost of what I was buying
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- A customer has two options at this point – Keep quiet as it has some material benefit for you – it’ll be cheaper - or, bring out the truth & have him correct the price
Q. What would most people do?
- Probably go with the first option & stay quiet
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- Now what if the reverse happened?
- What if the QR code he scanned, actually made the timber dearer than the correct price
Q. Would most people stay quiet in this scenario?
- Not at all, I imagine – they would soon point out the error
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- This leads us to think about justice & what it means
Q. Does justice only work one way, or does it go beyond the individual?
- Justice or fairness is being even handed in a scenario like this
- Justice then, is due to Bunnings as much as it is due to the customer
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- But someone might say, “Ah, but Bunnings is a financial giant & wouldn’t miss the paltry amount of difference between the charged price & the actual price”
- If this is the case, where would you draw the line?
- Would a company have to be a million dollar company? A half-million dollar company? A 100,000 dollar company?
Q. Where would you draw the line & who gives us the right to determine who should be cheated out of the actual price & who shouldn’t be cheated?
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- Justice is not governed by a subjective approach
- That is, it is not governed by what you feel is right or wrong
- We used to have an objective justice system, but it is fast becoming replaced by political correctness & subjective feelings
Q. Do you remember the image of lady justice that is displayed around courts & courthouses?
- She has a sword in one hand which shows that justice may demand punishment
- She has a set of scales in the other hand which shows that justice must me weighed & balanced accurately
- And she is wearing a blindfold – what does this represent???
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- Ah yes, justice is blind – in other words, it doesn’t matter whether the company that short-changed itself is a hundred-million dollar company or a $5 company
- To be just requires a blind judgement on the facts & context alone
15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- You shall judge your neighbour fairly or justly
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- In Christian circles, we speak a lot about the love, the grace & the mercy of God – and rightly so
Q. But does God care about justice?
- Absolutely He does – in fact, Christians should lead the way of justice in the world
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- But first, let me deal with a strange variation of justice that has crept in to society
- We have all heard of “social justice” – is that a legitimate form of justice?
- Interestingly, the term “social justice” is not found in the Bible – not in name, anyhow
- There is only justice – either something is just or it isn’t
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- Unfortunately, the concept of social justice as it is understood by our secular world is applied to the likes of same-sex marriage; abortion on demand including the right to the public funding of abortion; the right for a child to change gender; the right for people to have themselves euthanized; the right for animals to be recognised as “persons” - this is all under the guise of social justice
- So, as you can see, that word is loaded with secular, godless & humanistic freight – Christians should avoid using the slogan – social justice!
- There is only justice & justice that is justice is the justice of God & He has laid that out in His word
1. Righteousness and Justice To Permeate Abraham’s Descendants
1. Righteousness and Justice To Permeate Abraham’s Descendants
- In the context here, the descendants of Abraham are the Israelites
- Now follow me here
- The true descendant of Abraham is one & only one descendant – Christ
16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.
- The apostle makes the point that the word referred to is a singular word – which is correct
18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- The word is singular but really everyone knows it is meant as a collective word meaning the many who come from Abraham
- In his seed are his offspring
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- However, if you remember I have spoken about the two different levels of understanding that comes through the Scriptures
- On the one level, this is talking about Abraham’s descendants – the Jewish nation of Israel
- But on a higher level, God is intending this to be understood as referring to His Son, Jesus – the singular “seed” of Abraham
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- Extrapolating out from here, there are those who are “in Christ” & they belong to & are also included in the line of Abraham
- So the apostle Paul...
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
- You can’t be a Christian & not be “in Christ” or “Belong to Christ”
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- God introduces something to Abraham that is of the utmost importance to God
- How Abraham & His descendants should live
19 “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”
Q. Did you notice the points of purpose there?
- “for I have chosen him - so that (purpose) - he may command his children”
- And “so that” (purpose) – “the Lord may bring upon Abraham…His promises”
- It makes perfect sense – how can one be a blessing to the world if that one is involved with injustice & unrighteousness – who would want that & how could that ever be a blessing!
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- The Bible is quiet silent on the specifics of what this righteousness & justice looks like
- At this point, the law of Moses has not been given so we don’t find a list of laws that can be applied to this
- However, they must have had some standards that existed among them & we definitely see this coming out at various points
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- What is glaringly obvious is the context of which this command was spoken to Abraham
- This was spoken to Abraham by the Lord & the angelic visitors, just after Sarah denied laughing about the promised child in their old age
- The angelic visitors proceed to a place by which they can see Sodom & Gomorrah in the distance
- In this very spot, Abraham is given this statement “...so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice”
- The very next verse hits us with this...
20 And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
- Here is a living contrast from the way Abraham & his children are to live as opposed to the lifestyle of Sodom & Gomorrah
2. Covenant of Identity – Circumcision
2. Covenant of Identity – Circumcision
- The promise of God to Abraham came with an initiation rite of identity – the rite of circumcision
- This rite created a dividing line, a clear demarcation that distinguished the line of promise & of God’s blessings, from the rest of mankind
- But again, this rite was preceded by an introductory statement
1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. 2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
Q. Wow, what a calling? Walk before Me & be blameless
- Most likely, you will be asking in your heart the question, “who in all the world could possibly be blameless”
- Maybe I could be blameless for an hour, but I would struggle being blameless for a whole day
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- To be blameless is to have no flaw in character
- That is a big ask, but it is what God is telling Abraham to do & be
- To walk with God & to walk with integrity in heart is something that can be done
- Certainly if Abraham could, then surely also those who possess the Spirit of the living God in this new age of God’s power
1 How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart. 3 They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways.
- You have the answer & the direction right there
- They seek Him with all their heart – is that true of you? Is that true of me?
- Look at this double blessing for those who walk in His ways
- It is a matter of seeking – to walk in His law; to observe His testimonies; to do no unrighteousness
- This is what we seek
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- When I told the Bunnings employee that he scanned the wrong piece of timber, he went back & said he had the right one & it took some convincing that he scanned the wrong one but when he compared the timber he saw that he had it wrong
- He was surprised that I actually challenged the price
- With a smile, he makes the comment that I could have saved a little bit if I had kept quiet
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- I just pointed out that if he had overcharged me, I would have challenged on that too & so you can’t have it just one way
- He actually got it & agreed
- Often, though we are only thinking of ourselves in purchasing & that is where injustice flourishes – self, if not careful, always walks over the rights or justice of others
- But when we seek the Lord with all our heart & want to walk in His ways, we will start on the path to being blameless
- Don’t let that word blameless spook you, it is relational – blamelessness starts & finishes with walking in & with the Lord
- Blamelessness is a path on which you travel, not a destination to which you arrive
- It becomes part of you when you start this walk with God
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- So God gives Abraham this rite for those who will be his descendants
- Its a physical rite for the male alone, that gave physical evidence of the Covenant between you and God
- But we see evidence in the OT that this physical rite was not something to be merely physical
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- Many Jews, however, rested on the physical rite alone, in order to claim they were God’s people & that they are & would be a “saved” race of people
- Yet, all through the OT, God showed them that faith was the hallmark of a right relationship with God
- The false prophets yelled “peace, peace”, we will only know peace & that the Babylonians will not take Jerusalem nor the Temple because we are His favoured people
- “We have the rite of circumcision & we have the temple with us – God will never abandon His people”
- Yet, God’s true prophets thundered against these so-called people of God who did evil & injustice
- Not just once either – here in Isaiah the message warns about the Assyrians who will come & punish God’s so-called people
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! 22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink, 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, But His hand is still stretched out.
26 He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation, And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will come with speed swiftly. 27 No one in it is weary or stumbles, None slumbers or sleeps; Nor is the belt at its waist undone, Nor its sandal strap broken. 28 Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent; The hoofs of its horses seem like flint and its chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
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- Circumcision was never meant to be a physical rite apart from that of faith & a faithful relationship with God
6 “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
- Here’s the essence of what circumcision is to mean – to love the Lord your God with all your heart & soul
4 “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”
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- The NT reflects this truth beautifully
- Circumcision is no longer an issue for God’s people as it was exclusive to the Jew
- The apostle Paul, however, cannot help but bring out the reality of who are the true people of God
29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
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- Human power alone could never raise itself to the standard of God’s righteousness
- What is needed is a new spirit & a new heart which is provided through the death & resurrection of Jesus
- Through Jesus, we can have our sins forgiven & be put on that path of blamelessness
- The sinner who puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ hates their sin – hates being less than blameless
- He or she seeks Christ because they want to be in a right relationship with God
- They know that Christ’s death is sufficient to deliver them from their sins & to place them in a right relationship with God
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- Not only that, it is sufficient to motivate them to pursue a life of blamelessness for Christ did not only free them from the penalty of sin, He freed them also from the power of sin – they go together
- You can’t claim forgiveness from the penalty from sin, without claiming the freedom from the power of sin
3. The Judge of the Earth Will Do Right
3. The Judge of the Earth Will Do Right
- Last week Stuart introduced the question: “What answers can Christians give to explain violence in the Old Testament”?
- Of course, it is a very challenging question
- I don’t propose to answer that today, but I do hope that you will gain some appreciation of the context of violent actions in the OT
- Here’s one that faces us – Saul was commanded by God to exterminate the Amalekites
2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 ‘Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
- The word for utterly destroy is cherem (devoted to destruction) – it is the same word used for the destruction of Jericho & then on Achan & his family for his part in keeping back for himself what was devoted to destruction
- Cherem means to devote to God – the implication is that it must be completely destroyed to avoid human use
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- As their act of loyalty, trust & devotion to God, Saul was to deal with the evil of the Amalekites - they must be given over to God & as such destroyed
- However, for political reasons Saul refused to kill the king of the Amalekites nor destroy all the spoil
8 He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
13 Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.”
17 Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, 18 and the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ 19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
- This is a challenging Scripture that challenges our sensitivities
Q. The question you have to ask yourself is this – is God just, is He fair?
- Because if you don’t agree with what has happened here, you are forced to either defer to your lack of understanding on the reason for it or you have to declare a judgement against God
- To do the latter is dangerous – the challenge then is this...
Q. Do we change God to match our ways & thoughts, or do we change our ways & thoughts to match God?
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- In our passage today, Abraham understands that the Lord is going to judge Sodom & Gomorrah with total destruction
- But Abraham has a stake in what will happen – his nephew Lot & his family live in the midst of Sodom & Gomorrah
13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”
Q. Who decides, therefore, the issues of right & wrong, good & evil? Do we?
- Don’t forget what happened at the fall – the tree of the knowledge of good & evil – its power has been absorbed by man - & what did it do to him?
- Good looked like evil & evil looked like good
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- In other words, the capacity for knowing good & evil which is only the prerogative of God – has been absorbed by created, mortal, weak & frail beings
- The very first enlightenment of Adam & Eve was wrong – they saw that they were naked – which prior to such knowledge was good, but they now declare it to be evil – so do all their descendants after them
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- In this passage today, Abraham makes an astonishing statement
23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
Q. How gracious is our God that He allows Abraham to reason with him like this!
- But the answer to Abraham’s question comes & we find that the judge of all the earth does indeed deal justly – He does not treat the righteous & the wicked alike
- He does spare the righteous & the angelic visitors do give Lot, his wife & daughters an opportunity to leave the city
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- But the sons-in-law who were engaged to his daughters stayed behind & were destroyed – why?
- Because they never took Lot seriously – they never saw the writing on the wall & acted - & for them it was too late
- In unbelief, they laughed at Lot, just as Sarah had laughed at the thought that God could given them a child in their old age
- In short, the sons-in-law, did not believe, nor would they obey when warned
- Likewise, Lot’s wife did not obey the Lord when told to not look back & she was petrified into a pillar of salt
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- We have they same issue before us today
- People are being warned – repent & believe in the Gospel & they laugh
- They refuse to take seriously the call of Christ to escape the terrible judgement to come – they can’t see it now, so they don’t think its coming
- But the very nature of judgement is such that it is swift & unexpected
- I’ll finish today with this reading from the apostle Peter...
3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
- It will come like a thief in the night - at a totally unexpected time
- The question is - are you laughing or are you ready?