Episode 283 - "Finding a wife for Isaac" - Genesis 24:1-9

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

Isaac is the promised, miracle son of Abraham and Sarah and is the one through whom the LORD will ultimately bring numerous descendants. But that can only happen if he marries and has children. So, this next story tells us how Isaac gains a wife. It’s a long story. So, I’m going to break it down in smaller chunks to point out some things we can learn along the way.

The story opens with Abraham being old. He was 100 when Isaac was born, and now Isaac is of an age to marry. So, he’s really old. He called an elderly servant of his who was, clearly, a very trusted individual. He made the servant swear an oath to not find a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites where he was dwelling, but that he would go to Abraham’s home country and relatives and find a wife among them for Isaac. The first point that I want to make here is that this is not an issue of racism or ethnocentrism. What is at stake here is purity in faith. Abraham knew that the Canaanites worshipped other gods. If his son Isaac married a Canaanite woman, there would be a temptation to accommodate her faith, lead Isaac and any children they might have away from the LORD, and bring an abrupt end to the covenant the LORD made with Abraham. The harmony of a common faith within a household is an essential theme throughout the Scriptures. The LORD warned King Solomon not to take foreign wives for this exact reason: they would lead him away from faithfulness to the LORD. Solomon failed to heed that warning, and the result was exactly as the LORD had warned. This led to a division of the kingdom after Solomon died.

Abraham’s servant was diligent to ask questions to make sure he had the expectations correct and worked through the “what if” possibilities with Abraham. He didn’t want to make such a strong promise and be unable to fulfill it. His first question was, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” (Gen 24:5) Abraham’s response was an emphatic negative. Why? That seems like a reasonable alternative. Abraham explained to his servant that the LORD had led him from that land to the land of Canann and promised to give him the land they were on. If Isaac were to go back to his father’s homeland and wanted to marry someone, there would be pressure to stay there. Therefore, Abraham told his servant that in such a case, he would be free from the oath.

What we see here in the big picture of this story is a strong trust of Abraham in the LORD’s covenant promises. Abraham had some missteps earlier in his life. But the LORD had led him to grow in his faith of the LORD and his promises. He believed that the LORD would provide those descendants, that they would come through Isaac, and that the LORD would provide the wife who would most likely live and act in concert with Isaac’s faith.

May the LORD grant us such confidence in him that we would not trust our human reasoning over God’s word.

Episode 265 - "God's promise to Abram" - Genesis 15:1-6

Gen. 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

If there are sections of Scripture that are more significant or important than others, Genesis 15, I believe, would have to be included in that list. The reason is that the New Testament authors cite this to support their argument for the nature of faith and imputed righteousness.

In our last episode, the LORD had given Abram victory over the kings that had taken Lot and his possessions. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, blessed Abram, and Abram gave a tithe to him. The LORD was ready to take Abram to the next step in his plan to make Abram a great nation. This is just my personal observation and not necessarily a theological point of the text. But I think the LORD often works like this within our lives. People often want God to “zap” them and fix all their struggles and problems right away. Perhaps the LORD does not do that because he wants us to learn to trust him always. Notice how this section opens.

The LORD spoke to Abram in a vision. He told him not to fear. His promise to Abram that could allay his fear was, “I am your shield” (Gen. 15:1). God is telling Abram that He will protect Abram from harm. God had already demonstrated his protection of Abram when he led Abram out of his home country to the land of Canaan, down into Egypt, where Abram attempted to protect himself at the risk of forfeiting God’s promise to make him a great nation by allowing his wife Sarai to be taken into Pharoah’s household. God demonstrates his patience and care for Abram by reassuring him that he is always with Abram, will protect him, and will reward him greatly.

Abram and Sarai weren’t getting any younger, and in verses 2-3, Abram effectively recalls God’s promise to make his name great and to make him a great nation. Abram is rightly expecting Sarai to have children. But the LORD had not yet given them a child. We don’t know who Eliezer of Damascus is to Abram other than he is not his own child. It seems as though Abram is seeking clarity from God. In other words, he’s saying, “Since you haven’t given us any children, is this one going to be my heir?”

The LORD’s response leaves no question as to his plan. Abram will have a biological child. It will not be someone who is adopted or has some other legal status as a potential heir. But he doesn’t leave it there. The LORD had Abram look into the sky and told him that his descendants would be numerous like the stars in the sky.

We just witnessed the limits of Abram’s understanding and faith in the LORD when he reminded the LORD that He had not given him one child. But in the LORD’s fantastic revelation concerning the number of descendants he would provide Abram, Abram believed and trusted him. The LORD assessed Abram’s trust as righteousness. We saw this same thing with Noah, didn’t we? Noah trusted the LORD. He responded rightly to the LORD’s revelation and was obedient to the LORD’s revelation.

It is inappropriate to read this and think that the LORD is making the same promise to us. We cannot assume that if we just trust the LORD, he will make us wealthy. Yet, it is appropriate and proper to understand that this passage reveals that the LORD is trustworthy. He does make promises to us that seem so impossible. The promise of the resurrection and eternal life, for example, is not something we can prove through scientific observation. Stories like this reveal that God cares for his people. He protects them. He provides for them. He wants what is best for them. He is trustworthy, and we need to respond to God’s revelation by believing him and receiving the righteousness counted toward us in Christ.

Episode 138 - "It is the Lord!" - John 21:1-8

1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

In the last episode, I focused on the first three verses of this story. I mentioned how the LORD revealed himself wherever and whenever he wanted. There is nothing that can prevent God’s presence with us. It would seem from this story that we never have to wonder if God is there or not. Our problem is whether we believe from one moment to the next that He is all-powerful, all-good, and is accessible to us. 

Peter had denied that he knew the Lord three times after asserting that he would die for him. It is interesting how that never seemed to come up in the two appearances Jesus made to the disciples preceding this encounter. But, you can bet that with everything that has happened, Peter has not forgotten it. My guess is that Peter’s guilt was festering like a boil. There is no record that Jesus chastised him during the times he appeared to them and it would seem that it didn’t come up. The trauma of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, the fear of persecution by the Jewish leaders leading them to lock themselves into a home, the shock mixed with the joy of Jesus’ resurrection and appearance to them, and the guilt of denying and abandoning the Lord had to be working heavily on these guys. They needed an outlet; something to get their mind off of it all. More importantly, they needed a purpose and a direction in life.

Verse four begins with “Just as day was breaking.” Just as day was breaking, just as the light was appearing, Jesus (the Light of the world) showed up on the shore. But, the disciples still did not recognize who it was. Jesus called to them and addressed them as “children.” I’m not exactly sure what is going on here by this address. It would not seem that Jesus was insulting them and there’s no evidence that they took it that way. He asked them if they had any fish and they replied “no.” I suspect that in doing so, Jesus had a purpose. That purpose might have been to establish this experience as a learning experience and that he was the teacher. Since we believe that our author is one of the men in the boat and is the first to recognize that it’s Jesus on the shoreline, this stuck in his mind. Still, the first reaction in the disciples’ minds might have been who does this guy think he is by calling us children? 

Jesus’ instructions to the “children” were, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some.” (v. 6) The audacity of this guy. We’ve been fishing all night long. Does he really think we haven’t fished throughout this whole area on various sides of the boat? That’s what I would imagine these guys to be thinking. What surprises me a little is that they don’t seem to even argue. They just obeyed. Oh . . . maybe that’s the point. They just obeyed Jesus’ command. But, did you notice that Jesus didn’t just command them to cast the net on the right side of the boat? He made them a promise, “You will find some.” There’s the understatement of all time. They didn’t just catch some. Their net was full to the point that they would normally expect it to break causing them to lose their catch. But, it didn’t. Here is the point that all of us can learn. We experience God’s promises when we obey His commands. The promises are for our good. The most important command of the Lord for us is to believe that Jesus, God’s Son, revealed himself in this world, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin making us just before God, and raised from the dead giving us hope that he will fulfill his promise to raise us from the dead and give us eternal life.

In an instant of realizing their tremendous catch by obeying this “stranger’s” command, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John) told Peter, “It is the Lord!” Immediately, what was more important than achieving what they had been vainly striving for on their own all night long was the identity of the person on the shore. There’s another good lesson for us, isn’t it? Our own efforts are all in vain if Jesus is not more important.

This revelation to Peter was the tipping point in his own life. Forgetting the fish, he put on his outer garment and jumped into the sea to go to Jesus. What was he going to do? What was he going to say? What would Jesus do or say when it was just the two of them alone on the shore. I don’t Peter had a clue. I think he just needed to be with Jesus and that he expected Jesus to address his guilt and pain. Perhaps that’s a good lesson for us as well. There are times when we don’t know which way is up. There are moments when we feel guilt or just inadequate and without purpose or value. We need to go to Jesus trusting that he knows where we’re at and how to comfort and encourage us in those times.