Genesis 17
New name for God: El-Shaddaiverses 1-2
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine
the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him
I am the Almighty God – walk before ME
and be you perfect
And I will make MY covenant between ME and you
and will multiply you exceedingly
Abram has name changed to ABRAHAMverses 3-6
And Abram fell on his face – and God talked with him
saying
As for ME – BEHOLD – MY covenant is with you
and you shall be a FATHER of many nations
Neither shall your name any more be called Abram
BUT your name shall be Abraham
FOR a FATHER of many nations have
I made you
And I will make you exceedingly fruitful
and I will make nations of you
and kings shall come out of you
LORD makes everlasting covenant for landverses 7-8
I will establish MY covenant between ME and you and your seed
after you in their generations for an
EVERLASTING COVENANT
to be a God to you and to your seed after you
And I will give to you – and to your seed after you
the LAND wherein you are a stranger
all the LAND of Canaan
FOR an EVERLASTING POSSESSION
And I will be their God
Covenant confirmed by circumcisionverses 9-14
And God
said to Abraham
You shall keep MY covenant therefore – you
your seed after you in their generations
This is MY covenant – which you shall keep
between ME and you and your seed after you
EVERY MALE child among you
shall be CIRCUMCISED
And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin
and it shall be a token of the covenant between
ME and you
And he that is eight days old shall be CIRCUMCISED among you
EVERY MALE in your generations
he that is born in the house
or bought with money of any stranger
which is not of your seed
He that is born in your house
and he that is bought with your money
must needs be CIRCUMCISED
and MY covenant shall be in your flesh for
an EVERLASTING COVENANT
And the UNCIRCUMCISED man child whose flesh of his foreskin
is not CIRCUMCISED
That soul shall be cut off from his people
he has BROKEN MY covenant
Sarai has a name change to Sarahverses 15-16
And God
said to Abraham
As for Sarai – your wife – you shall not call her name Sarai
BUT Sarah shall her name be
And I will bless her – and give you a son also of her
YEA – I will bless her and she shall be a mother of nations
kings of people shall be of her
Abraham laughs at promise of a sonverses 17-18
THEN Abraham fell on his face – and LAUGHED
and said in his heart
Shall a child be born to him that is an hundred years old?
and shall Sarah – that is ninety years old – bear?
And Abraham said to God
Oh that Ishmael might live before YOU
LORD promises a son named Isaacverses 19-22
And God
said
Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed
and you shall call his name Isaac [means laughter]
and I will establish MY covenant with him
for an EVERLASTING COVENANT
and with his see after him
And as for Ishmael – I have heard you
BEHOLD – I have blessed him – and will make him fruitful
and will multiply him exceedingly
twelve princes shall he beget
and I will make him a great nation
BUT MY covenant will I establish with Isaac
which Sarah shall bear to you at this SET TIME
in the next year
And HE ceased talking with him – and God went up from Abraham
Abraham circumcises all the malesverses 23-27
And Abraham took Ishmael– his son
and all that were born in his house
and all that were bought with his money
every male among the men of Abraham’s house
and CIRCUMCISED the flesh of their foreskin in the
self-same day as God had said to him
And Abraham was ninety years old and nine
when he was CIRCUMCISED in the flesh of his foreskin
And Ishmael – his son – was thirteen years old
when he was CIRCUMCISED in the flesh of his foreskin
In the very same day was Abraham CIRCUMCISED
and Ishmael – his son and all the men of his house
born in the house
and bought with money of a stranger
were CIRCUMCISED with him
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be you perfect.(8549 “perfect” [tamiym] means entire, integrity, truth, without blemish, complete, full, sincerely, sound, without spot, undefiled, and upright)
DEVOTION: How of us would like to have a conversation with God like Abram had? How many would like God to reveal the future to them regarding their family? How many of us have the courage to laugh in front of God at HIS statement of what was going to happen to us in the future? Yet here we find Abram laughing at the thought that God could cause Sarai to have his son. It was beyond his belief.
Abram was 99 years old. Abram was commanded by the LORD to walk before HIM. Abram was commanded by the LORD to be a man of integrity. God identified HIMSELF as Almighty. There is nothing too hard for God to do. God commanded Abram to walk before HIM entirely. God wanted Abram to walk before HIM in integrity or truthfulness. Remember that he had told his wife to lie regarding their relationship.
In this chapter we find that man doesn’t give God all the power that HE has. Abram didn’t believe that God could give him a child in his old age. He laughed at God’s promise. Therefore, his son’s name was “laughter” or Isaac.
God is asking Abram to be a man of integrity. Is this possible? When we walk with the LORD, we can see that our lives are different than when we are walking our own way. When we walk our own way, HE has to correct us. When we walk with HIM, we are men and women of integrity because we would be asking forgiveness for our sins.
Remember that the Old Testament saints looked forward to the sacrifice of the Messiah. The sign of their covenant relationship with God was circumcision. Our covenant relationship is established by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We look back on the sacrifice of the Messiah or Christ. It is because of our relationship with Christ that we can be men and women of integrity.
We will never be sinless while we are living on this earth but we can sin less. Abram was in proper fellowship with the LORD. With all our sins forgiven by the blood of Christ, HE sees us as upright. Keep short accounts with God and we will be walking with HIM. We also need to remember that HE is a God who will chasten us to get us back into fellowship with HIM. Also remember that HE sometimes prunes us to get us to walk closer to HIM.
CHALLENGE: Walk in truthfulness before HIM. HE knows where we are in our relationship with HIM. Don’t fake it. Be honest with God. Abram was!!! IF God tells us to do something – should we laugh?????
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you. (4427 “kings” [malak] means ruler, reign, male royal ruler, ascend the throne or royalty)
DEVOTION: One of the things that manifests that God is omniscient is that HE knows the future. Here we find HIM giving Abram promises about his future relatives. HE is establishing a covenant with him that his relatives are going to remind HIM of in the future.
The children of Israel started under the reign of God as a theocracy. That means that HE was the only ruler of the nations. HE gave them the commandments and HE sent them prophets to help them understand what HE expected of them.
After the period of the judges in the Promised Land the people didn’t want the prophets to lead them through the judges. They wanted to have a royal ruler with a royal family. They asked Samuel for a royal ruler. Samuel didn’t like the idea but God knew it was coming. HE even predicted it here in this verse.
Samuel anointed Saul as the first king because he was handsome and tall and the people could look up to him. The problem was that he didn’t trust the LORD and instead trusted in his own judgment which turned out to not be too good.
God understands that we like to see someone in front of us who will give us instructions regarding what we should do and say. We don’t accept the Bible as HIS love letter to us as our instruction book many times. We listen to a man in the front of the church and don’t check out what he says and just follow his lead. Sometimes he is a good leader who knows he is a sinner talking to sinners. The problem is that when we don’t check out the pastor we follow what he says without checking the Word of God to see if it is true. We have to realize that the pastor is a sinner talking to sinners and they are following his lead without meditating on the Word of God and getting directions from the LORD.
God is going to keep all HIS promises. Make sure they are promises for this dispensation and not for a past or future dispensation. We live in the age of Grace or Church age with special promises to us. We are not going to receive the same promises God gave to the children of Israel all the time.
CHALLENGE: We are told to rightly divide the Word of Truth. This takes work on our part to understand what the Bible is teaching. Study to show yourself approved unto God daily!!!!
: 8 And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. (4033 “stranger” [maguwr] means pilgrimage, sojourning place, temporary abode, land of domicile, wanderings, living as an alien, or stopover place, alien citizenship, or lodging place)
DEVOTION: Do you think God will make a promise HE will not keep or cannot keep? Do you think that God has a plan A and plan B for the nation of Israel? Do you think God has a plan A and a plan B for your life?
The answer to these questions is important as far as your understand of God is today. Do we believe in a God who will keep all of HIS promises? If we believe this to be true than we need to look for those promises, in HIS Word that are directed toward us.
Here we have God promising Abraham the land of Canaan for his relatives four hundred years down the road and they will have this land throughout eternity if this is an everlasting promise.
If it is an everlasting promise then the children of Abraham who are believers will be inheriting the land throughout eternity. They will have something to look forward to in the future.
Now we are promised different promises. Jesus promised the disciples a mansion prepared for them in heaven. This is the same promise that we are looking forward to for eternity.
God wanted to be their God and HE wants to be our God. Even if there are different promises. HE will keep all HIS promises that are found for us in HIS Word.
CHALLENGE: One promise that we need to look at each day is that HE will never leave us or forsake us during our life once we become a genuine follower of HIM. HE is the closest friend we can ever have.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 11 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between ME and you. (226 “token” [‘owth] means sign, mark, signal, distinguishing mark, any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message, example, or pledge)
DEVOTION: God provided a sign in the flesh of Abraham’s descendants that showed that they believed HIM and that HE would be faithful to keep HIS promise to them. Remember that God had a sign in the sky after the flood to show that HE would never flood the whole earth again. What was that sign?
When God makes a promise and gives us a sign to show that HE is going to keep HIS promise we need to trust HIM fully.
Today the sign of our relationship with HIM is baptism. Those who became believers immediately showed their change of allegiance by being baptized in water by immersion.
The Great Commission is that all believers are to “GO” into all nations and TEACH them the truth of the Word of God. That means we are to reach our neighbors and all those around the world with the truth of the Word of God. The next step was to have them baptized as a sign of change.
They were to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This is so that they knew that the Godhead was made up of three persons who were co-equal and co-eternal that were going to work in our lives to make us more like God the Son.
Then we were to be taught all things that are found in the Word of God until the LORD comes back to take us to heaven or we die. Our time of learning never ends. Our time of witnessing should never end. We are to reach the world with HIS message.
Do people see us as individuals who are dedicated full time to serving the LORD? That should be our occupation.
CHALLENGE: Our avocation is whatever skill the LORD gives us to earn money to give us the opportunity to fulfill our occupation.
:26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. (4135 “circumcised” [muwl] means 1 to circumcise, let oneself be circumcised, cut, be cut off. 1a (Qal) to circumcise. 1b (Niphal) to be circumcised, circumcise oneself. 1c (Hiphil) to cause to be circumcised. 1c1 of destruction (fig.). 1d (Hithpolel) to be cut off. 1e (Polel) cut down. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship)
DEVOTION: As we continue to examine Abraham’s life, we begin to see him acting more and more like the man of faith that he was supposed to be. God had told him about the fact that he would have a child who would bless all the nations, and Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now Abraham has an opportunity to exercise that faith. God gives him a specific covenant of circumcision.
Abraham does not wait for God to tell him to do it the second time. He immediately complies, along with his son Ishmael. This took some real faith on his part. Not only that, but he had to convince all the males in his tribe to agree to the procedure as well. This was to be a marker of a son of Abraham’s covenant among the Jewish people.
There are times when we attempt to bargain with God when He gives us a specific assignment. It is as if we question God and ask whether or not that is something. He really wants us to do. Or we question the timing of what He has told us to do, as if to say that we know better that now is not the best time for doing it. But what God truly desires from us is that we obey Him right now when He gives us instruction. He wants our instant obedience, and often that is in the midst of very confusing circumstances to us. God has a way of putting us in impossible circumstances and telling us to do something that does not humanly make sense to us, in order to test whether or not we will obey. We will see this again in Genesis, where God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the altar.
CHALLENGE: Is God calling you to do something for Him that makes no sense to you? Then roll up your sleeves and do it right away! (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Abram fell on his faceverses 3, 17
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verse 1
Almightyverse 1
God (Elohim)verses 1, 3, 7-9, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23
Almighty Godverse 1
Covenant with Abramverses 2, 4
God talked with Abramverse 3
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
LORD appeared to Abramverse 1
God talking with Abramverse 22
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Abram/Abrahamverses 1-27
ninety years old
Walked with Almighty God
Perfect
God going to multiply exceedingly
father of many nations
Abram name was changed to Abraham
kings out of Abram
make nations of him
kings shall be his decedents
Covenant between him and God
Abraham = new name
Circumcised at 99
Sign of covenant: Circumcisionverses 10-14, 23-27
Eight days old
Every man
Sarai name change to Sarahverses 15, 21
Blessed by LORD
Mother of many nations
Kings of people
Bear Isaac at age 91
Abraham laughedverse 17
Sarah was ninety years old
Ishmaelverses 18, 20, 23, 25, 26
Blessed
God will make him fruitful
Twelve princes
Great nation
Circumcised his flesh: thirteen years old
Child’s name: Isaacverse 19
establish covenant with Isaac
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Uncircumcised = broken covenantverse 14
Laughedverse 17
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Walkverse 1
Perfectverse 1
Covenantverses 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 19
Multiplyverse 2
Fruitfulverse 6
Inheritance: landverse 8
Blessverse 16
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Circumcisedverses 10-14
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Everlasting covenantverses 7, 13, 19
Everlasting possession: Canaanverse 8
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QUOTES regarding passage
17–18 Abraham’s response to God’s promise is not what the reader would expect: “Abraham fell facedown” and “laughed” (wayyishāq v.17a). In light of the author’s portrayal of Abraham thus far in Genesis (e.g., 15:6), it does not seem likely that his laughter is intended to point to a lack of faith—although one must admit that the text itself leaves that impression. However, without commenting directly on Abraham’s surprising reaction to God’s promise, the author allows Abraham’s own words in v.17b to uncover the motivation behind his laughter—“Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”—leaving a final verdict on the nature of his laughter somewhat in the lurch.
In 18:12, when Sarah also responded to God’s promise with laughter, the author shows that her laughter was met with divine disapproval: “Then the Lord said, “Why did Sarah laugh?’ ” The absence of such a rebuke of Abraham’s laughter here in chapter 17 suggests that his laughter does not so much reflect a total lack of faith as it does a limitation of his faith in what God must do to fulfill his promise. Abraham is not depicted here as one whose faith in God has reached full maturity; rather he is one whose faith must still be pushed beyond its present limits. His faith must grow if he is to continue to put his trust in God’s promise. In any event, one clear purpose of the author in including the note about Abraham’s laughter can be seen in the fact that the Hebrew expression “he laughed” (wayyiṣḥāq v.17) foreshadows the name “Isaac” (yiṣḥāq).
The irony of Abraham’s response is evident. Even in his surprising response of laughter in the face of God’s promise, Abraham’s laughter became a verbal sign marking the ultimate fulfillment of the promise in Isaac. Throughout the remainder of the narratives surrounding the birth of Isaac (yiṣhāq), a key word within each major section is “laughter” (ṣāḥaq). Sarah “laughed” (wattiṣḥaq, 18:12); Lot’s sons-in-law laughed (ḵimṣaḥēq, 19:14; NIV, “[thought he was] joking”); all who heard of Sarah’s birth to Isaac would “laugh” (yiṣḥāq, 21:6); the son of Hagar laughed (meṣaḥēq, 21:9b; NIV, “was mocking”) at Isaac. Finally, Isaac’s own failure to trust in God (26:7) was uncovered when the Philistine king saw him “laughing” (meṣahēq, 26:8b; NIV, “caressing”) with Rebekah. Thus, for the author of the book, both the power of God and the limitations of human faith are embodied in that most ambiguous of human acts, laughter.
For the first time the name “Abraham,” rather than “Abram,” is used as the subject of a verb: “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed” (v.17; cf. v.3). The author’s irony can be seen in the fact that Abraham was laughing at the very thing that his new name was intended to mark: “You will be the father of many nations” (v.4b). (Sailhamer, J. H. (1990). Genesis. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, pp. 139–140). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
17:15–18. God announced that Sarai was to be called Sarah. This new name, though involving only a slight change and meaning “princess,” was fitting for one whose seed would produce kings (v. 16; cf. v. 6). Hearing this, Abraham … laughed because it seemed incredible that a barren 90-year-old woman could give birth to a son. Abraham had assumed that his descendants would come through Ishmael. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 58). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The third new name was “Sarah,” which means “princess.” (We are not certain what “Sarai” means. Some say “to mock” or “to be contentious.” It could also be another form of the word “princess.”) Since she would become the mother of kings, it was only right that she be called a princess!
We must not minimize the place of Sarah in God’s great plan of salvation. Like her husband (and all of us), she had her faults; but also like her husband, she trusted God and accomplished His purposes (Heb. 11:11). She is not only the mother of the Jewish nation (Isa. 51:2) but also a good example for Christian wives to follow (1 Peter 3:1–6). The Christian husband should treat his wife like a princess, because that is what she is in the Lord.
Three different occasions of laughter are associated with Isaac’s birth: Abraham laughed for joy when he heard his wife would give birth to the promised son (Gen. 17:17); Sarah laughed in unbelief when she heard the news (18:9–15); and Sarah laughed for joy when the boy was born (21:6–7). The name Isaac means “he laughs.”
Motherhood should be highly esteemed, and the birth of a baby welcomed with joy. While God does not call all women to marry, or all married women to bear children, He does have a special concern for both mothers and children (Pss. 113:9; 127:3–5; Matt. 19:14). In a selfish society, too many people see motherhood as a barrier and children as a burden. In fact, some people consider children such a burden that they destroy them before they have an opportunity to become a blessing.
The womb of the mother is a holy of holies where God is at work (Ps. 139:13–18). How tragic that we turn that womb into a tomb, that holy of holies into a holocaust. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1991). Be Obedient (pp. 70–71). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 17. Then Abraham fell upon his face, &c.] In reverence of the divine Being, and as amazed at what was told him: and laughed; not through distrust and diffidence of the promise, as Sarah did, for he staggered not at that through unbelief, but for joy at such good news; and so Onkelos renders it, and he rejoiced, with the joy of faith; it may be our Lord refers to this in John 8:56 he saw Christ in the promise of Isaac, and rejoiced that he should spring from his seed: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it, and he wondered; he was amazed at the grace of God that gave him such a promise, and he was astonished at the power of God that must be exerted in the fulfilment of it: and therefore it follows, and said in his heart? within himself, without expressing any thing as to be heard and understood by any creature; but the omniscient God knew what he said, and the language of it, whether of unbelief or not: shall a child be born unto him that is 100 years old? not that he was now a full 100 years old, he was 99, and going in his 100th year; but then he would be, as he was, 100 years old when this child was born to him, ch. 21:5. It had been no unusual thing for a child to be born to a man when a hundred, and even many hundred years old, but it was so in Abraham’s time; though indeed after this we read that Abraham himself had 6 sons by Keturah, when his natural strength was afresh invigorated, and his youth was renewed like the eagle’s; and besides Abraham said this, not so much with respect to himself, though his age was a circumstance that served to heighten the wonder, as with respect to Sarah, and the circumstances in which she was, who was to bear this son to him: and shall Sarah, that is 90 years old, bear? And with whom it had ceased to be after the manner of women, which made it more difficult of belief how it could be. Some think that Abraham said this, as somewhat doubting of it, until he was more strongly assured by the Lord that so it would be indeed, as is expressed in a following verse; but meeting with no reproof for what he said and did, as Sarah, it seems to shew the contrary. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 124). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
There are various kinds of laughter. There is the genuinely humorous laugh—the hearty, side-splitting roar that, when kept within bounds, is as medicine to the soul. How wonderful of God to bless men with the ability to laugh. He wants His people to be a happy, singing, laughing people. Then there is the hideous laugh, the foolish cackle of a man who laughs at sin, who makes merry over the misfortunes and mistakes and misdeeds of others. God calls such a man a fool. Chapter 17 introduces another kind of laugh, the laughter of faith (17:17). “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”
Abraham laughed out of sheer joy. The glorious impossibility of it! Why, when God had first spoken to him about a son twenty-five years earlier, then it was bordering on the impossible, but now! Now he was an old, old man and Sarah (in faith he immediately employed her new name), was an old, old woman. And he laughed the laughter of faith as Romans 4 makes perfectly clear. “Being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:19–20).
It did Abraham’s soul good. For thirteen years he had not heard from God. For thirteen years he lived with the fruits of his own impatience. Would God forgive and forget? Would God speak again? And when He did, the dear old man could not contain himself for joy.
John Bunyan was a man who knew how to transform gloom into gladness. In his own Puritan way he tells of the long days when he lay under terrible conviction of sin. “I lay long at Sinai,” he said, “and saw the fire and the cloud and the darkness.” He meant, of course, that he was long under the burden of the law, long under conviction of sin, long troubled by his utter inability to produce anything pleasing to God. Then came deliverance, when his soul was set free and the vision of Sinai was replaced by the vision of Zion. Says Bunyan, “And withal, the twelfth chapter of Hebrews was set before my eyes. That was a good night for me. I had few better. I could scarce lie in my bed for joy and peace and triumph.” He was like Abraham when the full import of what God had in store for him first burst in upon his soul. “Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed.” (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary (Ge 17:17). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Paul Decker writes A STUFF
As I noted in the last update, we had to cancel our end of the school year leadership retreat called Infusion. We did have several of our staff get together and create Activate which has become a mixture of Infusion and Summer CA. We meet on Thursday nights at 7. It has involved our campuses in Buffalo, Oneonta, Worcester, Fitchburg, and Fairfield (CT). We meet via Zoom and so far, it has gone well. Your prayers for us will be appreciated.
I have continued with one-on-ones online and have very full days on Mondays (11am-9pm) and Wednesdays (7am to 9:15pm). I really get charged up on these days.
One of my largest prayers over this past year has been concerning an international student from Peru I have gotten to know. She has been introduced to the Christian faith through a student from CA, but she comes from a wealthy family and she fears rejection because of the matriarch’s staunch Roman Catholicism (along with some superstition in the mix). That being said, she was still interested in what the Bible had to say. I think she found great relief when I said to her that I was not concerned about the Protestant or Catholic label, but whether she followed Jesus. I don’t know if I can adequately explain the calm that happened once I said those words, but she was all go, go, go after that!
We did get news that the campus will be open in the Fall and we are grateful to hear that. They will be doing Freshman Orientation via Zoom, but it is still a moving target. They are communicating that we will be able to participate, but again, we are not sure how it will work.
I have written a couple of blogs recently. The most recent blog about my dad and the prayer he gave at JJ & Natalie’s wedding. The one before that is about the relationship between God’s judgment and covid-19. Feel free to read and comment. The URL is: https://pauljdecker.blogspot.com/
THE REAL REASON FOR REVIVAL: THE HONOR OF THE CHURCH
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin..Exodus 32:32
The second real reason for revival—and it must always come in the second place, never in the first—is a concern about the honor of the church itself. In Exodus 33 there is nothing more wonderful than the way in which Moses shows his concern for…the nation of Israel. God had been giving Moses some wonderful intimations of His loving interest in him, but Moses is not content with that. Moses does not merely seek personal blessings. He wants to make sure that the children of Israel, as a whole, are going to be involved in this blessing.
He is given again a wonderful example of that in Exodus 32, one of the most glorious passages in the Old Testament. “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet….” It is as if he breaks down and cannot speak any longer. He is in great agony of soul. “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—…” He pauses and then he is able to speak: “and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:30-32). “I do not want to go on living,” he says in essence, “if You are not going to include them in the blessing.”
God had said, “I am going to blot out this people—I am going to make a nation out of you.”
“No,” says Moses, “blot me out as well. I do not want to go on without them.”
Oh, this is true intercession [needed by those] concerned about the state of the whole church.
A Thought to Ponder
The second real reason for revival is a concern about the honor of the church itself.
(From Revival, pp. 191-192, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Satan’s Wiles
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Ephesians 6:16)
Our goals as victorious warriors or even survivors in the battle at hand include neutralizing the enemy’s tactics as well as defeating him. The Christian wants to live above the fray, being successful in his efforts to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked,” as we saw in our text. The third verse of the hymn “Higher Ground” expresses this desire well.
I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.
The passage surrounding our text captures the warrior’s spirit well. The fighter is to don with care his entire armor (Ephesians 6:13) and protect his “loins girt about with truth” and wearing the “breastplate of righteousness.” He must be protected from head to toe, “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (v. 14-15) and standing with the helmet of salvation on his head. The text gives further instructions, perhaps more important than all the others, for it instructs “above all, taking the shield of faith.” Our faith, our belief in God, and the knowledge of the Word of God provide the necessary and winning power for the battle. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
The final item mentioned in this important passage is the striving together of the saints for the common goal, praying together and beseeching God for His blessings. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18) makes victory more certain in both the short run and the long. What bliss to catch the joyful sound of faithful saints on higher ground. (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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