Genesis 20
King Abimelech takes Sarahverses 1-2
And Abraham journeyed from there toward the south country
and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur – and sojourned in Gerar
And Abraham said of Sarah – his WIFE
She is my SISTER – and Abimelech – king of Gerar sent
and took Sarah
God appears to Abimelech in a dreamverse 3
BUT God came to Abimelech in a dream by night
and said to him
BEHOLD – you are but a DEAD man
for the woman whom you have taken
FOR she is a man’s WIFE
Abimelech pleads integrity and innocenceverses 4-5
BUT Abimelech had not come near her and he said
Lord – will YOU slay also a righteous nation?
said he not to me
She is my SISTER? and she
even she herself said
He is my BROTHER
in the integrity of my heart
and innocency of my hands
have I done this
God tells Abimelech to return Sarah to Abrahamverses 6-7
AND God said to him in a dream
Yea – I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart
FOR I also withheld you from SINNING against ME
THEREFORE allowed I you not to touch her
Now therefore restore the man his WIFE
FOR he is a PROPHET – and he shall PRAY for you
and you shall LIVE
and if you restore her not
KNOW you that you shall DIE
you – and all that are yours
Abimelech confronts Abrahamverses 8-10
THEREFORE, Abimelech rose EARLY in the morning
and called all his servants
and told all these things in their ears
and the men were sore AFRAID
THEN Abimelech called Abraham – and said to him
What have you done to us?
and what have I offended you
that you hast brought on me
and on my kingdom
a great SIN?
You have done deeds to me that ought
NOT TO BE DONE
And Abimelech said to Abraham
What did you have in view
that you have done this thing?
Abraham responds to Abimelechverses 11-13
And Abraham said – BECAUSE I thought
Surely the FEAR of God is not in this place
and they will slay me for my WIFE’S sake
And yet indeed she is my SISTER
she is the daughter of my father
BUT not the daughter of my mother
and she became my WIFE
And it came to pass – when God caused me to wander
from my father’s house – that I said to her
This is thy kindness which you shall show to me
at every place to which we shall come
say of me – He is my BROTHER
Abimelech gives gifts to Abrahamverses 14-16
And Abimelech took sheep – oxen – menservants
women-servants and gave them unto Abraham
and restored him Sarah – his WIFE
And Abimelech said – BEHOLD – my land is before you
dwell where it pleases you
And to Sarah he said
BEHOLD – I have given your BROTHER
a thousand pieces of silver
BEHOLD – he is to you a covering of the eyes
to all that are with you – and with all others
thus she was REPROVED
Abraham prays for Abimelech’s householdverses 17-18
SO Abraham PRAYED to God – and God HEALED Abimelech
and his wife – and his maidservants
and they bore children
FOR the LORD had completely closed all the wombs of the
house of Abimelech – BECAUSE of Sarah Abraham’s WIFE
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold you are but a dead man, for the woman which you have taken; for she is a man’s wife. (2472 “dream” [chalowm] means a dream in which the God of Israel makes something known whether through verbalcommunication or images, revelation, or a series of thoughts, images, or feelings that occur during sleep as a natural altered state of awareness)
DEVOTION: We make many foolish decisions in our life. We think we can figure things out by ourselves to protect ourselves from being hurt by others. We say what we think people want to hear instead of always telling the truth. We have a tendency to try to flatter people rather than being honest with them. God wants us to be honest or not say anything at all.
Here we have Abraham and Sarah lying to a foreign king about their marriage relationship. It seems funny to us today but in those days there were individuals who would kill to have one more beautiful woman in their household.
This was true in Abraham’s day. There were very few people who seemed to care about someone else. They only thought of themselves. Does this happen today as well? YES!!
One of the great things about God is that sometimes HE intervenes in our life to correct something we have done wrong. This is one of the occasions in Abraham’s life. There were many occasions in his life. There will be many occasions in our lives as well.
God doesn’t always intervene and so we should not think that we can lie and get away with it. Or even flatter and get away with it. We should try on all occasions to be honest with people. Sometimes it is hard but it is the right thing to do.
If you love someone you need to make sure that there is nothing between you and them.
CHALLENGE: Honest conversation helps in this area. Parents want their children to talk with them honestly and with respect. Children want their parents to do the same.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; for I also withheld you from sinning against me: therefore suffered I you not to touch her. (5060 “touch” [naga] means lay the hand upon, beat, bring down, reach, smite or strike)
DEVOTION: Some of you might remember a song “Make an ugly woman your wife and you will be happy the rest of your life.”
Abraham didn’t marry an ugly woman. Sarah was beautiful in her old age. She was attractive to all the rulers they came in contact with during their travels. Abraham had made an arrangement with his wife for her to tell a half-truth. The half –truth was that she was his sister. She forget to tell the king that she was also Abraham’s wife.
Lying always leads to problems. This time God intervened. Abraham had moved from a place of fellowship with the LORD, Hebron, to Philistine territory. He felt that they didn’t have the fear of God and so the lie was justified.
However, it was wrong. It was a sin. God intervened to keep the purity of Sarah. She was going to have Isaac. HE didn’t want anyone to interfere with that. HE didn’t allow Abimelech to lay a hand on her. Abimelech didn’t even come “near her.” HE had a protection around her.
God does protect HIS own people from some things in their lives that will not help them learn. It seems like it would be good if God would keep us from sinning and keep others from sinning against us on a regular basis. Our lives would be so much easier. However, we would not learn much that way.
There are many passages in both the Old and New Testament that teach us that we learn from affliction. God does save us from some afflictions that we don’t even know could have come our way. HE spares us. Praise HIS name. Abraham moved from a place of fellowship with God into enemy territory. Not sure why but he did it.
Sometimes we move away from the LORD and HE has to bring us back into a proper relationship with HIM. Remember it is not God who moves but us. Our personal fellowship with God is a daily commitment. We don’t need to get into enemy territory by our actions.
Can we imagine if the LORD let everything come into our lives that we deserve? Sarah and Abraham learned a lesson from this event. We need to realize that many bad things COULD HAPPEN to us but the LORD has a hedge about us and our families and only let’s in the things that are for our GOOD. Praise HIM! Praise HIM! And Praise HIM again!
CHALLENGE: Remember that marriage is sacred to God. If a spouse asks their spouse to do something that is against God’s commands. Don’t do it!!!!
: 7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live: and if you restore her not, know you that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours. (7725 “restore” [shuwb] means to give something back to someone, return, allow to return, put back, relinquish, to reverse, or revoke)
DEVOTION: God listens to our prayers. Those who are leaders need to pray for great things from God. Here we have God talking about the power of the prayers life of one of HIS prophets.
Now remember the occasion was one in which Abraham had lied to this king about his relationship with his wife. He was afraid that the king would kill him for the sake of his wife. Now remember that Sarah was very old at this time and yet she was very beautiful. So Abraham knew what this foreign king would think but it is no reason not to trust God to keep HIS promises to him.
God had promised that Sarah would have a baby soon named Isaac. Abraham was going to be the father. Yet here he does still not trust the LORD to keep HIM promises to him. He is still working in his own power instead of the LORD’S power.
Well, God still has confidence in Abraham and tells this king that he is a prophet and will pray for him and his nation will be spared. Abraham prayed for the king and his kingdom was restored to the point that the women could start having children again. If there were no children born the nation would die in one generation.
God reminds us that HE listens to his servants. HE even listens to HIS servants who at times don’t trust HIM for their protection. We have such a power available to us but we think too little of our prayer life to take the time to put it into practice.
CHALLENGE: Take time to PRAY!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. (6419 “prayed” [palal] means 1 to intervene, interpose, pray. 1a (Piel) to mediate, judge. 1b (Hithpael). 1b1 to intercede. 1b2 to pray. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: This is now the second time when Abraham and Sarah both lie about their marriage. It seems as though neither learned anything from the previous time. Abraham was so scared for his own skin that he was willing to sacrifice his wife to the harem of Abimelech even when she was pregnant with the promised child Isaac.
This all would have been laughable if it hadn’t been so sad. We cannot imagine what was going on in Sarah’s mind when Abraham told this lie. She likely now feared for her own life in a way she had not previously feared, for what would happen when Abimelech found out the truth and realized that she was indeed (though unlikely at her age) pregnant?
Once again God intervenes in His grace for Abraham. He appears to Abimelech in a dream and tells him the truth about Abraham and Sarah. Abimelech’s family has also begun to suffer, because the harem of his wives is no longer able to get pregnant (the exact predicament of Sarah prior to God’s promise fulfilled of her pregnancy with Isaac). He sends Abraham away from him, but not before Abraham interceded for Abimelech and his wives that God would again allow them to have children (a prayer he had doubtlessly prayed many times for himself and for Sarah).
What would have been different in this story if Abraham had taken the time to pray at the outset of it for Abimelech, instead of telling the lie about Sarah being his sister instead of his wife? We can imagine the influence for God that Abraham would have had in Abimelech’s life.
CHALLENGE: When you don’t know what else to do about those you fear, why not take some time out and pray for them? (MW)
: 18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife. (6113 “fast closed up” [atsar] means shut up, stayed, withhold, refrained, restrain, halt, stop, hinder, or hold back)
This same Hebrew word was used of Sarah in chapter 16. God has the power or ability to shut all the wombs of all the women in the world. HE can open a womb or close a womb at HIS good pleasure.
The nation of Abimelech was threatened by the LORD. The LORD had called Abimelech “a dead man” and told him that his nation would end. Did that mean that HE was going to kill them all in a night? HE could have done that. However, the LORD wasn’t going to keep everyone in a night but in a generation. If every woman in the nation didn’t have any children from that point on, how long would it take for the Philistines to disappear? It would take only one generation.
God has the power to stop every woman from any country from having babies. The birth rate here in America is down from the 2.0 that each couple had in the past. Now it is 1.2. It continues to decrease. In other nations we have governments that tell the people to have only one child and if it is a girl that they should kill the girl to have more men in the nation.
This has caused many nations to have no women for their men to marry so they have to go to other countries for their wives. It is also hard on those who believe that they can have more than one wife.
God wants believers to consider children a blessing of the LORD. HE wants us to raise our children to honor HIM. HE wants us to instruct our children in proper relationships with the opposite sex.
Our world is not teaching the truth about God’s plan for marriage and children. We have to teach our world what the Bible says about marriage, children and a proper relationship with God.
Remember if you have children God has opened the womb for a reason. It is to show the world what a Christian family looks like and how much we appreciate the LORD giving us children.
CHALLENGE: Are we showing the world what God expects from a family on a regular basis? Can those who don’t know Christ as their Savior see a difference between their children and our children in respect to proper behavior?
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)
God told Abimelech that Abraham would prayverse 7
Abraham prayed for Abimelechverse 17
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God (Elohim)verses 3, 6, 11, 13, 17
Lord (Adonai)verse 4
God caused Abimelech not to touch Sarahverse 6
God told Abimelech to restore Sarah verse 7
Fear of God verse 11
LORD (Jehovah)verse 18
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
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)
Abrahamverses 1, 2, 7-18
Told Sarah to say she is his sister
Prophet
Prayed for Abimelech
Kadeshverse 1
Shurverse 1
Gerarverse 1
Sarahverses 2, 12, 16, 18
Told by Abraham to say she is his sister
Reproved
Abimelech = king of Gerarverses 3-18
Dream
Called dead man by God
righteousness nation
Declares to God he is innocent
Servants sore afraid
Confronts Abraham
Gave gifts to Abraham
God healed Abimelech
Could have children
God closed womb of women
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Lieverses 2, 5, 9
Sinningverse 6
Touch Sarahverse 6
Sinningverse 6
Sinverse 9
Slayverse 11
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Righteousverse 4
Integrityverse 5
Innocencyverse 5
Prophetverse 7
Prayerverses 7, 17
Fear of Godverses 8, 11
Reproveverse 16
Israel(Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
20:8–18. Though God did not rebuke Abimelech, Abimelech did rebuke Abraham. The king spoke of the great guilt Abraham’s action brought on him (v. 9) and he spoke to Sarah of his (Abimelech’s) offense against her (v. 16). He sensed that his plan to take her into his harem was wrong. So he made amends by giving the patriarch livestock (sheep and cattle; cf. 21:27) and slaves (20:14), allowing him to live in his land (v. 15), and giving Abraham (whom he called Sarah’s brother!) a thousand shekels of silver (v. 16).
God’s preventing the destruction of Abraham’s marriage by adultery reinforced the fact that the Israelites should not destroy their marriages by adultery. Here the stress was also on the protection from intermarriage with pagans. To take the wife of another man is a life-and-death issue. God punishes such a sin.
So the message was clear: God did not want Israel to intermarry with pagans—especially when adultery or divorce was involved. Israel seldom remembered this (Mal. 2:10–17). (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. 62). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Sinning believers can be forgiven and restored. While God did not defend Abraham’s sin, He did defend Abraham and so control circumstances that His servant was not completely defeated. In fact, God called Abraham a prophet and made it clear that Abraham’s intercession was the only thing that stood between Abimelech and death (Gen. 20:7). The fact that God answered Abraham’s prayer for Abimelech is evidence that Abraham had confessed his sins and the Lord had forgiven him (Ps. 66:18–20).
God does not reject His children when they sin any more than a parent rejects a disobedient son or daughter (Isa. 49:13–16). Abraham was justified by faith and had a righteous standing before God (Rom. 4:1–5). Justification does not change; we are accepted in Jesus Christ no matter what we are in ourselves (2 Cor. 5:17, 21; Eph. 1:6). Of course, the fact that we are justified before God means there will be a change in our lives; for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). But our position in Christ (justification) is not altered by our practice on earth (sanctification).
The important thing is that we deal with our sins humbly and honestly, confess them to God, judge them and forsake them, and claim His promises of forgiveness (1 John 1:9; Micah 7:18–19; Isa. 55:6–13). Abraham and Sarah made a new beginning, and so can you. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1991). Be Obedient (p. 91). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 16. And unto Sarah he said, behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver, &c.] Or shekels of silver, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, which, if two shillings and sixpence of our money, amount to 125 pounds; though perhaps little pieces of silver, current in this country, may be meant, that were not worth so much. Some think that the sheep, oxen, &c. Abimelech had given to Abraham, were worth so many pieces of silver: but it rather seems that he gave these over and above them, and chiefly for Sarah’s use, as will be observed hereafter; since the words are directed to her, and in which there is a sharp cutting expression, calling Abraham her brother, and not her husband, thereby putting her in mind and upbraiding her with her equivocation and dissimulation: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee; a protection of her person and chastity: so an husband, in our language, is said to be a cover to his wife, and she under a cover: thus Abraham being now known to be the husband of Sarah, would for the future be a covering to her, that no one should look upon her, and desire her, and take her to be his wife; and he would also be a protection to her maidens that were with her, the wives of his servants, that these also might not be taken from him: but it seems best to refer this to the gift of the 1000 pieces of silver, and read the words, behold, this is to thee a covering of the eyes; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; for the words are a continued biting sarcasm on Sarah; as Abimelech twits her with calling Abraham her brother in the preceding clause, so in this he tells her that he had given him so much money to buy her a veil with, and to supply her with veils from time to time to cover her eyes, that nobody might be tempted to lust after her, and that it might be known she was a married woman; for in these countries married women wore veils for distinction, ch. 24:65 and so not to be had by another, nor would any be deceived by her; and not only was this money given to buy veils for her, but for her female servants also that were married, that they might be known to be another’s property; though this latter phrase unto, or with all that are with thee, may be understood, not of persons, but of things, even of all the gifts which Abimelech had given her whilst in his house; these he did not take back again, but continued them with her, either for the above use, or whatever she pleased; and the following phrase, and with all other, as we render it, making a considerable stop, should, according to the accents, be read with what follows thus, and with all this was she reproved; so Aben Ezra; and so they are the words of Moses, observing, that by and with all this that Abimelech had said and done, Sarah was reproved for saying that Abraham was her brother: or the words may be rendered thus, and so before all she was reprovedl; before her husband, and before Abimelech’s courtiers, and perhaps before her own servants; though Ainsworth, and others, take them to be the words of Abimelech, and render them, and all that, or all this is that thou mayest be rebuked, or instructed; all that I have said and done is for this end, that thou mayest be warned and be careful for the future to speak out truth, without any equivocation, and not call Abraham thy brother, when he is thy husband. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 144–145). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
Thy brother; a sharp rebuke and irony: q. d. he whom thou didst miscall thy brother. A thousand pieces of silver, to wit, shekels, which is commonly understood when a sum of silver or gold is indefinitely mentioned, as Numb. 7:13, 85; 2 Sam. 18:12; 2 Kings 6:25. He is to thee a covering of the eyes, i.e. a protection to thee from the wanton eyes and attempts of others, whilst they know thee to be the wife of another man, and he such a one whom they reverence and fear; and therefore, thou didst take a very wrong course to disown him, whereby thou didst expose thyself to great danger. Or, this is to thee, &c., i.e. this I give to thee to buy thee a veil, wherewith thou mayst cover thy face, as it is fit and usual for married persons to do. Compare Gen. 24:65; 1 Cor. 11:3, 6, 7, 10. Unto all that are with thee; unto all that here live with thee, or near thee, and with all men whomsoever. Thus she was reproved, or admonished to be more circumspect for the future; or, and be thou admonished; for they may be the words of Abimelech. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 1, p. 48). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
20:14–16 Abimelech made a significant payment to Abraham in silver in order to compensate Sarah’s hardship. His words your brother may have been sarcastic. The Hebrew verb translated as rebuked can merely mean “vindicated.” This verb is used in legal terminology to describe the settlement of a dispute. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 40). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
Not Rightly Received As a Prophet (20:14–16)
There is not the slightest hint that Abimelech ever asked Abraham to pray for him, even though God Himself had told him his salvation lay in that. Certainly Abimelech never asked Abraham to tell him more about the true and living God who had so greatly frightened him in the watches of the night. Nor did he ask Abraham anything about the salvation of God. He was frightened, but he certainly did not want to know God. On the contrary, he did three things calculated to make Abraham squirm yet the more.
In the first place, he deliberately disgraced him. “And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife” (20:14). Abimelech had no respect for Abraham and had no intention of availing himself of Abraham’s knowledge of God. Nevertheless, he had a healthy fear of the God who had shaken him so. If this despicable fellow is a prophet then he had best be propitiated, thought Abimelech. Every man has his price. So Abimelech disgraced Abraham by treating him, along worldly lines, in a far more handsome way than Abraham had treated him. Now perhaps the fellow will overlook the fact that I appropriated his wife! he thought. “Is that enough, sir, to make you forget your grievances?”
Then he dismissed him. “And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.” What a rebuke it is when an unsaved man has to teach a believer common honesty and decency. In dismissing Abraham thus, Abimelech heaped coals of fire upon his head. In effect he said to Abraham, “Let me show you how a believer ought to act. He should be generous and honest and open-handed and trustworthy.”
And all along he disdained him. “And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver.” One can almost see Abimelech rise up from his throne as he said it, his voice edged with sarcasm and with a sneer on his face and a bow to Abraham. “A thousand pieces of silver, my dear, for your brother. What do you think of that? It is too bad, princess, that you do not have a husband, or I would have given it to him.” And with that parting thrust Abraham was made to know just exactly how low an estimate Abimelech had formed of him—a prophet, indeed! (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary (Ge 20:14–16). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp)
16.] The meaning of the latter part of the verse is much disputed. Kalisch renders, “Behold, he is to thee a protection to all who are with thee, and with all, and thou wilt be recognized;” and explains, “he gave to Abraham for her a thousand shekels of silver (for the property of the wife belonged to the husband), and addressed to her a remark embodying the experience he had just made, and the respect with which it inspired him (ver. 18); he said that though she might profess Abraham was her brother, he was her protection against every man; she might be taken by others as his sister, but she would be soon known and convicted of being his wife by the supernatural interference of God.” On the other hand, Knobel renders, “It (the gift of 1000 shekels) is to thee a covering of eyes (i. e. shall shut thine eyes that they see not, i. e. shall blind thee that thou care not for what has happened, i. e. shall reconcile and make amends to thee) in reference to all which is with thee and with all (i. e. which has happened to thee and thy companions); thus thou art righted (thine injury atoned for). Similarly, Keil, Delitzsch, and Lange. I have therefore preferred this rendering. The LXX. gives it, “These shall be to thee for an honour of thy countenance, and to all the women that are with thee; and speak the truth in all things.” The Vulgate, “This shall be to thee for a veil of the eyes to all that are with thee, and wheresoever thou shalt go; and remember that thou hast been detected.” (Alford, H. (1872). The Book of Genesis and Part of the Book of Exodus (p. 91). London: Strahan & Co.)
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!!)
New Research Shows Disconnect Between U.S. Bible Beliefs and Engagement:
Other important findings: One in six Americans bought a Bible last year, and 80 percent of Americans are willing to call the Bible “sacred.” The average household contains at least four Bibles. But more than half (57 percent) of Millennials report reading the Bible less than three times a year or never.
When we genuinely love people, we will treat all people the same, whether it be our closest friend or our worst antagonist. This love is not a passive love; it is active, reaching out to minister to the needs of people and seeking to be a source of spiritual, emotional, and physical blessing to them. A healthy church is one that deeply loves people. (p. 166, Developing Leaders for the Small Church by Glenn C. Daman)
WHAT HAPPENS IN REVIVAL? PART 1
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Acts 2:1-2
Consciousness of a power and of a presence is sometimes physical, as it was here in the “sound…of a rushing mighty wind.” But what believers are always conscious of is the sudden awareness of a glorious presence in their midst, such as they have never known before—a sense of power and a sense of glory. Sometimes this sense of power and glory is so great that people are prostrated to the ground by reason of it. As you hear of people literally fainting when they suddenly get a piece of good news that they have not expected, so when men and women experience this glorious presence, sometimes it is too much for their physical frame. We must not stay with these things, but they do emphasize the sense of God, the presence and the presidency of the Holy Ghost.
In any record of great men of the church who have given an account of how they have passed through times of revival, you will always find that what they experience is that they no longer merely have a belief in God—God has become a reality to them. God has come down, as it were, into their midst. In revivals the meeting is sometimes taken out of the hands of whoever may have been in charge, and the Holy Ghost begins to preside and to take charge, and everybody is aware of His presence and His glory and His power. That is what happened on the Day of Pentecost. That is what happens, in some measure and to some extent, in every revival that the church has ever known.
A Thought to Ponder
They no longer merely have a belief in God—God has become a reality to them
(From Revival, p. 204, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
The man seemed beyond redemption. His crimes included eight shootings (killing six) and starting nearly 1,500 fires that terrorized New York City in the 1970s. He left letters at his crime scenes taunting the police, and he was eventually apprehended and given consecutive sentences of twenty-five years to life for each murder.
Yet God reached down to this man. Today he is a believer in Christ who spends time daily in the Scriptures, has expressed deep regret to his victims’ families, and continues to pray for them. Although imprisoned for more than four decades, this man who seemed beyond redemption finds hope in God and claims, “My freedom is found in one word: Jesus.”
Scripture tells of another unlikely conversion. Before he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul (who later became the apostle Paul) was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1). Yet Paul’s heart and life were transformed by Jesus (vv. 17-18), and he became one of the most powerful witnesses for Him in history. The man who once plotted the death of Christians devoted his life to spreading the hope of the gospel.
Redemption is always a miraculous work of God. Some stories are more dramatic, but the underlying truth remains the same: None of us deserve His forgiveness, yet Jesus is a powerful Savior! He “[saves] completely those who come to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25). (By James Banks, Our Daily Bread)
1 Chronicles 29
Just before his death, David blesses Israel and gives his blessing to Solomon.
INSIGHT
How we spend our money is a powerful reflection of our value system. If we have strong spiritual values, we give our money generously to spiritual things. If we have primarily temporal values, we resist–and perhaps even resent–giving to spiritual things. After completing the temple, the Israelites rejoiced, “for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD” (v. 9). Where are your values? (Quiet Walk)
The Christian’s Cleansing
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
This familiar promise is often quoted as a sort of pat formula for dealing with sin in a believer’s life. Simply identify and acknowledge the sin, and all is forgiven.
This is gloriously true, so far as it goes, but the last part of the verse is also vitally important. The Lord wants His people to be cleansed from all unrighteousness. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light,…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
In these and other verses, the verb translated “cleanse” is the Greek katharizo, from which we get such English words as “cathartic.” It is a strong word, sometimes translated as “purify” and even “purge.” The sin not only is to be confessed, it must be purged!
The Lord Jesus Christ “by himself purged our sins” (Hebrews 1:3) so that God can be perfectly “faithful and just to forgive us our sins” on the basis of His cleansing blood and sanctifying Word. But this is far more than an academic formula, for this cleansing, purifying, and purging must become a real experience in one’s life, and the Lord will do whatever is necessary to make it so. He “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify [same word as ‘cleanse’] unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).
We must learn to “walk in the light” and to be “zealous of good works,” as He “purgeth us from all unrighteousness” when we “confess our sins.” It is necessary that we be constrained to become more “like him,” for “when he shall appear,…we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). Thus, His forgiveness of our sins is inevitably accompanied by a purging of our lives. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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