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The Original Sister Wives

Pastor Sherry’s Message for July 26, 2020

Scripture: Gen 29:15-28

Have any of you watched the reality TV series, “Sister Wives?’’  I’ve not watched it nor am I recommending it.  It apparently follows the lives of Kody Brown, his 4 wives, and their combined 18 children.  They call themselves practitioners of “Plural Marriage,” better known to the rest of us as “Polygamy.”  They claim they decided to film the show to explain their beliefs and to benefit their children—and to make some money!  Some say it has demonstrated the friendship bonds of the wives; while others contend it exposes the jealousies and hurts one would expect in such an arrangement.  It seems the first wife has infertility issues, and has had only one child.  Wives #2 and #3 have had 6 children each.  Wife #4 has three kids from a previous marriage and two now with Kody.  Their unusual lifestyle makes me wonder if they are aware of today’s Old Testament lesson.

Genesis 29:15-28 was written about 4,000 years ago and concerns the patriarch, Jacob.  In Genesis 25, you may remember that he talks his brother Esau into trading his birthright (the rights of his inheritance as the first born) for a pot of stew.  This exposes Esau as impulsive, a man ruled by his fleshly appetites.  It reveals that Esau had no regard for the Covenant Promises God had made with his Grandfather, Abraham or with his Father, Isaac.  Esau is contemptuous of his spiritual inheritance.  He is a non-believer, a man of little faith in God.  And it demonstrates that the quiet homeboy, Jacob, was capable of setting an effective trap for his brother, the hunter.  Perhaps Jacob was smarter that Esau?  By Genesis 27, Jacob poses as his brother and deceives their now blind father, Isaac, into giving him his blessing as well.  Their mother, Rebekah, collaborates in this deception.  They demonstrate no respect for Isaac and no love for Esau.  They also display no faith in God to provide a way to work out His own prophesy.  Jacob gets his father’s blessing, but also his brother’s enmity.  He has to flee the Land for his life (remember, Esau is an excellent hunter).  His mother, it will turn out, will never see Jacob again.

Now, in Chapter 29, we find Jacob outside “the Land,” seeking a wife from among his Uncle Laben’s (Mother Rebekah’s brother) people.  Jacob doesn’t yet know it, but he has entered God’s spiritual woodshed, and is about to be severely disciplined.  He sees the beautiful Rachel at the well.  Like his mother Rebekah, she was providing water for the flocks.  Jacob sees her and it is love at first sight!  Uncle Laben invites him into the extended family and offers to pay his for his work.   Jacob offers to work for 7 years in exchange for a marriage to Rachel.  Laben has many flocks of sheep, goats and cattle.  He also has two daughters:  Leah, the elder one, whose name means “COW,” and Rachel, the younger, whose name means “EWE.”  Leah was said to have weak eyes.  Her eyes may have been lovely and blue, but it appears she was otherwise unattractive.  Rachel, on the other hand, was lovely in form and beautiful.  Simply put, she was a knock-out!

Maybe Laben thought that someone else would offer for Leah in the meantime, but he makes the deal and Jacob works off his 7 year commitment.  In fact, Scripture tells us (v.20), So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.  (Jacob had fallen hard!)

The time for the marriage ceremony arrives and Jacob says, Give me my wife.  My time is completed and I want to lie with her.  Yikes!  He’s pretty clear on what he wants, isn’t he?!  Some commentators say he should have been more specific:  He should have said, Give me Rachel.  No one had offered for Leah in the interim, so wily Label gowns and veils her and stuffs her into the marital tent under the cover of night.  We assume Jacob consummated the marriage, believing he had in his arms his heart’s desire, only to wake the next morning and discover Leah in Rachel’s place!

Let’s think for a moment about how each player in this drama may have felt:  Laben was no doubt happy to have gotten his less desirable, elder daughter off his hands.  But what about Leah?  Did she sense ahead of time how Jacob might have blamed her?  Did she love him?  Had she hoped he could come to love her?  Or was she mainly a pawn of her Father’s and ashamed of the duplicity?  What about Rachel?  This was to have been her wedding.  Was she disappointed?  Relieved?  Jealous?  Angry at her father?  We don’t now.  She may have perhaps been proud because Jacob immediately agreed to work another 7 years to gain her.  What of Jacob?  Was he disappointed?  Aggrieved?  Furious!  Did he feel resentful and bitter toward Laban?  Resentful and bitter toward Leah?  Determined to marry Rachel whatever it took?  Did he understand that God had allowed the trickster (him) to be tricked?  It is after all no accident that the elder preceded the younger.  It was also no accident that though he had stolen his brother’s birthright and blessing, he now had to work hard for 14 years to earn what he desired.

Ah, but the woodshed experienced didn’t end at the conclusion of 14 days and 2 marriage feasts:  No, we see the impact of unrequited love and a lack of appreciation.  Now we see the rivalry for Jacob’s love by the original “sister wives.”  (The reality TV series has nothing on this story!)  The Lord pities Leah because she is not loved. He blesses her with 4 sons:  (1) Reuben–the Lord sees affliction.  She says, (v.32) It is because the Lord has seen my misery.  Surely my husband will love me now. (2) Simeon–the Lord hears.  She explains (v.33), because the Lord heard that I am not loved, He gave me this one too.   (3) Levi (the priestly tribe)–hope for attachment.  Believing Jacob must surely come to love her now, she exclaims (v.34) Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons.  (4) Judah (the royal tribe)–Praise for the Lord!  She then declared, (v.35) This time I will praise the Lord.  It appears that 4 sons later, she has given up on Jacob to affirm her worth and has learned to trust the Lord more.  She has become the truly more faith-filled wife.

Meanwhile, Rachel, the favored wife, is barren and envious of her sister.  She blames Jacob, but he seems to have no problem impregnating her sister.  So, like Grandmother Sarah, she gives her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a surrogate mother and 3rd wife.  Bilhah proceeds to bear two sons:  (5) Dan–God has vindicated.  Rachel celebrates his birth by saying (30:6), God has vindicated me.  He has listened to my pleas and given me a son.  (6) Naphtali–a mighty struggle.  Rachel exclaims, (v.8) I have had a great struggle with my sister and I have won.  Leah appears to have perked up at this time, and re-enters the contest:  She offers her servant woman, Zilpah, as surrogate wife #4 to Jacob—just as in the reality TV program.  Zilpah bears two sons:  (7) Gad–good fortune.  Leah says (v.11), what a good fortune!  (8) Asher–happy one.  Again, Leah is delighted and says (v.13), How happy I am!  The women will call me happy! 

It’s the top of the 9th inning, and the score is Leah 4 sons +2 surrogates vs. Rachel’s 2 surrogates.  Leah proceeds to bear two more sons and a daughter, Dinah:  (9) Issachar–God has given me my reward; (10) Zebulon–God has endowed me with a good dowry.  Having borne him 6 + 2 sons, Leah sadly asserts (v.20), This time my husband will treat me with honor because I have borne him 6 sons.  By this point, God has taken pity on Rachel and opened her womb.  She already has the two surrogate sons from Bilhah, but now actually bears (11) Joseph (his father’s favorite and the Old Testament character who most closely represents Jesus).  His name means, May He add/increase.  Rachel has just given birth and she is already looking forward to another son!  She declares (v.24), God has taken away my disgrace.  May the Lord add to me another son.   He does allow her to conceive (12) Benjamin, but dies just after giving him birth.  Jacob names him Son of my right hand.

Move ahead 20 years later, Jacob returns to “the Land,” with large flocks and 12 sons, but what has he learned (and what have we learned)?

  • He has learned that God will not allow His people to secure His blessing through deceptive and manipulative means. What goes around comes around, or as Scripture puts it, we reap what we sow.  If we treat others with deceit, someone will eventually deceive us.  If we abandon others, we will in turn be abandoned.  If we betray someone, we too will eventually be betrayed.  I have seen it happen again and again.
  • God’s plan for marriage is one man and one woman because “Plural Marriage” doesn’t work (See Leviticus 18:18). It leads to heartbreak. There is a real danger in thwarting human affection.  Isaac’s and Rebekah’s favoritism; Jacob and Esau’s lack of love for each other; the sister wives’ jealous competition with each other; the enmity and jealousy between the sons of Leah and the sons of Rachel each result from unloving behavior and attitudes toward one another.  This plural arrangement leads to jealous, unholy competition, and family discord.  Jacob’ family is a train wreck!  TCL or reality TV can spin it any way they want, but you will not convince me that Polygamy or “Plural Marriage” works.  Truthfully, marriage is difficult enough with only one partner!   Jacob’s family saga demonstrates that God’s plan is the best plan!
  • Finally, the real message of grace here, though, is that God has mercy on the unloved wife and blesses her. He also eventually blesses the favored, but dishonored, beloved wife.  Lastly, He redeems their duel by using the 12 sons to create the 12 tribes of Israel.  Praise God we truly do serve a God who can and does redeem our messes.

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Jacob’s Ladder

Pastor Sherry’s Message for July 19, 2020

Scriptures: Gen 28:10-19a; Ps 139:1-12, 23-24; Ro 8:12-25; Matt 13:24-30, 36-43

 Some years ago, I read a story in Christianity Today about a woman in India, who lived in a concrete sewer pipe with her husband and two kids.

Her name is Shivamma.  She was a member of the Dalit caste, the lowest of the low, pretty much untouchable—except for rape.  She remembers she was barren.  A Dalit Christian named Bangarraju prayed for her in her home and she conceived and bore two children, a son and a daughter.  The girl child became badly jaundiced.  Bangarraju returned, prayed, and the child was healed.  Shivamma became a Christian.  She says she accepted Christ  because, I realized that Jesus is the living God.  We used to drink and everyday we would fight, fight, fight.  Jesus Christ brought peace to our family.  I have no fear, because I have come to know the living God.  I trust Him.  God met her in her need, and she now trusts Him.

 In another story, there was a debate between a Christian and an Atheist.  The Atheist began his presentation by writing on a whiteboard, God is nowhere.  When the Christian speaker stood up to make his arguments, he erased nowhere and used the same letters to write, God is now here.

Let’s look at what our Scriptures have to say today about the twin themes of God’s presence and God’s knowledge of us.  In our OT lessonàGenesis 18:11-22, we encounter the patriarch, Jacob.

He is the younger of the twin boys born to Isaac and Rebekah.  He was named Jacob (which means heel grabber because he was born grasping his older twin’s heel; but it also carries the sense of deceiver, schemer.  God had told his mother, when pregnant, that the older will serve the younger.  In other words, God was reversing the usual order of things.

Even from the womb, God had determined that Jacob would be the one to carry out His plan of redemption from Abraham and Isaac.

Nevertheless, Isaac favors Esau, so Rebekah and Jacob collude to rob Esau of both his birthright and his father’s blessing.  Esau is furious when he discovers this, so Rebekah invents the pretext of needing to go abroad to find a suitable wife to help Jacob escape his brother’s wrath.  Jacob leaves the family compound.  Notice none of them bothers to check in with the Lord: Not Mama Rebekah; Not brother Esau; Not Papa Isaac; Not even the culprit, Jacob.  This does not appear to be a family of very firm faith!

Our passage today finds Jacob has put 40 miles between himself & Esau by the time he stops for the night.  He was “booking it” to get out of Canaan! How must he have felt? No doubt he was anxiously looking over his shoulder for his murderous brother.  He must have felt alone.  Perhaps he was worried about the long, potentially dangerous journey ahead of him, uncertain of his future.  Can you identify?  Maybe you find yourself in a dark & lonely place right now; perhaps you too are filled with uncertainty.  Maybe, like Jacob, it’s even your fault that you find yourself “out there, on your own.”  Well, this story was made for you (and me), so read on!

Jacob falls asleep (not the sleep of the just) and dreams of a ladder or a set of stairs reaching to heaven.  The Lord is at the top (“the Voice from top of stairs”), and Jacob, realizes he is sleeping, at the bottom.  Angels are traversing the ladder, some going up, others coming down.  The Lord reiterates to Jacob the promises He has made to Grandfather Abraham and Father Isaac:  I am giving you Propertyàthe land; Progenyàlots of descendants to populate the land and to bless all people of the earth; PresenceàGod would be with him; and ProtectionàGod says  I am with you and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you…. Notice:  God does not require anything of Jacob.  There is no if…then clause.

God has chosen an unlikely patriarch.  Even though, as Psalm 139 affirms, God knows his every thought and scheme.  There is no place Jacob can go where God might lose track of him (or of us).  Not departing the Promised Land for Haran (Syria); not getting lost in NYC or the Amazon jungle; not even by participating in a Witness Protection Program, in Minot, ND, where our names and ID’s are changed; Not living in a sewer pipe outside some remote Indian village—these are just issues of geography.

Not even struggling alone with a job loss, the death of a loved one, declining health, financial setbacks, or troubled relationships. Our God knows where we are emotionally and spiritually, besides.  He is the with us God, Emmanuel.  He knows our names.  He is always present to us.

Now do you notice Jacob’s response to God?  He doubts.  He has chutzpah, vowing to follow the Lord if God goes with him; if God protects him; if God provides for him; and if God brings him safely back to the land again.  To his credit, He sets up a memorial stone (and names it Bethelàhouse of God) to commemorate his encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ.   And he promises a tithe, a 10th of all God gives him.  But the schemer is bargaining with God.

I don’t’ know about you, but I take a great deal of comfort from the Jacob story:  Jacob is not of man of strong or good character.  He’s a liar;a trickster.  He’s not even a strong believer.  God has promised him 4 P’s without strings, but he puts conditions on his commitment to God.  He’s not perfect, but still God loves him.  We could say God goes out of His way to comfort Jacob.

If we follow Jacob’s story thru the next 22 chapters of Genesis, we find that the Lord does take Jacob to His woodshed/the Refiner’s Fire:  The deceiver is himself deceived, by wily Uncle Laban. He spends 20 years outside the land, working off debt to his Uncle; building up a family (12 sons, 1 daughter); and acquiring herds and wealth with which to support them.  He flees his Uncle when he returns to the Promised Land.  He fears a hostile reunion with the brother he wronged. His favorite wife dies in childbirth. His only daughter is raped.  His sons cause him grief.  They jealously sell his favorite son into slavery and lead him to believe Joseph is dead.  And, upon entering the Land, he wrestles all night with the pre-incarnate Christ, Who leaves him crippled, but changes his name from Jacob to Israel—he who struggles with God & men, and overcomes.

It’s a heck of a journey, isn’t it?  Jacob’s story makes me glad I am not him!  But it also assures me (and you) that God never deserts us; that He loves us even if we are Scallywags; and that He cares for us, faithfully.

Do you know that scholars believe Jacob’s Ladder is really an image, a prediction of Jesus?  Jesus, you see, mediates between us and God.  Jesus is our only way—our ladder, if you will–to heaven.

So what are the lessons we can draw from Jacob?  (1) If we think God doesn’t know where we are, or what we are thinking, we are grossly mistaken!  (2) Our God appears to enjoy overturning human convention and Human expectations.  He can do great things with the least likely.  He’s not discouraged by our rebellion, sinfulness, or unbelief.  (3) He clearly sees us as we are—there’s no hiding from Him, or fooling him–as well as who He wants us to become.

 There is an ancient Hebrew poem that I think sums this up very well:

Wherever I go…only Thou!

Wherever I stand…only Thou!

Just Thou!  Thou, Thou,

Thou!  When things are good,

Thou!  When things are bad…

Thou!  Thou, Thou, Thou!

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Truth Stranger Than Fiction

Pastor Sherry’s message for July 5, 2020

Scriptures: Gen 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Ps 45:10-17; Ro 7:15-25a; Matt 11:16-19, 25-30

A nine year old boy was asked by his mother what he had learned that day in Sunday School. “Well mom,” he said, “our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely.  Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements.  They sent bombers to blow up the bridge after the Israelites were saved.   Pharaoh’s chariot guys all drowned.

Mom asked, “Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?”

“Well no, Mom,” the boy declared in exasperation, “but if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!”

 

Today, we have another Old Testament story that defies logic, unless you believe in a God of miracles.  Remember Isaac, the miraculous “child of promise,” born to parents aged 100 and 90?  Last week, we examined how God demanded that Abraham sacrifice this child to Him, but also rescued Isaac at the last minute by providing a ram to take his place.

Isaac is one of the 4 patriarchs of our faith, but Scripture only gives us a very few glimpses of him.  Nevertheless, we can infer that he was a good son, because he was obedient to his father Abraham—even given the threat of death.  And today’s passage reveals him as a man of faith, praying to God as his bride arrives on a camel.

Let’s examine the story in more depth, as I believe it reveals some principles we can live by today.  Abraham is concerned that Isaac have a wife…(v.1) now Abraham was now old and well advanced in years….He calls his trusty servant (Eliezar?) and tells him to journey to NW Mesopotamia (Syria) to find a good woman from among his extended clan (the people he left behind to follow God).  He does not want Isaac to marry a pagan Canaanite woman.  Nor does he want Isaac to journey outside the Land.  The servant prays to Abraham’s God and suggests a fairly complex sign by which he might recognize God’s choice of a bride for Isaac:  (1) She will offer him water to drink; (2) She will even draw water for his 10 camels; And (3) She will offer traditional ancient middle eastern hospitality including water for the feet; food/refreshments; and overnight accommodations for him and his animals.

When he arrives at the appropriate village, the servant encounters a beautiful young woman who does exactly that.  She gives him water.  She draws water for his animals.  She invites him home to meet her family and to partake of their hospitality.  This woman is Rebekah, Abraham’s great-niece, the virgin granddaughter of his brother.

Now of all the towns the servant could have visited, what are the chances that he would run into Abraham’s kin?  What are the chances that they would still even be alive?  God has clearly superintended this journey.  The servant recognizes this and offers praise and thanksgiving to God: (v.26)–Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, ”Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.  As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my masters’ relatives.”

This woman, Rebekah, is clearly God’s choice for Isaac.  The servant tells her the story of how he decided to approach her—he’d asked God for a sign.  She doesn’t seem to have difficulty believing him. And he gives her a ring and two gold bracelets, as proof of Abraham’s wealth.  Her brother, Laban, shows up, hears the story, and also invites the servant home.  Once again, the servant shares his instructions with everyone.  Probably Rebekah is somewhere, outside the tent, listening in as the story is retold.  Everyone seems to agree she is God’s choice of a bride for Isaac.  Additionally, the servant has also filled them in on Isaac’s miraculous birth and his divine rescue.  The family appears to be impressed with the costly gifts he has bestowed on the maiden, signifying that Abraham is indeed as wealthy she the servant has claimed.  The bride-price is agreed upon, but by the next morning the family appears to back off a bit.

In an intimation of things to come—Uncle Laban will later renege on his agreement with Jacob, Rebekah’s as yet unborn son–the family urges the servant to wait another 10 days before departing.  Maybe they want to drive the bride-price up a bit.  No doubt concerned for Abraham’s age and health, the servant urges an immediate departure, with no delay.  Interestingly, the family suggests that Rebekah be consulted.  From what she’s heard and experienced, the young woman is ready to go! Maybe she fears her wily brother will somehow interfere with her opportunity.  Whatever the case, she is prepared to go off with a servant she barely knows, to a country she’s never seen, to meet a husband she’s only heard of.  What a brave young woman and what an adventure!

What principles might this story hold for us today?  1st, we note the faithfulness of the servant.  He’s given his word to Abraham to do his best; but otherwise he has no stake in the outcome.  Nevertheless, he works hard to fulfill his word.  He prays for the Lord’s favor.  He diligently repeats his instructions from Abe.  He obviously does not want to mess up!

This servant also moves at the leading of God, rather than his own fleshly desires or his fears.  He is willing to carry out the task his master, Abraham has given him and he appeals to Abraham’s God for help.  This is the antidote to our sinful fleshly desires, as given expression by Paul in Romans 7:15-25a.  The antidote to our self-will is obedience—obedience to Christ, cooperating with the transforming power of His Holy Spirit.

The example of this unnamed servant is about 4,000 years old.  2,000 years later, Jesus will say, Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.

We are to keep our word.  Like Eliezer, we are to say what we mean and mean what we say.  This is the kind of behavior that helps others to trust us.

Second, I am struck with the willingness of Rebekah.  She doesn’t know Abraham from Adam’s house cat.  She is looking at marrying a dude she’s only just heard of and never seen. She will be making her home far away from her family, probably never seeing them again.  What convinces her to take the risk of leaving everything she has ever known?  Perhaps it was hearing the servant relate the miraculous nature of Isaac’s birth. No doubt she also heard the story of his almost-sacrificial death, and been impressed with the fact that—while he could have overwhelmed his father’s strength, and taken himself off the altar–he instead chose to be obedient to and respectful of his father.  Maybe she rightfully understood that Isaac was special to God and wished to link her future to such an esteemed man.

And, if she were a woman of faith, she might have been able to see and understand how God had indeed chosen her to be Isaac’s mate.  After all, the servant had asked for a complex set of signs; and, without any prior knowledge of them, she had fulfilled each one.

I don’t know if you have ever experienced God providing you a sign, but I have.  My best buddy in seminary came from the Chicago area.  She was trying to verify if God was truly calling her to seminary.  She was walking the shores of Lake Michigan and asked God to affirm her call by proving a green rock among all the gray ones.  She was amazed and delighted to minutes later encounter a green rock—the only green rock–on the shore.  Not only that, the green rock was shaped like a triangle.  She understood this mean she was to attend Trinity out of the other 10 seminaries in our denomination.  Similarly, I asked God for direction as to which seminary He wanted me to attend.  I was living in Tallahassee, Florida, then.  Rarely does anyone in Tallahassee ever hear of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Trinity is located.  For weeks, my daughter and I were inundated with what we called our “Pittsburgh signs”:  PA license plates, bumper stickers for the Steelers or the Penguins; movies we rented that had been filmed in Pittsburgh or which featured the city; and magazine articles in doctor’s or dentist’s offices on some aspect of life in Pittsburgh. We laughingly told God we got it and He could stop the signs anytime. We were not too surprised when they dried up immediately!

Several years after arriving at seminary, my best buddy and I attended a healing conference.  We shared a motel room while there and I awoke one night to hear her crying.  She was in crisis, doubting her call, and worried she would graduate with a Masters of Divinity, but be unable to locate a Bishop willing to ordain her.  By this time I knew her well, was convinced she was called to ordained ministry, and—coming under conviction–told her she was not to look to the left or the right, or to listen to the opinions of people, but to keep her eyes on the Cross of Christ  She was to trust that the Lord had indeed called her. The next morning, while serving us communion, the lead pastor of the healing ocnference spoke directly to her and said, “You are not to look to the left or to the right, or to listen to the opinions of people, but to keep your eyes on the Cross of Christ.  You have been called into ministry and Jesus will see you through.”  She felt affirmed by this marvelous sign and so did I.  These experiences taught me that we can ask God for signs and He will and does respond.

Our Genesis lesson today has a happy ending.  It’s actually a love story!  Rebekah gets on her camel and rides to Israel and to Isaac.  The evening she arrives, Isaac is out praying.  He sees her and is intrigued.  She sees him, leaps off her camel (she’s impressively energetic, isn’t she?), and wraps herself in her veil, thus indicating she is a single woman.  The servant then relates the entire saga to Isaac.  Isaac obviously sees Rebekah as God’s answer to his prayers (& his father’s plans).  Verse 67 tells us, Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah [now dead], and he married Rebekah.  So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

In a number of ways, this story is stranger than fiction, but I believe the lessons are pretty clear:  (1) We want to be faithful to God; (2) We can ask Him for a sign; (3) We want to say yes to whatever He arranges for us; and (4) We can trust that there is a reward for our obedience.  Our God is good.  He desires our love and devotion to Him.  He takes good care of those who love and obey Him.  Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!  Alleluia! Alleluia!

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

My Way or God’s?

Pastor Sherry’s Message for June 28, 2020

Scriptures: Gen. 22:1-14; Ps 13; Ro 6:12-23; Matt 10:40-42

It appears that this has become the my summer of sermons beginning with songs. For example, two weeks ago, I cited a great hymn about the Trinity. Then last week, I quoted the lyrics from the theme song to the TV show, “Friends.”  This week, I want to remind you of the old Frank Sinatra hit, “I did it my way.”  You may remember that the song is a retrospective view of a man’s life as he considers his mortality:

For what is a man, what has he got? 

If not himself, then he has naught.

                                    To say the things he truly feels, and not the words of one who kneels.

                                    The record show I took the blows, and did it my way.

These are the words of someone who is totally self-possessed, totally self-reliant, and very proud!  These are the words of a person who has decided to live life on his own terms, without regard for God.  The song is from the 1970‘s—in fact, Sinatra quipped that it was our real national anthem in 1974.  Upon reflection, we realize it could easily still be so today.

If we let those lyrics sink in, we realize they celebrate a God-less perspective.  Last week, I talked about how Abraham faced a difficult choice:  Honor God (and his wife, Sarah) and run off Ishmael; or disobey God and keep his first born son close by (and ultimately threaten Isaac, the “child of promise.”  Abraham passed the test (and God took care of Ishmael).  This week, our Old Testament passage has Abraham face another test, his 4th.  YIKES!  In his 1st test, God told him to leave his home and family, in Ur, and go where the Lord would lead him. His 2nd test was Lot’s request that they divide the land to accommodate their growing herds, whereupon Abraham allowed the choicest land to go to Lot. The 3rd test was to set aside Ishmael to protect Isaac.  And now, almost beyond belief, is God’s demand that he sacrifice that same child.

Doing life his way must have looked pretty good to Abraham by this point.  He is now about 136 years old, and Isaac is either about 15 or some scholars believe he is as old as 30 (as Christ was when He began His public ministry). There will be no more children after Isaac from Abraham and Sarah.  Abraham is also probably aware that child-sacrifice is abhorrent to God.  Who knows what he was thinking as he and Isaac trudged toward their destination?  Nevertheless, amazingly, Abraham submits his will to God’s.

Would we be so faith-filled or so obedient, do you think?  This Old Testament lesson (Genesis 22:1-14) is again a rich fore-shadowing of Jesus:  God sends Abe and Isaac to the region of Moriah.

This is the same ridge as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (constructed much later).  It also appears to be the same ridge as Golgatha, the site of the Crucifixion. There is to be a sacrifice of an only, precious son.  It is a 3 day journey for them,  as would be Jesus’ journey from death to resurrection.

God, at the last minute, provides the sacrificial animal.  This is a male sheep, fully grown (a ram) because the Bible records only one “Lamb of God,” Jesus Christ!  This story vividly demonstrates Abraham’s faithàvv.7-8àIsaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”  “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.  “The fire and the wood are here,” Isaac said, “But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”  It also establishes the precedent for substitutionary atonement, wherein Jesus took our place as He paid the penalty for our sins.

The test was “Will you do what I ask even if it costs you. What is most precious to you?”  Remember last Sunday Jesus said (Matthew 19:37) we cannot love any person more than we love God?

Abraham is the Father of our faith because he—like Jesus later—did exactly what his heavenly Father asked of him.  It should be obvious that this was a gut-wrenching choice.  It should also be obvious that many of us would not have been willing to submit to God’s will in that situation. Many Biblical scholars hypothesize that Abraham believed God could resurrect Isaac–if it came to that—or somehow restore him.  Actually, he had implied to the two servants that he and his son would meet back up with them.  And he trusted that God would keep His promise to bring forth many nations from Abraham’s and Sarah’s bodies.

This is the best response to any test God may send us.  It is to trust in what you know about God’s nature, even if you don’t understand what He is doing or why.  Our best response is to trust in who God and in what He has promised us.

Our other passages today provide essentially the same message:

This is what David is saying in Psalm 13.  He is weary of being pursued by a murderous King Saul, so he turns to God in prayer, admitting he is afraid even to sleep.  But, by vv.5-6, he has reassured himself of God’s goodness and trustworthiness, and we get the sense that he relaxes.

Paul, in our Romans 6 lesson, reminds us that we all must choose whom we will serve.  He says we either serve ourselves—our sinful nature—or we serve God.  Additionally, if we choose to serve God, we cannot, by our own strength, successfully live a Christian life style.  We need to approach the task with faith like Abraham’s.  We need the assistance of the Holy Spirit at work in and empowering us.

Jesus, in Matthew 10:40-42, also commends the role of faith and obedience.  We participate in God’s work when we do even small acts of service to others.  Additionally, we are not to be overwhelmed by the size of the task.  Instead, we recognize in faith that God has called us to a given task; then we recognize in faith that God will enable us to do what He has called us to.  Finally, trusting in the Holy Spirit rather than in ourselves, we partner with Him to put forth our best effort.

Think today of the times and ways that God has tested you:

Perhaps you have given back an overpayment at the cash register.  Maybe you have held yourself back from taking from social services or the government what you know you don’t truthfully deserve. Possibly you are scrupulous abut providing a full day’s effort for a full day’s pay.  Or, perhaps

if a group of folks were looting the Dollar General Store up the road, rather than joining in with them—even if you thought the police wouldn’t arrest you—you gather friends to intervene and prevent further unlawful mayhem and destruction.  And we are all presented with the choice, aren’t we, to cheat on our taxes or our spouse?

There appear today to be many, many opportunities to do

the wrong thing.  But as followers of Jesus Christ we don’t go the way of the crowd.  We don’t even do it “my way” (according to our will, our flesh).  No, to please our loving Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ, we choose to do things God’s way.  This week (and always), let’s pray for the strength and courage to make choices, every day, that please our God.

©2020 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams