[Music]
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[Music]
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--Alright, everyone, we
are continuing our conversation
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about righteousness by faith.
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--Faith, faith, faith.
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--This is our third conversation
now in 13, that seems like a
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lot.
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Thirteen feels like a lot, but
when you actually get into the
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material, it doesn't feel like
a lot because it's...of course.
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--Actually, it's
not gonna be enough.
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--Let's just sort of catch us up
where we're at, we spent time in
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our first session sort of the
big overview, big themes, big
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concepts, big ideas.
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And then, in our second session,
we got down into what you might
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call the textual nitty gritty,
and we were in Genesis 1, 2,
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somewhat, but we spent a lot
of time in 3, we spent a lot of
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time with Cain and Abel, little
bit of time on the flood, and
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then we got to
the tower of Babel.
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We sort of walk through the
tower of Babel as a precursor to
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all manmade religion
built around self-preservation,
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self-exaltation, and then
we started talking about this
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revolutionary pivotal, bell
weather figure, not just in the
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history of scripture, but in the
history of the human experience,
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and that's Abram, and I don't
think it would be a bad thing if
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we almost just kind of started
from scratch with Abram and just
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sort of reminded ourselves of
stuff that we've already covered
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and then just build on that,
because the experience of Abram,
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as we all know, and becoming
Abraham, is pivotal for the rest
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of the Old Testament, and even
the rest of the New Testament.
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So, if we get this story right,
and if we get his experience
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right, we're gonna get a lot
of scripture right, maybe all of
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it, but if we get this wrong,
we're gonna be stumbling and
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fumbling in the dark.
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--Yeah, exactly.
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--So, let's talk about Abraham,
and especially as he is the
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answer to what's taking place in
Genesis chapters 3-11, and we've
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just left the Tower of Babel,
what's going on, what's the
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scene?
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--Well, we pretty much left
off by moving through the first
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three verses of
chapter 12 of Genesis.
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--Okay.
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--And we were delighted to
discover that God is calling
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Abraham not only out of a
geographical location, but out
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of a way of thinking.
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When the words are spoken from
the Lord to Abraham in chapter
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12, verse 1, get out.
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Those are the key words that we
were really focusing on in the
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latter part of our second
session and in this 13 part
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series.
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But get out of what?
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Get out of one theological
paradigm into another, which is
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simply to say, Abraham, I'm
going to lead you through an
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emancipation process.
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I'm gonna lead you through
an odyssey, a journey in which
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you're going to have your
natural ways of thinking about
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me upended.
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--And not just me, but reality.
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--Yeah.
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--Different ways of thinking
about the world around you.
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--That's right.
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So, first of all, as God
tells him, and we mentioned this
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before, you asked for a recap,
first of all, God says, Abraham,
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I'm calling you out, but I'm
not calling you out to become a
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seperadous, I'm calling you out
so that all the nations of the
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earth would be blessed through
what I'm going to do through
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you.
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--Calling you out
to send you back in.
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--Yeah, and this was something
we didn't mention in the last
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session, and that is when God
tells Abraham in chapter 12 of
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Genesis, verse 3, in you all the
families of the earth shall be
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blessed, this is a Messianic
prophecy, this is an early stage
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prophecy here, Moses is writing
the story and got Abraham
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doesn't, Abraham's not thinking
like we're thinking, oh,
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Messiah.
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Abraham's thinking, oh, you're
going to do something through my
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lineage, so,
here's what's important.
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It becomes absolutely vital in
Abraham's thinking, and rightly
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so that, okay, God, if you're
gonna do something through my
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lineage, through my posterity
that will bless the whole world
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and every nation in the world,
well having children is really
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important, and at the present
moment, I don't have children.
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I don't have a son.
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--Exactly.
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--So, you're gonna have to,
something has to happen here,
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you need to, so, I don't know if
you wanna do anything in 13 or
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14, but I'm gonna skip to 15 and
point out this, Abraham says to
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God, at this juncture of
his encounter with the Lord, he
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says, okay, I'm childless,
that's chapter 15, and verse 2,
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I have no offspring, that's
verse 3, and God says, there's
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gonna be one that comes out of
your own body, Abraham, this is
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interesting.
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And Abraham
says, how shall I know?
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Verse 8.
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How can I know that you're going
to fulfill your promise through
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my body, through my lineage?
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Because I'm old.
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And I don't have a son,
but how can I know for sure?
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And then God does something
remarkable, we actually talked
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about this a little bit in the
first 13 part series of Table
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Talk.
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But in this present context,
it's well for us to recover this
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idea.
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God does something interesting
when Abraham says, how can I
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know?
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God says, okay,
here's how you can know.
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Get 3 animals and cut them in
half, lay them across from one
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another, and then Abraham obeys,
he gets the animals, he cuts the
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three animals in half,
forming a pathway between them.
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Abraham knows what the Lord
is doing here because, in that
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cultural context, they didn't go
to the local attorney and sign a
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document, they made a
covenant through a ritual.
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And this ritual is one in which
God then, as Abraham lays the
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pieces aside,
across from one another.
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Abraham knows that what needs
to happen is, those who pass
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between the pieces are entering
into an agreement with one
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another, and God takes the
initiative to pass through the
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pieces.
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And he's communicating that, by
so doing, that Abraham, you can
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know that my promise is good
because I'm pledging my very
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life.
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Because in that context, you're
basically saying, may it be done
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to me as is done to these
animals, severed, cut in two,
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may it be done to me as done
to these animal sacrifices if I
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don't make good on my promise.
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So, God's pledging himself to
follow through in faithful love
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to keep his promise.
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--This is good, yeah.
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--Let me just ask you a question
there, anyone can answer it, Ty
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has just done a great job of
articulating this, he says, to
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keep your promise, and just for
our sake, and for those that are
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listening in,
what is that promise?
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In the simplest possible
language, or what, you see what
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I'm saying?
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--Yeah.
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--God says, I'm gonna keep
my promise, okay, what promise?
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--That in you, all the nations
of the earth would be blessed.
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--Okay, is there more than
one element to the promise?
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So, I've got that,
nations blessed, anything else?
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--Well, included in that promise
is through the messiah that's
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coming.
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--Yeah, the messianic line.
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--Okay, so that's an
anticipation of the Messiah,
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okay.
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--That's the point.
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--I think you're onto it.
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--In thee, it's
actually talking about Christ.
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It's not through the many
seeds, but through the one.
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In Galatians, Paul brings
this out and I think it's very
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powerful.
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In Galatians 3, he's talking
about this whole experience with
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Abraham, how he believed
God, was counting on him for
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righteousness, as
we're talking about.
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And he says, those therefore,
who are faith, are the same, the
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children of Abraham, but then he
says here in Galatians chapter
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3, he says, in verse 16, now
that Abraham and his seed were
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the promises made.
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Now, he said not to seeds, as
of many, but as of one, to thy
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seed, which is Christ.
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--Got it.
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--So, it's in Christ,
which is so beautiful to me.
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--Amen, and we're gonna get
to Galatians 3 in great detail.
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Here's where I was driving
at and you guys nailed it.
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Basically, God shows up in
Genesis 12 and essentially says,
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this is how I read the text, get
out of the land to a land that I
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will show you, depart from your
father's house, I will make you
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a great nation and I will bless
you and make your name great and
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you will be a blessing, I will
bless those who curse you and I
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will curse them who curses you
and you all the families of the
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earth shall be blessed, so,
basically he says, you'll be a
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blessing, you'll get the land,
and you'll get lots of people to
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fill the land.
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Now, the Messiah is implicit in
there, now, of course, the word
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Messiah doesn't occur here.
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So, the way that I see this
is when God shows up and starts
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making a bunch of promises,
because that's what this amounts
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to.
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He doesn't show up and say,
Abraham and you're gonna do, and
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you'll do this, and then you'll
do that, and then you'll do
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that.
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--I, I, I.
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--He says, I'm gonna do this,
and then after I've done that,
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I'll do this and then I'll do
this, and then I'll do this and
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then I'll do this.
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And here's the question I like
to ask, what is the appropriate
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response when God makes
you a series of promises.
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--To believe.
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--To believe it.
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So, that's why Abraham becomes
normative for the rest of
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scripture, which is where you're
at in Galatians 3, because
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Abraham here, okay, and then,
and then you'll, and you'll, and
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then you'll.
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--You're referring
to chapter 15, verse 6.
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--This is the text that Paul
quotes more than any other text
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in Genesis.
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He can't stay
away from it, right?
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Genesis 15:6, he believed the
Lord, and he accounted it to him
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for right.
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He believed that God would
do what he said he would do.
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And then, it's in that context,
Ty, that you said, well, how
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will I know?
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On what basis, I believe you,
but how will I be certain that
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you will do this?
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He says, okay, go get, 5
animals, cut three of them in
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half, and he's committing
himself, he's pledging himself
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to the process.
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He is saying, I'm in this.
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I'm obligating
myself and you'll see.
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So, I love the idea that the
very, he wasn't just making some
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general, vague, ambiguous
promise of I'll take care of you
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and all will be well, we'll ride
off into the sunset together.
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No, he's like, you'll get the
land, and you'll get people to
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fill it, and you
will be a blessing.
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Which is the very thing
that God had said to Adam.
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--I was just gonna say, there's
a pattern there, because there's
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a sacrifice here again, we
began in Genesis 3, with the
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sacrifice, Genesis 4, the issue
is 2 sacrifices given to God,
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and now we're back to Abraham.
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--And we skipped over Noah, but
as soon as Noah gets off the...
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--Same thing.
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--As soon as Noah's sacrifice.
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I love the idea, a
sacrifice and a promise.
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I love the idea that God
basically says to Adam and Eve,
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expand the garden and
be fruitful and multiply.
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Then he says to Noah, the first
thing he says to Noah when he
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gets off the ark is what?
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Be fruitful and multiply.
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First thing he says.
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Fill it, first thing he says
is, here's the land, fill it.
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So, God's desire, from the
beginning has been, to have,
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like scripture says, he created
the earth to be inhabited.
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--And this brings up this whole
thing about culture, that God,
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from the beginning, has,
he's not operating in a vacuum
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outside of human
existence and human interaction.
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He's actually
creating culture on earth.
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So, with this call to Abraham,
God is basically introducing a
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new culture on earth.
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--He's literally
founding a nation.
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There's a kingdom in chapter 7
and 11 that we call attention to
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Nimrod in the kingdom of
Babylon, and God is setting up a
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parallel kingdom.
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He's calling out Abraham
in order to form the nation of
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Israel, in order to create a
vehicle through which a Messiah
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can ultimately come.
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That's what's happening in
the storyline as it unfolds, but
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even though Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him
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for righteousness, in chapter
15 verse 6, Abraham immediately
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goes about trying to resolve the
problem of his impotence, of his
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very old body and the old
body of his wife, Sarah, he
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immediately goes about trying to
resolve the problem on his own.
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--So he's thoroughly human.
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--Not immediately, I mean in
the context of the bible, it's
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immediate, but it's
actually 10 years later.
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So, it does take him
some time, but you're right.
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It's even worse, though,
the point you're making is even
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better because
it's even worse, though.
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Because he, 10 years later,
you'd think after 10 years, he'd
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be building
trust and faith in God.
00:12:25.96\00:12:28.30
--Except for the one thing that
would communicate that God was
00:12:28.30\00:12:31.80
gonna keep his promise, namely
offspring, has not yet happened.
00:12:31.80\00:12:34.96
--And so, here's a huge factor
in our humanity and that is,
00:12:34.96\00:12:38.80
this whole idea of our initial
belief in God, and then this
00:12:38.80\00:12:43.13
trial of our faith.
00:12:43.13\00:12:44.63
Because, really, verse 6 is the
first place that you have the
00:12:44.63\00:12:47.50
literal mention of righteousness
by faith in the bible.
00:12:47.50\00:12:50.13
I mean, if you wanna take it
literally, he believed God was
00:12:50.13\00:12:52.50
counting to him
for righteousness.
00:12:52.50\00:12:53.60
And he believes in that way.
00:12:53.60\00:12:55.06
But now, after 10 years,
you know, what does it take, 9
00:12:55.06\00:12:58.33
months, doesn't
it take 9 months?
00:12:58.33\00:12:59.53
Ten years later, he's now
attempted to slip back into
00:12:59.53\00:13:02.76
righteousness by works
and depending upon himself.
00:13:02.76\00:13:05.66
--And we were talking about how
we're so prone to revert back to
00:13:05.66\00:13:10.00
our own picture to
projecting our own image on God.
00:13:10.00\00:13:14.20
So, now Abraham's doing it,
we talked about how, you know,
00:13:14.20\00:13:17.20
following that long darkness,
well what happened in that long
00:13:17.20\00:13:20.90
darkness?
00:13:20.90\00:13:21.50
We reverted back.
00:13:21.50\00:13:22.86
Here it is again with Abraham.
00:13:22.86\00:13:24.06
--And another thing that's
really interesting here, and I
00:13:24.06\00:13:25.90
don't mean to bring us up in
a negative sense, but again, the
00:13:25.90\00:13:28.70
woman plays a part in this.
00:13:28.70\00:13:30.86
There's this couple and there's
this need, and so Sarah comes in
00:13:30.86\00:13:36.00
and she's the one that actually
initiates, hey, we need to, and
00:13:36.00\00:13:41.40
of course, Abraham, Adam
and Eve, the same story kind of
00:13:41.40\00:13:44.56
repeated, and so, you move
into this whole way of thinking,
00:13:44.56\00:13:48.26
which I believe is, you end up
realizing is so significant when
00:13:48.26\00:13:53.00
we get to Galatians chapter
4 because it becomes, these
00:13:53.00\00:13:55.36
become, you know, illustrations
of the two metaphors, the two
00:13:55.36\00:14:01.03
ways that we're talking about.
00:14:01.03\00:14:02.30
--I know that we're just right
tipping on the verge of Genesis
00:14:02.30\00:14:05.86
16, which is Hagar and Ishmael,
but can I ask a couple questions
00:14:05.86\00:14:08.53
about Genesis 15?
00:14:08.53\00:14:10.40
Just I think these are super
important points, and I wanna,
00:14:10.40\00:14:13.53
rather than just state them,
I wanna see what you guys think
00:14:13.53\00:14:15.70
about them.
00:14:15.70\00:14:16.70
--I think you should.
00:14:16.70\00:14:17.86
--Well, first of all,
you've got the verse...
00:14:17.86\00:14:19.90
--You guys think he
should ask the questions?
00:14:19.90\00:14:21.36
--I'm gonna do it anyway.
00:14:21.36\00:14:23.13
Verse 10, it says, then he cut
them in 2, then he brought all
00:14:23.13\00:14:27.70
of these to him and he cut them
in 2, I'm in 15:10, down the
00:14:27.70\00:14:29.86
middle, placed each opposite the
other, but he did not cut the
00:14:29.86\00:14:31.90
birds in 2, and when the
vultures came on the carcasses,
00:14:31.90\00:14:34.46
Abraham drove them
away, now look at verse 12.
00:14:34.46\00:14:36.96
Now, when the sun was
going down, a deep sleep fell on
00:14:36.96\00:14:39.26
Abraham, and this is very
interesting, and behold, horror
00:14:39.26\00:14:42.86
and great
darkness fell upon him.
00:14:42.86\00:14:44.36
We can't just pass over that.
00:14:44.36\00:14:46.06
To me, that is absolutely
central to what's goin on here.
00:14:46.06\00:14:49.60
Abraham goes to sleep, and
he has a terrible nightmare.
00:14:49.60\00:14:54.06
What is this?
00:14:54.06\00:14:56.40
--I think it typifies the horror
of the great darkness that we
00:14:56.40\00:15:01.63
see taking place in Jesus at the
cross when he is enveloped with
00:15:01.63\00:15:09.60
human guilt and shame and sin,
but the thing that's such good
00:15:09.60\00:15:13.86
news is that in the middle
of all the horror of great
00:15:13.86\00:15:17.53
darkness, he sees a smoking oven
or a flame, a torch of fire pass
00:15:17.53\00:15:22.76
between those pieces.
00:15:22.76\00:15:25.26
--Verse 17.
00:15:25.26\00:15:26.53
--Yeah, so God is interrupting
the horror and the darkness by
00:15:26.53\00:15:32.80
saying, I'm going to follow
through, I'm going to keep
00:15:32.80\00:15:36.50
covenant.
00:15:36.50\00:15:37.76
--You know, I've never picked
up on this before until you just
00:15:37.76\00:15:40.33
said this, something about a
dream or a nightmare, and I'm
00:15:40.33\00:15:42.93
thinking in my mind, because
it says, like you said, in the
00:15:42.93\00:15:45.76
context, it says, that he fell
into a deep sleep and I don't
00:15:45.76\00:15:49.50
think it was just like a dream
or a nightmare that he had, I
00:15:49.50\00:15:52.20
think that God
actually gave him a revelation.
00:15:52.20\00:15:54.00
--Absolutely.
00:15:54.00\00:15:54.96
--And the revelation
is revealed in verse 13.
00:15:54.96\00:15:56.30
--That's what I was about
to say, I think the answer's in
00:15:56.30\00:15:58.33
verse 13, that there's a
dark, dark pages are coming.
00:15:58.33\00:16:01.80
--The dark pages are coming and
God's revealing it to him and
00:16:01.80\00:16:03.60
he's going, whoa, wait a minute,
I've got all these blessings and
00:16:03.60\00:16:05.96
promises and now you're telling
me my seed is gonna be in
00:16:05.96\00:16:08.96
captivity?
00:16:08.96\00:16:10.33
--That's good.
00:16:10.33\00:16:12.00
Look at verse 15 and 16.
00:16:12.00\00:16:14.76
Now, as for you, you will go to
your fathers in peace, you will
00:16:14.76\00:16:16.86
be buried at a good old age, but
in the fourth generation, they
00:16:16.86\00:16:20.66
shall return here, for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not
00:16:20.66\00:16:23.40
yet complete.
00:16:23.40\00:16:24.63
Isn't there just a beautiful
little capsule, a germ of truth
00:16:24.63\00:16:27.93
in that?
00:16:27.93\00:16:30.73
I mean, what is this language,
what does this mean that the
00:16:30.73\00:16:33.00
iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet complete.
00:16:33.00\00:16:35.96
--God is
merciful, God is merciful.
00:16:35.96\00:16:39.66
He allows as much time as
possible for every single person
00:16:39.66\00:16:44.30
to make a choice, make a choice,
make a, he just holds out, he
00:16:44.30\00:16:47.46
holds out, he holds out.
00:16:47.46\00:16:48.93
I'm holding out.
00:16:48.93\00:16:50.50
As long as it's
possible, I'm holding out.
00:16:50.50\00:16:51.76
There's no more
holding out that can be done.
00:16:51.76\00:16:53.56
It's kinda like, you know, a
patient that has some kind of
00:16:53.56\00:16:56.00
disease or whatever, maybe it's
an infection and you have to
00:16:56.00\00:17:00.20
amputate, but you try everything
that you can before the
00:17:00.20\00:17:03.43
amputation takes place because
you wanna save that person's
00:17:03.43\00:17:07.43
body part or whatever it is, but
ultimately, you wanna save the
00:17:07.43\00:17:09.70
person.
00:17:09.70\00:17:11.43
--In 2 Peter 3:9, we all
know this text, that the Lord is
00:17:11.43\00:17:15.73
longsuffering toward us, not
wanting that any should perish,
00:17:15.73\00:17:18.80
but that all
should come to repentance.
00:17:18.80\00:17:21.26
So, in this whole outplaying of
this history that through this
00:17:21.26\00:17:26.80
people, the Messiah would come
into the world, but they would
00:17:26.80\00:17:30.83
struggle to figure out that
truth, verse 15, affliction's
00:17:30.83\00:17:34.16
gonna come and so forth, and
then God's mercy on the world.
00:17:34.16\00:17:37.66
--Yeah, I love this because,
really, if you develop this, the
00:17:37.66\00:17:42.23
human race is like a body.
00:17:42.23\00:17:43.80
Paul talks about that in
relation to the church, and of
00:17:43.80\00:17:46.06
course, the church was to
infiltrate the entire world.
00:17:46.06\00:17:47.90
Some are ears, some are noses.
00:17:47.90\00:17:49.93
Nobody wants to
lose a body part.
00:17:49.93\00:17:51.86
God doesn't wanna lose a body
part, and so he works, he's the
00:17:51.86\00:17:55.36
physician, Luke says, he works
to restore every part of the
00:17:55.36\00:17:58.66
body, and that's why I think
Abraham he's still, like how you
00:17:58.66\00:18:02.06
said earlier, he's still
wrestling with these concepts of
00:18:02.06\00:18:05.46
righteousness by works at the
land of Err, etc. And so, he's
00:18:05.46\00:18:08.60
still, his people, generations
down are gonna get comfortable
00:18:08.60\00:18:12.53
in Egypt, they're gonna lose
the vision of righteousness by
00:18:12.53\00:18:15.63
faith.
00:18:15.63\00:18:16.90
They're gonna lose the vision of
why they're there, to infiltrate
00:18:16.90\00:18:19.03
and to influence, and when
they do that, they fall into
00:18:19.03\00:18:21.06
captivity again.
00:18:21.06\00:18:22.93
--I think this language, the
iniquity of the Amorites is not
00:18:22.93\00:18:26.36
yet full or complete.
00:18:26.36\00:18:27.80
Basically, it's God saying, I
have my finger on the pulse of
00:18:27.80\00:18:33.06
people groups and it's not, evil
isn't mature enough for me to
00:18:33.06\00:18:42.46
intervene.
00:18:42.46\00:18:44.53
There are still people who
I'm reaching out to and reaching
00:18:44.53\00:18:49.43
into.
00:18:49.43\00:18:50.63
And so, it's like you said,
James, it's an act of mercy.
00:18:50.63\00:18:53.16
God isn't willy nilly, he's
not arbitrary, he's not just
00:18:53.16\00:18:56.30
smacking people down, he's
saying, wait a minute, there are
00:18:56.30\00:19:00.90
people who are still processing
and evil hasn't reached a level
00:19:00.90\00:19:04.80
of maturity yet that I would
intervene to stop the process
00:19:04.80\00:19:09.93
yet.
00:19:09.93\00:19:10.80
It's an act of mercy.
00:19:10.80\00:19:12.03
We have to take a break, but
we're off to a good start, and
00:19:12.03\00:19:14.80
we'll come right back and look
at Genesis chapter maybe 16, 17.
00:19:14.80\00:19:20.26
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[Music]
00:21:19.80\00:21:32.50
Alright, well, we finished our
first segment with this phrase
00:21:32.50\00:21:35.56
here, the iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet complete.
00:21:35.56\00:21:38.10
Now, we started driving in a
question that I was, you guys
00:21:38.10\00:21:41.13
got it actually, the thing that
I was thinking of, and that is
00:21:41.13\00:21:44.10
that God here, is not
looking out for Abraham in some
00:21:44.10\00:21:47.46
clique-ish sense, that
it's Abraham arbitrarily or
00:21:47.46\00:21:50.03
capriciously, God is wanting
to bless all the nations of the
00:21:50.03\00:21:53.70
earth, and what this verse shows
is that God has an interest in
00:21:53.70\00:21:57.70
the other peoples.
00:21:57.70\00:21:59.50
He is still longing for, maybe
there's another Abraham, maybe
00:21:59.50\00:22:03.30
there's, maybe there could be,
and so he says, hey we're gonna
00:22:03.30\00:22:05.50
hold off.
00:22:05.50\00:22:06.76
Now, this kind of reminds me of
my own experience, I wonder if
00:22:06.76\00:22:08.03
you guys.
00:22:08.03\00:22:09.26
Well, all of us, I bet, to
some degree, can relate to this,
00:22:09.26\00:22:11.23
because, I mean, you're a
convert, and I mean, and I'm
00:22:11.23\00:22:13.30
talking from outside of
sort of Christiandom into it.
00:22:13.30\00:22:15.13
Like, none of us here
were raised in strong Christian
00:22:15.13\00:22:17.00
homes.
00:22:17.00\00:22:18.06
Right?
00:22:18.06\00:22:19.23
--I was.
00:22:19.23\00:22:20.13
--You were, okay,
I didn't know that.
00:22:20.13\00:22:21.16
--Catholic.
00:22:21.16\00:22:22.03
--Okay, strong Catholic home.
00:22:22.03\00:22:23.63
When I became a
believer, I was 23 years old.
00:22:23.63\00:22:26.26
I was what I say, a purple
haired punk rocker, had the
00:22:26.26\00:22:27.93
tattoo thing going on,
you guys know this story.
00:22:27.93\00:22:30.63
Not everyobdoy, of course,
that's watching knows this
00:22:30.63\00:22:32.50
story.
00:22:32.50\00:22:34.43
So, my culture was very
countercultural to Christianity.
00:22:34.43\00:22:37.90
You could be almost anything
in my punk rock skateboarding
00:22:37.90\00:22:40.73
culture and that was cool, but
to become a Christian was like a
00:22:40.73\00:22:42.93
form of intellectual treason.
00:22:42.93\00:22:45.23
--Sellout.
00:22:45.23\00:22:46.40
--It was like, oh, that's
exactly the word we would've
00:22:46.40\00:22:47.80
used, sellout.
00:22:47.80\00:22:49.30
Intellectual sellout.
00:22:49.30\00:22:50.23
Totally.
00:22:50.23\00:22:51.06
Now, here's the
interesting thing.
00:22:51.06\00:22:52.33
When God called me
out, and I think he did.
00:22:52.33\00:22:55.10
He definitely called me out of
some of the behavior and some of
00:22:55.10\00:22:57.50
the music and some of the social
situations and things that I was
00:22:57.50\00:22:59.80
in, some of the relationships.
00:22:59.80\00:23:01.13
When he called me out, the kind
of fascinating thing for me was,
00:23:01.13\00:23:06.26
is that, in my early Christian
immaturity, I didn't fully grasp
00:23:06.26\00:23:12.23
the idea that God still wanted
to bring all of my friends, too.
00:23:12.23\00:23:16.70
He wasn't just, oh, David is so
special, he is, he's the apple
00:23:16.70\00:23:20.50
of my eye.
00:23:20.50\00:23:21.26
I need him.
00:23:21.26\00:23:22.73
As opposed to not all the others
as well, and I think that that's
00:23:22.73\00:23:25.86
the thing that's happening here.
00:23:25.86\00:23:28.13
God is saying, yeah, okay,
Abraham, you're ready, this is,
00:23:28.13\00:23:30.56
okay, come on, come on.
00:23:30.56\00:23:31.83
But I'm not, I still love, for
God so loved the world that he
00:23:31.83\00:23:35.40
gave his, not for God so loved
Abram, for God so loved the
00:23:35.40\00:23:37.40
world that he, etc. And I was
just thinking, I can relate to
00:23:37.40\00:23:39.96
this, because when I first came
out, I began to relate to my
00:23:39.96\00:23:45.23
former friends in a, I'm ashamed
to say, a fairly immature way, I
00:23:45.23\00:23:50.56
just felt separation,
elited, I've got it you don't.
00:23:50.56\00:23:55.83
Why do you do that?
00:23:55.83\00:23:57.23
And almost self-righteous, which
is a real tragedy because I was
00:23:57.23\00:24:01.40
learning about the righteousness
of Christ, which was making me
00:24:01.40\00:24:04.23
feel somehow more righteous
as opposed to my others, and I
00:24:04.23\00:24:07.73
wonder how many of us and our
listeners or watchers can relate
00:24:07.73\00:24:12.80
to that, because I have people
say to me all the time, how do I
00:24:12.80\00:24:15.70
relate to my former friends?
00:24:15.70\00:24:18.03
And if I made a mistake, it
wasn't that I stayed too close
00:24:18.03\00:24:21.43
to my former friends, it's
that I over alienated them.
00:24:21.43\00:24:24.30
And I'm not trying to pretend
like this is an easy path to
00:24:24.30\00:24:25.93
walk.
00:24:25.93\00:24:27.00
It's not easy.
00:24:27.00\00:24:28.33
It is complex because you wanna
keep your friends, but you're
00:24:28.33\00:24:30.93
not still doing that and we
don't do that and I don't do
00:24:30.93\00:24:32.70
that and I don't do that.
00:24:32.70\00:24:34.00
But what I did, and I think
it was the wrong thing, was I
00:24:34.00\00:24:36.00
basically, I just sealed myself
away, and in hindsight, if I
00:24:36.00\00:24:40.06
have one major regret in my
Christian experience is that I
00:24:40.06\00:24:42.70
know I alienated former friends,
not just from God, not just from
00:24:42.70\00:24:48.10
me, but from the God that
they took me to be representing.
00:24:48.10\00:24:51.76
And so, I love this text
here where God's like, Abraham,
00:24:51.76\00:24:54.10
you're my guy, but I still
got a few generations with these
00:24:54.10\00:24:57.26
Amorites because I love these.
00:24:57.26\00:24:59.70
--There's a responsibility
with that, isn't there?
00:24:59.70\00:25:01.30
Great word.
00:25:01.30\00:25:04.70
God is implying, you
have a responsibility.
00:25:04.70\00:25:09.03
--In you, all of the nations of
the earth shall be blessed, are
00:25:09.03\00:25:10.73
the Amorites?
00:25:10.73\00:25:11.80
--All the nations.
00:25:11.80\00:25:13.06
--This same theme falls right
into chapter 16, I don't know if
00:25:13.06\00:25:16.26
we're done here, but here's
this, we know that Abraham gets
00:25:16.26\00:25:20.16
together with Hagar.
00:25:20.16\00:25:21.56
We know that God ends up
saying, that's not gonna work.
00:25:21.56\00:25:24.70
And we know that Sarah wants
Ishmael, the son of Hagar and
00:25:24.70\00:25:29.30
Abraham, out of the camp.
00:25:29.30\00:25:30.80
And yet, God says,
I'm gonna bless him.
00:25:30.80\00:25:34.16
There's room for him.
00:25:34.16\00:25:35.40
He does need to move, but I
still love him and I still have
00:25:35.40\00:25:36.70
a future for him.
00:25:36.70\00:25:38.10
So it's the same theme that's
being developed right there.
00:25:38.10\00:25:39.73
--I'd never seen the connection
between that and 15 and then in
00:25:39.73\00:25:43.03
16 because he does say, you're
right, Ishmael's your son.
00:25:43.03\00:25:44.96
And I'll bless him accordingly.
00:25:44.96\00:25:46.86
He's not the promised son,
but he's your son and he will be
00:25:46.86\00:25:49.36
blessed accordingly.
00:25:49.36\00:25:50.80
We see here the
magnanimity of God.
00:25:50.80\00:25:52.80
He's looking out for the
Canaanites, he's looking out for
00:25:52.80\00:25:55.16
the Ishmaels.
00:25:55.16\00:25:56.83
Which God didn't intend for
Ishmael to be born under those
00:25:56.83\00:25:58.66
circumstances.
00:25:58.66\00:25:59.90
And he's looking out for the
lineage of Abraham, Isaac, etc.
00:25:59.90\00:26:02.46
--He almost accommodates
to the human situation.
00:26:02.46\00:26:05.13
--Almost, he
completely accommodates.
00:26:05.13\00:26:07.23
--It's a beautiful thing.
00:26:07.23\00:26:08.63
Even though his way, in order to
fit as many things as possible
00:26:08.63\00:26:15.60
into his overall vision.
00:26:15.60\00:26:17.73
--Well, this creates a
massive misconception in current
00:26:17.73\00:26:21.56
biblical analysis.
00:26:21.56\00:26:23.00
People look at scripture
and say, this is so archaic and
00:26:23.00\00:26:26.50
barbaric, this God was
okay with polygamy, for example.
00:26:26.50\00:26:34.03
This God was okay
with slavery, for example.
00:26:34.03\00:26:36.60
This God was okay with war.
00:26:36.60\00:26:38.96
But the word that you're using,
which is very appropriate is
00:26:38.96\00:26:42.00
that no, God's not okay
with any breakdown of relational
00:26:42.00\00:26:46.80
integrity.
00:26:46.80\00:26:48.30
God's not okay with
anything contrary to love.
00:26:48.30\00:26:51.20
That's the overall
message of scripture, but God is
00:26:51.20\00:26:54.20
accommodating in the sense that
he's dealing with people where
00:26:54.20\00:26:57.50
they are.
00:26:57.50\00:26:59.30
I mean, Ishmael is the product
of Abraham entering into sexual
00:26:59.30\00:27:04.13
relations with a woman that's
not his wife, but he takes her
00:27:04.13\00:27:08.73
as a wife, now
he's got two wives.
00:27:08.73\00:27:10.63
God's not okay with that
arrangement, and yet, God works
00:27:10.63\00:27:13.03
with, in that particular segment
of history, in that situation,
00:27:13.03\00:27:16.73
God works with the human
predicament to bring good out of
00:27:16.73\00:27:23.26
the messes that we make.
00:27:23.26\00:27:24.80
So, I like the
word accommodation.
00:27:24.80\00:27:26.06
--It's so bizarre, everything
that you just said, that even
00:27:26.06\00:27:29.40
the acts of God where he is
being accommodating and merciful
00:27:29.40\00:27:33.33
and gracious,
polygamy, and all this stuff.
00:27:33.33\00:27:36.60
--He's criticized for it.
00:27:36.60\00:27:37.53
--He is criticized.
00:27:37.53\00:27:38.23
He is criticized.
00:27:38.23\00:27:40.10
--Satan is given a
completely different slant.
00:27:40.10\00:27:41.70
--Totally.
00:27:41.70\00:27:42.36
Unjust.
00:27:42.36\00:27:43.83
--How could he do that?
00:27:43.83\00:27:45.03
--On the very cases where
he's being the exact opposite.
00:27:45.03\00:27:48.23
--I read something recently
where this guy was commenting on
00:27:48.23\00:27:52.96
the fact that we want God to
intervene, why doesn't God do
00:27:52.96\00:27:55.16
something?
00:27:55.16\00:27:58.00
But then, the moment God
intervenes, we're like, why did
00:27:58.00\00:27:59.46
he do that?
00:27:59.46\00:28:01.00
It's intervene.
00:28:01.00\00:28:03.73
--It's kinda like, and this is a
creative illustration, but it's
00:28:03.73\00:28:06.63
kind of like this whole idea
that, why would God kill all
00:28:06.63\00:28:08.96
those animals?
00:28:08.96\00:28:10.46
What kind of God is that?
00:28:10.46\00:28:11.73
And yet, you know, we don't have
any problem killing animals so
00:28:11.73\00:28:13.86
that we can have food in our
stomachs, you know, and eat all
00:28:13.86\00:28:15.56
of this, but God
does it for a purpose.
00:28:15.56\00:28:18.63
He's doing it to illustrate,
this is what sin does.
00:28:18.63\00:28:21.03
In fact, he's not the one that's
requiring it, sin's requiring it
00:28:21.03\00:28:23.60
so that he can show
us what it leads to.
00:28:23.60\00:28:26.10
But we're doing it
to fill our bellies.
00:28:26.10\00:28:27.26
We're doing it for the taste.
00:28:27.26\00:28:28.40
--I'm a vegetarian.
00:28:28.40\00:28:29.30
--Me, too, but
you get the point.
00:28:29.30\00:28:31.26
--There's a historical context
here, though, on what you're
00:28:31.26\00:28:33.36
saying, James, and that is that
scripture makes it clear that
00:28:33.36\00:28:37.03
Abraham is living in a culture
in which human sacrifice is the
00:28:37.03\00:28:41.43
common approach to God.
00:28:41.43\00:28:43.03
So, here comes this
accommodating God who comes
00:28:43.03\00:28:46.20
along, and he implements a
sacrificial service that sets
00:28:46.20\00:28:51.03
parameters on the sacrifices,
not in order to be cruel to
00:28:51.03\00:28:58.53
animals, but in order to
preserve humanity from greater
00:28:58.53\00:29:03.60
cruelty in the situation.
00:29:03.60\00:29:05.50
So, again, the word that Jeffery
was using, accommodation, God
00:29:05.50\00:29:09.16
was accommodating, there's
a prime example of this in
00:29:09.16\00:29:12.53
scripture that just immediately
clicks, and I'm not gonna turn
00:29:12.53\00:29:14.96
there, but I'll just mention it.
00:29:14.96\00:29:16.20
God says to Israel, later in
Israelite history, I will govern
00:29:16.20\00:29:23.10
you and lead you by
and through my prophet.
00:29:23.10\00:29:26.16
That's the arrangement.
00:29:26.16\00:29:27.70
People say, no, no, no, we want
a monarch, we want a king like
00:29:27.70\00:29:31.30
all the other nations.
00:29:31.30\00:29:32.26
God says, no, you
don't actually want a king.
00:29:32.26\00:29:34.96
I'm not gonna give you a king.
00:29:34.96\00:29:36.00
No, we want a
king, and they demand it.
00:29:36.00\00:29:38.30
So, God gives them what
they demanded in King Saul.
00:29:38.30\00:29:42.03
But God, before, he warned them,
if you go with this system of
00:29:42.03\00:29:45.03
government, he's gonna take your
women and make them concubines,
00:29:45.03\00:29:49.26
he's going to take your sons off
to war and he's gonna take your
00:29:49.26\00:29:51.56
land and tax it very heavily.
00:29:51.56\00:29:53.40
You're entering into a system
that you don't really want, but
00:29:53.40\00:29:57.83
if you're demanding
it, I'll give you a king.
00:29:57.83\00:30:00.23
So, then, God gives them,
by accommodating and stays
00:30:00.23\00:30:03.46
connected with the people
rather than abandoning them.
00:30:03.46\00:30:07.06
This is the clear example, a
clear example in scripture of
00:30:07.06\00:30:12.23
the fact that
God is condescending.
00:30:12.23\00:30:15.53
He humbles
himself, he stays engaged.
00:30:15.53\00:30:18.03
--He commits
himself to the process.
00:30:18.03\00:30:20.70
--He really does.
00:30:20.70\00:30:21.56
We get it wrong so many times.
00:30:21.56\00:30:23.23
--We fail to appreciate the
self-limitation that God has
00:30:23.23\00:30:27.93
placed on himself in engaging
with other volitional beings.
00:30:27.93\00:30:31.83
So, like, take
the Ishmael thing.
00:30:31.83\00:30:34.43
Okay, now there's an Ishmael.
00:30:34.43\00:30:36.06
But it wasn't God's design or
desire for Abraham and Sarah and
00:30:36.06\00:30:42.13
Hagar to come up with this other
plan, but now here's an Ishmael.
00:30:42.13\00:30:45.86
So, God has been constrained,
his actions are now constrained
00:30:45.86\00:30:50.53
by the actions of others,
and this has created a situation
00:30:50.53\00:30:54.23
which God had not willed or
intentioned or desired, but he
00:30:54.23\00:30:56.46
still related to that situation
in keeping with his goodness and
00:30:56.46\00:31:00.90
with keeping with his character.
00:31:00.90\00:31:02.13
--It's incredible actually,
if you think that through, it's
00:31:02.13\00:31:04.30
remarkable.
00:31:04.30\00:31:05.06
--C.S.
00:31:05.06\00:31:06.33
Lewis calls this the greatest of
all mysteries and miracles, that
00:31:06.33\00:31:08.63
the creator, right?
00:31:08.63\00:31:11.13
So, as I am to this little, you
know, ball here that represents
00:31:11.13\00:31:14.60
the world, God is infinitely
more to this world, and he says
00:31:14.60\00:31:19.30
the idea that the creator would
make something that was capable
00:31:19.30\00:31:24.23
of resisting him.
00:31:24.23\00:31:26.00
He says it's the greatest
of miracles and mysteries.
00:31:26.00\00:31:28.26
So, now that you can be
resisted, and now that your will
00:31:28.26\00:31:30.63
can be thwarted and you don't
always get your way, you have to
00:31:30.63\00:31:33.86
become accommodationist.
00:31:33.86\00:31:36.00
Either that, or you just
obliterate the whole thing, say,
00:31:36.00\00:31:37.86
okay, we're done, we're done
with that, you know, we're done
00:31:37.86\00:31:39.83
with that.
00:31:39.83\00:31:41.00
That's one way to
sort of deal with it.
00:31:41.00\00:31:42.50
Or, you can accommodate
yourself to the situation.
00:31:42.50\00:31:46.36
I do think we need to
make a point, a very important
00:31:46.36\00:31:48.70
clarification here.
00:31:48.70\00:31:50.26
God never accommodates evil.
00:31:50.26\00:31:52.80
But he is continually
accommodating evil people.
00:31:52.80\00:31:56.43
Namely people like the
four of us here at this table.
00:31:56.43\00:31:58.96
--That's an important...
00:31:58.96\00:31:59.96
--That's an
important distinction.
00:31:59.96\00:32:01.60
--But it's turned
upside down so many times.
00:32:01.60\00:32:04.13
I mean, think about this for
example, just for an example.
00:32:04.13\00:32:06.83
An eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth.
00:32:06.83\00:32:08.93
Okay, that is a civil law.
00:32:08.93\00:32:12.06
And we look at it and we think,
oh, Jesus came and said, you've
00:32:12.06\00:32:14.50
heard it, an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth, but I say you
00:32:14.50\00:32:16.36
shouldn't, but at the same time,
the principal for an eye for an
00:32:16.36\00:32:20.96
eye and a tooth for a tooth, to
me, is not only just, it's very
00:32:20.96\00:32:24.53
merciful.
00:32:24.53\00:32:25.63
Because our natural tendency
is, oh, you took my eye?
00:32:25.63\00:32:28.96
I'm gonna take both of yours.
00:32:28.96\00:32:30.60
Oh, you took my tooth?
00:32:30.60\00:32:31.80
I'm gonna take out your
whole, the whole denture system.
00:32:31.80\00:32:34.20
It's, seriously,
that's the way we think.
00:32:34.20\00:32:37.46
So, even the
phrase, eye for eye.
00:32:37.46\00:32:39.40
Listen, guys, it's
not two eyes for an eye.
00:32:39.40\00:32:41.66
It's not the whole
denture system for a tooth.
00:32:41.66\00:32:43.53
He's setting a limit to our
natural tendency to just wanna
00:32:43.53\00:32:46.76
overdo.
00:32:46.76\00:32:48.03
And even to this day, when you
look at political systems, when
00:32:48.03\00:32:49.86
you look at the world and the
violence in the world, they're
00:32:49.86\00:32:55.23
violating that principal.
00:32:55.23\00:32:56.90
--Overreactions.
00:32:56.90\00:32:58.26
--You want my whole village?
00:32:58.26\00:32:59.66
We're gonna go in
there and kill 100 people.
00:32:59.66\00:33:01.76
--I think something else is
going on here in the story of
00:33:01.76\00:33:04.43
Abraham because chapter 17,
after the Ishmael incident is
00:33:04.43\00:33:08.43
kind of unfolded in chapter
16, verse 17 opens with, when
00:33:08.43\00:33:13.30
Abraham was 99 years old.
00:33:13.30\00:33:15.23
Okay, 99 years old.
00:33:15.23\00:33:19.23
--And that's the beginning, this
is where it opens, he's already
00:33:19.23\00:33:21.86
99.
00:33:21.86\00:33:22.93
--Yeah, he's 99 years
old, and what unfolds?
00:33:22.93\00:33:26.53
God says, basically,
Ishmael's not the one.
00:33:26.53\00:33:30.73
Abraham's pleading with God,
may Ishmael live before you?
00:33:30.73\00:33:35.43
In other words,
Lord, can he be the one?
00:33:35.43\00:33:38.10
Just accept him as the one, and
the Lord says, skipping down to
00:33:38.10\00:33:43.50
chapter 17 verse
19, then God said, no.
00:33:43.50\00:33:45.76
No, it's not Ishmael.
00:33:45.76\00:33:50.36
It's as if God took Abraham
and Sarah right to the edge, 99
00:33:50.36\00:33:55.43
years old.
00:33:55.43\00:33:57.26
She's not far behind him.
00:33:57.26\00:33:59.83
Sarah and Abraham are literally
incredulous over this, in
00:33:59.83\00:34:04.86
chapter 17 verse 17, it doesn't
say that Abraham just chuckled
00:34:04.86\00:34:09.70
at the idea, it says, then
Abraham fell on his face and
00:34:09.70\00:34:12.16
laughed.
00:34:12.16\00:34:14.13
He is literally on the ground
busting up with laughter at the
00:34:14.13\00:34:19.56
idea that a child could be
produced from his biological
00:34:19.56\00:34:24.46
situation.
00:34:24.46\00:34:26.26
He's 99 years old.
00:34:26.26\00:34:28.06
So, he's
laughing at the situation.
00:34:28.06\00:34:30.06
The story continues to
unfold and Sarah also laughs.
00:34:30.06\00:34:34.53
She finds it funny.
00:34:34.53\00:34:36.06
And the Lord does
something very interesting.
00:34:36.06\00:34:38.86
He says, I'm going to do it.
00:34:38.86\00:34:40.50
I'm gonna follow through.
00:34:40.50\00:34:41.56
You're going to
have a child, I promise.
00:34:41.56\00:34:45.46
Just like I indicated you would.
00:34:45.46\00:34:47.93
And then the laugh's gonna be on
you, so to speak, because here's
00:34:47.93\00:34:50.43
the name you're gonna give
him, Isaac, which means, funny.
00:34:50.43\00:34:53.90
Means hilarious.
00:34:53.90\00:34:55.10
--God always has the last laugh.
00:34:55.10\00:34:56.56
--The name means laughter.
00:34:56.56\00:34:58.43
--You know, Ty, I think
it's interesting that in Genesis
00:34:58.43\00:35:04.40
11:30, when Abram and his wife
were being introduced, that it
00:35:04.40\00:35:09.33
says in that introduction, this
goes exactly with what you've
00:35:09.33\00:35:12.56
been saying, it
says, but Sarah was barren.
00:35:12.56\00:35:16.23
She had no child.
00:35:16.23\00:35:17.90
It's just a short little verse.
00:35:17.90\00:35:20.23
It's just very quick,
It's developing, you know, this
00:35:20.23\00:35:23.26
genealogy before getting to the
call of Abraham in chapter 12,
00:35:23.26\00:35:27.40
but Moses wants us to know
this little piece of detail that
00:35:27.40\00:35:31.96
she's barren.
00:35:31.96\00:35:33.46
So, to me, that's significant
you know, because you're
00:35:33.46\00:35:36.40
highlighting, 99 years old.
00:35:36.40\00:35:38.10
It's not just the age factor
that makes this a crazy thing to
00:35:38.10\00:35:43.70
believe, is it?
00:35:43.70\00:35:45.50
It's not just that.
00:35:45.50\00:35:46.73
She was barren and so, it
seems like God is stacking
00:35:46.73\00:35:50.53
impossibility on top
of impossibility on top of
00:35:50.53\00:35:53.16
impossibility.
00:35:53.16\00:35:54.43
--Well, he was about
ready to add some of his own
00:35:54.43\00:35:56.36
impossibility to it, because
he's gonna give circumcision,
00:35:56.36\00:35:58.93
right?
00:35:58.93\00:36:00.16
--What do you mean?
00:36:00.16\00:36:01.16
--Well, that's the point.
00:36:01.16\00:36:03.10
He's going to basically say,
Abram, you have tried to do for
00:36:03.10\00:36:06.73
me what I told you
I would do, remember?
00:36:06.73\00:36:10.96
I'm gonna, and I will, and I and
I and I, and then I'm gonna do
00:36:10.96\00:36:15.33
this, and his response, the
appropriate response is exactly
00:36:15.33\00:36:17.50
what Moses
records, he believed him.
00:36:17.50\00:36:18.46
He believed him.
00:36:18.46\00:36:19.80
And then a period of time
goes by, no descendants, no
00:36:19.80\00:36:22.50
offspring.
00:36:22.50\00:36:23.76
So, he does the Hagar/Ishmael
thing, and when God shows up and
00:36:23.76\00:36:26.96
says, hey, you're gonna have
decedents, he says, let Ishmael
00:36:26.96\00:36:29.13
live before you.
00:36:29.13\00:36:30.96
Ishmael's the guy, and he says,
hey, you're right, Ishmael's
00:36:30.96\00:36:32.86
your son, but he's
not the promised son.
00:36:32.86\00:36:34.76
I said it would come
from you and from Sarah.
00:36:34.76\00:36:36.96
Right?
00:36:36.96\00:36:38.10
So, then God says, and
here's how we're gonna do this.
00:36:38.10\00:36:40.86
At this point, he gives him what
he calls a sign of the covenant.
00:36:40.86\00:36:44.60
And the sign of the
covenant is circumcision.
00:36:44.60\00:36:48.93
And here's the key thing,
it's not as though God is just
00:36:48.93\00:36:51.10
saying, let's cut something off,
you know, let's just, what can
00:36:51.10\00:36:55.13
we do?
00:36:55.13\00:36:56.26
Maybe cut the earlobe, maybe
we could cut the pinky off.
00:36:56.26\00:36:58.53
Oh, I know, I know
what we can cut off.
00:36:58.53\00:37:00.40
I know who's
really gonna hurt now.
00:37:00.40\00:37:02.00
--You'll remember this time.
00:37:02.00\00:37:03.70
--You'll remember it.
00:37:03.70\00:37:05.16
So, what he essentially says is,
Abram, you tried to do for me
00:37:05.16\00:37:09.53
what I said I would do for you.
00:37:09.53\00:37:11.13
You tried to solve the problem
of your descendants with your
00:37:11.13\00:37:15.00
member, with your manhood.
00:37:15.00\00:37:18.60
And so, he says,
here's what we're gonna do.
00:37:18.60\00:37:20.20
We'll cut the tip
of that thing off.
00:37:20.20\00:37:22.63
We will wound, you
will have wounded genitals.
00:37:22.63\00:37:25.53
Now, we here, we think of
circumcision in, you know, a
00:37:25.53\00:37:29.10
nice sanitary hospital with a
razor sharp scalpel, etc., etc.
00:37:29.10\00:37:32.80
I mean, what are
they, was it like a rock?
00:37:32.80\00:37:35.10
Was it like a scapula?
00:37:35.10\00:37:38.30
--It was a little messier.
00:37:38.30\00:37:40.23
--And infection.
00:37:40.23\00:37:41.76
I mean, a wound in ancient times
was not like today, put some
00:37:41.76\00:37:44.03
antibiotic, some Neosporin
on it, you get some whatever and
00:37:44.03\00:37:46.20
all is well.
00:37:46.20\00:37:47.63
This is to risk injury, this
is to risk infection, this is to
00:37:47.63\00:37:51.10
risk death.
00:37:51.10\00:37:52.50
And so, he basically says,
you're old, your wife is barren,
00:37:52.50\00:37:55.86
and now, as a sign that this
is something I will do, and not
00:37:55.86\00:37:58.83
something that you will do,
there will be a woundedness in
00:37:58.83\00:38:02.73
your genitals, and it will be
passed on, passed on, passed on.
00:38:02.73\00:38:05.46
So that no one will ever doubt
that this is not something that
00:38:05.46\00:38:08.30
Abraham did, this is something
that God did and that Abraham
00:38:08.30\00:38:11.33
believed in.
00:38:11.33\00:38:12.70
So, this sign, it's
interesting, by the way.
00:38:12.70\00:38:15.33
--Paul uses
that, Paul uses that.
00:38:15.33\00:38:16.60
--Well, not only does he use it,
but listen to this fascinating
00:38:16.60\00:38:18.96
little textual point.
00:38:18.96\00:38:21.00
Moses calls it a
sign of the covenant.
00:38:21.00\00:38:22.80
Guess what Paul
calls it in Romans 4?
00:38:22.80\00:38:26.50
He calls it a
sign of righteousness.
00:38:26.50\00:38:28.73
And those are the same thing.
00:38:28.73\00:38:30.13
They're the same thing.
00:38:30.13\00:38:32.03
A sign of righteousness,
righteousness in scripture is
00:38:32.03\00:38:35.20
being true to what
you say you will do.
00:38:35.20\00:38:37.83
--And in Philippians 3, he
says, in verse 3, we are the
00:38:37.83\00:38:40.83
circumcision, we worship God, we
rejoice in Christ Jesus and we
00:38:40.83\00:38:44.46
have no confidence in the flesh.
00:38:44.46\00:38:47.56
--I'm gonna say this one final
thing before we take a break
00:38:47.56\00:38:49.90
here, and that is this: it
is one of the great ironies and
00:38:49.90\00:38:52.83
tragedies in scripture that the
very thing that was given to the
00:38:52.83\00:38:55.46
descendants of Abraham, Israel,
as a sign to not trust himself,
00:38:55.46\00:39:00.70
to not trust the flesh, becomes
itself the very centerpiece of
00:39:00.70\00:39:05.46
isolation,
legalism, and self-dependence.
00:39:05.46\00:39:09.70
--Could be
repeating that history.
00:39:09.70\00:39:11.43
--I think we are repeating that
history with different things,
00:39:11.43\00:39:14.23
things like the
Sabbath and other things.
00:39:14.23\00:39:15.63
That's a different conversation,
but the point is, at this point
00:39:15.63\00:39:17.70
in the story, God is saying,
you're old, your wife is barren,
00:39:17.70\00:39:21.30
and now you have wounded
genitals, and I'll still keep my
00:39:21.30\00:39:23.40
promise to you.
00:39:23.40\00:39:24.90
--You're 99, but I'm going to
come through, because this is,
00:39:24.90\00:39:28.96
by my power, by my faithfulness,
yes, Jeffery, not by your
00:39:28.96\00:39:33.66
faithfulness.
00:39:33.66\00:39:35.06
--We are firmly
ensconced in the Old Testament.
00:39:35.06\00:39:37.83
--And the New Testament, we're
finding in the Old Testament, in
00:39:37.83\00:39:41.13
principal.
00:39:41.13\00:39:42.36
--In fact, in Romans 4, Paul
doesn't just say that Abraham's
00:39:42.36\00:39:44.93
old, Paul says that
Abraham can't have children.
00:39:44.93\00:39:47.53
--That's right.
00:39:47.53\00:39:48.76
--Okay, so let's wrap this
little part of the conversation
00:39:48.76\00:39:51.90
up, we'll be right back and
we'll be right back in with this
00:39:51.90\00:39:54.73
Abraham story.
00:39:54.73\00:39:56.90
[Music]
00:39:56.90\00:40:03.46
--A Light in Zambia is a moving
video documentary that traces
00:40:04.73\00:40:08.30
the stories of 5 amazing African
men and women who encountered
00:40:08.30\00:40:12.10
Christ through the powerful
medium of gospel literature.
00:40:12.10\00:40:15.76
To receive your free copy, call
877-585-1111, or write to Light
00:40:15.76\00:40:21.70
Bearers, 37457 Jasper
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00:40:21.70\00:40:28.53
Once again, to receive your free
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00:40:28.53\00:40:32.90
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00:40:32.90\00:40:41.53
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00:40:41.53\00:40:44.46
Simply ask for the Zambia DVD.
00:40:44.46\00:40:47.93
[Music]
00:40:47.93\00:40:52.66
--Well, I've got some really
good news to start our third and
00:40:53.90\00:40:55.76
final segment here, that even
though the earth had been cast
00:40:55.76\00:40:58.46
away, it's made its
way back to the table.
00:40:58.46\00:41:01.30
--It's restored.
00:41:01.30\00:41:02.53
--We're gonna leave it there
because God is a better person
00:41:02.53\00:41:04.56
than I am, so even though
I threw it away, the Lord has
00:41:04.56\00:41:09.63
brought us back.
00:41:09.63\00:41:11.23
We are in Genesis, well, we're
sort of walking through Genesis.
00:41:11.23\00:41:14.63
When you think about it, we're
being fairly thorough here.
00:41:14.63\00:41:16.90
I'm actually quite pleased with
the speed that we're moving.
00:41:16.90\00:41:20.83
We're in chapter 16, we talked
about the experience of Ishmael
00:41:20.83\00:41:24.56
and Hagar, and we talked about
circumcision as we closed, and
00:41:24.56\00:41:28.13
we basically said that
circumcision was the sign, sign
00:41:28.13\00:41:31.50
of the covenant, and Moses
writing here in Genesis 17, and
00:41:31.50\00:41:35.93
Paul says sign of righteousness
in Romans 4, same thing, not 2
00:41:35.93\00:41:39.66
different things, the same
thing, and the whole idea here
00:41:39.66\00:41:42.63
is that, it's not something that
we're gonna do, it's something
00:41:42.63\00:41:45.76
that God is gonna do, and we're
gonna believe that God is gonna
00:41:45.76\00:41:48.33
do it.
00:41:48.33\00:41:49.26
Abraham is, as it
were, at his wit's end.
00:41:49.26\00:41:51.90
Right, he has done, he is
physically exhausted, he's
00:41:51.90\00:41:54.86
probably emotionally exhausted
at this point, he's just been
00:41:54.86\00:41:57.26
wounded, and so, now, if
anything is gonna happen in
00:41:57.26\00:42:00.50
terms of fulfilling the promise
of the land and the children,
00:42:00.50\00:42:04.63
and the offspring, it's gonna
have to be something God does.
00:42:04.63\00:42:07.20
Right, so that's where we're at.
00:42:07.20\00:42:08.96
--That's what he
intended all along.
00:42:08.96\00:42:10.20
--That's what he
intended all along.
00:42:10.20\00:42:11.46
You could say that the whole
circumcision thing was a great
00:42:11.46\00:42:13.86
big detour.
00:42:13.86\00:42:14.96
That was not God's plan.
00:42:14.96\00:42:16.23
Again, he didn't, he didn't say,
hey, let's start lopping stuff
00:42:16.23\00:42:18.56
off.
00:42:18.56\00:42:19.80
No, it was, hey, we're gonna
learn a lesson here, and your
00:42:19.80\00:42:21.23
descendants are gonna learn
a lesson, unfortunately, that
00:42:21.23\00:42:23.43
lesson went largely unlearned,
as we learn as we progress.
00:42:23.43\00:42:26.40
But here we are, and we're
sort of making our way through
00:42:26.40\00:42:30.06
Abraham's story and I love the
language that you used early on,
00:42:30.06\00:42:32.90
Ty, and I've forgotten it yet
again, but I loved it, a series
00:42:32.90\00:42:35.80
of...
00:42:35.80\00:42:37.03
--Encounters.
00:42:37.03\00:42:37.93
--Encounters.
00:42:37.93\00:42:39.20
So, it's just like we're getting
these little vignettes of, you
00:42:39.20\00:42:41.06
know, Abraham
with God, scene one.
00:42:41.06\00:42:43.36
Abraham with God, scene, you
know, we're accustomed to that,
00:42:43.36\00:42:45.93
being here surrounded by
cameras, scene 2, scene 3, and
00:42:45.93\00:42:47.66
in each pass, and each scene,
we're like, whoa, God is, that's
00:42:47.66\00:42:51.13
a really cool thing that
God did, that's a really awesome
00:42:51.13\00:42:54.10
thing that God did, and the
picture and the character of who
00:42:54.10\00:42:56.53
he is is just revealing to us,
but the thing that happens next,
00:42:56.53\00:43:00.50
or, I mean, obviously, you have
18, 19, 20, but we're gonna just
00:43:00.50\00:43:04.50
skip right up to,
if we can, 21, 22.
00:43:04.50\00:43:09.16
The thing that sort of happens
next in the story with the birth
00:43:09.16\00:43:13.16
of Isaac and then the seemingly,
I mean, I don't even know what
00:43:13.16\00:43:19.66
the word to use is here,
inconceivable request that God
00:43:19.66\00:43:23.80
makes, seems to run at exact
cross purposes with everything
00:43:23.80\00:43:27.30
that's happened
up to this point.
00:43:27.30\00:43:28.66
--Well, it's astounding
if you think about it.
00:43:28.66\00:43:29.96
God says, Abraham, I'm going
to bless the whole world through
00:43:29.96\00:43:33.66
your biological lineage.
00:43:33.66\00:43:36.40
But, I don't have a son, Lord.
00:43:36.40\00:43:38.90
I'm gonna give you a son.
00:43:38.90\00:43:40.96
He doesn't get a son.
00:43:40.96\00:43:43.00
Ten years go by,
as James pointed out.
00:43:43.00\00:43:46.26
So, he gets his own ingenuity,
and he manufactures a solution.
00:43:46.26\00:43:50.50
You have Ishmael.
00:43:50.50\00:43:52.43
Can Ishmael be the one?
00:43:52.43\00:43:54.83
No, he can't be the promised
one, can't be the promised one.
00:43:54.83\00:43:57.76
Finally, Abraham and Sarah have
Isaac, and you pointed out the
00:43:57.76\00:44:06.33
name is funny.
00:44:06.33\00:44:07.76
--Now, I'm feeling it, this
is good, I have a son now, it's
00:44:07.76\00:44:10.63
going to come to pass, and the
Lord says, now what I want you
00:44:10.63\00:44:14.30
to do is take Isaac to the
mountain, put him on a stone
00:44:14.30\00:44:19.66
altar, slit the boy's
throat and burn him to ashes.
00:44:19.66\00:44:25.63
I mean, I'm saying that in
short form just to give, here's
00:44:25.63\00:44:29.30
Abraham, what?
00:44:29.30\00:44:32.43
--It makes no sense.
00:44:32.43\00:44:33.70
--Should we get Ishmael back?
00:44:33.70\00:44:36.13
--You're not happy with Isaac?
00:44:36.13\00:44:37.96
--It's just astounding that this
is what God is asking at that
00:44:37.96\00:44:43.36
point in the experience.
00:44:43.36\00:44:45.83
--It's completely
counterintuitive to everything
00:44:45.83\00:44:48.73
that we've gotten
to up until this point.
00:44:48.73\00:44:50.00
--And there's something dark
here, I mean, think about it.
00:44:50.00\00:44:53.06
If this is a request of the
Lord, that any one of us at this
00:44:53.06\00:44:59.20
table, and most people in
the world would reject just
00:44:59.20\00:45:03.90
offhandedly, absolutely not,
that's demonic, that's wrong,
00:45:03.90\00:45:09.76
that's immoral, no, I'm
not going to perform human
00:45:09.76\00:45:13.80
sacrifice.
00:45:13.80\00:45:16.06
--And Abraham
didn't react that way.
00:45:16.06\00:45:17.60
--Abraham said, let's get some
wood, get the donkey, come on,
00:45:17.60\00:45:21.30
Isaac, we're
heading up to the mountain.
00:45:21.30\00:45:23.83
He's about to follow through
with it, and this is astounding,
00:45:23.83\00:45:26.56
because, later on, and Moses is
the one writing this story, but
00:45:26.56\00:45:30.53
later on in Deuteronomy 12, I
think it is, through Moses, God
00:45:30.53\00:45:35.56
says that human sacrifice
is an abomination to him.
00:45:35.56\00:45:41.73
So, if you just look at
scripture, God is saying it's an
00:45:41.73\00:45:45.33
abomination to me, the idea
of human sacrifice, and yet, you
00:45:45.33\00:45:49.13
back up in the story and God
is requesting the very thing of
00:45:49.13\00:45:52.36
Abraham that later on,
God calls an abomination.
00:45:52.36\00:45:55.70
What's with that?
00:45:55.70\00:45:57.10
What is with
that, I mean, seriously?
00:45:57.10\00:45:58.43
--But this is the thing that you
are mentioning in Deuteronomy
00:45:58.43\00:46:01.13
12, it's, can I just read it?
00:46:01.13\00:46:03.96
--Yeah, do it.
00:46:03.96\00:46:05.23
--It says, basically, you shall
not worship the Lord your God in
00:46:05.23\00:46:08.53
that way, then it says, for
every abomination to the Lord,
00:46:08.53\00:46:12.86
which he hates, they have done
to their gods, for they burn
00:46:12.86\00:46:16.46
even their sons and daughters
in the fire to their gods.
00:46:16.46\00:46:20.53
So, you know.
00:46:20.53\00:46:23.80
--Don't approach me
with human sacrifice.
00:46:23.80\00:46:25.66
--Yeah, that's what other gods
do, in other words, that's what
00:46:25.66\00:46:28.33
other gods do, that's not what I
do, it's what anybody post Moses
00:46:28.33\00:46:32.63
would've said.
00:46:32.63\00:46:34.13
But why doesn't Abraham
react that way, and that's the
00:46:34.13\00:46:36.33
provocative question.
00:46:36.33\00:46:37.46
Why does it almost
seem like a normal request?
00:46:37.46\00:46:42.13
--He's about to
follow through with it.
00:46:42.13\00:46:43.86
--Yeah.
00:46:43.86\00:46:45.13
--So, Ty, I want you to get back
on that line of reasoning there.
00:46:45.13\00:46:47.56
Let me read my favorite text
with regard to child sacrifice
00:46:47.56\00:46:50.70
in the bible, Jeremiah 32:35,
this is an indictment, God's
00:46:50.70\00:46:56.90
indictment through the prophet
Jeremiah, of the things that
00:46:56.90\00:46:59.26
Israel did, in defiance of texts
like the one you just read in
00:46:59.26\00:47:02.63
Deuteronomy 12.
00:47:02.63\00:47:04.13
Listen to this: And they built
the high places of Baal, which
00:47:04.13\00:47:07.26
are in the valley of the son of
Hinnom, to cause their sons and
00:47:07.26\00:47:09.76
their daughters to pass through
the fire to Molech, who is one
00:47:09.76\00:47:13.03
of these pagan gods, which I
did not command them, comma, and
00:47:13.03\00:47:19.06
this is the point, nor did
it come into my mind that they
00:47:19.06\00:47:25.23
should do this abomination
to cause Judah to sin.
00:47:25.23\00:47:27.63
--It's inconceivable.
00:47:27.63\00:47:30.63
--This didn't even ever come,
I'm God and it didn't come into
00:47:30.63\00:47:33.13
my mind.
00:47:33.13\00:47:34.86
So, this whole way is
so counterintuitive and so
00:47:34.86\00:47:38.06
radically at odds with God's
character, but here's the key
00:47:38.06\00:47:41.30
point, as we're gonna see, it
apparently is not radically at
00:47:41.30\00:47:45.26
odds with Abraham's culture.
00:47:45.26\00:47:47.90
--It couldn't have
been, or he would've...
00:47:47.90\00:47:49.90
--He would've reacted
like we would've reacted.
00:47:49.90\00:47:51.83
--Right.
00:47:51.83\00:47:53.06
--So, God is actually reaching
Abraham here in a culturally
00:47:53.06\00:47:56.10
sensitive and significant way,
saying, okay, I know how your
00:47:56.10\00:47:58.80
ancestors and those around you
and your neighboring communities
00:47:58.80\00:48:03.20
and other, I know how the
Amorites and others relate to
00:48:03.20\00:48:06.56
God, so I'm gonna teach you that
this is not how it is, but he
00:48:06.56\00:48:11.13
doesn't, of course,
that's the punch line.
00:48:11.13\00:48:13.40
--He doesn't just say, hey
this is the way it is, he takes
00:48:13.40\00:48:16.10
Abraham's darkest fear of
what God in the appeasement,
00:48:16.10\00:48:20.80
Babylonian, salvation by works
way of thinking, he takes the
00:48:20.80\00:48:24.36
thing that Abraham fears most
that God might require, and then
00:48:24.36\00:48:30.60
he leads him right up to the
brink, right up to the edge, and
00:48:30.60\00:48:33.90
as Abraham's hand is lifted with
the knife, God stops his hand
00:48:33.90\00:48:40.23
and says, I will
provide them the sacrifice.
00:48:40.23\00:48:46.40
Something's going on here, God
is redirecting the focus from
00:48:46.40\00:48:49.76
the man making the sacrifice to
God making the sacrifice and it
00:48:49.76\00:48:55.10
says, there in Genesis 22
that Abraham gave a name to the
00:48:55.10\00:48:59.56
place.
00:48:59.56\00:49:01.50
And he called the place the
Lord will provide in chapter 22,
00:49:01.50\00:49:05.46
verse 14.
00:49:05.46\00:49:06.40
The Lord will provide.
00:49:06.40\00:49:07.50
--So, basically, that
story is by way of contrast.
00:49:07.50\00:49:13.16
In other words, God isn't asking
Abraham to do this to parallel,
00:49:13.16\00:49:17.03
to teach him something about
what he is like, what God is
00:49:17.03\00:49:20.43
like, he's doing it to
teach him what he's not like.
00:49:20.43\00:49:23.90
--It's an emancipation exercise.
00:49:23.90\00:49:26.33
--And it brings to mind that
Jesus used this sort of contrast
00:49:26.33\00:49:30.93
approach sometimes in the
parable where, it's in Luke 11,
00:49:30.93\00:49:35.60
where he's talking about prayer,
and he says, which of you goes
00:49:35.60\00:49:38.86
to your friend's house and
you're knocking on his door, or
00:49:38.86\00:49:40.96
you need bread, you need food,
and your friend inside says,
00:49:40.96\00:49:43.56
look, man, I'm in bed, I know
you need bread, I'm sorry, come
00:49:43.56\00:49:46.96
back tomorrow.
00:49:46.96\00:49:49.06
He says, no, he says, even if
the guy wouldn't come open the
00:49:49.06\00:49:52.23
door because you're friends,
he would come and open the door
00:49:52.23\00:49:55.76
because you're bothering him.
00:49:55.76\00:49:57.36
And then Jesus says, this is a
lesson in how you pray, because
00:49:57.36\00:50:02.20
God is precisely not like that.
00:50:02.20\00:50:05.20
Right?
00:50:05.20\00:50:06.46
--It's a lesson in contrast.
00:50:06.46\00:50:07.50
--It's a lesson in contrast.
00:50:07.50\00:50:08.76
So, the point is that this has
been one of the central stories
00:50:08.76\00:50:13.43
in the entire Old Testament,
I think this is a profound idea,
00:50:13.43\00:50:16.33
is a lesson in contrast.
00:50:16.33\00:50:18.33
--But it couldn't have
taken place unless Abraham was
00:50:18.33\00:50:24.96
believing in God, growing in his
faith, and had a heart that was
00:50:24.96\00:50:28.76
inclined toward obedience.
00:50:28.76\00:50:30.86
So, God is telling Abraham to do
this, knowing that Abraham will
00:50:30.86\00:50:35.83
be obedient and follow through,
and in that sense, it's a test
00:50:35.83\00:50:40.86
in Abraham's faith in God, so
God is achieving two things at
00:50:40.86\00:50:44.73
once.
00:50:44.73\00:50:45.60
--That's a good point.
00:50:45.60\00:50:46.86
--Yeah, he's saying, he's saying
I'm going to test your faith, we
00:50:46.86\00:50:49.90
need to live up to all the light
we have, we need to have an
00:50:49.90\00:50:53.30
obedient spirit toward the Lord
in order for God to lead us on,
00:50:53.30\00:50:57.33
we need to obey conscience,
even if our conscience is ill
00:50:57.33\00:51:01.73
informed, in order for us to
grow in our faith and to have a
00:51:01.73\00:51:05.96
more mature perspective.
00:51:05.96\00:51:07.46
--You know, I hate to throw a
cog in the wheel, but I've never
00:51:07.46\00:51:11.50
seen that in these texts, and
I've listened carefully to the
00:51:11.50\00:51:16.73
presentation that all three
of you seem to see here, and I
00:51:16.73\00:51:21.53
still don't agree with it.
00:51:21.53\00:51:23.06
I really believe in this context
that Abraham was a firm believer
00:51:23.06\00:51:27.66
in God, was out of that
Babylonian sacrificial ideology
00:51:27.66\00:51:31.20
of thinking.
00:51:31.20\00:51:32.46
It was very difficult for him to
obey God because he was already
00:51:32.46\00:51:35.40
out of that, and that God was
using this as a revelation of
00:51:35.40\00:51:39.66
the ultimate sacrifice that God
was going to make, that even on
00:51:39.66\00:51:43.13
his way to the mountain, Abraham
said, by faith, God will provide
00:51:43.13\00:51:46.56
a sacrifice.
00:51:46.56\00:51:48.06
But I see where you're coming
from, I see the reasons, and I
00:51:48.06\00:51:49.56
see the evidence here,
I just don't buy it yet.
00:51:49.56\00:51:53.90
--Well, in terms of the
objective, I think it's, I think
00:51:53.90\00:51:56.76
all three, I think there's
actually three objectives,
00:51:56.76\00:51:59.30
number 1, it's a test to
Abraham's faith, number 2, I'm
00:51:59.30\00:52:05.06
not like other gods, you're not
gonna sacrifice your son for me.
00:52:05.06\00:52:08.70
--Right.
00:52:08.70\00:52:09.93
--And number 3, this is supposed
to point to the sacrifice of
00:52:09.93\00:52:15.60
Christ that's coming.
00:52:15.60\00:52:16.86
--I just don't think that it's a
test to his faith that it's the
00:52:16.86\00:52:19.93
natural thing that
Abraham would've done.
00:52:19.93\00:52:21.56
That, oh cool, yeah, God said
that and he just said, oh, yeah,
00:52:21.56\00:52:24.06
because this is my cultural
thing, I'll just, oh, yeah, of
00:52:24.06\00:52:25.83
course, we wouldn't do that, but
I will do that, I don't think
00:52:25.83\00:52:28.30
so, I think
Abraham was like, what?
00:52:28.30\00:52:30.60
--Of course he was like what?
00:52:30.60\00:52:31.83
--We're not saying it was an
easy thing to do, we're saying
00:52:31.83\00:52:34.70
it was in keeping with
what was expected from gods.
00:52:34.70\00:52:39.50
--All I'm saying is I don't see
that at this point in Abraham's
00:52:39.50\00:52:42.60
experience.
00:52:42.60\00:52:43.83
I don't see Abraham giving
into or gravitating toward that.
00:52:43.83\00:52:48.60
I don't see him thinking that
way, culturally, anymore at this
00:52:48.60\00:52:51.30
point.
00:52:51.30\00:52:52.36
Yeah, okay.
00:52:52.36\00:52:53.63
--Well, the only thing that I
would say to that, not to try to
00:52:53.63\00:52:56.23
convince you, but just to sort
of solidify my point is that we
00:52:56.23\00:52:58.03
know that this idea that child
sacrifice was pleasing to some
00:52:58.03\00:53:04.33
gods is a textual idea, right?
00:53:04.33\00:53:07.33
Jeremiah, in Deuteronomy 11,
and even Micah 6, would you be
00:53:07.33\00:53:11.03
pleased with my firstborn?
00:53:11.03\00:53:13.26
So, that idea is at least
something that is in the air.
00:53:13.26\00:53:17.16
We don't know to what degree
it was in Abraham's head, but it
00:53:17.16\00:53:20.13
was at least in the air.
00:53:20.13\00:53:22.13
The thing that I really like,
to kind of move away from that
00:53:22.13\00:53:24.46
part, is that when he's brought
to the mountain and Isaac is
00:53:24.46\00:53:29.96
there and the knife is about to
come down and then the hand is
00:53:29.96\00:53:33.26
stayed or stopped, the thing
that I really like is that the
00:53:33.26\00:53:36.83
natural, I think our natural
theological conclusion, and I
00:53:36.83\00:53:41.56
was this way myself, and I'm
sure that others have been, is
00:53:41.56\00:53:44.30
to think, oh, so Abraham is like
God and Isaac is like Jesus,
00:53:44.30\00:53:52.20
he's the son.
00:53:52.20\00:53:53.43
Right?
00:53:53.43\00:53:54.40
Jesus is the son of God.
00:53:54.40\00:53:56.03
However, there's one major
difference between Jesus and
00:53:56.03\00:54:01.50
Isaac.
00:54:01.50\00:54:04.16
Isaac lived, and Jesus didn't.
00:54:04.16\00:54:08.23
The real Isaac in the story
is us, we're the Isaac in the
00:54:08.23\00:54:10.70
story.
00:54:10.70\00:54:11.83
The Jesus in the story is
the ram that's caught in the
00:54:11.83\00:54:14.70
thicket, and that's
the thing I just love that.
00:54:14.70\00:54:18.56
Jesus isn't Isaac, Jesus
is the ram, you're Isaac.
00:54:18.56\00:54:20.53
You're the one that's preserved.
00:54:20.53\00:54:23.93
I'm preserved.
00:54:23.93\00:54:25.20
--I also love the fact
that Abraham is the father.
00:54:25.20\00:54:28.63
In other words, when I see this
picture right here in the Old
00:54:28.63\00:54:31.10
Testament, it gives me a glimpse
of what it means when it says in
00:54:31.10\00:54:34.00
John 3:16, God so loved
the world that he gave his only
00:54:34.00\00:54:38.33
begotten son.
00:54:38.33\00:54:39.13
Was that easy?
00:54:39.13\00:54:39.93
Was it easy for Abraham to do?
00:54:39.93\00:54:41.13
Was it natural, was it his
tendency, was it his culture?
00:54:41.13\00:54:43.53
No, this went against,
everything, every fiber of his
00:54:43.53\00:54:46.16
being said, no, I can't do this,
and it was a faith venture for
00:54:46.16\00:54:48.33
Abraham, and it was a revelation
to Abraham of the very heart of
00:54:48.33\00:54:53.36
God.
00:54:53.36\00:54:55.23
And how difficult it was for God
to give, to sacrifice for us his
00:54:55.23\00:55:00.40
only begotten son.
00:55:00.40\00:55:01.80
Which, to me, is a beautiful
picture of the heart of God that
00:55:01.80\00:55:04.20
we don't always see in the
Old or New Testament, we see it
00:55:04.20\00:55:06.43
right here, it's significant.
00:55:06.43\00:55:08.26
--Well, 2
Corinthians chapter 5, is it?
00:55:08.26\00:55:11.83
Is that where Paul says that God
was in Christ, reconciling the
00:55:11.83\00:55:16.33
world to himself?
00:55:16.33\00:55:18.10
Is it?
00:55:18.10\00:55:19.36
Okay, so that's indicating that
the sacrifice was not only on
00:55:19.36\00:55:22.33
the part of Jesus, but the
sacrifice was on the part of the
00:55:22.33\00:55:25.63
Father.
00:55:25.63\00:55:27.13
And the two, Father and Son, are
being severed, cut in two, cut
00:55:27.13\00:55:31.63
off.
00:55:31.63\00:55:33.40
--That goes back to
the pieces that were cut.
00:55:33.40\00:55:35.80
--Yeah, that's right, so
there's this horrible sense of
00:55:35.80\00:55:40.23
separation that's taking place,
and I think that Abraham, in
00:55:40.23\00:55:45.23
going through this process
that God has commanded him to go
00:55:45.23\00:55:50.56
through is feeling that to the
degree that it's possible for a
00:55:50.56\00:55:54.96
human being to feel that sense
of separation and sacrifice and
00:55:54.96\00:55:59.86
it's as if God is tapping
Abraham on the shoulder and he's
00:55:59.86\00:56:05.36
saying, in so many words, do you
feel the fullness of that sense
00:56:05.36\00:56:10.53
of separation?
00:56:10.53\00:56:14.06
That is prophetic of what I'm
going to experience in order to
00:56:14.06\00:56:19.30
save you.
00:56:19.30\00:56:20.80
And the key word's again, I'll
come back to this, in the story
00:56:20.80\00:56:23.36
of Genesis 22 is in verse
14, Abraham named the place, the
00:56:23.36\00:56:30.06
Lord will provide.
00:56:30.06\00:56:33.20
It's not Abraham that's
providing the atonement for sin,
00:56:33.20\00:56:39.03
it's not Abraham that's
providing the sacrifice.
00:56:39.03\00:56:42.10
God is basically leading him,
straight up til this point, he's
00:56:42.10\00:56:45.00
saying, sacrifice your son,
sacrifice your son, sacrifice
00:56:45.00\00:56:48.76
your son, and then God is
saying, no, don't sacrifice your
00:56:48.76\00:56:52.36
son.
00:56:52.36\00:56:53.96
I'm going to provide the
sacrifice for sin, the atonement
00:56:53.96\00:56:59.43
is going to be made by
my suffering, not by yours.
00:56:59.43\00:57:03.70
It's beautiful.
00:57:03.70\00:57:05.86
--It's absolutely beautiful,
but the point you just made
00:57:05.86\00:57:07.76
absolutely assumes something
that we're gonna have to pick up
00:57:07.76\00:57:10.80
in a later program because we're
coming down to the end of it
00:57:10.80\00:57:12.86
here, and that is that the
relationship between God and
00:57:12.86\00:57:16.56
Abraham and Isaac is not
perfectly analogous to the
00:57:16.56\00:57:20.20
relationship between God and
Christ, because Christ was God.
00:57:20.20\00:57:24.60
This is not a three party
arrangement, where God is taking
00:57:24.60\00:57:27.43
Jesus and doing something to
him, and I know we're gonna get
00:57:27.43\00:57:31.03
there, but if we say, God would
never do that, God would never
00:57:31.03\00:57:34.30
do that, but then, this book
that I mentioned earlier that I
00:57:34.30\00:57:36.50
read on Hinduism, it was about
the illegality of the gospel.
00:57:36.50\00:57:39.23
It was basically saying, what
kind of a God would do that to
00:57:39.23\00:57:41.60
his son?
00:57:41.60\00:57:42.76
And that's a great point,
unless Jesus himself is God.
00:57:42.76\00:57:47.16
So, this is not something
that is being done to him, it's
00:57:47.16\00:57:51.56
something that he
himself is voluntarily doing.
00:57:51.56\00:57:55.06
--He's
submitting to the sacrifice.
00:57:55.06\00:57:58.06
--There's the intimation of that
here in that Abrahams' an old
00:57:58.06\00:58:01.33
man and Isaac
could've easily said, I'm out.
00:58:01.33\00:58:03.73
That's not happening.
00:58:03.73\00:58:05.56
--And he was willing
to go through with it.
00:58:05.56\00:58:07.23
--So, there's intimations there,
but at the end of the day,
00:58:07.23\00:58:09.70
there's the same lesson of
circumcision, the whole thing is
00:58:09.70\00:58:12.26
saying, God is gonna do
something, God, I made a
00:58:12.26\00:58:15.13
covenant, I'm gonna keep my
covenant at the expense and the
00:58:15.13\00:58:18.10
cost, even of my own life.
00:58:18.10\00:58:20.50
I will be faithful, I will
be faithful, I will be faithful.
00:58:20.50\00:58:23.73
And our job is the same
responsibility, the same job of
00:58:23.73\00:58:26.56
Abraham.
00:58:26.56\00:58:27.66
Our job is to believe it.
00:58:27.66\00:58:29.03
To believe that God will
do what he said he would do.
00:58:29.03\00:58:31.56
--All the way back here at
the beginning of the biblical
00:58:31.56\00:58:34.33
narrative, God is speaking
through the story into humanity
00:58:34.33\00:58:39.03
and saying, I'm going to
sacrifice myself to save you.
00:58:39.03\00:58:45.53
I'm going to remain faithful
to the end to you, regardless of
00:58:45.53\00:58:51.36
how you respond to me.
00:58:51.36\00:58:53.70
[Music]
00:58:53.70\00:59:03.86
[Music]
00:59:03.86\00:59:04.86