2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I am very relieved that I don’t have the responsibilities that God has. Like all humans, I am not equipped to carry them out. One example of what I mean is the wisdom that God has showed throughout our history in knowing when and how much to reveal of His secrets. Reading the Scriptures has shown that God’s timing and His word are both perfect. That is all we need to know to understand He blesses us when we believe His teaching and act on it. EX 6: 3-4, “I [God] appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Almighty God [El Shaddai], but I did not make Myself know to them by My holy name, the Lord [Adonai]. I also made My covenant with them, promising to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they have lived as foreigners.’” At that time in history, the covenant was more important than Israel knowing God’s name. One might ask why. The only answer that seems logical to me is that God knew Israel wasn’t ready to know His name then. Of course, we know from our hindsight that God would eventually reveal His names and much more about Himself as time went on and we were ready for it. DT 29: 29 reveals God’s system of gradual revelation to us. “There are some things that the Lord our God has kept secret; but He has revealed His Law, and we and our descendants are to obey it forever.” That is only the first in a long series of citations where this system is revealed.
One such secret that is gradually revealed is the extent of the consequences to people of deciding to reject God. It is the stories of people, like Esau, who are driven by the appetites of their flesh, that help us to have a better understanding of this. GN 25: 27-34, is the story of Isaac and Rebecca’s twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau, the older twin, grew up as a hunter who loved the outdoors. Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. One day, when Jacob had been cooking some red lentils, his older brother came in from hunting very hungry. In (31), Jacob offered his brother a bowl of the red lentils if Esau would give him his birthright as the first-born son. At first inspection this offer may seem innocent enough, but it was a test of Esau’s faithfulness, his ability to see the value of his own birthright and thus, his faith in God. We all know that Esau failed this test, because he gave in to the appetites of his flesh. Since the Hebrew word for “red” sounds like Edom, some of Esau’s descendants became known as the Edomites. Esau valued what was unspiritual over what transcends the grave, and Jehovah Nissi, the Lord is my Banner, wanted us to know His attitude and the consequences to Esau and his descendants of this. HE 12: 16-17, “Let no one become immoral or unspiritual like Esau, who for a single meal sold his rights as the older son. Afterward, you know, he wanted to receive his father’s blessing; but he was turned back, because he could not find any way to changes what he had done, even through in tears he looked for it.” Sadly, Esau and his descendants ended their physical lives as God’s enemies and no doubt suffered spiritual death as well.
Because of Esau’s surrender to the flesh, all of his descendants were to suffer the same fate. I mentioned in a previous message that Esau’s son, Eliphaz, had a son, Amalek. Amalek’s descendants were the Amalekites, who we already know went to destruction in a God-directed battle with the Israelites [EX 17: 8-16]. EX 17 is not the only place in the Bible where the Amalekite fate is mentioned. Balaam of Beor was a prophet who sinned by not having enduring faith in God [NU 22: 34]. He was originally from Mesopotamia [DT 23: 3-6] and had been sent for with evil purpose by the King of Moab, Balak son of Zippor. Balak’s idea was to get Balaam to put a curse on Israel, a purpose which Jehovah Nissi thwarted. Balaam ended up making some prophecies, and he had a truth to say regarding the Amalekites in his last one. NU 24: 20, “Then in his vision Balaam saw the Amalekites and uttered this prophecy: ‘Amalek was the most powerful nation of all. But at the end it will perish forever.’” The Amalekites were Israel’s first and constant enemies. As Israel’s enemies, the Amalekites were God’s enemies. DT 25: 17-19, [Moses speaking] “Remember what the Amalekites did to you as you were coming from Egypt. They had no fear of God, an so they attacked you from the rear when you were tired and exhausted, and killed all who were straggling behind. So then, when the Lord your God has given you the land and made you safe from all your enemies who live around you, be sure to kill all the Amalekites, so that no one will remember them any longer. Do not forget!” We know that Moses was speaking for God here, or the disappearance from the scenes of this evil people, the Amalekites, would have never happened.
How does the story of the Amalekites relate to us? The flesh, if left unchecked by righteous behavior and attitude modification, demands immediate satisfaction. It makes these demands when we are weary and vulnerable from sinning. It has no respect for God and keeps us from focusing on Jehovah Nissi, the Lord is our Banner, when faced with temptation, challenges to faith, and other works of the adversary. There is an alternative to slavery to the flesh, but we must demonstrate the courage of our faith and take attitude and action to bring ourselves closer to God.
PRAYER: O Lord, the profile of Esau which You have given us in today’s citations, allows us to see the mechanism by which the flesh can take control of our lives if we let it. The consequences to him and his descendants are a valuable lesson for us when we are deciding which choices to make. Today, there are no nations of Amalek, Moab, or Edom. That is no accident. Except for the accounts of these peoples in the Scriptures, they are all but forgotten. This is a righteous demonstration of Your sovereignty, one which helps us to reach toward Your perspective when needing to use discernment. Repeatedly in the Bible, You have asserted Your desire that we should be Your people and You will be our God-our only God. You have expressed Your desire that we shall have Your laws written on our hearts, and that we should pass them on to our descendants in righteousness. These are no empty wishes on Your part; they matter greatly to our sanctification and eventual glorification. Why have You expressed these wishes? It is because of Your love for us and Your desire that we should live in eternal joy and fellowship with You. Today, we humbly acknowledge Your message to us and the righteousness of it. We are here to tell You that we humbly dedicate ourselves to offering You our worship, adoration, trust, obedience, loyalty, honor, glory, praise, and thanks. You are our Jehovah Nissi, and we will keep our eyes firmly fixed on You. In Christ’s name, amen.
While we have spent some time looking at the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit in this series of messages, there are some citations that will help to personalize this issue for us which deserve our attention. That will be the subject of tomorrow’s message. In the meanwhile, know that whatever spiritual warfare is in our lives that God has equipped us through faith in Him to overcome it. We need never feel that we face it alone. He is there for us and has given us the Holy Spirit to make both His will and His protection known to us. God loves you, and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn