Impatient

Sketched XI Day 13 Unpopular Justice

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Sketched XI Day 13 Unpopular Justice

Rebecca Adams

July 5, 2023

Encourage,gentle,Impatient,Preparing,Relationship

Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Kings 21
Philippians 3:18-21
Deuteronomy 32:1-9
Romans 2:1-16

The fire blazed in the hearth as I sat with my brother, Elisha, whom the Lord had given me. He would take my place when my ministry to Israel ended. His friendship encouraged my heart as if the Lord Himself was walking beside me.

Following my runaway cave experience when I was nearly consumed by the black waves of depression, the Lord gave me the gift I didn’t know I needed, a brother in partnership for this ministry, Elisha.

We had just finished our evening meal together, swapping stories of the afternoon, laughing, and prodding for the other’s thoughts around Ahab’s latest ridiculous antics. Reflective quiet engulfed us for a few moments before Elisha broke, “It’s so frustrating!”. His comment was laced with disgust as he gripped his mug of water.

“Ahab saw the Lord’s fire on Carmel. He saw the Lord send rain. His own chariot wheels got stuck in the mud the Lord made!”, Elisha’s voice emboldened emphatically with each point. Elisha paused, and his burdened eyes wandered to the window, watching the movement of fellow Israelites preparing for evening.
I waited. I knew there was more he wanted to say.

“They are the ones who pay the heaviest price for Ahab’s rebellion”, he voice was thick with emotion as he jutted his head in the direction of our people outside our walls.

The truth of his words settled around us both.
True, God had proven Himself as
Sovereign,
Enough,
Omnipotent,
Truthful, and
Jealous.
He had Revealed Himself to mere humanity and proven He would Sustain those who trusted Him.
But where was Yahweh’s justice?

The question eked into the corners of my heart despite my best attempts to thwart it. Inside, my flourishing faith fought against my doubt-soaked question that begged an answer.
My faith fought back my doubts with truths I had come to know.
“No, the Lord is good.
The Lord is faithful.
The Lord sees all.
The Lord knows all.
The Lord sees Ahab.
He will bring justice.
We just need to wait.”
 
“How long will we wait, Elijah?”, the question jolted me.
It was as if my brother had been made privy to the wrestling of my heart.
I caught his gaze, knowing the Lord desired truth in the inmost places (Psalm 51:6),
“I don’t know, Brother. But I know He’s worth waiting for.”

A child’s cries and mother’s call carried through the window, seeming to draw out our hearts even more with the ache for justice. Will the Lord hear their cries for mercy? Will the Lord save them from plunging headlong into greater rebellion as Ahab recklessly led them astray again and again?

In a moment, time seemed to freeze and my heart soared with the joy of intimacy and the trembled in awe as again I heard the voice of the Lord penetrate me through to my bones and marrow, “Get up and go to meet King Ahab of Israel, who is in Samaria. He’s in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you murdered and also taken possession?’ Then tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, the dogs will also lick up your blood!’” (1 Kings 21:18-19)

Just as quickly as it came, the Voice left. I looked up to see Elisha’s eyes locked intently on mine, “What has Yahweh said, Elijah?”, he queried.

“We are to go to Ahab. He will be in Naboth’s vineyard. He has murdered Naboth and stolen his vineyard.” I stood quickly, but the younger man was already ahead of me grabbing our water skins, packs, and walking sticks.

“What else, brother? Something else is inside you from the Lord, isn’t it?”. I was taken aback by Elisha’s sensitive awareness of the moving of the Lord. It was a good reminder to me of the Lord’s wise choice in providing Elisha as my successor. He would do well in listening and obeying the voice of the Lord. (1 Kings 19:19-21)

I gripped my staff more tightly and thrust myself through the door’s opening. It was no small matter to speak of the justice of Yahweh, especially regarding the death of the Lord’s appointed ruler.

“Ahab’s death is near”, I finally managed to speak after several minutes of heavy, silent walking.

Elisha’s arm stopped my forward momentum as he turned hard eyes on me,
“It will be dishonorable, won’t it?”.

I closed my eyes against the scene the Lord had given me of dog’s licking up Ahab’s blood. (1 Kings 21:19) He was intended to be Israel’s king, leading us to worship Yahweh, but instead his death would be a mockery just as his life had been.

The righteous justice of the Holy One of Israel was about to be carried out not only to Ahab, but also to his Queen Jezebel who had incited him to wholly devote himself to vile wickedness.
(1 Kings 21:23-25)

Our casual conversation over bread and meat earlier came rushing back with immediacy.
We both longed for justice.
But did we really understand that the Lord’s justice meant
recognizing we were all sinners? (Romans 3:23)
Every heart rebelled, including mine and Elisha’s.

No, not all of us murdered and thieved and led an entire nation astray as the royal couple had, but Elisha and I both knew our hearts were still tempted away from trusting the Lord. We still grew impetuous and angry, impatient for the Lord to carry out justice.

Warmth of understanding swept over me and I could not stop the tears racing down my cheeks,
“It is the kindness of the Lord to delay His justice, Elisha.
But the time for Ahab’s repentance is about to expire.”
The king lived as an enemy to Yahweh and his just punishment was nearly here.

The fact that the Lord’s Justice was coming, stirred up urgency in me to plead with all of Israel to turn back to the Lord while there was still time to repent. (Philippians 3:18-19, Romans 2:4)

I stepped forward with renewed urgency to follow the Lord’s word exactly as He had spoken it,
“Come, Elisha, let’s worship the Lord together
by obeying His commands
while it’s still called today.”
(Hebrews 3:15)

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hope,Journey,justice,relationship,reliance,trust
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Sacrifice Day 9 Singular Love: Digging Deeper

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Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

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The Questions

1) What does “after these things” refer to in verse 1?

2) Why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son? (verse 2)

3) Why did God stop Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and instead provide a ram? (verses 12-13)

Genesis 22:1-13

22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

3 So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together.

7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”

And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”

Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.

9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He replied, “Here I am.”

12 Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Original Intent

1) What does “after these things” refer to in verse 1?
In order to understand this narrative in full we must first understand the events leading up to this moment. In Genesis 12, God called 75-year-old Abraham (called Abram until Genesis 17) out of his homeland and into a relationship with Him and Abraham obeys. He marries Sarah (called Sarai until Genesis 17) and, as they travel, God promises to provide land to Abraham. (Genesis 12:7) Time continued and Abraham and Sarah remained barren. God promised to give Abraham a son and promised his descendants would outnumber the stars. (Genesis 15:5) Abraham and Sarah grow impatient and Abraham had a son with his wife’s servant, Hagar. Eventually, when they were both quite old and long past childbearing ages, God visited again and promised Sarah a son within the year. True to His word, the long-awaited son, Isaac, was born. These events are important because they provide context to the relationship between Abraham and Isaac as well as Abraham’s long-standing relationship of growing faith with God. When we study the backstory, we can better understand the depth of this particular narrative between God and Abraham.

2) Why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son? (verse 2)
God chose Abraham for a reason (Genesis 12:2-3), with plans to use his surrendered life for eternal purposes. God had invited Abraham into an inheritance that would reach far beyond his imaginings but joining with God always requires active faith. Often, until we face a testing of our faith, we don’t even know our own heart position before the Lord. Do we really trust Him? God tested the quality of Abraham’s faith to see if he would choose God as his sole love or if his affections were divided. Through the testing, God was at work to continue molding Abraham into the man of mature faith He desired. Abraham’s faith failings in the past had proven he would place his desires above God’s, but this test was about obedience. Abraham had waited so long for a son, would Abraham love God or Isaac most? Had he made an idol out of his son? Only a test of obedience would prove the depth of his faith and love for God.

3) Why did God stop Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and instead provide a ram? (verses 12-13)
God’s intent was never for Abraham to shed Isaac’s blood; He is absolutely set against child sacrifice as He repeats often in Scripture. (Jeremiah 19:5) The Lord who knows all things, tested Abraham’s free-will decision to choose Him or choose his selfish desires. Heart passions are laid bare in the place of hardship and testing. The Lord brought Abraham to the point of no return in his obedience. With knife held high, Abraham proved with his actions that his first (and only) love was focused on the Lord God. Here, the Lord stopped the sacrifice and set Isaac free. However, there was still need for bloodshed in order to come before the Lord, which was a practice that began in the Garden of Eden when God spilled the blood of an innocent animal to provide covering for Adam and Eve’s bodies in the wake of their sin. (Genesis 3:21) Therefore, God provided His own sacrifice, a ram for Abraham and Isaac to offer together on the altar built for Isaac. This practice of bloodshed for sins remained in place until Jesus’ death on the cross hundreds of years later. God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac because this moment wasn’t about the death of a son, but the heart of a man. Later, when it was Jesus’ body on the altar of the cross for the sins of the world, it would be about the death of the Son redeeming the hearts of man. And God would do the slaying of His only Son that we might forever be free when we, like Abraham, surrender our hearts to love Him first.

Everyday Application

1) What does “after these things” refer to in verse 1?
In studying Abraham’s life, we begin to understand how his relationship with God had grown and deepened over time into mature, solid faith willing to obey God even in what seemed an impossible command. We also glimpse a sneak peek into his sin. Though Abraham grew in his faith, it wasn’t a straight line “up and to the right”. Abraham tried to take matters into his own hands instead of waiting on God on more than one occasion. Likewise, there are times in our lives when we are tempted to take control, forging our own path according to our vantage point, instead of patiently waiting on God to move, act, and fulfill His promises in His timing. We also gain a much better perspective on why Abraham would have loved Isaac so much and we are able to put ourselves in Abraham’s shoes. Any parent can see how easy it would have been to disobey God’s command instead of follow through in obedience, but we appreciate Abraham’s faith all the more when we understand how many decades he had waited for this only son.

2) Why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son? (verse 2)
God’s request would have been extremely difficult for Abraham to obey. He was asked to sacrifice his one and only son whom he loved. It’s never easy to be asked to give up what we dearly love. However, our understanding of God’s call to follow Him isn’t necessary, our obedience is the required component. God simply desires for us to put Him first in our lives just as Abraham did, for He knows that any lesser focus of our lives will lead us into sin and suffering. God will ask us to surrender what we hold dear in order to ensure He is our only love. This is painful! His purposes are not to wound us, but to refine our hearts, clear out our idols, and teach our hearts to settle for no lesser love than the best, Himself. He calls us to trust Him and obediently follow Him where He leads even when it increases our suffering. It’s in these moments our relationship with God deepens and matures into a steadfast faith that supports real, everyday life.

3) Why did God stop Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and instead provide a ram? (verses 12-13)
God saw Abraham’s heart and stopped his sacrifice, providing a ram in Isaac’s place instead. This event foreshadowed an event to come hundreds of years later when God would send His One and Only Son, Jesus, to earth to live a perfect life for us. Every human being has failed to live perfectly, which is the requirement to be in relationship with God. Jesus would end His life as a sacrifice on a cross, paying the debt we each owe. However, when Jesus hung on the Cross there was no “replacement sacrifice” for the Son. Jesus was the intended sacrifice. Jesus came to accomplish what only He could because He, as God, was perfectly righteous. Only the blameless One could pay the penalty for sin, which is death, and purchase the price of righteousness for everyone who would put their faith in Him. This time, God would not call it off at the last second to spare His Son. Instead, He would look on, knowing His Son was finishing the work we never could. (Isaiah 53:10-11) Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God’s relationship with mankind, which was ruined in the Garden as a result of sin, was forever restored. The debt owed became the debt paid. The Lord offers the credit of bill, which is righteousness, to each of us if we will acknowledge our sinfulness and His willingness to take our sin on Himself. In His death, we find life, for He rose from His own grave, defeating sin and death forever! If that isn’t enough reason for us to have the same heart of worship as Abraham that solely belongs to God, nothing will ever be enough. God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac because he wasn’t the son who needed to be sacrificed for the redemption of mankind, Jesus was.

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