Vs.7- “The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my
father’s house, and from the land of my kindred,”- 1.) Abraham is Restating who it is that he
serves. He brought up the LORD God of
heaven to begin this contract with his servant.
Now he is restating who he is serving and who this is all about. The LORD (JEHOVAH, the self-existent one) God
(One and only deity) of heaven (His eternal dwelling place.) This name shows God’s person, power, and
prominence. 2.) Abraham is Remembering
what God has called him to do. A.) “Which took me from my father’s house, and
from the land of my kindred,”- Abraham remembers that God has called him from
something. He called him to leave his
family and to leave his home land of Mesopotamia.
“and which
spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this
land;”- B.) Abrahams remembers
that God has spoken to him and promised him that his posterity would be given
the land of Canaan. (Gen.15:18)
“he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt
take a wife unto my son from thence.”- 3.)
Abraham is Relying on the one who called him. Abraham is trusting that the same God who
called him will also provide for him.
Abraham is saying, “God called me away from my family and into the land
of Canaan and told me that the promise land would be given to my children through
Isaac, therefore, I know that God will provide a wife for my son.
Abraham states “he shall send his angel
before thee.” This statement can be one
of two things. 1.) It is a prophecy. It could be that Abraham was stating the fact
that an angel would prepare the way for the servant and would bring favor and
success in this endeavor. 2.) It is a prayer. Abraham may be stating this as a prayer. He may be voicing his desire for an angel to
help the servant on his way. I tend to
lean toward the first explanation. The
reason some doubt this to be true is because Abraham says in the next verse, “And
if the woman will not be willing to follow thee…” If it was a prophecy of God’s provision then
shouldn’t Abraham be confident in God’s ability to perform the task? I believe Abraham was saying this, “God has
called me from Mesopotamia to Canaan and has promised children for Isaac. God will give Isaac a wife and he will send
his angel to make sure this happens. It
may be that this takes place at this time, but if the woman is not willing to
go then God will provide a wife another way.”
The word angel means “Messenger of
God or Ambassador for God.” An angel is
not always what we think of as angels.
Preachers can be called angels because they are messengers sent from God. This angel spoken of could be one of two
things. 1.) It could be an angel as the common person
thinks of them. This was a heavenly
being with a purpose of going to prepare the way for the servant of Abraham so
that he could have success in finding a wife for Isaac and thus fulfilling the
promises of God. 2.) This angel could have been Jesus
Himself. There are multiple times in the
Bible where the angel of the Lord comes to someone and in reading the context
we find out that it is God Himself in a human form. We call this a theophany which means “appearance
of God.” Jesus would come to men in a
pre-incarnate body. We do not know that
this is the case here, but it is a possibility.
One
Line Explanation-
Abraham states that the God who called him from his home and
gave him wonderful promises will provide a way for the servant in his
task.
Lesson: We see in this passage a reliance on
God. A.)
Abraham relied on the person of God.
God is self-existent, all powerful, and ruling in Heaven. As far as the heaven is above the earth so
far is God above man. God is not limited
or taken by surprise. God always has a
plan and is always in control. Abraham
relied on the person of God Almighty. We
too can rely in the person of God. God
is righteous and executes right judgment.
In other words, God will always do what is right and we don’t have to
worry about God treating us unfairly or letting things go unpunished and
justice not taking place. God is
merciful and gracious. We can rely on
the fact that if we need forgiveness we can come to God and He will abundantly
pardon because that is who He is. God is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. He is a powerful God and has the ability to
help us with whatever problem we have.
There are a multitude of other attributes of God that we could discuss
and take comfort in. We can rely on the
person of God. There are some people
that you cannot rely on. They can’t be
trusted and you can put much stock in them, but you can always rely on the
God. B.)
Abraham relied on the promises of God.
The Bible tells us that it is impossible for God to lie. If God makes a promise then we can put our
trust in that promise. Jesus promised
that if we would believe in Him we would have everlasting life. Jesus promised that if we believed in Him we
would resurrect one day. Jesus promised
that in His Father’s house there are many mansions. Jesus promised that if we asked we would
receive, if we seek we will find, and if we knock the door will be opened unto
us. The Bible is chalk full of promises
from God. We can claim these promises
that apply to us. Abraham remembered
that God promised to give his posterity the land of Canaan and he put his trust
in the promises of God. C.) Abraham relied on the provision of God. Abraham, knowing the promises of God and the
situation at hand, was confident that God would provide an angel to prepare the
way for the servant and ultimately would provide a wife for his son,
Isaac. Mat.6:33- But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto
you. God has promised to provide our
needs and even our desires. God has
promised to take care of His own. We do
not need to worry about our daily needs, because we can rely on a God of
provision. Phi.4:19- But my God shall supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
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