FWD: Morning Manna (Jan. 12); BP: Gen. 17; RBTTY: Mt. 9:1-17; Gen.29-30

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:54:41 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Jan. 12); BP: Gen. 17; RBTTY: Mt. 9:1-17; Gen.29-30
 

January 12                                                                                                          “Progressive Revelation”

“And God said, ‘Sarah, your wife, shall bear you a son indeed—and you shall call his name Isaac.  And I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him.  And as for Ishmael, I have heard you:  Behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly; 12 princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation—but My covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto you at this set time in the next year.’  And He left off talking with him and God went up from Abraham.”

                                                                                                                                        Genesis 17:19-22

     How careful we should be when concluding the way things are is how they always will be or trying to figure it out on our own.

     Progressive revelation.

     That’s how scholars have long described God’s revelation of Himself and His Plan throughout the Old Testament.  From Genesis through Malachi we find God revealing Himself in various ways (e.g., a Voice, visions, angels, clouds, pillars of fire, prophets, etc.).  And, throughout it all He was moving from being “a Voice walking in the Garden in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8a) to a fearsome Presence atop Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:3-25) to dwelling among them via the Holiest of Holies in the Tabernacle (Ex. 33:7-11).  And, it wasn’t until Jesus arrived on the scene as the Incarnate Word that God became “up-close-and-personal.”

 

     The same is true with faith in the sense of its being “progressive.”  When we’re born again, it’s because the “Seed” (the Word of God) has found lodging in a fertile heart of faith. . .been germinated by grace. . .and finally breaks forth in new life and Christ.  Essentially, that’s “saving faith.”  From that point on until we see Jesus face-to-Face, ours is a “sanctifying faith” that helps transform us more-and-more into His likeness and moves us from “glory-to-glory” (II Cor. 3:18).

 

     Interestingly, this same was true in the Old Testament as seen in the faith of Father Abraham.  He was called out to “go without knowing where he was going” (Gen. 12:1-4; Heb. 11:8)—but he knew with WHOM he was going.  Although he didn’t know how God would bring his Promise to pass, he still “believed (Heb. ‘aman’—‘to build upon or support, to foster as a parent or nurse, to be permanent or quiet, etc.’) in the Lord—and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6).  Simply put, Abraham took God at His Word and it was put on the “assets” column in God’s Ledger.”

 

     But, look at Abraham’s “progression of faith” and how long it took for the Lord to flesh out His Plan:  God gave His Promise of his becoming “a great nation” and Abram stepped out by faith (12:1-4, 7-8).  Later, He promised him a great land and “Abram built an altar to the Lord” (13:14-18), but was still homeless and nomadic.

 

     The Lord then said “Out of your bowels will come My Promised People” (15:4-5) after Abram thought the Promise would come via the child of one of his servants (15:2-3).  Later, he and Sarah would interpret this as his having a child by Hagar (16:1-4).  But, it would be 13 years later—24 years after the initial promise—that God would plainly state His original intentions.  Yes, Abraham truly “lived by faith.”  Are we??