Where’s the Stairs?
This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Stairway! (WATCH HERE)
If one were to ask you for all the names and images that come to mind when you think about the person and work of Jesus, I would guess that it would take a while to make the list of Jesus as a stairway. Good Shepherd? Sure. Light of the World? Absolutely. Stairway? Uhh…what do you mean?
A stairway allows us access to an area of the building or house that we could not access without the stairway. We grab a ladder to get to places we can’t reach on our own. A stairway spans a gap that otherwise would not be accessible.
The Lord chose to use the picture of a stairway with Jacob when he was on the run from his home to his Uncle Laban. Jacob’s twin brother, Esau, was ready to kill Jacob because he had tricked him out of his birthright and tricked Isaac into blessing him as if he were Jacob. Esau was restraining himself until Isaac died, but it was not safe for Jacob at home. With a day’s journey behind him and the quiet of the night and the reality of his situation on his heart, he laid down to sleep.
Genesis 28:10–17 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
As the LORD extends the ladder from his throne to Jacob on earth, he communicates, not a distance, but a desire that Jacob know of his presence and promises. With words that once again communicate his promises, the angels bring the messages of God to Jacob.
God could choose many different pictures to reach out to Jacob and assure him of his presence and promises, but he chose a stairway. The stairway connected Jacob to the throne of God. The stairway connected the presence of God to the loneliness of Jacob. The stairway connected the words of God to the heart of Jacob. The stairway created a picture of the work of God spanning the gap between sinful humanity and the holiness of God. The stairway was a glimpse of the person and work of Jesus…more to come this week!
Apply: What picture does a stairway bring to you? What do you think God was communicating to Jacob and us with the use of a stairway?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for spanning the gap between heaven and earth to be with us and guide us with your promises. Let the picture of a stairway for the work of Christ become real for us this week. AMEN.
The promise prevails!
This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute! (WATCH HERE)
Genesis 22:15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
The account of Genesis 22 and Abraham’s willingness to walk by faith and live by God’s promises and not human perceptions is a powerful testimony and example of living under the provision and promises of God…always.
As the ram is on the altar instead of Isaac, the angel of the LORD calls to Abraham. What is amazing about this encounter is that more than likely the “Angel of the LORD” is the pre-incarnate second person of the trinity, Jesus himself. Speaking with knowledge of the future and his role as a descendant of Abraham, he speaks with authority as to what God is going to do as he unfolds the years of history following Abraham’s act of faithfulness.
Abraham’s descendants will be many.
Abraham’s Descendant will bless all.
The dominos of salvation history continued to fall in the shadow of God’s faithfulness and Abraham’s faith.
God’s promises are fulfilled through the faithfulness of God’s people. Yes, God would carry out his plan through and inspite of unfaithfulness of his people, but what is important to recognize is that the faithfulness of God’s people is part of God’s plan to fulfill his promises. Along the way he gives them and us opportunities to walk by faith, not sight and live focused on his promises, not our human perceptions.
What happens to the reality of God’s promises in your life and your family tree when you live by them?
Perhaps it’s hard to understand in the moment, but God uses your faithfulness to be a blessing to future generations. I look back in my family tree (as much as I know of it) and I see faithful Christian parents, pastors, and family that have passed on the truth of Jesus’ love and grace, modeled it and shared it personally and professionally as pastors. My family and I get to enjoy the blessings of that generational faithfulness and have the privilege and responsibility to pass that on to the next generation. It gives me joy to see my girls active in their faith, seeking opportunities to share, to use their gifts to serve the Gospel work and witness to their friends. Faithfulness is recognized by the Lord and given reward not only in heaven, but in the current generation in which we live.
Abraham’s faithfulness was one step in the lineage of God’s people that eventually brought his Son into the world through Mary. What would unfaithfulness of Abraham brought about? We will never know, which a good thing.
What will unfaithfulness on our part bring? Let’s pray we never know the spiritual consequences of giving up on the Gospel and walking away from God’s promises, but learn from Abraham and his son Isaac that the blessings of walking by faith, trusting the plan and promises of God always bring blessings far greater than the challenges and tests present in the moment.
Apply: Where is God challenging you to faithfulness today? Ask him for strength to be faithful to him. Give thanks when you see the blessing of faithfulness in your life!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your certain promises and the ability to live by them each and every day. AMEN.
I need a substitute.
This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute! (WATCH HERE)
When do you need a substitute?
When playing basketball, a coach will put a substitute in when a player is tired, in foul trouble, or just not performing like he wants.
In baking, you use a substitute when you are out of what the recipe calls for and don’t want to run to the store to get the main ingredient.
Sometimes you find a substitute for something you don’t want to do.
Sometimes you need a substitute when you are sick or on vacation.
A substitute stands in for the original to perform a task they are unable, unwilling, or unqualified to do.
Genesis 22:12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Just as Abraham had told Isaac, “The Lord will provide the lamb for the sacrifice,” so the Lord did. Isaac’s life was spared and in his place was provided a ram.
The phrase that captures the role of a substitute is the phrase, “Instead of.” The ram was sacrificed as a burnt offering “instead of” his son.
God didn’t eliminate the need for a sacrifice that day. He however allowed Isaac to climb off the altar and let his father untie his hands. In place of Isaac a ram who was caught in a thicket was caught and his life ended that day.
Imagine the thoughts that may have gone through Abraham’s mind as he lifted his knife and slit the throat of the ram, relieved that he didn’t have to do that to his son. Imagine the relief of Isaac as the life of the ram left and the fire consumed the animal, relieved that his life was spared.
Imagine your thoughts and mine as we watch our Savior Jesus hang on the cross paying for our sins instead of us. Imagine your thoughts and mine as we see Jesus suffer the agony of hell, being separated from his heavenly Father, instead of us.
The ram was the substitute for Isaac. The Lamb is the substitute for us.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Isaiah 53:5-7 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
The greatest substitution ever performed was God pulling us out of the “saving” game and inserting his Son. He knew our life and our performance would never amount to the perfection he demanded and so was willing to send his Son to live and die in our place…instead of us…as our substitute.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Apply: What gratitude comes to mind as you see a glimpse of Jesus as your substitute in the ram that was sacrificed instead of Isaac?
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for willingly taking my place, as my substitute on the cross. AMEN.
Surprise! You have a test today! (Part 2)
This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute! (WATCH HERE)
Genesis 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
The trip with dad got a bit awkward.
Going on a bit of a journey to worship and offer a sacrifice must have been part of Isaac’s experience before. But this one was different.
Two servants, Abraham and Isaac set out with some wood, a knife and a pot of burning coals to start a fire.
But as the small traveling party stopped and Abraham took the wood off the donkey and put it on Isaac and started walking away from the servants, Isaac noticed something missing: a lamb for the burnt offering.
His father’s answer was a bit cryptic, but confident: “God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
Abraham had a confidence that calmed Isaac. The two went on together.
But what was going through Isaac’s mind as his dad revealed at the top of Moriah that the Lord actually was asking Isaac to be the sacrifice?
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
The Holy Spirit records no objection from Isaac or any attempt to outrun his 100+ year-old dad. He was bound and laid on the altar.
Abraham had given up his son in his heart already. Isaac was a willing accomplice to the direction God had given his dad.
But it must have been hard, very hard.
God had given a promise. Abraham was certain Isaac was the focus of the next generation of that promise. What Abraham and Isaac could perceive was the loss of life. What bridges the gap when my perception and God’s promises seem at odds?
The gap between my perception and God’s promises is filled with God’s power!
Abraham stood confidently in the middle of a situation where human perception said, “This is not going to end well” and God’s promises that said, “I will make you a great nation.” How did Abraham reconcile the discrepancy?
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
The second part of the test was whether Abraham and Isaac would trust their perceptions over God’s promises.
Abraham didn’t waver because between human perceptions and God’s promises was God’s power. With God’s power in play, God would be faithful to his promises, even if in the moment human perceptions said otherwise.
Apply: What situation in life are you going through that your human perceptions seem to contradict God’s promises? How might God be using this situation for his power to bridge the gap between your perception and his promises?
Prayer: Lord, forgive my doubts when my perceptions discount your promises. Give me strength to understand that it seems like my perceptions are overriding your clear promises that in that gap stands your power to work all things according to your promises. AMEN.
Surprise! You have a test today! (Part 1)
This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Substitute! (WATCH HERE)
22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
Yikes!
Obviously Abraham had a close connection to the Lord as he didn’t ask for two forms of identity or question whether he was hearing voices. He had heard and learned the voice of the Lord and the Lord gave him a challenging task: Give back to me your one and only Son.
Whenever a test was assigned, there was a subtle hope the teacher would give you the questions that would be on the test with the answers those questions demanded. So it is with our spiritual lives, isn’t it? Don’t you wish that every test to our faith was given to us in advance with the proper answer spelled out for us so there is no doubt in our mind as to what we should do?
Abraham didn’t get the question in advance, but over the years his experience with the Lord had let him learn the answers.
He knew that Isaac was a gift from God as he fathered him at 100 years of age and his wife Sarah at 90. Physically this was an impossibility which they laughed at, but God’s power made it possible.
Abraham knew that God had made a promise that he would have many descendants. This promise was given 25 years before Isaac came on the scene and after a wrong answer of having Ishmael with his servant Hagar.
The test for Abraham was whether he would hang on to his son and love him more than loving God. The test question: “Abraham, what is the first priority of your heart?”
This is a good test question for us too. Even though we can look back at the track record of God working in our hearts, we are still tempted to let other things and other people take a first priority. We may even have good excuses, but still come up with wrong answers. We can justify working every Sunday by thinking that is the only option to provide for our family. We can justify overlooking a sinful behavior in a family member to keep the relationship over the concern for the spiritual wellbeing of the individual. We can choose friends that lead us to activity that isn’t God-pleasing thinking that we don’t want to be alone. The list can go on. Any test question that God provides that challenges the first commandment (You shall have no other gods.), is a tough one for us to always get right. We love the people around us. We love the experiences the world presents to us. We love our ego and pride.
And so all too often we fail this test question. And so we repent and ask God’s Spirit for the strength of faith that Abraham exhibited. This whole account he didn’t waver. He got up the next morning and went. He took his son to the top of the mountain and was ready to take his life and light the fire. But God saw Abraham had answered the test correctly and stopped him:
Genesis 22:11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
May God give us the same resolve to always keep the love of the Lord the first priority in our heart!
Apply: What things in your life are the greatest temptation to dislodge the LORD from the primary position in your heart?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love, grace and faithfulness to forgive us when we fail the tests to our faith and for your willingness to restore and strengthen us for the tests that will come. AMEN.