Al Ngu,  January 27, 2023

Was listening to Tim Keller, exposition of the book of Exodus, some three steps I learnt, which is very very crucial for the understanding of the gospel.

So we do have to understand that there’s no way for us to be saved if it were not by the grace of God. Israel was delivered from the bondage of slavery from Egypt first before God gave them the 10 Commandments the law. The law was not given before the Exodus deliverance. In other words, the requirement to be God’s people comes after the deliverance thru exodus. What does that mean? That means God unconditionally saved them delivered them being the descendants of Abraham by the covenant that God made with Abraham.

So it is the same way for us. We are saved by faith by the grace of God only but that grace, the faith in God will turn into good works. So it’s not blind faith and being passive after being saved. Saved by grace of God must and will automatically turn into action good works or else it’s not authentic! We are not saved by good works however, we are saved by faith in Christ by the grace of God by his grace, only in which will result in good works. Faith in Christ and hence the grace of God in Christ Alone. After Israel was delivered, God gave them law to obey so they will become God’s treasured possession and God’s people. So you see that obedience of God’s word brings us into relationship with God. Without obedience first we can’t get into relationship with God. So the law was given to us so that we can enter into a relationship with God.

So everything is very relational. God gives given us the laws to have a relationship with us. However, without the law, relationship will be meaningless, because there is no directions, laws and requirements of what that relationship looks like. Because that relationship reflects the very personality, the character, the ontology of who God is. For instance, thou shall serve the Lord your God, that you love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul. Because the Son of God himself loved us so much that he died on the cross thousands of years after Moses, to save us. He therefore loved us so much with all his heart of his mind. Would you be able to say that? Would you say that Christ loves us with all his heart and mind and soul ?

I mean to the point of surrender himself, and die and tortured and shamed on the cross? That is such a powerful understanding that the law was given to bring us into relationship with God.

So to conclude and summarize; first we are saved by the grace of God alone and grace of God by faith in him will produce good works. Second, after we got saved, we will have to look at the law of the word of God, the Bible, trying to obey the Bible by his power by his grace so that we can enter into a relationship with him. Relationship is impossible without obedience. Jesus learned obedience through sufferings as his journey to the cross. By the time he suffered, he was made perfect, and he became the source of salvation to all generations of the world today. So the book of the law, the word of God, the Bible shows us how to enter into a relationship, deeply personal, intimate relationship with God. Amen.

The story of Genesis 24 on Abraham making his senior servant in his household to swear that he would not get a wife for his son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom he was living but go to his home country and his own relatives to get a wife for his son Isaac is not only impressive but has a long lasting lesson for us to learn. The fact that our most renowned patriarch from the Old Testament, Abraham, who was much loved by the Lord our God Yahweh, has made this determination and decision, surely has something for us to learn today. Abraham was very old at that time and the Lord has blessed him in every way, v 1. So the question is why did Abraham insist on his senior servant to not get a wife from the land he was living at that time which is the Canaanites but go to his own country and his own relatives to get away for his son Isaac? This is a very significant point.

We need to understand that to have your children marry someone of the same faith is of paramount importance. What Abraham did was exactly that. He didn’t want his son to marry a Canaanite woman at that time who do not worship the Lord our God Yahweh. Even though Abraham was living in that land he was not going to allow his son to be corrupt and morally spiritually above all by marrying a woman of another faith. He insisted that his son shall get a wife from his home country and not only that , but also his relatives. And as it turned out God opened the door in the most miraculous way when his servant went to his home country and guess what? The first woman he met by the well was Rebecca, the very daughter of Abrahams brother. She is a very beautiful woman apparently. Rebecca was all set to marry Isaac almost on a divine matchmaking. You know this is a huge lesson for us.

First of all in our modern society even among the Christian faith families, Christian parents struggled to even tell their children to marry someone of the same faith in Christ let alone trying to arrange or to introduce woman or men to their children. So what has changed so drastically? The reality is that in today’s society we have gone so individualistic, and the post modernism in our modernity now exalts individual right, individual desire whatever makes ‘you’ you is the way to go. There is a huge loss of the sense of community communal respect etcetera. Father used to be able to decide to reject or receive marriage proposal from a man to his daughter in the old days. Modernity regards that as totally old fashion and not acceptable in the name of freedom and liberty of individual. There is there’s definitely a lot of ground to that and I agree. The worst thing like we have seen in movies and read books etcetera that parents have arranged marriage of a guy to their daughter, a guy who has hardly any compatibility to their daughter, the only reason being the guy’s rich. So this has to change and I agreed and we have changed.

However the change has gone too far to the sense of eroding any paternal right and respect in the family. Parents almost have no say or input. This is such a vast change to modernities liking that the biblical narrative has been all pushed aside and jettisoned. The day must come when this good biblical cultural aspect of it to be restored so that we can have a decent conversation and planning and honor respect with parents. Of course that’s granted parents are walking with the Lord and not some non-believers themselves.

You can also see how much the Lord blessed Abraham. Because Abraham was a walking with the Lord and he was called by the Lord too to be the father of a huge nation coming out of it and the whole world would be blessed through Abraham’s offspring, Jesus Christ himself. Because of that whatever Abraham does he was basically very prosperous and successful. And when he got very old his son Isaac was of marriageable age in a foreign country where none of the women believed in the Lord Yahweh, it was a very difficult situation. It’s been like in modern days there are more women in the local church than men. Oftentimes you’ll find believing women in the church not able to find a compatible man who may be interested in her because the pool is so little. By this I would say that by the actions that Abraham to look for eligible woman from another country for his son, I would argue that it is totally correct and legitimate and right for all Christians single women to look for potential husband from another church if needed. It’s not the church that matters what really matters is if the man or woman is in Christ Jesus. That’s what matters, that’s what counts. We need to move into a Christian community where there can be intermarriage between churches so as to honor the name of our Lord. We are not here to honor the name of our church, but the name of the Lord is to be exalted Amen!

The success God gave to Abraham is astounding. When the servant went to Abraham’s home country he met Rebecca drawing water by the well with other ladies. The servant prayer “ Oh Lord may that be the first woman that I asked for water that she would offer me water and also to feed my camels be the woman that you have call to be my masters sons wife”. And guess what? This is exactly what happened he saw Rebecca with a group of ladies and he approached her and said “can I have some water?” to which Rebecca answered sure “I’ll give you water.” Not only that she offered to water feed his camels too. By then the servant was watching very closely this Rebecca whether she is the one God has called and prepared for his master’s son. Immediately the servant really recognized that this is it and he bowed down to give thanks to the Lord for answering Abraham’s prayers and when the camels had finished drinking the men took out a gold nose ring and two bracelets were intense shackles for Rebecca. And he asked Rebecca please tell me is there room in your father’s house for spend the night? She answered him I’m the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah bore to Nahor. And she said “ We have plenty of straw and fodder as well as room for you to spend the night.” Then the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, and praised that the “ God of his master Abraham has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to his master. As for me the Lord has led me on the journey to the House of my master’s relatives”. And then the rest of the story is Rebecca agree to leave her parents’ house and go with the man to meet with her future husband.

The conclusion is Isaac came from Lehigh Roy where he was living. He went out to the field one evening to meditate and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebecca also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from a camel and asked the servant who is this man in the field coming to meet us? “Here’s my master” the servant answered.  So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. I said brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and he married Rebecca so she became his wife and he loved her and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. Just like that they are married.

I just want to say in conclusion that how much God will answer our prayers if we want to walk to honor his name especially with regards to our children to marry someone of the same faith in Christ Jesus. The way the expediency and the speed in which God confirmed and opened the door and the way for Isaacs and to marry Rebecca is truly heavenly divine matchmaker job. We must continue to pray for our children to marry someone who loves the Lord and not to marry someone from the non-believers faith in Christ Jesus.

The Lord our God will provide. Amen.