Patriarchs

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0:00 The rest of us, we're like in chapter two of the story. We started last week reading this very unsatisfactory synopsis of the story of scripture. It's a chronological view of the whole story of scripture with expert excerpts from the NIV and like little bridges sections. We're reading one chapter at a time to get through the whole story of scripture between now and around Easter time.

0:31 So I've never read through the whole Bible, which is like interesting. I've read lots of it in different sections and some of it more deeply than others. Some of it I've never read before. Like there are sections in Leviticus and numbers that I've never read. There are sections in 2 Kings that I haven't read. So I'm excited to read through this whole thing and invite you to read it through with us. We gave out 20 copies of it last week. I'll have some more in a couple of weeks to give out and it's easy to catch up on.

1:04 I read this week's chapter in about 30 minutes. It doesn't take long. And now I'm like up, I'm through the patriarchs man. So like last week in 11 pages we got from creation to Noah. And then this week we were getting through the patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, just as I was telling the kids about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And there's like several things in the thinking about the story of scripture.

1:35 And we've talked about before how important it is to remember that the scriptures are not like a compendium of doctrines. It's not a rule book. It's not an encyclopedia. But it's a story of what God has been doing in the world with humanity since creation. And the most important thing in any story is to get familiar with the characters. And so what we learn about the character of God then informs who he is and what he does with us. And the most compelling thing to me that it's important to remember when you engage the story of scripture is that we know about God only what he does.

2:13 We don't know who God is in his essence. We only know what God has done. And so the story of scripture is key because we learn about the character and nature of God by what he has done in the world. And so last week we talked about this God who imagines the world into existence out of nothing and with the force of his will speaks it into reality. Like this notion of a creating God and originating God. And then the other thing that I was still kind of mulling over from last week is we talked about the centrality of the earth.

2:49 That like in that first creation when we're setting the stage for the story of scripture we have these three main characters it seems like. God, humanity and earth. And that these three are in right and proper relationship. And that they are intended to go together. That humanity is the image bearers of God given the charge to be fruitful and multiply and take care of the earth. And the earth is charged with the responsibility of producing food and creating safe space for all the creativity of God to thrive.

3:28 And then God sets the course. The earth exists according to his forethought and will and is held together by his intention and yet he is separate from it. He speaks it. He doesn't take from himself and put it. So it is apart from him. These three characters are in right relationship then thrive as was intended. And of course the great tragic movement of that beginning is the dynamic between the three of them falls apart. Where humanity tries to usurp and become God by taking from earth.

4:02 And so humanity does this like flip all these characters out of equilibrium. And then we have the primary conflict of the story of scripture. In what way will God redeem his creation to be what it was intended to be. And the reason to recap that for you this morning is I want you to think about Abram. If you read the little chapter your 20 ish pages 30 minutes of reading. Okay we're going to close our eyes and bow our heads and raise the hand and see who read right.

4:34 If you did the reading you learned that Abram starts out as Abram in Huron. If you were like oh this is an unsatisfactory synopsis let me go into the primary source and see the context around this story. You would have found that Abram's dad was called to leave and go but made it as far as Huron and stopped. And then so Abram grows up in Huron and gets called by God to go to Canaan.

5:09 And so he leaves and at several points three significant times in fact God makes a unique covenant with Abram. The second time he changes his name from Abram to Abraham. This like adds the breath the aspiration in there which carries the breath of God. So he's renaming him changing his identity around the centrality of being someone called or connected to God. But when I was in we're confirming a couple of kids today.

5:41 And when I was in confirmation this covenant this Abrahamic covenant was a key thing we had to remember. And my dad was my pastor and he taught us a way to remember the Abrahamic covenant. He would give us lob. London we probably didn't do it with you we should have when you were in common. This is the key covenant for Abraham that God gives makes this meaningful promise.

6:14 Lob land offspring and blessing. Abram you I will give you a land that is yours. Now Abram goes he believes God will give him a land though he does not know how he will get it. Abram is at best a successful herdsman but he is not a conqueror and he is not a king.

6:45 He does not come from a lineage that is owed land and he does not have the wealth to take land. He is at best when he leaves her on a capable herdsman able to keep track of herds and multiply the herds in order to produce more stuff. And so he trusts that God will give him land but does not know how he will get it. I don't know if you've ever been in that spot before where you know there is a right thing to do but you don't know how it will resolve.

7:29 So you make the choice for the right proper faithful thing and leave the outcome to the Lord. Abram leaves her on says he will get land believes God and doesn't know how it will resolve. He walks into the land then and there is like people there right. And he goes as far as making an altar to God in the center of the land that God said he would give him.

8:05 Worshiping him there ahead of the gift. It's incredible. Abraham has several examples of faith like this in his life where he stands in the middle of a thing God said he would give him that we cannot see how he will and worships him in anticipation of its coming. One of the things that you can catch in the unsatisfactory synopsis and the story that we're reading but it's like much more magnified in the primary source if you were to read Genesis all of it is all these little place names in Abraham's life.

8:51 It's a signifier to the fact that the original document the story of scripture we have emerges from real people living in real place in a real time. So like Abraham walks by the oaks of Marm is one of my favorite that he walks by it calls it out the oaks of Marm the cedars of Lebanon. And then he sets up this altar and they say the place of the altar he sets several one at Bethel several other places because folks will go by and know folks know where the oaks of Marm are the remnants of his altar are built there.

9:34 And so Abraham is promised land off spring and blessing and sometimes he demonstrates deep faith like he builds an altar thanking God for land that is not his in the full anticipation that it will one day be his. And sometimes not.

10:06 God's promise to Abraham is trying to set up things to thrive. People who will recognize that they're people not God in a land that is made for them and outlined for them. So they've got people God and land. He's trying to set it up this way. And then he's like promising Abram more children than there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore because remember the intent for Adam and Eve the first ones at the beginning was to be fruitful and multiply fill the earth.

10:44 And so the promise to Abraham is the same go out and take land that will be yours. I'll give to you freely and have offspring multiply and subdue it right and live there then as people with a God in the earth done. You remember like Paul tells Timothy that he should encourage people that they could worship the Lord God that they might lead a peaceful and quiet life. God was always intending not that we would I mean I know Paul says that we are more than conquerors but the intent for us is to live in a world that God has conquered peacefully and quietly thriving as created.

11:27 And he calls Abraham to do that and he's like okay I'm going to give you land in Abram walks in makes the makes the altar and worships God in the middle of the place that is not his but will be his. And then he starts trying to figure out how to get the offspring situation to work out right. You know and I mean I think he knows like what he said how it's supposed to work. And you know by the time he gets called he's old already right this is part of the story right and it seems like Sarah who gets renamed with an aspirative age as well.

12:07 Sarah like she just can't have kids like that's what it seems like right that Sarah just can't have kids. And so Abram Abraham is like dude I know that you said that we're going to have multiple kids but it's not happening and he's like in his 90s. It's like this is like not great and then Sarah's like I know we're supposed to have kids and like but like and we're multiplying our herds like we and you know we're occupying some land and actually at this point we defended our nephew with a pseudo army like a couple hundred people like I could see a future where this gift that God we could make this happen.

12:49 Do you hear it? Abraham and Sarah are starting to go okay I could see how we could make this happen now this is not so unreasonable. Like God said we would have some land now I could pull together a couple hundred and kick a king out man and they looted this town I can go and loot them. And that's what they start doing in the Middle East right they loot each other and then they start going okay great I could see he's right. I could see God was right I'm going to be a king man I just need to figure out how to get some kids and then everything will be copacetic right.

13:21 And so Abraham and Sarah start to figure out we can make this happen right. No they can't man. I mean they can just won't be as good. This is the weird thing about me and you. You know it says that we are the capstone of creation a little bit lower than the angels the crown.

13:55 Very capable right. Some of us are very capable like we can do anything. We can figure out anything. We are unintiminated undeterred right. Others of us that feel less capable are sure that even if we're less capable that we're all we've got. All we'll ever get is all we can ever get.

14:27 You know what I mean like whatever I can take is all there will ever be. Abraham and Sarah start going we are very capable we can make this happen this land offspring blessing thing is a lofty call but we can do it. Sarah's like I got this maid servant let's just do that. Let's just have a kid that way I've heard some people do that and it's legitimate because she belongs to me so it's like it's mine. And so let's just have a kid that way right. And like to the like crazy like the stories about Ishmael and Isaac and the legacy of Ishmael and Isaac.

15:09 For generations like the scope and the scale of the outcome of that choice they had no way of knowing the colossal impact that would have on the world right. Like Abraham and Sarah were definitely capable people. And they figured they could make happen the blessing of God. So what I wanted you to see in that story of course God then comes them is like this is not what I intended.

15:45 I'll provide for Hagar and Ishmael and they'll become a nation because I love you Abraham and Sarah and so I'll take care of them. But this is not what I intended. My intent for you from the beginning was to recognize that you're not God and let God give you things rather than trying to micro manage your future and accomplish what only God can do. This is the problem the fatal flaw of humanity.

16:15 We are sure we would be a better God than the God himself. That God size jobs we can do. God size projects we can accomplish. We don't need him. And God comes in and says look there's nothing wrong with Hagar and Ishmael but I had intended that you would trust me. And that's something you could not do I could God says. And lo and behold Isaac appears.

16:47 And I wanted you guys to see that just as Abraham was willing by the time he gets Isaac and God calls him to sacrifice him Abraham is like dude I don't know how you're making this thing happen. But I trust whatever you tell me to do you're going to bring your promises about at this point. I can't believe Sarah got pregnant. He's like so now all bets are off. My logic is blown. Your wisdom is better. Your way will work. Whatever you say I don't have to understand it I'll just do it.

17:19 I don't have to know how it's going to turn out or I'm not here to micromanage the future. I'm giving up the future to you. Where you say I go now? Up the hill? Up the hill I'll go. Bring Isaac with me? Great. Tell me what to do next. Sacrifice. Oh don't sacrifice him. Use the bullcaught in. Great. I'll do that next. I wanted you to see that Abraham just like Isaac and Jacob all of them. He had faith and lack of faith right next to each other.

17:54 Sometimes Abraham trusted God for land offspring and blessing. Sometimes he didn't. Sometimes Isaac trusted. Sometimes Jacob trusted. Sometimes he didn't. Did they get it? I mean kind of right.

18:26 Kind of. If I really texted me this week she was reading our chapter. It probably took me 30 minutes. It probably took her 10. She reads a lot. She was like you're going to have to at least do a little bit on the cave of MacPella. She's been around long enough to know that I love the cave of MacPella. I want a T-shirt and a hat with the cave of MacPella on it. Cave of MacPella.

18:56 When Sarah dies, she dies first. Abraham realizes, man this thing is winding down and I got this promise from the God about land offspring and blessing. I made the altar where he said it was coming. I'm going to have offspring more numerous than there are stars in the sky or sand on the seashore and they're going to be there.

19:26 I don't know how. By then Abraham he's an old man. He's like he's seen it all. He's like I don't know how the God does what the God does but sometimes he's like God does but in some way he'll figure it out. If me and Sarah are going down, we're going down in the land. He goes back to the center of the land and there's all these herdsmen and tribes folks who own all the place and he finds this cave that will work as a burial place.

19:59 The cave of MacPella. He goes to find the guys who own the cave of MacPella and he's like guys hey, wife died, let me bury her in the cave, let me buy the cave from you. They're like no, no, no, you don't have to buy it. Just bury her there. We're friends, we're friends, please. What's money among friends? And Abraham is like no, you're not doing me that way. He's like I'm going down owning a piece so that forever my kids in the center of the land

20:30 God promised when they gather around me and God has given it to them, me and Sarah will be resting in the middle. And he has to argue with them until they sell it to them. He buries Sarah there in the cave of MacPella. Couple years later Abraham is buried there. Isaac is buried there. Sweet Jacob is brought out of Egypt. Back, dead bones dug up brought to the cave of MacPella. Why? Because the people of God bury themselves in the hope of the future fulfillment of the

21:03 promise. They get just the little taste, that's enough. They get just a little bit, doesn't matter. This is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane walking to his death knowing if God gives me death, he must have some kind of life on the other side to make it worth it. This is Abraham in the cave of MacPella. This is you with your little taste of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

21:34 faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is you with your little bit of miraculous provision. With your children you don't know where they came from. With your future you could not have imagined. This is you with your little foretaste, your little MacPella of the promise of God. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rachel and Rebecca were not perfect and that's why they are perfect for us. Because they demonstrate the character of the Creator God, his commitment to honor his blessing.

22:09 No matter what it looks like now, it comes through in the end. Let me pray that we might believe like them. Good Lord, thank you for this story. May it be satisfying for us this morning, encouraging in a way that is not the best. And encouraging in a way that teaches us to follow you though we don't know what the future holds. Teach us to walk with you by faith, not by sight, Lord, that we would take one step knowing you have the next one marked out.

22:41 Teach us what it is to live by faith. In Jesus' name we pray.