A bunch of Bezalels - heroes worth remembering...

Bezalel of Judah and the Worship of the Almighty

(1 Chronicles 2:18-20, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 30, 2017)

[18] Caleb the son of Hezron fathered children by his wife Azubah, and by Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. [19] When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. [20] Hur fathered Uri, and Uri fathered Bezalel.

Bezalel of Judah

Why would the Chronicler begin his two volume set with a record of names from days that were long gone by? Toward the end of the Old Testament era, the exiles who were returning from Babylon and the lands of the east after seventy years of discipline were coming back into the Promised Land. They understood that it was important to be able to prove that they had the right heritage as those who were truly Jews, descending from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In addition, they knew that God had given a promise regarding an eternal King of Life who would come from one of the sons of Jacob, Judah. It had also been revealed that this great resurrection ruler would be descended from the line of David. The Chronicler did not know who would be the next man on the list eventually leading to the Messiah. He recorded those names in 1 Chronicles 3:17-24 so that future generations would have the records that would allow them to see that the line of David had continued beyond the years in Babylon.

In addition to preparing the new Israel for the coming of a future king, the faithful at the end of the Old Testament era wanted to see the worship of Jehovah restored again. Therefore the Chronicler went back in time 500 years from the days of David in order to enter the genealogy of a man from the tribe of Judah who had been prepared by God to do a special work in the days of Moses. God had instructed Bezalel of Judah through Moses to make a variety of metal objects (Exodus 31:1-11) that were used centuries later. He made the bronze altar that the priests of Israel and Judah had long used in order to burn sacrificial animals to the Lord. This Old Testament system of worship had reinforced the realism of their sin and the hope that one day through the blood sacrifice of one mediator, sin would finally be truly dealt with. The way that such a success would be confirmed would be through the resurrection of the one sacrificial substitute. Through His death, eternal life would be secured, and the whole system of burning offerings on the Old Testament altar would finally be completed.

2 Chronicles 1:5-6 reads as follows: “[5] Moreover, the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the LORD. And Solomon and the assembly sought it out. [6] And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.”

The tabernacle, the first temple, and the second temple and the reestablishment of proper worship in the Promised Land

Israel once had a movable tabernacle, and Bezalel made the very large bronze structure for burning animals that was moved through the wilderness and into the Promised Land from the days of Moses all the way up to the days of Solomon. Solomon burned thousands of animals on that altar in a desire to show the Lord that He understood who was the greatest: the Great I-AM, Jehovah God. Solomon built the first permanent stationery structure to be a house of God, which building was destroyed by the Babylonians during the period when they brought the people of Judah into the east to serve them. The Chronicler and all the faithful who were with him wanted to see something like that building rebuilt. They would need modern-day Bezalels to build up the house of God again in Jerusalem. Why else mention Bezalel in 1 Chronicles 2?

The people of God had just spent 70 years or so in a land with a very different understanding of greatness enshrined in something called the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was a mythical king in a world of very many gods. He was called “the man to whom all things were known.” Like Solomon he built a temple, but not for the one I-AM—“for the god of the firmament Anu, and for Ishtar the goddess of love.” What kind of man was he? He was a winner whose “arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; …. His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute.” The people complained to the gods about him, and their answer was to make a friend and rival for him, Enkidu, who would be his match in strength in order to bring quiet to the city. Enkidu instead became his ally in the destruction of the evil Humbaba, which Gilgamesh would seek to slay with Enkidu in order to “leave behind an enduring name.”

With the death of his beloved fellow warrior, Gilgamesh goes in search of eternal life. His conclusion at the end of the epic: He would never have it. Gilgamesh found an odd assurance, the certainty that there was no such thing as eternal life for man. “There is no permanence.”

At his death, this poem of relentless human mortality in a see of strange gods concludes:

“The king has laid himself down and will not rise again,

The Lord of Kullab will not rise again;

He overcame evil, he will not come again;

Though he was strong of arm he will not rise again;

He had wisdom and a comely face, he will not come again;

He is gone into the mountain, he will not come again;

On the bed of fate he lies, he will not rise again,

Front the couch of many colors he will not come again.”

The New Testament church of Jesus Christ

We have a very different view of all people with dignity as image-bearers of the Almighty. Normal? Not so. (Witness Gilgamesh and Greek tragedies, where heroism is only possible for a few lofty ones.) In the kingdom of God, billions of modern-day Bezalels are called to build a temple of people, the church. We start every week marking the fact that the Lord is risen and that he will come again. We then move forward into a world increasingly full of little I-AM Gilgameshes who are half sure they know everything but also crying in despair. From the strength of Sunday of worship, we spend Monday through Saturday seeking to obey the will of God, which the Scripture tells us is our “sanctification.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3) Worship and service as living sacrifices in world of disappointment and hope—that's us! How glorious that the only God who is our Master Builder (Hebrews 11:10) is far above the gods of paganism!

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. Jehovah is assembling a kingdom of worshipers on earth who are united to His Son. Any skills that we have been given come from Him and are to be used not only for the care of this fading world but also for the work of our Lord's eternal community of faith, hope, and love—the church. Still glum? This may help. Jesus calls us His “unworthy servants” since “we have only done what was our duty.” (Luke 17:10) Rejoice!

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 12 – The godly one is gone

Gospel Reading—Matthew 7:6 – Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Identity Issues and the Kingdom of the I-AM

Sisters in the Promised Land

(1 Chronicles 2:16-17, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 23, 2017)

[16] And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three. [17] Abigail bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.

David's sisters

As we continue the story told by the Chronicler through selective genealogy, we come to the names of two sisters who were very important to the history of Israel. We are not surprised to find names of people included on these list who are entirely unknown to us. Zeruiah and Abigail do not belong to that group. They are also not in the group of people about whom we have a great many personal or life details in other places in the Bible. They fit into a third very large category, the people who are only known to us because of their family connections who are nonetheless very important in the plan of God.

Another example of someone who is in this third category is David's father Jesse. His name appears in 44 Bible verses, but what do we actually know about him? An even better illustration is David's grandfather, Obed. Who was he really? All we know from the six verses in the Bible that contain his name is that Boaz was his father, Jesse was his son, and David his grandson.

Zeruiah's name appears in 25 verses in the Bible and this particular Abigail—David's sister and not his wife by the same name—somewhat less. They are especially known by their sons and by the way that their sons' life stories are important in telling the history of David. We need to always remember that 1 Chronicles is all about David, and beyond David—the promise of God to give Israel an eternal king from David's descendants. The Chronicler hoped to see that line of David continued through the dark period in Israel's history in which he lived.

The sons of Zeruiah and Abigail

We are taking time with Zeruiah and her sons Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, David's other sister Abigail, and her son Amasa because the four nephews of David mentioned here grew up to be military men who were significantly associated with the story of David's kingdom. With our goal of providing an accurate exposition of the writings of the Chronicler we should be factual, brief, and essentially positive regarding these mighty figures, inspiring readers to live for Jehovah. The Bible elsewhere makes it very clear that their lives were not only heroic, but also tragic.

The most famous of the four men listed is Joab. Just considering what we know from him only from the Chronicler, the portrait is quite inspiring. In 1 Chronicles 11 we learn that Joab became “chief and commander” of David's army because of his willingness to take on the Jebusites in the stronghold of what would be God's chosen city, Jerusalem. He also is said to have “repaired the rest of the city” together with David. Joab and the “army of mighty men” were sent by the king to face the Ammonites after they had displayed great disrespect to David's ambassadors. Joab and his men were all walking into a trap, since the Ammonites had hired Syrian soldiers vastly outnumbering Joab's forces. He showed amazing faith and bravery in the face of that opposition as recorded in these words to his brother Abishai, “Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.” (1 Chronicles 19:13) Joab returned to Jerusalem victorious after the enemy fled.

One additional episode that is recorded in 1 Chronicles 21. When David made the grave mistake of presumptuously ordering a military census of his fighting men without the Lord's command, it was Joab who first tried to persuade his the king in another direction. When David did not relent, Joab dutifully obeyed his commander, but we are told that “the king's command was abhorrent to Joab.”

Finally, the Chronicler gives us a subtle account of Joab's generous giving to the mission of the Almighty. His contributions to the treasury must have been substantial since his “dedicated gifts” and those of a few other worthies are listed as being under the care of a particular official. The very last thing that he says about this important son of Zeruiah was a perfect summary of at least the positive part of his life story: “Joab was commander of the king's army.”

The other men in our passage can be mentioned even more briefly. Abishai, who was known as “the brother of Joab” was a very brave warrior in his own right, and was “chief of the thirty” mighty men who were so dedicated to David. We are told that “he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them.” Abishai was with Joab in their desperate and victorious battles against the Ammonites. It was also recorded that “Abishai killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt” meaning that he was the general in charge of that campaign under the authority of the king. Asahel, also known as “the brother of Joab,” was a leader of a military division numbering 24,000 fighting men. Finally, the son of Abigail, Amasa is listed here with no other details supplied in 1 Chronicles. This is the glorious story. There is also a tragic side to the story that you can read about in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Kings, but that is not our purpose today. Suffice it to say that the larger history includes murder, insurrection against the king, and lots of jealousy. When these men were following the king as David followed the Lord they were worthy of imitation. When they were not, they still acted with passion but without wisdom, and the consequences were just about as bad as it gets.

Our identity in the covenant community

David's sisters were known for their sons who were amazing military men that played a prominent role in David's story. The church needs to affirm the variety of ways that the Son of David, Jesus, is pleased to use men and women as the bride of our Lord within His covenant kingdom as He crushes Satan under our feet (Romans 16:20 and Ephesians 5:22-24). Our rock-bottom identity is not in our gender, our giftedness, our marital status, or in our children. Our identity is in Jesus Christ, the Son of David who is our resurrection King.

A thought: We are not great at immediately understanding the meaning of the details of God's providence. We know that there is meaning in our battles and in our successes, but what is it. A modest piece of advice: Write down what is happening. Don't be wordy. Don't be unnecessarily negative. Be a chronicler. Then periodically read your chronicle as you read the chronicle of our David, Jesus. Perhaps things will start to fall into place over time. You probably won't understand everything, but you may see the biggest truths better. Like this: Jesus is a King who is using you with others to build His kingdom. He is always right. You are at your heroic best when you are in line with His Word. He wins, and you win with Him as His men and women.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 11 – What can the righteous do?

Gospel Reading—Matthew 7:1-5 – [1] Judge not, that you be not judged. [2] For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. [3] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? [4] Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? [5] You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

The story of the world...

The Perfect Son of David and an Anxious and Dangerous World

(1 Chronicles 2:3-15, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 16, 2017)

[3] The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah; these three Bath-shua the Canaanite bore to him. Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death. [4] His daughter-in-law Tamar also bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all. [5] The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. [6] The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara, five in all. [7] The son of Carmi: Achan, the troubler of Israel, who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing; [8] and Ethan's son was Azariah. [9] The sons of Hezron that were born to him: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai. [10] Ram fathered Amminadab, and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, prince of the sons of Judah. [11] Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, [12] Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse. [13] Jesse fathered Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, [14] Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, [15] Ozem the sixth, David the seventh.

Judah

The author of this book had such a longing for the coming of an eternal King of Life in the line of David who would fix Israel and save the world. What do you think of the world? All good? A mix? All bad? Confusing? Are you afraid? Anxious? Angry? What are you going to do about it all? Take a step back and consider... and pray... and listen... Now hear the story of the world.

The Lord God Almighty made a world of life, but through the sin of the first man, Adam, death came into the world. God was not satisfied with death. He began a new plan that would completely defeat and eliminate death by the work of a King of Life who would one day be revealed to the world.

God's plan called for the multiplication of a great variety of people groups on the face of the earth. How many? Experts today say the shortest list includes about 10,000. Hmm? What are some of them? The Tharu people in Nepal, The Roma gypsies and the Romanians. So many groups, so much brutality, so much mixing, and forgetting... Lots of people, hard to figure out.

Out of all those people groups He made one people group to be His chosen people. We read their history in the Old Testament. They are called Israel, the name God gave to the father of twelve tribes from his sons. They are also called Jews because of one tribe, the tribe of Judah, which would one day be the tribe of God's chosen kings, from whom would come the King of Life.

God built up the people group of the Jews through various experiences of blessing and suffering. They were once slaves in Egypt, and the Lord rescued them through a man called Moses. God gave His people a Law through this Moses that included the Ten Commandments. It also contained many other statutes designed to keep the Jews separate from all those other mixing people groups until the coming of the King of Life.

Moses and His brother Aaron were teachers of the Law, but neither of them could be the King of Life because life would not come just by people knowing the Law. Something else was needed.

Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death.... Achan, the troubler of Israel, who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing

Moses and Aaron were not even in the subgroup or “tribe” of Judah from whom God said the kings would come. The man from whom that group received its name had a firstborn son whose name was Er. Er “was evil in the sight of the Lord,” so it was impossible for him to be the King of Life. The Lord “put him to death.” Generations later, another descendant of Judah was a man named Achan. When God told His people to trust Him for everything they might desire, Achan saw some silver, some gold, and a costly cloak that He wanted for himself, even though the Lord had said that no one was allowed to take what Achan wanted. Achan was called “the troubler of God's people” because his sins led to the deaths of others and to his own death. Even within the chosen people group of the Jews and the chosen tribe of Judah from whom the King of Life would come there was a heritage of serious and deadly sin. And we and our people have sinned.

David the seventh

God gave the Jews the Bible, a system of worship, a land (Israel), a capital city (Jerusalem), and one family line in the tribe of Judah from whom would come all the remaining kings of that tribe. The first king in that family line was David. David and his son Solomon were two of the most successful and powerful rulers in the history of Israel, but neither of them could be the King of Life. Death would not be destroyed through a great military or political ruler.

After David and Solomon died, God continued to prepare the Jews for a future “David” who would be the King of Life. Prophets spoke of Him as a “David” although that would not be His actual name. See especially Ezekiel 34:23-24, 37:24-25. They also wrote of Him using the name “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14) which means “God with us.” King David died, and his body remaining in the grave (Acts 2:39), but he and others had written songs about Jesus (Psalm 10), his great descendant and master who conquered death, brutality, and even anxiety. We still live in a world that has these plagues, yet there is an eternal world coming where the perfect “David” reigns as our Resurrection King. What do we do every Sunday? Nurture one another in that sure hope.

Jesus alone has conquered sin and death for us. He did this with His sinless life and His death as our Substitute. Moses could not do it with Law. The first David could not do it with military power. Both men, though great, did not have what was necessary. To fulfill the plan of God, the perfect David, Jesus, the King of Life, needed to have nothing in Him that was “evil in the sight of the Lord,” and then He had to take our evil upon Himself on the cross. He could not be a “troubler” of God's people who “broke faith” with God. Only a perfect Man would do. His empty tomb is His sign of victory. Now that you know the true story of the world, what will you say and do concerning the resurrected King of Life? Mark's gospel needs your ending of faith.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 10 – Arise, O Lord! The Lord is King forever and ever!

Gospel Reading—Matthew 6:25-34 – [25] Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. [34] Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Two Boys, Two Nations - The Jews and the Gentiles, The Church and the World

Esau and Israel

(1 Chronicles 1:34-2:2, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 9, 2017)

[34] … The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.

Esau, Edom, Seir

One of the ways that the story of our lives is told in the Bible is through the unusual form of communication that I call selective genealogy. The writer that we refer to as the Chronicler doesn't include every name in the heritage of all humanity, only those that fit in with the storyline he is telling. Sometimes names show up not because we know much of anything about the individual people, but because they are part of a group of interest. That's why we heard about the tribes that came from the son of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael, as well as the groups that came from Abraham and his concubine Keturah, including the Midianites who show up here and there throughout the biblical account of the chosen people, the Jews.

The various groups that we have mentioned so far, except for one, are no longer particularly distinct, especially in the last two thousand years since the birth of Christ. Today we add the descendants of Esau to that list as well as the people of Seir. These two groups ended up living in the same land and were joined together over a number of generations. This mixing, sometimes occurring quickly and in other cases more slowly, is the normal way of the world. After a few centuries of close quarters it is extremely difficult for people to say what their people group is or especially where they came from. It would be most unusual for any group to resist this mixing forever.

In our pathway from the beginning of humanity to the coming of a special line of Israelite kings that culminates in the Savior of the world, we have gone from Adam to Isaac. Today we move forward one generation. This brings us to the fraternal twins born to Isaac and his wife, Rebekah. We have already mentioned Esau. He was the firstborn of the twins and the favorite of his father. Esau did not retain the right of the firstborn for at least three reasons. First he sold it to his brother for some food! Second his brother and his mother conspired to trick their father into giving the big blessing to his brother Jacob. But third and most important, before the twins were born and had ever done anything good or bad, God chose one above the other. He even told this to their mother saying, “The older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23), meaning that the second child would ultimately have a leading role in the promises of God.

Meanwhile, in the early generations that would follow, Esau would be very fruitful, and after some advantageous mixing with the people of Seir would become the nation of Edom. Yet despite this great success, the descendants of Esau the firstborn would be the symbolic representatives of what the Bible calls “the world” or the not-chosen ones. As one prophet would write in Malachi 1:2-5,

[2] “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob [3] but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” [4] If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.’” [5] Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!”

Jacob and Israel

What makes this such a perfect story is that these two people once shared the same uterus. Esau was not the elect one. He went on to have some remarkable success and to be the nation of Edom, which is now so mixed into so many other people groups as to be unrecognizable. What about his younger brother, Jacob? He was chosen by God to receive the covenant promises given to Abraham and Isaac. He was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel and the people group of the Jews. God gave his descendants precious promises, the Law that defined the nation as distinct from all the rest of the world, a system of worship that prepared us for a religion of grace, a mission of taking that message of grace to all the other people groups of the earth, written revelation that makes up ALL of the books of the Bible (not just the Old Testament), and especially a person, Jesus the Messiah, who would died for our sins as the Lamb of God and then do what no other lamb could ever have done—rise from the dead as the beginning of a new world without sin and death.

The Jews and the Nations

One womb—two people groups. The story of the Old Testament is the account of Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles ultimately mix. Their ethnic pride when it is combined with spiritual arrogance can be very dangerous to all concerned. Even the Jews sometimes had the very same problem when they forget that what set them apart from all the nations was the electing love of the God of heaven and earth. They were chosen by God.

The Church and the World

Eventually one Jew would be born who would change everything. He would keep the Law and then die a death for the elect of all the people groups of the earth as one who had not only a human nature but also a divine nature. The benefits of His death and resurrection would ultimately be known only by those who were chosen by God. Now the elect of God would not be only Israel, but a worldwide assembly (or church) of all who have faith in the one Savior and Lord of His people. One day their identity will be openly and perfectly displayed. We are assured that they will come from every tribe and tongue and nation. They are the chosen of God.

This important teaching of being chosen by God is clearly taught in Scripture (see Romans 9:6-13) and is essential if Christianity is to be a religion of grace where all the merit comes from Jesus. If our religion is first about our choice of God, then we deserve some spiritual credit based on our decision at that key moment that makes the distinction between a Jacob and an Esau. If it all begins with God's choice, then it is all His gift for which we should be eternally thankful.

One of the benefits of election is the clarity it brings to a confusing life. God chose you to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29). If you are here for a restart, this is the one you want. (Hebrews 12:16-17)

God's electing purposes will certainly be accomplished. Regardless of our various ethnic backgrounds, our knowledge, our power, or our money, our only hope is in our strong grace connection with Jesus, the King of the Jews, and the King and Head of the church.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 9 – You have rebuked the nations

Gospel Reading—Matthew 6:22-24 – [22] The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, [23] but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [24] No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Not the same Abraham, ... Ishmael, ... Isaac, ... Jesus

The Sons of Abraham

(1 Chronicles 1:28-33, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 2, 2017)

[28] The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.

Abraham

Last week we recounted the biblical story from Adam to Abraham. Today we move forward one generation to Isaac and Ishmael and then consider the descendants of Abraham and Hagar the Egyptian as well as the descendants that Abraham had through a concubine, Keturah.

Starting with Abraham, we are reminded that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all consider themselves in some way descendants of Abraham. Those who are more secular, regardless of their historic connection with one of these three important faith positions, are interested in Abraham only because of the battles between the other groups who take their faith more seriously. This “question mark” position of so many (holding to no particular story with any answers to life's important questions, and fearful of any exclamation points) would just like the dangerous disagreements between Jews, Christians, and Muslims to go away. All seek peace, but our understandings of how it can be achieved are radically different from one another.

The “question mark” view on life is therefore interested in the three Abrahamic faiths, but not in Abraham as a real man who lived 4000 years ago. That real man is both unlikely and irrelevant to the “question marks.” Skipping over the followers of Judaism and Islam for a moment, we as Christians are told that we are connected to Abraham because of our faith in Christ who is at the center of all of the promises of God. As Paul writes in Galatians 4:7, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” And Jesus Himself said in John 8:56, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.” When He was challenged about what He could possibly know about this ancient figure Abraham who lived 2000 years before Him, Jesus said “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)

God had promised that blessing would come to all the people groups of the world through the offspring of Abraham. The New Testament insists that Jesus is that one offspring of Abraham through whom we have heavenly life. While many Jews and Gentiles agreed with this Christian position, some did not. You cannot honestly commend the New Testament view of Abraham as true unless you believe that Jesus is the I-AM, Jehovah, the Lord of heaven and earth who has come in the flesh and who deserves all of the glory that belongs to God. This New Testament view of Abraham is utterly inconsistent with any view of Jesus that rejects His divinity. Therefore any Judaism that rejects the Trinity or any Islam that is true to the Koran at all presents a completely different view of Abraham. Only in a healthy Christianity can you affirm these important words of Jesus. “Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad,” and then “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:56-58)

Isaac and Ishmael

With that very foundational disagreement between the question marks, Jesus-rejecting Jews, Muslims, and historic Christians, we should not be surprised to find that we have serious disagreements concerning other matters of history. With the limited time that we have this morning, we need to give our special attention to Isaac and Ishmael.

The most important story in the life of Isaac has to do with his very real “near-death” experience at the hands of his father, Abraham, according to God's command. This horrifying episode can only be resolved in the Christian gospel account of the death of the Son of God on the cross. God, who was always against pagan child sacrifice, asked Abraham to do the unthinkable as a test of faith. Isaac did not ultimately have to die by Abraham's hand. The Lord tested Abraham's faith and then stopped the patriarch from taking the life of his long-awaited son. A substitute was provided for Isaac—a ram in the thicket who gave his blood so that Isaac could live. But when Jesus died for our sins, there was no substitute for Him. He was our atoning sacrifice. He is the only satisfying fulfillment of this ancient story of faith. Jesus was both the willing Isaac and the ram who died. Not only that, the resurrected Jesus was the new Isaac that Abraham received back alive. As we are taught in Hebrews 11:19, Abraham “considered that God was able even to raise (Isaac) from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”

What about Ishmael? (Note Genesis 16:12) The Christian view of Ishmael and his half brother Isaac is presented by Paul in Galatians 4:21-31. Ishmael was the child of the slave, Hagar, and not of the free woman, Sarah. The Lord had great plans for the descendants of Ishmael (Genesis 17:20), but the line of promise would go through Isaac and the Jews (Genesis 17:21).

Islam switches all this around claiming against all ancient biblical manuscripts that Ishmael was the one whom Abraham almost killed and not Isaac, and that Ishmael's line was the favored one which led to the prophet Mohammad. What makes this different view of Ishmael problematic is that the Quran has many glowing statements about the words of the Old and New Testaments but does not have even the very basics from those books reflected correctly, like Isaac and Ishmael.

The Quran was a 7^th century AD book. We can have no doubt that the Bible translations that we have today are based on a firm manuscript tradition that dates centuries earlier than the Quran. There is simply no evidence for the changing of a detail as significant as the question of who exactly was Ishmael. Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar. His birth was not an evidence of faith, but of unbelief. He was not the child of covenant blessings that would lead to the Messiah, though God had plans for his descendants as He had for all the people groups of the earth. At the center of those plans was the coming of the I-AM who would be from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribe of Judah, and the descendants of David.

Of all the descendants of Abraham and Hagar or of Abraham and his concubine Keturah, almost nothing is known for the last 2000 years. That is a long time to be missing. But we cannot say that of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. The Jews are the best known people group on the face of the earth. From this most unexpected line has come the most famous Man of all history, and the only human being to have a heavenly heritage as well as an earthly life.

Jesus of Nazareth is Lord. He has entered into this world of lies as the eternal truth of Almighty God come in person. He demands the obedience of all the nations and has provided the only way for us to defeat death and to live forever. The Jesus of Islam is a Messiah without a cross. Based on Matthew 16:23, that theological lie must forever be connected with the name “Satan.” Islam and Christianity offer radically different views of the past, the present, and the future. They cannot both be right. The resurrection of Jesus is our most treasured fact of history. It gives us assurance that the Bible's view of life and death is worthy of our faith.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 8 – O Jehovah, Our Master!

Gospel Reading—Matthew 6:19-21 – [19] Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.