Archive for ‘Clint’

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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 6…

Through chapters 6 and 11, the Scriptures teach very clearly that God is all-knowing. He knew that Pharaoh would not let the people go until after his heart was hardened. He knows past, present, and future. It is easy to get caught up, however, on the fact that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Doesn’t this mean that Pharaoh had no choice in the matter? Doesn’t this mean that Pharaoh had no chance to repent? On the contrary, God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart until after Pharaoh hardened his own heart many, many times.

Through Moses, God miraculously loosed 9 plagues in the land of Egypt, each of which was a direct message against the false gods of the Egyptians. Through each of these plagues, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. He refused God and sought out his own glory to such a great extent that he could no longer hear or receive the word of God. By this point, Pharaoh was so far from God and from repenting from his own sin that he would never hear what God would have to say. And so, as we read, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The treasure of the word of God is far too precious to be cast upon the ears of someone bent on rejecting it.

In chapter 12 we see the beginnings of one of the most historically celebrated holidays. This, the Passover, was the last and final plague in the land of Egypt. God warned that every first born son would be put to death unless the doorpost of that household was found with the blood of a lamb spread upon it. The Pharaoh continued in arrogance, but the Israelites believed what God said and so followed His instruction. When the spirit of the Lord came to take the lives of each firstborn son, he passed over every home that had heeded the instruction. At this, finally, Pharaoh commanded the Israelites to leave. They hurried, taking all that they could carry, but Pharaoh was relentless. Though he told them to leave he still pursued them because his heart was hardened and he refused to relent. However, when the Israelites reached the other side, God commanded Moses to raise his staff and make the waters return, drowning the Egyptians who pursued them.

To be continued in Epic 8…

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Summary by Darrin Koehler

It is with Abraham that we begin to see the narrative of God to redeem humanity really take shape. When he was at the age of 75, God called out to him, saying, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12:2,3) But before this would be realized, Abraham’s faith would be challenged. Abraham questioned God because he had no son of his own, yet God promised, “your very own son shall be your heir,” saying, “‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them…. So shall your offspring be.’ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

This does indeed show that God desires faith, and that the righteous shall live by faith. However, Abraham becomes impatient when he and his wife do not have a child. His wife says to him, “the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” (Gen. 16:2) But this was not God’s plan. As a result of this, Abraham had a son named Ishmael who would stand as an adversary to Israel for many years. But God was gracious, and he still fulfilled his promise. He said about Abraham’s wife: “I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her…. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant.”

It happened just as God said. Abraham’s wife had a child and they named him Isaac. But that’s not where this story ends. Abraham would face yet another test of faith. God commanded Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” What a command! Yet Abraham did not hesitate; he had such faith that in Hebrews 11:17 we read, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.” However, God did not allow Abraham to kill his son Isaac. There at the alter, knife in hand, the Angel of the Lord called out to Abraham, saying, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And so the Lord provided instead a ram as a burnt offering in the place of Isaac.

We know now that the purpose of this gut-wrenching scene in history was to foreshadow the coming of Jesus Christ, and how he would be given as the Father’s only son as a sacrifice to save the whole world.