The Place of O.T.

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Graeme Wilson in Freedom Fighters

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“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” — Genesis 12:1 (NLT)

So, I went on a Men’s Retreat with the guys from my church. I’m at a new church and I was hoping to use this event as a way to get to know the men that make up this body of Christ. To be upfront about it, I haven’t done this before, so to do this was to step out of my comfort zone and to go to a place other than America’s Keswick was also a step into a different direction. So, for the record, yes Dr. Welte, I did enjoy my time on the beach but it wasn’t the beach that was calling me. Even to be on the beach is a step out of my comfort zone, so why did I go on this retreat? Well, did you ever hear God call you to go to a different place, get there and find out that God has been waiting for you at the place you’ve been called to? Hear this out…

It’s the end of The Flood and YHVH has told the Noah’s family to, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth.” But apparently that didn’t happen. After time passed, people pretty much stayed in one place, so YHVH give them a kick in the tail and people went to different places speaking in different languages. And then one day some dude named Abram gets told, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1b). Now I’m not sure if YHVH was meeting Abram at the place he once was, but if you read Abram’s story in Genesis you’ll get a sense that YHVH indeed met with Abram on numerous occasions. Then the story takes a turn.

When we look at Genesis 22:1-19, we see that YHVH calls to the recently renamed Abraham and tells him to take his son, his only son, to the land of Moriah, to a mountain which He will tell him and offer Isaac up as a burnt offering. Now, I’m not too sure about you, but I ain’t too comfy with the idea of being Abraham in this story. Why? First off, I would want to verify if this was really YHVH telling me to do this, and if it was I don’t think I have it in me to do such a thing to my son… ya see, I only have one. But I’m also not Abraham, who out of obedience wakes up the next day and begins the three-day journey to Moriah. By the way, Scripture doesn’t let us in on whether Abraham had second thoughts along the way…he just went as he was told.

Now the thing to notice comes in Genesis 22:5, “And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you.” Now it is right here, at this moment in Scripture, we should take note that this doesn’t happen in modern day worship, we’re content to just bring the sacrifice of praise, but for this man, he is going to meet YHVH at the assigned place and he is bringing what he has been told to sacrifice. In verse nine, we see that Abraham arranges the wood (because we serve a God of order), binds up Isaac and just as the knife is ready to fall on the boy an Angel of the LORD says this, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” What an act of true obedient worship.

Worship seems to have changed over the centuries hasn’t it? As far back as Adam, worship required us to bring something to sacrifice upon the altar and then spill its blood to cover for our sin against Elohim El-Elyon, The Creator, the Most-High God. But now, it is important for us to understand that everything we do is an act of worship to the glory of God. Next time I’m with you, I’ll take a look at how the only Son brought worship to bunch of fisherman, and I’ll explain what happened while I was at Harvey Cedars, NJ. Until then, why not take a look at how you’re worshiping the God of the universe and see where your heart truly is with it and ask yourself, “Am I meeting God at this place?” If you are, great, but if you’re not why not lend an ear and hear “What thus saith the LORD!!” Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two adult children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 22-24| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

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Daily Quote: “The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshipper entertains high or low thoughts of God.” — A.W. Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, Psalm 33:18

 

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