Not new to me, but interesting! Genesis 26:1-5 says:

¹There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

²Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. ³Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands, and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; ⁵because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

“The first famine that was in the days of Abraham” refers back to the time when Abraham escaped a drought by moving to Egypt and placed himself in trouble’s way by saying his wife was his sister. (More about that in tomorrow’s post maybe) Now his son Isaac is faced with the same situation. A drought forces him to seek better surroundings but God tells him not to go to Egypt.

He reminds him of the promises made to Abraham about becoming a great nation and the Messiah coming through his seed. God repeats those promises to Isaac, and then reminds him WHY Abraham was blessed so much: “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” (Verse 5)

Many Christians fail to acknowledge the link between genuine faith and obedience to God. While obedience does not secure salvation for us, it is ALWAYS a RESULT of genuine faith!  Those who have real faith know that they can safely obey God in everything they do!

Many also assume that God’s commandments were “Jewish” and therefore were not given until the time of Moses. But this Scripture makes it clear that God’s commandments were known at least hundreds of years before God wrote them on tables of stone! The laws that were for the Jewish race were the “Laws of Moses.” They were what is called the ceremonial laws and related to the everyday running of the sanctuary, the priesthood etc. They pointed forward to Jesus and at the cross were made redundant.

In Deuteronomy 31:24-26 as Moses is preparing to die, he tells the priests to place HIS law BESIDE the ark of the covenant. However GOD’S law, the Ten Commandment law was placed INDIDE the ark of the covenant and constitutes God’s requirements of His people for all time. Those laws are the TERMS of the covenant relationship that mankind has with God through faith!

I love the fact that the lid of the Ark of the Covenant is called “the mercy seat” (Exodus 40:20) and is between the presence of God, and His holy law. That says to me that He has mercy on me when I stumble and fall short of perfect obedience and that He remembers my frame that I am but dust!

“As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. ¹⁴ For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:13,14)

Revel in God’s loving mercy today friend and you’ll have a great day!

 

(more about that in tomorrow’s post)