UNDERSTANDING GOD (Part 4) Establishing the FATHER GOD through a survey of human history in scripture 1. WITH ADAM AND EVE In the walk of God with humanity the concept of God as Father is clearly established first by the dominion mandate He gave to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26-31), the special way He created them which was more refined than that of the other creations (Genesis 2:7, 18-25) and His providential care for them. We also see the fatherhood of God by establishing a basic rule for His household containing a punishment clause in case of disobedience, as fathers do Genesis 2:15-17; Genesis 3:16-19, 22-24. Even when Adam and Eve fell Father God was stirred to mix justice with mercy by providing a covering for their nakedness and announcing a redemptive plan to recover humanity Genesis 3:15, 21. 2. WHEN THE FATHER EXERCISED JUDGMENT, ONLY ONE MAN/ FAMILY SURVIVED A GLOBAL DELUGE After the fall of man and the dominion of satan through the pangs of sin, death, disease and human misery took its toll. Adam and Eve, who were originally created in the image of God, began their procreative assignment with their new nature of sin Genesis 5:13. One of their children Cain murdered his brother Abel and set off further complications as the blood of the slain began to speak judgment. Genesis 4:1-15. Before long the whole world was severely polluted with the satanic nature Adam acquired. The only solution to this was to wipe out the entire human race with a flood Genesis Chapters 6, 7, 8. Only one man Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives were preserved - Genesis 6:8-10. Genesis Chapters 8 and 9 show how severe the judgment of God can be to those who forsake His ways with impunity. Brethren the fact that you are born again and purport to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom is no license for you to remain in sin. Judgment begins in the House of God and those who deny Him by their reproachful life will face His fiery indignation – 1 Peter 4:17, Hebrews 6:18, Hebrews 10:26-33. 3. AS A MAN SLID DOWN PERDITION AGAIN GOD CHOSE A MAN, ABRAHAM AS HIS FRIEND By the time mankind went through further descent into a satanic lifestyle, the need for a human family to relate exclusively with God became obvious. In His discretion God chose a man from Ur of the Chaldees in the area of modern day Iraq, Abraham, as the vessel for this purpose. Though he lived amongst heathen people Abraham had a heart that yearned to connect with God. God thus revealed Himself to Abraham and put Abrahams faith in Him through a series of tests. By faith Abraham secured a berth and became the patriarch of the faithful and receiver of promises. Those promises have stood the test of time to establish this fact: God is a faithful Father whose commitments to His family is rock solid, making ample provisions for reconciliation to Him. Read Genesis Chapters 12-18; 20-22 for the remarkable story of a man who God used to establish His fatherhood of an elect people and to understand why no power on earth can ever destroy the Jews as a people. 4. THROUGH MOSES GOD ESTABLISHED A LEGAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS CHOSEN FAMILY In process of time, God decided to establish Himself as a Father to His chosen family through a legal deed called the Old Covenant. In the desert region between modern day Egypt and Israel, God at Mount Sinai gave Moses the Law that sealed Israel as His Covenant family. Reading through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy which contains the Torah, we see the remarkable covenant document and its provisions which established the Jews, who are the children of Abraham through the lineage of Isaac, as a peculiar people unto Himself with a definite pattern of worship and a territory assigned to them by a divine oath. When Pharaoh dared to touch His family God pointedly reminded this impetuous King of Egypt that Israel was His own first born among all the people groups on earth. This peculiar relationship between God and the children of Abraham has been sustained by the providential care of God as their Father. He gave them manna from above, water from the rock, protected and preserved them and performed for them all the responsibilities of a Father. Instinctively, all Israel knew Him as YHWH, Jehovah and the Great I AM Who I AM. This relationship, based on the old covenant survived various periods of national backsliding. As a merciful Father God punished them when they forsook His laws and love. Sometimes this was executed by disease, exile or other forms of punishment. Psalm 107 captures part of this yoyo relationship between the Father God and Israel, His elect family. It is instructive to note that because of the deep reverence Israel had for Him, God as “Father” in the Old Testament is very minimal even though that concept is pervasive Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 63:16; Isaiah 64:8; Malachi 2:10. This is why it grieved Samuel when Israel pressured him for a King who would rule them as gentile monarchs did. Samuel knew that the status of the people was about to be changed from a family under a providential Father to a monarchy where men would rule them 1 Samuel Chapter 8. Some significant facts stand out in this saga: God does not force Himself on any people. God is faithful to covenants He makes with mortal man. God was revealed to the children of Abraham alone and anyone who desired to worship Him needed to embrace the way of life He ordained for them through Moses His servant. Therefore, the theophanies or revelations of God in the old covenant were necessarily revelations of the one Israel knew as YHWH. YHWH was exclusive to them and all other people were classified as gentiles. Because of His inherent goodness however, God provided a remedy both for the sin question and man’s bondage to satan. The law given to Moses was not intended to be eternal. It was to serve as a schoolmaster to put the pristine instincts of humanity in check until the perfect sacrifice from heaven would be revealed Galatians 3:19-25. Unfortunately, the weight of the glory on the face of Moses caused it to shine so brightly that the people needed a veil on him so that they would not be smitten. That veil became the biggest problem of the Mosaic dispensation, even until today. When the One who would fulfil rather than abolish the Law and bring a more perfect access to God into being came, the veil was still too heavy on His natural kinsmen. Because God can never be taken by surprise, we now see that He allowed that blindness and clinging to Mount Sinai so that Calvary would offer the gentiles – all other children of God a chance to come home before the firstborn would be granted eye salve to see and return back to the Father through the appointed channel – Jesus Christ as very God and very man. Please read Romans Chapters 9-11 to understand this mystery as well as John 14:1-11,Matthew 5:17-18. A day is coming when all things will be reconciled back to the Father. As the creation yearns for that restorative project to take place it will be preceded, as it were, by manifestation of the true sons of God Romans 8:19. For now we see in part and know in part.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 17:18:08 +0000
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