Bible Study on 1John 3, verses 20 to 22, God is greater than our heart

 

1John 3:20 ¶  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

We may not be able to accept ourselves, and dwell heavily on our unworthiness before God but God is greater than our self-loathing, our fears, and our self-anger. What He knows is greater than all we could have done in the past. On the other hand, if we are willing to accept His forgiveness then our trust in Him is real and evident in a way that the Christian who is filled with self-contempt cannot understand. Either of those people just mentioned wants to do right by God, by His standards and stated expectations, and our prayers are answered because we are His, if what we ask is according to His will.

Matthew 7:7 ¶  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9  Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If what we ask is according to His will. Understand that God sees all events from the perspective of them having already happened. If it is His will that some believer die to go on to be with Him for eternity or that some unbeliever has had all the time they will have and God knows their heart will never let them come to Him then that’s what is going to happen. We cannot change God’s eternal decrees. What the fervent prayer of a righteous person who seeks to please God does is to change them, making them more accepting of God’s will in every circumstance, even as they themselves do what is right and work toward a good outcome. We should pray in all things that God’s will be done. This is a hard thing to accept and another reason for faith to sometimes fail. No one is willing to bury their child or face a shortened life due to a dread disease. No one wants failure and loss, pain and suffering. But if we are His there is something from Him in our most dire or tragic circumstances and in our pain and through our tears we can and should see it. The world cannot understand this. Most of us can’t either. But He knows all things.

Bible Study on Genesis 24, verses 62 to 67, Rebekah meets Isaac

 

Genesis 24:62 ¶  And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. 63  And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 64  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 65  For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. 66  And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. 67  And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

According to Strong’s dictionary Lahairoi is the well of the “Living One seeing me.” Isaac spent time in the evening in meditation. Now, meditation is not that of emptying one’s mind in this sense but filling it. He is meditating on something. It is good for us to meditate on the Bible.

Joshua 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Covering one’s face with a veil is mentioned outside of the Bible later than this incident, in around 1300BC, as scholars guess. It is found in an Assyrian legal text that restricts its use to noble women and forbids prostitutes and common women from using it, although noble women were not punished for not wearing a veil while prostitutes and common women were punished for wearing one.[1] This reference, of course, in the Bible, comes from a few hundred years before that, in the time of the patriarchs, before the Hebrews entry into Egypt.

There is no mention here made of the wedding feast that we see later with Jacob. One possible sermon that could be made out of the literal events is how the servant, representing the Holy Ghost, brings the bride to Christ, and I am sure there are many more possibilities from this.

Finally, becoming a wife or a husband is a matter of intent and commitment before God, not of ritual. The ritual wedding celebration of any country is meaningless if there is no intention to unite as one for life. It becomes simply another party to celebrate in one’s life and there may be several such celebrations without God having anything to do with them.

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[1] David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years (New York: Melville House Publishing, 2011), 184.

 

Bible Study on 1John 3, verses 14 to 19, love in deed and in truth

 

1John 3:14 ¶  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

John speaks of one evidence that we have passed from death to life, and I might add, everlasting life, our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a fundamental doctrine of Christ-centered Christianity. Hatred is a type of murder, showing contempt for another’s very life. Christ showed us the importance of that love by dying for us and John says we should be willing to die for each other.

Friendship and love in Imperial Rome were all about the usefulness of a person to you. Friendships could enhance your social standing, provide support in times of need, and reveal the complex interdependence between public and private life. As they are today, friendship and love are complicated social arrangements. However, the love that Christ calls for is not like human love, predicated on tolerance and conditional on the actions of the beloved. Christ died for all of humanity, even for those who did not know Him as well as for those who hated Him. His love is inclusionary not exclusionary. It doesn’t require an object who is our same skin color, social rank, gender, or ethnicity.

Galatians 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

It doesn’t even require an object who is kind to us. It is a standard we Christians rarely grasp.

Matthew 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

 

If there is anything that should cause you to abandon your faith and walk away from Christ this would be it. To love the unloveable, even the malicious, is unimaginable to us. Again…

 

Matthew 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

 

John reinforces a statement made by James in his letter.

 

James 2:14 ¶  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

 

John, like James, demands that we prove who we belong to by our selfless love for our brothers and sisters in Christ rather than the mercenary exploitation and power dynamics that characterize so much of what passes for love in the world. It’s not just talk and it is a height I have never attained in my own life. There are people and types of people who set my teeth on edge and whom I detest for their behavior and words, some even in churches I’ve attended who are deserving of my prayers much moreso than my contempt and that because of what Christ, the Word of God, the Son of God, did for me.

 

This isn’t about tolerating or approving of someone’s sin. This is about, in spite of their sin, not denying the things which they need to live and it is about praying for them to be convicted and changed. It is possible for our protection and for the protection of innocent others that they be removed from our midst but never mistreated and always prayed for sincerely. Our love for our brothers and sisters is not suicidal empathy and we must be clear on that. It is not about inviting someone into our home who has sworn to kill us. But it is about a genuine love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, in all of our imperfections.

 

But would you give your life for a brother or sister in Christ who can do nothing for you in return, who is weaker than you, perhaps powerless to reward your sacrifice? There are many questions we have to contemplate in our walk with Christ.

Bible Study on Genesis 24, verses 33 to 61, part 2, billions of descendants

 

PART TWO Understand that a generation can be a class, a distinct group of people in history, and not just a group of individuals physically being born and physically dying in a specific time frame issuing from a biological father and mother. This will help us understand the following words of Christ.

First, this generation as a group of people living and dying in a timeframe, of the same or similar ethnicity and culture. This is a reference to the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70AD, with generation including the religious leaders of Christ’s day.

Matthew 23:13 ¶  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater

damnation. 15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 16  Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18  And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20  Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21  And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22  And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24  Ye blind guides, which

strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of

extortion and excess. 26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30  And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32  Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

 

    34 ¶  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

 

    24:1 ¶  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 ¶  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6  And ye

shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8  All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

 

Then, Jesus goes on to the end of history in Revelation unless you believe He returned physically in 70AD, which would be a disturbing thought and, I believe, an error.

 

24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25  Behold, I have told you before. 26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Then comes a reference to a generation that must refer to the Elect of God.

32 ¶  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth

come. 43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

One might ask, why in Matthew 23 and 24 would there be two different definitions of generation? Well, Christ had already done that with two definitions of Master in one passage.

 

Matthew 23:8  But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be

abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

 

One definition of Master in this same passage is Rabbi or teacher. (see a contrast between teacher and student in Malachi 2:12) The other definition is lord or superior in the context.

 

As far as objections to a split prophecy in the same passage regarding events thousands of years apart starting in Matthew 24:14 from the time before that verse, Jesus already did this in Luke 4:18-21 where he quoted Isaiah 61:1,2 with a gap between acceptable year of the LORD, and and of at least two thousand years.

 

Isaiah 61:1 ¶  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

 

Luke 4:17  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Regardless of interpretation, spiritual or physical, Rebekah’s offspring, as a group, will now play an important role in God’s ministry of reconciliation for mankind and will not be forgotten by God no matter what their failings.

Her spiritual descendants will stand before God in Heaven.

Revelation 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

 

Bible Study on 1John 3, verses 11 to 13, Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you

 

1John 3:11 ¶  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12  Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. 13  Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

John reinforces what he reported in his gospel about what Jesus said regarding this.

John 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends… 17  These things I command you, that ye love one another.

This is in sharp contrast to Cain’s lack of love for his own flesh and blood brother. Cain was doing the work of Satan as the first-century Judean Jews who persecuted these early Jewish Christians did.

John 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Why did they do that? Because their own works were evil and because...

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The disciples of Christ should not be amazed that the world hates them.

John 15:18 ¶  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21  But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. 22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 23  He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

Think of this. The Jews had interpreted the Bible knowing that God was manifest in the Father, in the Word of God, and in the Skekinah, His glory, which some commentators interpret as the Holy Ghost in the Old Testament. So, there is the Trinity, a word coined by the early church father, Tertullian, who lived from 165AD to 220AD, to describe the threefold nature of the Godhead. The living Word of God had been right in front of them; teaching in depth and wisdom and authority, raising the dead, controlling natural events, casting out demons, and then defying all understood reality of life by rising from the dead Himself after letting them execute Him at the hands of the Romans. You might say, well why didn’t He do something like part the Red Sea? Remember, though, that didn’t make the Israelites obey God or even love Him. And these things Jesus did were personal, individual miracles that would impact their lives right then. And still the religious leadership valued their political positions more than the truth, more than salvation, so they killed Him.

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Bible Study on Genesis 24, verses 33 to 61, and the LORD hath blessed my master greatly

 

Genesis 24:33  And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. 34  And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. 35  And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. 36  And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. 37  And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: 38  But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. 39  And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. 40  And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house: 41  Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. 42  And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: 43  Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; 44  And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son. 45  And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. 46  And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. 47  And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. 48  And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son. 49  And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. 50  Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. 51  Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken. 52  And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. 53  And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

Genesis 24:54 ¶  And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. 55  And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. 56  And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. 57  And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. 58  And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. 59  And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men. 60  And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. 61  And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

Eliezer insisted upon relating his mission before he would eat and there is an attempt to delay him. Perhaps they were hoping for even more bounty to be given to the family than was given. In the end everyone acknowledges that it is Rebekah’s decision to make and she chooses to leave with Abraham’s servant. It is curious that she is given a choice in that culture but that is important typology considering the importance of choice in salvation. Here is the blessing also from her mother and brother wishing her to be the mother of billions of people. On a literal level this would mean that the Jews, the name that we now call the Hebrews, but it is much greater than the 15 million or so that now exist. The fact is that the Christian faith sprang from the faith of the people of Moses thereby accounting for billions of spiritual descendants, descendants of Abraham through Isaac to Christ, as noted previously in what Paul wrote to us.

Galatians 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

But there are always at least two applications of any Bible passage; the literal as to whom it is speaking to or about directly in that context and the spiritual which can be prophecy or involve a greater, more enduring meaning such as Ezekiel’s description of the kings of Tyre and Babylon also describing Satan. One explanation is literal and one is spiritual with a deeper meaning. Spiritually it is easy to equate this huge number with the Christians who choose to believe and follow God as the spiritual descendants of Abraham although they are accounted as being born of Christ. The following verse from the Psalm that Christ begins from the Cross is very important.

Psalm 22:30  A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

Bible Study on 1John 3, verses 4 to 10, he is born of God

 

1John 3:4 ¶  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5  And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6  Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7  Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9  Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Here, sin is defined as breaking God’s standard of righteousness, the Law given to Moses which is our Creator’s standard of righteousness, transgressing it. But Christ came to take away our sin and was sinless Himself. If you are in Christ you are not held accountable for your sin but those who abide in their sin, whose lives are defined by their sin have not known Christ and are not known by Him. It would be inconceivable for a murderer to get saved and then to continue murdering or someone who worshipped a heathen god to continue in that worship were they to be saved.

We are righteous when we do righteousness because our Savior is righteous. But the one who ignores Christ’s calling away from sin is of Satan himself. Christ came to destroy the works of Satan. Because the very mind of Christ indwells us we are not held accountable in eternity for our sin, which has been forgiven. But there are traits that show that a person is not truly saved and that includes not only refusing to do right but holding one’s brothers and sisters in Christ in contempt.

Paul made it clear that if you are saved you can’t lose your salvation because, if you did, you could never get saved again because that would involve recrucifying Christ, an absurdity.

Hebrews 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Notice also how Paul admonished the believers in Corinth.

1Corinthians 6:9 ¶  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Let’s not take our salvation lightly.