He dug again his father's wells, (The Blessings)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/11/2006

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  He dug again his father’s wells, (The Blessings)

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 26:12-14

 

            Message of the verse:  “12 Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.”

           

            Isaac lived in the land of Gear for a long time according to verse eight, and God blessed him while he was in the land.  The question arises, just as it did with Abraham and will also arise with Jacob, is why did God bless these men and their families when they lied and deceived others so much?  I think that there are different answers to this question, and the best one is that God had promised to bless them, and that is all the answer that is needed, yet there is another answer and that is that God was blessing them for the sake of the covenant that He gave to them.  Paul wrote the following words to Timothy, “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”  Another reason for the blessings is that it was done for the sake of Abraham, just as in the case of believers today it is done for the sake of Jesus Christ, and even perhaps another believer who has gone on before us.

           

            The last part of verse fourteen says that because of these blessings from God the Philistines envied him.  I think that this is even true today of believer’s who are blessed by God that others envy them.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  These verses have a lot to do with the lesson in our Bible study from yesterday and that was on “God Only Wise,” taken from “Knowing God,” by J. I. Packer.  The lesson deals with the wisdom of God and how God’s wisdom is perfect and it also deals with how God moved in the lives of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph in different ways to bring about in them a life that was pleasing to Him and at the same time used them for His purposes.  God does the same thing today to His children, for each child is an individual whom God uses in His own special way (His wisdom) to bring out the best in them and to use them for His purposes.  I think the thing that is so awesome to me is that God does all of this with sinful man, for that is all that He has to work with here on planet earth.

 

The Word of God has been a challenge to me, and it has also refreshed my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to give me His wisdom and to mold me and make me into what He wants me to be for the praise and honor of my Great God.