Obedience and Blessing: Lessons From the Life of Abraham
Gordon Henry Hayhoe
Table of Contents
Obedience and Blessing: Lessons From the Life of Abraham
Hymn 197
1. O GOD! what cords of love are Thine,
How gentle, yet how strong!
Thy truth and grace their strength combine
To draw our souls along.
2. The guilt of twice ten thousand sins
One moment takes away;
And when the fight of faith begins,
Our strength is as our day.
3. Comfort, through all this vale of tears,
In blest profusion flows;
And glory of unnumbered years
Eternity bestows.
4. Drawn by such cords we’ll onward move,
Till round the throne we meet,
And, captives in the chains of love,
Embrace our Savior’s feet.
GENESIS 14:15,17-24:1-5
EN 14:15{EN 14:17{EN 24:1-5 {"And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons and take the goods for thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth. That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion. After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold to me thou hast given no seed: and lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness."
In this portion we have some very precious thoughts. A great victory has been won and a challenge comes to Abram, as it does to us today. Problems arise, too, and we learn how God comforts and sustains in them. These things take place in the life of each believer also. We are confronted with challenges, and problems as well... problems as to why the Lord does not come in and deliver us. Yet we see how the Lord comforts and sustains us in them, and turns our eyes to Himself. The Lord Jesus is the only One who can fill and satisfy the heart. God may, in His goodness, undertake for us in material ways and bless us, but He alone can be the satisfying portion of the heart! David says in Psa. 119:96, "I have seen an end of all perfection; but Thy commandment is exceeding broad." Others, whom we have looked up to, may fail. But how blessed it is that there is One who never fails, who can be everything to us, to the young as well as to the old. It is a blessed thing when we learn this while we are young. It is true that many learn it later on in life through trials and problems, but it is better to learn it while we are young.
We did not read the beginning of the 14th chapter, but there was a great conflict there and God granted a great victory. Lot went down to Sodom and sought a home in that wicked city. Later there had been a battle, and all that Lot possessed had been carried away. We read, "God speaks once, yea twice, but man perceiveth it not." (Job 33:14) This should have been a voice from God to Lot, but Lot did not listen. Perhaps some disappointment or sorrow has come to you, dear young people, and the Lord has come in to help and deliver you. But, after the trial, you have gone back into the world, to the things which cannot satisfy. We see a lovely picture in Abram of love for his erring brother. This is what we need among us, brethren. Abram, at the risk of his life and all that he had, sought the deliverance of his brother Lot. Do we seek the restoration of our brethren? Or, do we often say, "Well it is his own fault." Was it not Lot's own fault? Yes, but that is not the way divine love speaks. May God grant that we have increasing love for one another. In Heb. 12, where it speaks of God's discipline for His people. It says, "Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees."(Verse 12) Do we see someone with his hands hanging down? That is the first step in getting away. Is it not lovely to read that word of encouragement, "Lift up the hands which hang down"? Just think of what the Lord has done, and of His patience with us! "And the feeble knees"... This person has not fallen yet. How often we wait until a person has fallen.
But it is the feeble, the spiritually lame, who need help. Oh, may we know how to be a help! Abram went after Lot and brought him back.
Think of the great victory that God granted here. It is a figure of the great victory that the Lord Jesus has won for us. Only through that victory can there be deliverance for us. We were once going on in the way of this world, in our sins, yet we know how God in His goodness delivered us from the power of Satan and has set us free. Is there one here whose heart is in Sodom because he has not found Christ? (There was a difference between Lot and the people of Sodom; he was not one of the people of Sodom at heart...though, of course, he should not have dwelt there.) "His be the Victor's Name who fought the fight alone! Triumphant saints no honor claim; His conquest was their own."(L.F. Hymn 4, appendix)
It is only through what Christ has done that there has been deliverance from our sins and from the power of sin. All who believe have been set free in Christ. Here, Abram returns from the great victory over the kings and there were two persons to meet him, the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, king of Salem. Is it not true that when we first find the Lord Jesus as our Savior the same thing happens to us? The world comes along with some attraction to take our hearts away. It might be something even as small as a thread, but anything that the enemy can use to keep us from going on with the Lord Jesus. But, there is another who came out...Melchizedek. We know from Hebrews that this Melchizedek is a figure to us of the Lord Jesus. Melchizedek was a dispenser of blessing to Abram. The One who died for us on Calvary's cross is the dispenser of blessing to us up there now. Having once and for all settled the question of our sins, we can look up and see the One at God's right hand ever living to make intercession for us. Is it not precious for us to look up and see Him there? And, when Satan comes to us with some temptation, perhaps a very real one, something hard to refuse, we can look up and see that One in the glory, and receive strength to refuse the temptation, to remain faithful to the Lord.
Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine. Here we have a precious little picture of the Lord Jesus in His death. He comes and meets Abram with the bread and wine. It was a remembrance of something that he should never forget, that it was not by his own strength that the victory had been won, but it was God Himself who granted him the victory. How much we need the remembrance of what the Lord Jesus has done! Some have it once every three months; some once a month; and some never. This morning we had before us the importance of the first day of the week. In Acts 20 we read that on the first day of the week the disciples came together to break bread. If you belong to the Lord Jesus, can you not see Him, as it were, coming to you with the "bread and wine" of His victory? "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come."(1 Cor. 11:26) Could you think of Abram at this moment refusing to receive the remembrance of the Lord's goodness? The Lord Jesus Himself broke the bread and dispensed the wine before going to the cross, and He has asked us to do this until He comes.
I remember, some years ago, a young woman said, "I hesitated quite a while, realizing my own weakness in taking my place at the Lord's table, until I heard a brother say that there was something in the remembrance of the Lord's death that would help to keep us. So, I thought that was a reason for me to be there, because I am weak; not to keen away from it because I am weak." Just a short time ago, I was asked to take the funeral of a man who knew the Lord Jesus and had lived to be over seventy years old. When I took his funeral, I thought how sad that he had never in his lifetime remembered the Lord Jesus in His death. He had trusted the Lord Jesus as his Savior but he missed that wonderful opportunity.
But Abram partook of the bread and wine, and Melchizedek blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth." No doubt, Melchizedek saw the king of Sodom there and knew what he had come to offer Abram. So he told Abram he was blessed of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. Often the world looks attractive and it is hard to say no to the things offered us, but when we think that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, all that the world has to offer is as nothing compared to this. We are identified with the One who is the possessor of heaven and earth, and He has made us His joint heirs. Would you not think it strange if I were worrying about a little plot of land when, within a few days I would become joint heir of the whole neighborhood? Yes, we are joint heirs with Christ and when we possess it, there will be no tears or sickness or sorrow, nothing to hinder our enjoyment of it. The possessor of heaven and earth came out to meet Abram and blessed him. Oh, if we could only enjoy more of these blessings which are ours in Christ! They are ours, but may we enjoy them!
"And blessed be the Most High God which bath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." It was when Abram realized this, and when all this laid hold of his soul, that he gave tithes. When you and I think of what the Lord Jesus has done for us, it is not hard for us to give. Surely it is our joy! How much should we give? Abram gave tithes of all. In Rom. 12:1, it says we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. Long ago, when David won a great victory, Jonathan came out and gave him all he possessed. But he did not identify himself with David, did not give himself. You may be giving very freely, but the "love that transcends our highest powers, demands our soul, our life, our all."(L.F. Hymn 283) Have you and I ever got down before the Lord and said, "Lord, all I have and all I am belongs to thee"? Until then you will never be a really happy Christian. Oh, you say, "I am afraid to do it for I might not want to do something that He will require of me." Can we doubt the love of the One that has given Himself for us? It will be the beginning of real happiness in your Christian life when you present yourself to Him and seek His grace. I do not mean that there will not be failure. There will be failure, doubtless, but He will give real happiness in seeking that path; and He restores too. David did not ask Jonathan to go with him to the cave of Adullam. If love in the heart of Jonathan did not constrain him to go with him, David would not ask him. In Judaism they were told to give a tenth, but we are not under law. He has done all that love could do to win our hearts and will continue to do so for all eternity. What a claim he has upon us!
After this, the king of Sodom came to Abram and said, "Give me the persons and take the goods to thyself." Turn to 1 Kings 20:1-4. What a sad picture we have here: the enemy comes up and says to Ahab, "The very best of your children and all you possess are mine." Then the king of Israel says, "Yes, I am thine," and he acknowledges the claim of the king of Syria over all that he had, and his children. Here, the king of Sodom comes out and says, "Give me the persons; you take the goods." Oh, dear young believer, as I look into your faces this afternoon, I can hear the devil say, "Give me the persons." He wants you for himself. The devil does not care how rich you get in this world; he may be very pleased at your success in that way. It is you he wants, your ability, your time, everything! What is your reply going to be? Sad to think that Ahab said, "I am thine." He acknowledged the claim. Oh, this is the challenge, to whom do we say we belong?
When it really comes down to the point of action, with the world on one hand and the Lord on the other, is our answer to the world, "Yes, what I am, my ability, my time, belongs to you." Or is it that we say to the Lord Jesus, "Lord I am Thine"? "Therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."(1 Cor. 6:20) What a sad end came to Ahab. Some young people who have sat in seats at the conferences have heard similar thoughts, and they have given themselves over to following the world. Where are they today? The world wants you. It will take everything you have, your talent, your ability, and every moment of your time. But, the Lord Jesus wants you too. He will fill your heart for time and all eternity if you will follow him.
Abram said, "I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine." Here, Abram said, "I will have a reason for refusing." He did not just say no. Sometimes if the answer to the world is just "No," they keep on bothering us. But it is good to give a reason for the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear. The king of Sodom did not bother Abram any more after this, because Abram had given a reason for his decision. When they come to you at school, in the office, or, perhaps neighbors on the street, and ask you to do this or that, it is nice not only to refuse but to give a reason. Abram said he had a reason for refusing. "I belong to Christ." I know a dear lady that was saved a few years ago who used to go out in the world and play bridge. After she was saved, she said to her former companions, "I could say no, but I feel I should tell you the reason; the reason is that I have a new life and the new life does not enjoy the same things." They did not call the next week, asking the same thing. No, she confessed plainly the reason.
What we give up is nothing at all in comparison with what we have received. Paul said, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." (Phil. 3:8) It might have been very hard for Paul to have parted with some of these things, but he had something better: he counted them but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. I am not here to impose certain rules and say what you should go to and what you should not go to. But, if you realize how much the Lord Jesus has done for you, there will be no difficulty for you to say with Abram, "I have lift up mine hand to the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth." Did he say, "Well I will go along with you a little way"? No, he refused even a thread.
That it a little thing; it is nothing! Have you ever thought of what a job threads have done in your clothes? They hold your clothing together. "Such a little thing," you say. But is there a thread which is holding you to the world?
Remember what the bridegroom said to the bride, whose heart had grown cold to him; "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines." ( Sol. 2:15) "Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice."(Sol. 2:14) She had not sought his company; she was not even near enough to hear his voice. Do you often seek His face, and let Him hear your voice? Is your face seen at the meetings? How lovely it is to hear the bridegroom speaking in that way, "...for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." Not once in the whole book of the Song of Solomon does he ever reproach the bride. You and I would say, "How indifferent she seems to be, how callous she is! When she does not answer the door, he said, "Open to me, my dove, my undefiled."(Sol. 5:2) He saw beauty in her. Dear young people, the Lord Jesus is not reproaching you. He wants your heart if you belong to Him, and He wants you to be drawn. But, perhaps there is a little thread drawing you to the world. I remember a girl who got saved and gave up all her worldly friends, but one...and eventually that one drew her back into the world!
A shoelatchet, that is what holds on a shoe. Perhaps you are committed to some course of action. That shoelace, or whatever it may be, has decided you on a certain course of action. How often a young person has made a promise to someone and, later on, finds himself all tied up. Abram said, "I will not let myself be tied up." The Lord wants you to be free to acknowledge His claim over you. In the Song of Solomon, it is lovely to find the bridegroom looking at the bride's feet, "How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter!"(7:1) Would the Lord Jesus say about you and me that our walk is beautiful? Does He appreciate that we seek to walk to please Him? Yes, indeed! Are we really seeking to go on for his glory? "I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich." Every link with the world causes the world to have a claim on us. Mr. Darby said, "The higher you get in the world, the nearer you get to its prince." All these things tie us to the world.
Now, notice in the last verse of chapter 14, "Save only that which the young men have eaten...let them take their portion." In other words, he does not make the decision for the young men who had gone with him. How important this is! I cannot decide something for you; but how lovely it is to see an exercise. When I see someone doing a thing I could not do myself with a good conscience, and they say, "Well, I do want to please the Lord." I am thankful for the exercise. He wants you to ask yourself, "How much does the love of Christ have a claim on my heart?" I cannot speak for you, nor you for me. But, what is our desire? May it be to please the Lord Jesus who has done so much for us!
In the 15th chapter, the Lord tells Abram, "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." The Lord knew that when Abram had taken this stand he was going to need encouragement. It is something so needed in these last days, to be encouraged. It is easy to say things which discourage, but the Lord comes to Abram after this and says, "Fear not, I am thy shield (thy protection), and thy exceeding great reward." The Lord will protect you, and you will never lose anything worthwhile while seeking to follow Christ. "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Regarding encouragement, it is not right to flatter, because that might do a person harm; but how often we fail to speak the little word of encouragement. The enemy will always try to discourage you after you have tried to do something for the Lord, and how often we fail to speak the little word that would encourage another in the path. Jonathan in one place went out to fight and he was apparently about to turn back when his armorbearer spoke a little word of encouragement, so he went forward and won a great victory. I love to think of another instance in the life of Paul, when he had been arrested and thrown in prison, where he might have been discouraged. "And the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer Paul; for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."
(Acts 23:11) The Lord encouraged the beloved apostle for the days that lay ahead, because he was in prison for a long time; and he would never forget that the Lord stood by him for that very first night.
"And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless?" Abram had sought to be faithful; had refused all that the king of Sodom had offered; had accepted the bread and wine from Melchizedek; but there was one thing... why had the Lord not granted him that one request which he had so much desired? Perhaps one here says, "I have tried to follow the Lord and have sought to be faithful, but something I have repeatedly asked the Lord for He has denied me. That was how Abram felt here. He desired a son and, what he desired, the Lord had denied him. Perhaps someone here is feeling that way, and the enemy is using this matter to discourage you. "Why does not the Lord undertake for me? Why does He not come in, in this way or that way?" The Lord had even said that He would give him a son, and why was it not fulfilled? If God was really seeking his happiness, why was this withheld from him? Because it was a walk of faith. Look at verse 4. Had God forgotten the promise that to his seed He would give the whole land? No, God had not forgotten! We might forget, but God never forgets. Our names are upon his heart as well as upon His shoulders.
What does God do for Abram? See verse 5. He does not tell him how this desire of his heart would be fulfilled, nor how soon it would be fulfilled; but his faith was to be sorely tested after this for a long time; but, He says, "Look now toward heaven." Let me impress these words upon you, "LOOK NOW TOWARD HEAVEN." We may see more difficult times than we have ever seen before, more weakness in the testimony, more breakdown in the world. But, "LOOK NOW TOWARD HEAVEN." In those days they did actually try to count the stars. Now, we know that there are millions of them beyond the natural vision. A brother told me there is one star three hundred times larger than the sun, yet this star cannot be seen with the natural eye. I remember a remark of Mr. Darby's, "How often does one forbidden thing hide from our view a thousand blessings!" How often, because we are looking at things with the naked eye, we miss those things which are only visible to the eye of faith. Faith counts upon God and knows that He is going to work out everything according to the counsel of His own will!
"And he believed in the Lord." Had not Abram believed in the Lord before? Yes, he had left Ur of the Chaldees and he had believed in the Lord, but faith is continually put to the test all through the Christian life. How blessed it is when we can look above present things. "Keep us Lord, oh keep us cleaving, to Thyself and still believing, till the hour of our receiving promised joys with Thee." (Little Flock Hymn #256) May God enlarge the vision of faith and may we look toward heaven and see our portion there, the unsearchable riches of Christ. May we, like Abram, believe in the Lord. May we not only believe in Him to the saving of our souls, but may we believe in Him for our pathway too. Our faith will be tested, but may we make the Lord Jesus the object of our souls. And may God grant that we shall be kept; that it may be said of each of us that "He believed in the Lord." When some difficulty arises that you cannot understand, may you repeat these words, "He believed in the Lord," and "LOOK NOW TOWARD HEAVEN" until that time when we shall see Him face to face, and know fully all that is in His heart for us!
Hymn 256
1. PRAISE the Savior, ye who know Him,
Who can tell how much we owe Him?
Gladly let us render to Him
All we have and are.
2. Jesus is the name that charms us,
He for conflict fits and arms us,
Nothing moves and nothing harms us
While we trust in Him.
3. Trust in Him, ye saints, forever,
He is faithful, changing never;
Neither force nor guile can sever
Those He loves from Him.
4. Keep us, Lord, oh keep us cleaving
To Thyself and still believing,
Till the hour of our receiving
Promised joys with Thee.
5. Then we shall be where we would be,
Then we shall be what we should be;
Things that are not now nor could be
Soon shall be our own.
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