1. In the previous lessons of this series, we have searched the Scriptures with a view to understand its teaching concerning the sons of God.

1. It is the evidence of Scripture that sonship portends regality i.e., in God’s kingdom, ONLY sons rule!

1. Angels are sons of God−Gen. 6:2; Job 1:6; 2:1 38:7. God CREATED angels and delegated authority to them TO RULE. For instance, God appointed Lucifer to rule over the earth−Ezek. 28:12-15; Job 1:7; 2:2.

2. Adam was the son of God−Lk. 3:38. God CREATED Man TO RULE the earth after Lucifer disqualified himself through rebellion−Isa. 14:12-15; Gen. 1:26-28.

3. The nation of Israel is a son of God−Ex. 4:22-23. The Lord has appointed Israel TO RULE and adopted Israel as His firstborn having performed a CREATIVE act in Jacob because in the human realm, only firstborns rule−Isa. 43:1.

4. Jesus Christ is, and has always been, the Son of God−Lk. 1:35. His identity at birth and purpose were regal and God the Father appointed Him heir of all things−Matt. 2:1-15; Joh. 18:37; 19:17-22; Heb. 1:2.

1. God the Father sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to the nation of Israel, His son, with the offer of the kingdom of the heavens on condition that they repented−Mk. 12:6; Joh. 5:24, 36-37; 7:16; 12:44-50; Matt. 4:17-23; 15:24.

1. Israel, as a nation, rejected her Messiah and the offer of the kingdom of the heavens! Although God presented Israel with a reoffer of the same kingdom, the nation rejected it−Ac 28:28.

2. As a result of Israel rejecting the offer of the kingdom of the heavens, it was taken away from them to be given to another nation−Matt. 21:43.

This nation is the Church which comprises mostly of individuals racially born Gentile−1 Pet. 2:9; Ac 15:14.

1.  Testing has a CONTEXT.

1. Having created Man to rule the earth in place of Satan who had since disqualified himself through rebellion, God TESTED him to prove his worthiness to realize this purpose−Gen. 2:16-17; 1:26-28.

2. Joseph had two dreams, both of which were REGAL in nature−Gen. 37:5-11. The Lord TESTED Joseph by orchestrating events which seemed to contradict the REGAL dreams that he had−Ps 105:8-12.

3. The Lord TESTED the nation of Israel after their deliverance from Egyptian oppression and on their journey towards the land of their inheritance−Ex. 15:25-26; 16:4. In TESTING the nation of Israel, the Lord sought to establish the nation’s worthiness to rule as the head over the nations−Deut. 28:1, 13.

4. The context of TESTING is RULERSHIP, the goal being to ascertain the worthiness and subsequent approval of the individual being tested.

1. When the Lord tested Abraham, his response was IMMEDIATE! There was NO DEBATE, NO HESITATION, NO RESERVATIONS, NO PUSHBACK, NO DELAY, NO NEGOTIATION−Gen. 22:3-5.

God TESTED Abraham

1. Gen. 22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

1. It is God’s prerogative to TEST and He does so with the RIGHTEOUS−Ps 11:5 The Lord tests the righteous…

1. Prov. 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.

2. Ps 7:9 …For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

3. There are different Hebrew words for ‘test’ all of which mean to try, to prove, to tempt, to prove, to examine/assay, to scrutinize. It carries the idea of testing or proving the quality of someone or something.

1. The ONLY basis by which God TESTS His people is His Word!

1. Ex. 15:25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

2. Ex. 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.

Judges 2:20 Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, 21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22 so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.” 23 Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

1. The Lord kept His Word, in His time and style, and did as He had promised Sarah who bore Isaac−Gen. 21:1-3.

1. As time elapsed, Isaac grew and he was subsequently weaned, much in every way a baby was−Gen. 21:8-9; 1 Sam. 1:22-24; 1 Kin 11:20; Hos. 1:8.

1. Weaning conveys the idea of bringing to an end, the time a child comes to the end of need for nursing, because he/she has matured.

2. In the Septuagint, ‘weaning’ conveys the picture of ‘to remove from milk.’ Weaning marks the time when a child is introduced to solid food.

1.  On the same day that Isaac was weaned, Sarah saw Ishmael scoffing! Although this may pass as any other gesture, it is fraught with significance.

1. In Hebrew, scoffing means mocking, and in the Septuagint, it means to make sport of or to mock and is in the present tense, describing Ishmael as continually mocking Isaac.

2. As long as Isaac was taking milk, Ishmael had NO problem with him but the moment he was weaned, scoffing began.

1. Sarah did NOT take Ishmael’s scoffing lightly! She told Abraham to cast out Hagar, the bondwoman, and Ishmael, her son! According to Sarah, Ishmael would NOT be heir with Isaac−Gen. 21:10.

1. Sarah had finally understood the Lord’s Promise concerning Isaac, Abraham’s chosen heir−Gen. 15:4; 17:19, 21.

2. Sarah’s statement aligned with God’s Word even though it was grievous in Abraham’s sight−Gen. 21:11-12.

Abraham obeyed God’s Word by sending Hagar and Ishmael away, something that he did early in the morning−Gen. 21:14.

1. The Holy Spirit moved the writer of Hebrews to provide a record of specific individuals, who lived by faith, to communicate spiritual truths to bible students like us. Although this list is not exhaustive per se, the truths communicated therein are. Our response must therefore be one of faith IF we are to profit immensely from this revelation, as with the rest of Scripture−2 Tim. 3:16-17; Joh. 6:63.

1. The account of the first three individuals recorded in Heb. 11:4-7 provides a clear chronology of events in God’s calendar as well as His focus according to His divine counsel. What do we mean by this?

1. Abel is a type of Jesus Christ while Cain is a type of the nation of Israel−Heb. 11:4. This foundational record typifies the treatment of Jesus Christ by the nation of Israel i.e., the nation of Israel killed Christ during His first advent−Matt. 16:21; 27:1-25.

2. Enoch is the 7th Man from Adam and his account of being taken away is a type of the future resurrection/rapture of the Church− Heb. 11:5; 1 Thess. 4:15-17.

3. Noah is the 10th Man from Adam and the flood he underwent, where both Man and beast were destroyed, is a type of the future Tribulation that the nation of Israel will undergo yet future−Heb. 11:4. His safely going through the flood with his family typifies the salvation of the nation of Israel during the Tribulation despite many Jews perishing−Matt. 24:1-39; Dan. 9:27.

In summary, the account of the first three listed individuals in Heb. 11 provides a sequence of events in God’s calendar i.e., the death of Jesus Christ in the hands of His brethren, the Jews, will be followed by the resurrection/rapture of the Church before the nation of Israel undergoes the Tribulation! All these will happen according to God’s perfect timing!

1. The individuals recorded in Heb. 11 are commended because of their faith, to the saving of the soul–Heb. 11:1-2, 39-40.

1. The reality of the matter is that none of these individuals are alive today.

1. Thankfully for each of them, God bore witness that they died in faith i.e., they were still living by faith when they died and/or they died still believing what God had promised them−Heb. 11:13.

2. Our choice to live by faith, to the saving of the soul, ought to be for the entire of our lifetime here on earth! It MUST never be a path we take intermittently, on part-time basis or only when it suits our present circumstances! This MUST be our lifestyle both in the highs and lows of life; the ups and downs of life; the light and dark seasons of life; the sunny and rainy days of life; the hot and cold seasons of life etc.

1. These men DID NOT receive the promises of God, all of which were regal−Heb. 11:13, 39.

1. Although they DID NOT receive the regal promises, the individuals in view SAW THEM afar off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

2. At the time of their individual deaths, they had not realized the fulfilment of God’s promises. They understood by faith that God’s Promises would be fulfilled, but not in their lifetime! These promises awaited the 7th Day!

3. They were confident and convinced about God’s regal Promises which they welcomed. This persuasion caused them to agree with God that they were only but strangers and pilgrims on earth, a period when those promises would not materialize!

Paul had this same type of persuasion, expressing his hope regarding the 7th Day−1 Thess. 4:15-17; 2 Tim. 1:12.

The Just Shall Live by Faith-Part-19

Prior to Gen. 16, the Lord has been speaking to Abram ALONE! There is no record of Sarai’s involvement. However, is reason to believe that being childless was a concern to wife Sarai who reasoned that the Lord had prevented her from bearing children since she was barren−Gen. 16:1-2a.

a. Unlike Abram who chose to talk to the Lord about his predicament, Sarai took matters in her own hands−Gen. 16:2b.i. The Lord rejected Eliezer as Abram’s heir-designate and instead promised him an heir from his own body. Abram believed in the Lord−Gen. 15:4, 6.ii. Sarai’s formula was an affront to the Lord’s Promise as it sought to engineer a solution outside of the Promise! Herein is a camouflage of Satan’s attempts to derail the fulfilment of the Lord’s Word, something established in foundation in the account of Adam and the Woman. The Lord had commanded man thus−Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1, 4.iii. Through Sarai’s formula, Abram was invited to CHOOSE between standing on the Lord’s clear and unambiguous Promise/Word, which would of necessity require patient endurance AND standing on a human/worldly solution by siring a child with Hagar, which would have been immediate!iv. Sarai’s maidservant was an Egyptian thus a type of the world−Gen. 16:1.

Although Sarah initially did not believe as seen in her laughter, she must have repented and believed in the Lord’s Promise to give her a son, considering Him reliable and true to His word−Heb. 11:11 By faith [to the saving of the soul] Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Himfaithful who had promised.

While the Lord has been speaking to Abram about his descendants, Abram remained childless because his wife, Sarai, was barren−Gen. 11:30.

What do we do when REVELATION from God, through HisWord, contradicts the present REALITIES of our lives?