{"id":3201,"date":"2017-09-25T22:36:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T22:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takingeverythoughtcaptivetoobeychrist.wordpress.com\/?p=3201"},"modified":"2017-09-25T22:36:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T22:36:53","slug":"living-by-faith-in-gods-promises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/living-by-faith-in-gods-promises\/","title":{"rendered":"Living by Faith in God’s Promises"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is based on Genesis 24v1-28 and is best understood after reading said passage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Scripture has a certain unique\u00a0quality to it\u00a0\u2013 a strangeness rather \u2013 that has a way,\u00a0or the ability to pull us into itself. We step into it, and it gets bigger. Then it beckons us take another step, and it widens. Before we know it we’re putting one foot in\u00a0front of the other and a\u00a0new corresponding corridor springs forth with each step.\u00a0Charles Spurgeon once said that, \u201cNobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.\u201d Isn\u2019t it amazing how you can read and study a particular passage of Scripture for years and years, and then one day you discover something new, and it just amazes you \u2013 you were looking right at it for 20 years but you never saw it until now. It\u2019s like this book is living and active or something. Isn\u2019t it strange how you can see something new every time you read the same passage, yet it says the same thing every time. Isn\u2019t it strange how every time you read this book it can change you, and yet this book never changes.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Genesis 24v1-28\u00a0there is a certain strangeness to it, in that it contains some very strange things \u2013 strange to us today anyways. Strange things like Abraham making a deal with his servant by his servant putting his hand under his thigh and swearing. Abraham then\u00a0sends\u00a0his servant to travel a significant distance to look for someone for\u00a0his adult son, Isaac\u00a0to marry. Then the interactions of Abraham’s servant with Rebekah are a little on the strange side.\u00a0Of course these things that we think as strange were not too out of the norm for the way of that culture. The Bible supernaturally speaks the same truth to us in every age through the ancient cultures in which it was written. A man making a deal with his servant to go find a wife for his adult son in a distant land by putting his hand under his thigh, in all seriousness, could not be more relevant to us today. We need to hear this story and the truth that it proclaims. This is exactly the story that God has ordained to speak to\u00a0you through this very day. Why are you reading this right now? Because God wants\u00a0you to be. This very\u00a0moment in your life was predetermined before the world began.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s going on here? As we saw in chapter 23, Abraham\u2019s wife, Sarah, dies. So Abraham bought land and gave her a proper burial. Now Abraham is \u201cwell advanced in years\u201d verse 1 says. That\u2019s a really nice way of saying someone is old isn\u2019t it? So Abraham\u2019s old and he knows that he\u2019s going to die sooner rather than later, and so before he dies, he wants to see his now adult-aged son, Isaac, married so that the promise of a great nation being made from Abraham may continue.<\/p>\n

Abraham Acts on Faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you notice what is driving Abraham to take the actions that he takes? Notice what it is that is ordering Abraham\u2019s life. Abraham tells his servant to go back to the country of his kinsmen to find a wife for Isaac, then the servant says, \u201cwhat if she doesn\u2019t wasn\u2019t to come back here?\u201d Then here it is in\u00a0verse 7, \u201cThe Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father\u2019s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, \u2018To your offspring I will give this land,\u2019 he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abraham\u2019s actions here are actions done by faith in God\u2019s promises. Abraham responds to the doubts of his servant by recalling the promises of God to him. Faith in God\u2019s promises \u2013 faith in what God has said –\u00a0is the thing that Abraham is ordering his life around, it is what he is acting on. Abraham is age old, but he is not content to go and retire to a beach house collecting shells, as John Piper would say. Rather, Abraham, advanced in years, is still motivated to look forward in faith toward the fulfillment of the promises of God.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that as we\u2019ve progressed through Abraham\u2019s life his faith in God\u2019s Word gets stronger and stronger. He tells his servant, \u201cGod will send his angel before you.\u201d That\u2019s confidence in God that I don\u2019t think we would have seen in Abraham several chapters earlier. Abraham has come along from pretending that Sarah was his sister, fearfully and timidly following God, to confidently ordering his entire life around what God has promised him.<\/p>\n

This is one way that saints who are \u201cwell advanced in years\u201d who have spent the better portion of their life following Jesus can be such a blessing to a local church. They can encourage and testify to us younger believers that God is faithful and his word is true. “Don\u2019t worry about what the culture around you is doing, I\u2019ve seen all that before. Just have faith that God\u2019s Word is sufficient,”\u00a0they can tell us.\u00a0As we will see, what a witness this was to Abraham\u2019s servant, who has seen Abraham walk by faith for years.<\/p>\n

Here we learn an important rule of life from Abraham. Every action that we take, everything that we do, the ordering of our lives should be based upon our faith in what God has said, faith in God\u2019s Word. We have an entire book of what God has said to us, far more revelation than Abraham had to act on. A life of faith is a life that is lived based on what God has said in His Word. It\u2019s that simple. God doesn\u2019t call us to abstract spirituality. He calls us to \u201cif we love him, obey His commands\u201d\u00a0(John 14v15).<\/p>\n

Theology Fuels His Actions<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love how Abraham refers to the Lord. In verse 3 he has his servant swear by \u201cthe Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth.\u201d Abraham isn\u2019t ordering his entire way of life around a small god. He\u2019s not building his entire life around a sun god or a moon god or a\u00a0rain god or a sea god. No, Abraham has built his entire life around a big God; the one true God of Heaven and of Earth, the God who controls the sun and the moon, the rain and the sea, who controls all events, all animals on the earth, and every person who ever lives. If God were any less, why follow him?<\/p>\n

Abraham has witnessed God give life to Sarah\u2019s dead womb and he has witnessed God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and sulfur from the heavens. He has an idea how big God is. He\u2019s gotten a glimpse of the all-surpassing might of God and he has said, \u201cThat is a God I can have faith in.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important that we understand that our faith is not placed in a weak softy god. Our faith is in the God of heaven and earth. That actually gives us more faith. Whatever obstacles or circumstances or trials or impossibilities we face, they are nothing for a God who has named the stars and stores every tear you cry in a bottle. The worst thing in life, death itself, is nothing for a God who died, but didn\u2019t stay dead. It\u2019s nothing for a God who owns the keys to death and hades. There is nobody or no thing out there that is bigger or more powerful, or better to put our faith in. Let\u2019s learn from Abraham here.<\/p>\n

Involvement in Isaac\u2019s Marriage<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a couple of other lessons that we can learn from Abraham here. While we don\u2019t practice arranged marriages in our culture, or send servants to distant lands to bring back a spouse for our children, the principle remains that Christians parents should be involved in their children\u2019s relationships, and certainly in who they marry. Many people have said that other than following Jesus, the most important decision that anyone will make their entire lives is who they are going to marry, because that\u2019s who you spend the rest of your life living with and raising children with. Despite the fact that that is one of the most important decisions one can make, an astonishing amount of Christian parents today are entirely uninvolved in the dating, courting, whatever you want to call it, process of their child\u2019s life. This is the last great parenting responsibility you have in child\u2019s life. Once they are married, they are their own household. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

While you can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t control or force anything, we should be as involved as possible in ensuring our kids marry the right person. A lot of how that will go will depend on the type of relationship you have cultivated with your child over their life. Do your kids trust you? Do they care about what you have to say? Do they want to honor you? Sometimes we can\u2019t control that. Sometimes it\u2019s a sin issue with the child. But are we doing our part of that as parents?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that Isaac had the utmost respect for his father Abraham. Isaac as a young man trusted his father to the point of being put on the alter to be sacrificed, knife in hand, until God intervened. Here as well, Isaac puts up no resistance to his father\u2019s plan to find a wife for him. So there is an honor, respect, and trust between father and son here that helps Abraham be able to be so involved.<\/p>\n

Importance of not being Unequally Yoked<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is another aspect of this here that is a lesson for us. In verse 3 Abraham tells his servant, \u201cswear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abraham at this time is dwelling in the land of Canaan. The Canaanites were a wicked and evil people. Abraham, being a good father and a man of faith, does not want his son to marry a woman who has been raised in wickedness and immorality. This is why Abraham sends his servant back to where they came from to find someone who is not so wicked.<\/p>\n

Abraham of course is doing this looking forward by faith in the promises of God. He wants a wife for his son who will follow the one true God with his son Isaac. He knows that if Isaac were to marry a Canaanite woman it would be very likely that if Isaac didn\u2019t turn away from the one true God, then their offspring would. Abraham wants to see faith in the God of Heaven and Earth continued through the generations of his family, long after he is gone. This is why, as parents, we want to be involved with our children\u2019s marriage. Not because we want to control them, but because we want to see godliness continue to our descendants.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Abraham\u00a0giving us\u00a0hints at a biblical model of discipleship – one generation passing on the ways of God to the next. Get a big vision like that for your parenting! That\u2019s what your parenting is all about. Let\u2019s pour out ourselves now so we can see the next generation do things better than we have done and love Jesus more than we have, not worse. Let\u2019s get an Abrahamic vision of faith to see the next generation carry on the gospel torch.<\/p>\n

Aside from all that, what\u2019s more with Abraham not wanting Isaac to marry a Canaanite is that it hints at the New Testament command to not be unequally yoked in marriage with an unbeliever. Though things were a little different back then, that principle is there. That\u2019s part of carrying on discipleship through the next generation. Among many other marital difficulties, if you want to raise up warriors for Christ, you need both parents wielding gospel weapons on the little heathens you give birth to.<\/p>\n

The Servant’s Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The narrative continues and Abraham\u2019s servant takes 10 camels and some other fine gifts to give a prospective wife and he takes off. Verse 10 says that he gets to Mesopotamia, the city of Nahor, and he arrives just outside the city around the well of water. He is there about the time that the women of the city go out to get water. Obviously he does this because if he\u2019s going to find a wife for Isaac, he needs to go where all the women go. But then the servant does something interesting. In verse 12 he begins to pray, \u201cAnd he said, \u2018O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my mater Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, \u2018please let down your jar that I may drink,\u2019 and who shall say, \u2018Drink, and I will water your camels\u2019 \u2013 let her be the one whom you have appointed favor your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Abraham\u2019s servant prays this prayer to God, asking God to fulfill this sign that he has laid out so that he can know who “the one” is.<\/p>\n

The temptation for us is that when we read passages like this, we tend to want to pray like this servant did. I think we can all admit that at one time or another, every single one of us has prayed and asked God to give us a sign or do something a certain way for us so we can know what his will is or know what we are supposed to do, or something like this. I\u2019m guilty.<\/p>\n

John Calvin was very harsh on this servant for praying in this way. I don\u2019t think I would go as far as Calvin would go on condemning this servant, simply based on the small level of revelation that he had. But I agree with Calvin in that this is not an example of how we are to pray today, but this is simply an example of God graciously condescending to meet the particular requests of this servant of Abraham. This is not an example to follow, but it is an act of mercy to marvel at. On prayer Calvin says this, \u201cNo one prays aright unless he subjects his own wishes to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not right for a\u00a0mere human, or sinful people like us, to lay out stipulations or signs for God to fulfill so that we can know what His will is in a certain situation. I know that when we pray those kinds of prayers we often don\u2019t intend to be disrespectful or irreverent, we mean well, but that doesn\u2019t make it right. Who are we to demand that the God of Heaven and Earth do something a certain way so that we can know what His plan is for us. Who are we to demand a sign?<\/p>\n

Abraham\u2019s servant prayed for a sign, but we don\u2019t need a sign because we have lamp for our feet and light for our path. We have a Word that is sufficient for everything pertaining to life and godliness. To ask for something more, whether we mean it or not, is to say that what God has said is insufficient for us. It is a great display of faith to truly live according to the sufficiency of Scripture. That\u2019s how we live by faith.<\/p>\n

Additionally, we don\u2019t have to pray for a sign or a wonder from God because God has given us the ultimate sign and wonder that there is, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The cross of Jesus Christ stands as the ultimate sign of God\u2019s love for us and it is the ultimate wonder that \u201cthou my God shouldst die for me.\u201d Instead of praying for signs and wonders today we pray from<\/em> the ultimate sign and wonder, we pray according to the ultimate sing and wonder that God has done in the cross of Christ, not to mention the wonder of the resurrection of Jesus. There is nothing more that we need than the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as a sign and wonder from God to how he feels about us and what His will for us is. \u201cIn these last days God has spoken to us through His Son\u201d Hebrews 1 tells us.<\/p>\n

Prayer as a Means God Sovereignly Works Through<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of the differences between the way that we are to pray, and the way that Abraham\u2019s servant prayed, we see the very true principle of God working through our prayers. The servant prayed for \u201cthe one\u201d to do certain things and God works events so that exactly that happens, answering the prayer of the servant and leading Rebekah to Isaac through all of this.<\/p>\n

Our prayers do not have any sort of power or compelling force over God. God is sovereign and independent of mankind, and he alone moves all events according to His will. Yet, God has chosen and ordained that one of the means through which He will work and move events in our lives is through the means of our prayers. God does this here for Abraham\u2019s servant.<\/p>\n

I believe that one of the reasons that God works through our prayers is to strengthen our faith in Him and in His Word. Some of us know this experientially. What happens when we see God in time answer something that we had been praying for? It is indescribably encouraging to our souls and strengthens our hearts to greater faith in Him and should spur us on in our praying.<\/p>\n

I believe that that is exactly what happens to Abraham\u2019s servant in this passage. Once the servant sees God answer his prayer by Sarah fulfilling the prayer that he prayed for God to answer, verse 26 says, \u201cThe man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord and said, \u2018Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master\u2019s kinsmen.\u2019\u201d The answered prayer, results in more prayer from the servant. The answered prayer results in worship. One of the reasons God works through our prayers is so\u00a0that we will worship Him.<\/p>\n

I wonder how much more our hearts would be prepared for worship on the Lord\u2019s Day if we spent more of our week in prayer. I ask this of myself as well. It could be that any worship problems we experience on Sunday\u2019s are related to a lack of prayer during the week. Let us dedicate ourselves to more prayer this week and let us see if our hearts are not more prepared to worship the steadfast love and faithfulness of the God of Heaven and Earth on the Lord\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

Jesus, a Better Isaac<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though Isaac isn\u2019t mentioned a whole lot here in the text, the entire passage revolved around him in a way, in that it all revolves around the mission of getting him a wife. That\u2019s why Abraham does what he does. That\u2019s why the servant does what he does. That\u2019s why God works through the servant\u2019s prayer to bring him to Rebekah. All of this is about getting Isaac a wife.<\/p>\n

The ultimate purpose of this passage is not all of the principles of life and faith that we have considered, although those are very beneficial to our Christian life. The ultimate purpose of this passage isn\u2019t even about getting Isaac married, as important as that is. Ultimately all of this testifies to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate point and purpose in this passage.<\/p>\n

Jesus is a better Isaac. Jesus is a better bridegroom. Jesus is a better spouse.<\/p>\n

He Didn\u2019t Send a Servant, He Came Himself<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus is a better Isaac because Jesus didn\u2019t send one of his servants to come get us, but instead, He came Himself. There were a multitude of angels and scores of heavenly creatures that Christ had at His disposal whom He could\u2019ve sent to get us and bring us to him. But Christ did not leave the work of pursuing His bride to another man. Jesus came for us and pursued us while we, like Rebekah, were far off in a distant land, without knowledge of Him. Unlike Rebekah we were once vile enemies to Christ, much more like the wicked Canaanites. Yet Jesus stepped down from His heavenly throne, put on human flesh, endured the devil\u2019s temptations, endured the blatant disrespect of mankind, endured the cross, endured death, all to have us, His bride. He got His feet dirty, He endured the journey, He went thirsty on the cross with no water, He got sweaty, He bled. We weren\u2019t pursuing Him, we were crucifying Him, yet He pursued us like a perfect spouse.<\/p>\n

Brought into His Family through Union with Him<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eventually Rebekah would be brought into Isaac\u2019s family, and be brought into a life of faith in the promises of God, but she would be brought in through union with Isaac. So it is with how we enter into the family of God. So it is with how we enter into a life of faith. We are brought in through union with Jesus. There is only one way in and it is in union with Jesus. Through union with Jesus we receive every benefit of being in the family. When you are married, everything that you own individually becomes what you both own together. Though we bring nothing into this union, Christ brings everything, and everything that is Christ\u2019s is ours.<\/p>\n

Jesus,\u00a0a Wealthier Bridegroom<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you noticed in this passage,\u00a0Abraham’s servant brought quite a bit of riches with him. He brought 10 camels, a gold ring, and two bracelets for Rebekah. Now, why did he bring 10 camels and expensive jewelry? Well it was to show any prospective bride that he was representing a wealthy family. Why would a young woman, let alone her father and family allow her to go to marry someone who was not able to provide? Why leave your family and go to a distant land to be with someone who you\u2019ve never met who was poor? All this was to entice, especially the father.<\/p>\n

But Jesus is a better Isaac still, because Jesus has infinitely more riches to adorn us with than Isaac did. Everything is His. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is ours in Christ Jesus. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have nothing compared to the riches of Christ. In our day in age I must clarify: this is not earthly riches that we are promised. It is riches forever more. It is riches that last forever in the New Heaven and New Earth. It is pleasures for ever more in the presence of God. More valuable than all the gold and dollar bills the world can boast is our inheritance in Christ.<\/p>\n

How God Shows His Steadfast Love and Faithfulness<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our text, God showed His steadfast love for Abraham in revealing and brining Rebekah to Abraham\u2019s servant. In a similar way, God shows His steadfast love for us in bringing us to Christ and revealing Christ to us. God brings us to the cross where it is revealed to us that Jesus died for our sins, took our punishment, took our wrath, and He gave us His perfection, and His righteousness. Thus we are saved forevermore and brought to peace with God. It is in being brought to the cross that God reveals to us the price Jesus paid for us because of His great love for us. God shows His Steadfast love and faithfulness to us by bringing us to the cross which stands as a sign that will never punish anyone who believes on His Son ever again, and that because of what Jesus did, He remains committed and faithful to us, and committed\u00a0to bless us ultimately in Christ in the life to come. Our being brought to the cross is a token of God\u2019s faithfulness to us. We cannot know God\u2019s love and faithfulness apart from the cross. And the deeper into the cross we go the more we know of God\u2019s love for sinners like us.<\/p>\n

Jesus is More Costly Than Isaac<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Jesus is a better Isaac in the story, there are certain ways in which we are pictured by Rebekah. Mainly that Rebekah is a better us. But what we will have to pay in this life to go and be with Jesus and follow Him is more costly than what Rebekah would have to pay to go and be with Isaac and follow him. Rebekah would have to go with a man she never met to meet Isaac, although she was kin to Abraham. She would have to leave the land of her family and go and be in the land of the Canaanites. This was no small price to pay.<\/p>\n

But for us it could be more. We must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. We will have to love Jesus more than our families, more than anything. Following Jesus could cost us our family. Think of the Muslim world, that\u2019s the baseline price of conversion, your family disowning you. In some parts of the world, and maybe someday here, it could cost us our lives. It could cost us friends, status, opportunities, many worldly things.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth it. It\u2019s more than the worth it. Count the cost and know that it is worth the cost. What we receive in Christ forever is far more than we could ever pay here. And we could pay a lot here.<\/p>\n

Lesser Rebekahs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lastly, unlike Rebekah, we aren\u2019t as pretty, or desirable, or as pure as she was. She was probably perfect in the servant\u2019s eyes. But in God\u2019s eyes, according to His standard of holiness,\u00a0we are far from lovely. Our text says that Rebekah was very attractive in verse 16, and that she was a maiden “whom no man had known.” So she was pure and spotless physically. We certainly aren\u2019t pure and spotless spiritually, many of us not so physically either. We are disgusting and dirty with sin. We\u2019ve got sin spots all over us. We\u2019ve got ugly marks of sin all over our faces. We\u2019ve got sin growths and sin warts all over our bodies. We\u2019re vile.<\/p>\n

And yet, in that state, warts and all, Jesus came for us, pursued us, wants us. And He takes us, He washes us, He makes us clean. He takes our rags, He gives us His pure white robes. He makes us pure and spotless, without mark, blemish, or defect. Our sin stains disappear, and our burdens fall off our backs.<\/p>\n

We are less of a spouse than Rebekah, but we have a greater and a better bridegroom than Isaac was. We are great sinners, but we have a greater Savior. Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more.<\/p>\n

Today, if you are a stranger, in a distant land, far off and estranged from Christ, come to him. You can be brought into all the riches of salvation through Jesus Christ. You can be washed in the blood of Jesus. But you must repent. In order to have this, you must, like Rebekah would have to, leave behind your old life. Turn from your sin and go to Christ at once. Repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus for everything that you need. If not, you will perish with nothing but wrath and condemnation.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s leave our sin behind and go and be with Christ by faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is based on Genesis 24v1-28 and is best understood after reading said passage. Scripture has a certain unique\u00a0quality to it\u00a0\u2013 a strangeness rather \u2013 that has a way,\u00a0or the ability to pull us into itself. We step into it, and it gets bigger. Then it beckons us take another step, and it widens. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":3342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,30,32],"tags":[96,203,205,274,334,539,557,558,562,567,571,598,602,603,619,661,678,679,699,754,814,989,1014,1025,1056,1080,1105,1114,1144],"class_list":{"0":"post-3201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-faith","8":"category-preaching","9":"category-theology","10":"tag-abraham","11":"tag-better","12":"tag-bible","13":"tag-christ","14":"tag-cross","15":"tag-genesis","16":"tag-god","17":"tag-gods","18":"tag-gospel","19":"tag-grace","20":"tag-greater","21":"tag-heaven","22":"tag-hell","23":"tag-help","24":"tag-hope","25":"tag-isaac","26":"tag-jenkins","27":"tag-jesus","28":"tag-joshua","29":"tag-living","30":"tag-mercy","31":"tag-promises","32":"tag-rags","33":"tag-rebekah","34":"tag-riches","35":"tag-salvation","36":"tag-scripture","37":"tag-sermon","38":"tag-sin","39":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/09\/thumb-1920-100452.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3587,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-promise-is-coming-commentary-on-genesis-50v22-26\/","url_meta":{"origin":3201,"position":0},"title":"The Promise is Coming: Commentary on Genesis 50v22-26","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Well we come to the end of Genesis, much like we come to the end of life \u2013 with death. Genesis concludes by wrapping up Joseph\u2019s life, telling us that he stayed in Egypt, living to 110 years, seeing many grandchildren, giving instructions about his death, and dying.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/07\/wayechi-parsha-burying-the-body-of-joseph-illustration-from-the-1890-holman-bible.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/07\/wayechi-parsha-burying-the-body-of-joseph-illustration-from-the-1890-holman-bible.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/07\/wayechi-parsha-burying-the-body-of-joseph-illustration-from-the-1890-holman-bible.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":442,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/of-creation\/","url_meta":{"origin":3201,"position":1},"title":"Of Creation","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Of Creation \u201cIn the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.\u201d + Genesis 1:1 \u201cIn the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3497,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/favor-with-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":3201,"position":2},"title":"Favor with God","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"February 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In Genesis 34 there is a young man named Shechem who rapes Jacob's daughter, Dinah. It is a terrible thing. Strangely, Shechem falls in love with Dinah, the girl he most certainly did not love while he was taking advantage of her. In love as he is, Shechem goes to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/02\/img_1160.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3548,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/psalm-119-how-to-keep-your-way-pure\/","url_meta":{"origin":3201,"position":3},"title":"Psalm 119: How to Keep Your Way Pure","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"May 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"There is no book like God\u2019s Book. Whether you are a spiritual baby or a mature saint, God\u2019s Word applies to you! The Word of God has sanctifying power in the life of the believer. In Psalm 119:9-16, we see that God\u2019s Word has the authority to sanctify the soul\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/gods-test-commandment.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/gods-test-commandment.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/gods-test-commandment.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/05\/gods-test-commandment.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3581,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/embracing-death-commentary-on-genesis-49v28-50v14\/","url_meta":{"origin":3201,"position":4},"title":"Embracing Death: Commentary on Genesis 49v28-50v14","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Embracing Death Jacob is a man who has spent much of his life, on the run, fearing for his life, running for his life, to preserve it. First he ran for his life from Esau, then he ran for his life from Laban, then he wrestled with God for his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/07\/jacobs_death_22-57.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3756,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/brief-thoughts-on-postmillennialism\/","url_meta":{"origin":3201,"position":5},"title":"Brief Thoughts On Postmillennialism","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"As of late I have been learning about Postmillennialism and it has excited me. Not simply the concept, but seeing the exposition of the Scripture be solid. I am no expert in this field, and if that's what you want there are far better men I would point you to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "theology"","block_context":{"text":"theology","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/theology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/05\/atlantic_ocean-714060.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}