Questions of God: Shall I Hide From Abraham What I Am Doing? pt.3

Gen. 18:17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?

By now you're thinking, are there really that many things you can learn from one question? And the answer to that question is: Duh!

  I'm sure by now you know that when God asks a question, He may be really saying something rather profound in the asking. Information is not what He is after. He is trying to get me, and you, to consider something from His point of view, and He is doing it in a relational way that helps us along in the process. It is a process of growth, and not just teaching to the test.

A smart guy named John Wimber was known to often say "God offends your mind to reveal your heart." I think this is the true essence of God's questions to us. He is showing us our own hearts.

One aspect of this question, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" is a major test of just Who or What you think of God Himself. Is the God you know, worship, and even love, worthy of that worship and love? Is He able to back it up with some real muscle? Is He in fact the Almighty God that reigns over all of the universe and, more to the point, are you willing to submit to this God once you know how awesome He is, no matter what?

So back to the story; God is asking Abraham what He thinks about what He is about to do, which is...(ta-da! Cue dramatic music here) Judgment! God is about to judge a group of people for desperately wicked deeds and for making that the way of life in the city they were in. Now here's an interesting thought: if God is all-knowing, why did He need to make sure for Himself that they were as evil as He had heard?

OK, put that on pause for a second. Let's look at the dictionary definition for the word "judgment."
-the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.
-an opinion or conclusion.
- a decision of a court or judge.
 -a monetary or other obligation awarded by a court.

So if we consider God as a judge, then, if God were to answer a prayer for healing, for instance, that would be a judgment on behalf of the sick person. Just like a judge awarding a cash settlement on behalf of the victim of a crime, God makes judgments all of the time on behalf of people who seek him. In fact, the most awesome judgment God makes is to answer someone's prayer for salvation. God saving a person is basically God's ultimate judgment on our separation from Him and it is also His best statement about the future of the human race. God in effect says, "Alright, I am not counting your sin against you any more because I take into account what My Son did on your behalf. It is my judgment that you be saved from the consequences that those willful acts would have wreaked in your life."

God also needs to be able to judge in order to really be God. If your God is a God of love only, then your god is something like Santa Claus. He might get a little red in the face at the mention of your darkest secret sin, but he would just say, "Oh well, I'll just look the other way and pretend nothing is really wrong. Let's all have hot chocolate!"

God is not the cosmic cop, or the cosmic killjoy, or the ultimate Santa Claus, but He is able to judge unrighteousness because He is perfectly righteous, and all of His judgments are rooted in perfect love as well as perfect justice. He is the standard of righteousness and His standards are the only ones that count. We know right from wrong because He has revealed it to us in Himself and in His word. And all of this leads somewhere you wouldn't expect; to mercy.

Mercy? Yes, because every time God judges He has in mind a mercy. Here's just one example of this thing in the Bible:
Judgment:
Gen. 19:24-25 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Mercy:
Gen. 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.

[Warning: Extensive Bible Passages Ahead]
In scripture judgment and mercy are linked. Judgment is the door to mercy. In Deuteronomy 7:12 it says “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers." Do you see the connection here between judgment and mercy? The prophet Habakkuk prayed that the Lord would remember His goodness, that in wrath He would remember mercy.(Hab. 3:22) The prophet Jeremiah, in the book of Lamentations, declared that "Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not."(Lam. 3:22) And then in verse 29 of that same chapter he continues, "Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. (Lam. 3:32) The New Testament also confirms this in very strong terms. Paul, the apostle, said "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

God has a plan to turn situations around from judgment to mercy. Romans 8:28, oft quoted as it is, really does bring light to this concept: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." It is God's purpose to cause even bad things that happen into His redemptive plan. This is how an infamous slave trader can become the famous writer of the song "Amazing Grace." This is how a murdering religious zealot can become the great apostle to the gentiles. And this is how you and I can be changed from a total wreck to a real total success. Don't be afraid of God's judgment, because it is His plan to bring mercy, grace and love.

from: JavaJazzJesus

Questions of God: Cain, why are you upset?

Anger is part of our nature. It is the right response to threats and injustice. And even according to the Bible there is no sin inherent in it. It is perfectly fine to “be angry, but sin not.” But for the other ninety-nine percent of the time, anger and the results thereof are causing most of the ills and woes of all mankind. 


The first instance recorded in Scripture of someone dealing with anger and it’s many other siblings comes early on in the book of Genesis. Again, this scene in scripture is so iconic in our culture that it is hard to find someone who hasn’t heard something about how “Cain slew Abel.” 


I’ve heard it presented, in good American fashion, as a contest between the two brothers. Who can worship God the best? But is that really what happened? 
Genesis 4:3 says, “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.” No contest here. And in fact, it appears that Cain is the one who spontaneously decides to offer an offering to God on his own, without any external suggestion of such. Sounds like pure worship, so far. So can you give Cain the credit that he originally intended to bring an offering in worship to God? Could it be that he really loved God? I believe he really did love God, and that is precisely what makes what he did later so much the worse. 


Cain could have been known as the first worship leader in history, if it weren’t for what happened next. “But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast (Genesis 4:4,5). 


And so we get to the question; “Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:6,7).” This is quite a dilemma. Cain has been outshined by his little brother, and misunderstands the meaning of God’s favor towards Abel’s offering. I believe the pain of Cain is misunderstood love. He felt rejected personally when God preferred his brother’s offering over his own. 


I think I can understand Cain and his struggle. It was his idea to bring offerings in the first place. It was his sweat and toil that brought forth the fruits he offered, and so they were a wonderful offering. And that is just the point. They were a wonderful offering, but not the favored offering. Was God rejecting Cain or his offering, or his intention of worship? Not at all. 


Of course, you, being the theologically astute person that you are, know exactly why Abel’s offering had to be preferred, right? All through the early Genesis story there are clues to this. In fact there are many who see the whole gospel in the book of Genesis. The offerings that pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of the Son of God were to be preferred. The law stated that “the life is in the blood” of the animals that were sacrificed, and the blood was to be poured out, used to cleanse and make holy the articles of worship and those who would worship God in the time of the tabernacle and the temples. Abel’s offering was a prophetic symbol and act pointing to Christ, the ultimate sacrifice.  


So we see that Cain was angry, and responded with a downcast look. This is what we call depression, which is defined as anger turned inward. Cain gets one more chance to see what’s going on and to change his intent towards his brother.
God even says, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” Cain has a chance to reject rejection and turn to God for help.


I have been in this same situation a thousand times in my life and followed the same path as Cain. I may not have killed anyone, but the bitterness and self- rejection and other poisons I have allowed in my life show me that I need to respond in a new way to the challenges I face. We all have another chance today to respond to our misunderstood love, our mistaken acceptance of rejection, and listen to the voice of the Father. His words are words of love, affirmation, forgiveness, acceptance and restoration. 


But we all know what Cain chose to do. He murdered his brother and started a bloody trend that continues to this day all over the globe. So when God asks the next question, “What have you done?”, Cain callously responds with another question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain has become so hard hearted that he can lie directly to God and think nothing of it. God then hears Abel’s blood crying from the ground, pronounces a curse upon Cain, and sends him away. But even in this God is merciful to Cain, because He puts a mark on Cain that keeps others from killing him.


I see a parallel between Cain and the older brother in the story of the prodigal son. Both of them had a great situation that they did not see because of a blindness of heart. Cain had acceptance from God, but was unable to receive because of perceived rejection, and the elder brother had his father’s love and provision but was offended because of his judgment towards his brother. 


So I’ll ask this question: Is there some blessing in your life that you are not able to see because of an offense or judgment toward someone else? May God help us to see these things before we choose the path of Cain.