ISAAC (Genesis 21-28) God created the world in such a way that the natural processes will always be the same. When a man plants beans, he will harvest beans. When he plants potatoes, he will harvest potatoes, regardless of whether he is an honest man or a crook, a believer or an unbeliever. The laws of nature operate without regard to the quality of the persons involved. Spiritual processes operate entirely within the relationship which exists between the believer and God. It is written, "According to your faith, be it unto you." God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as innumerable as the stars in heaven and the sand on the seashore. God's promise was sure, but the time of fulfillment was uncertain. For Abraham and Sarah the years of waiting seemed endless. God's people often have to wait and often become impatient. Abraham and Sarah's impatience in waiting for the promised heir is evidenced by the fact that Sarah gave her maid Hagar to be Abraham's wife that she might bear him a son. After the birth of Ishmael, Hagar's son, God appeared again to Abraham. And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him (Gen. 17:19). Nothing is impossible with God! God will always carry (p.96) out His promises. In the realm of the spirit His promises operate according to grace. The fulfillment of these promises is wholly dependent on His power and mercy. In the realm of nature the integrity and the law of God prevail. There is a real difference between these two realms, and this emphasizes the great truth that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, man in his natural state could never obey the will of God: he needs all the spiritual riches in Christ Jesus made available to him by the grace of God. All this was demonstrated in the birth of Isaac. God's promise to Abraham required the operation of the grace of God beyond the natural. In referring to Abraham, Paul wrote: Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform (Rom. 4:18-21). God honors faith. He brings His will to pass over nature, beyond nature and above nature in supernatural power. This power must be recognized if the Bible is to be understood. God can and will do far beyond "all that we ask or think." Many people are able to believe that God can bless and save, yet often these same people refuse to believe that God will send destruction. The Bible is very clear in teaching that because of wickedness God will destroy. There are several classic examples of this in the Bible. First of all, there was the flood which completely destroyed all men because their sin was so great that the thoughts of men's hearts were only evil continually. It was so with Sodom and Gomorrah, when those two cities were utterly destroyed. Pharaoh, who pursued the Israelites, perished in the Red Sea with all his host. There is also the case of Korah and all his company, (p.97) who rebelled against God and His chosen servant Moses: "the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up." There is also the account of Achan, who stole of the spoils of battle in the siege of Jericho. These were not to be touched, but he buried them under his tent. He was put to death by stoning for his sin. Nadab and Abihu were the sons of Aaron the High Priest, who were consumed with fire which came out of the altar because they had taken strange fire, contrary to the Word of God, into the tabernacle. Many more instances of utter and complete destruction meted out by God are recorded in the Old Testament. Some will say that in the New Testament there are no similar cases recorded, but this is not true. These words were spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ in stern warning of possible judgment. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire (Matt. 18:6-8). These hard words leave no doubt about the destruction of the wicked. Peter wrote, "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Pet. 3:7). The words of Paul are written in the same vein: And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power (2 Thess. 1:7-9). It is always saddening to think about the unbelievers (p.98) who will not be warned by such passages of Scripture, which clearly show that God will destroy all who willfully reject his offer of salvation and eternal life. It is comforting to remember that God is willing to be gracious. In the destruction of Sodom, Lot was saved for Abraham's sake. "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities" (Gen. 19:29). While it is true that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, there is not the least doubt in the world that the plan of God provides a place of eternal punishment, into which Satan and all his angels and all who have rejected the Gospel will be thrown. No rational argument can ever upset or contradict this plain teaching of Scripture. In fact, no rational argument can ever alter the truth as it is written in the Scripture. Besides the natural world which God created, there is the spiritual world into which believers are born. The spiritual world is in itself eternal and is as real as the natural world in which we live. It is helpful to remember that a Christian is involved in both "the natural" and "the spiritual" world. Paul writes, "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual" (1 Cor. 15:46). Every human being is born first into the natural world. When anyone believes and accepts Christ's substitutionary atonement on Calvary, he is born again into the spiritual world. Then follows for the Christian the rather strenuous exercise of belonging to the spiritual while living in this natural world, where he is to be a shining light in the midst of people who walk in darkness. In discussing this situation for the Christian, Paul writes: For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise (Gal. 4:22- 23). There is much to learn here. Isaac's whole experience grows out of the fact that he is the child that God gave to Abraham and Sarah by promise. According to the flesh, this (p.99) child would not have been born. He was the child of promise. In a similar way in the New Testament is written the record of John the Baptist, who also was born in the fulfillment of God's promise to Zacharias. Isaac is an example, a type of the born-again Christian. He walked in the footsteps of his father Abraham, the man of faith. It could be said that he was born by spiritual power. What happened to Abraham, whom God so signally honored, can be understood because of spiritual realities such as heaven. It is so easy to think of earth, for it is all around us. Heaven is invisible, but it is just as real as the visible earth. The invisible belongs to God as much as the earth because He created them both. The word earth refers to this world, which is commonly called "nature," where all processes operate according to law. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." While both the sowing and the reaping go on in this world, there is another world in the realm of the spiritual. In the natural world men reap what they sow. In the spiritual world men receive what God gives quite aside from anything men do. In the flesh, which is human nature, men are motivated into actions which will bring desired consequences, and in which they often take great pride. In the spiritual realm, events occur according to the grace of God, to whom all praise belongs. When Abraham first received God's promise of a son, he expected Sarah would bear one soon. This was a natural expectation. But God withheld this son until he was born in a supernatural way. In a very real sense Isaac was the gift of God to Abraham. Through Isaac God proceeded to the supreme test of Abraham's faith. And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, (p.100) and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him (Gen. 22:1-3). The Epistle to the Hebrews gives an insight into the unshakeable faith of Abraham: By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also be received him in a figure (Heb. 11:17-19). Abraham did not falter at this request which seemed so contrary to God's promise. He was not hindered by doubts nor any apprehension of what lay ahead for him. God had spoken and he obeyed. He still believed that in Isaac he would be blessed. Although the promise of God is always sure, the procedure God will follow is often obscure. Belief in God is not based upon the believer's understanding. The Christian should seek to know His promises, and then trust Him implicitly for their fulfillment. Abraham did not hesitate. He obeyed God. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me (Gen. 22:9-12). It is when a believer is ready to give up self that he will receive the peace of God. When I am willing to lay all upon the altar, the blessing of God will be my daily portion.