9th Breakfast
|
A heart after God |
Imprinted into My Heart
Genesis 23
As
I Read the whole Chapter of Genesis 23, It came to me about 1 thing that I
couldn’t understand.
Genesis 23: 4-5
4 “I am a
foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among
you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear
us, my lord: You are a
mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places.
None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your
dead.”
Now
first, The sons of Heth are Hittites and they are an idolatrous nation. They
are non Jews and that means they do not recognize with the God Abraham is
worshiping.
So
This question came to me, Why is These people Putting so much honour and
respect to Abraham, a foreigner among them?
Look
clearly at their answer, the Hittites respect Abraham as a Mighty Prince.
Why?
Yes Abraham is wealthy and mighty even to be able
to challenge Kings. But is this enough to command such respects from a whole
nation to the extend that they are willing to break their commandments of
Selling burial place?
In
the ancient times, they have this law that state selling and buying of burial
land have to at least pay the minimum. It shouldn’t be for free. Even selling a
land to the poor, they have to charge a minimum amount.
Then
why would they break their law and wanted to give the land to Abraham for free?
In
Deuteronomy 4:5-6
New
King James Version (NKJV)
5 “Surely
I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God
commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6 Therefore
be careful to observe them; for
this is your wisdom
and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these
statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
Through
this, I learnt that because Abraham obeyed God’s voice, and he observed God’s
safeguard, God’s commandments, God’s decrees, and God’s laws, Abraham Radiated
True holiness. Which was keenly felt even by the idolatrous Hittites. The
Hittites having recognized Abraham’s personal and spiritual greatness and
together with his wealth, it was their natural behaviour to treat him in public
with great honour even to the degree of lying about the terms of transaction.
Because guest of honour receive gifts, not bills.
This
story gives me an example of how people far away from God’s values relate
positively to a personality who was indeed an authentic servant of God.
Deuteronomy
11:18-25
New
King James Version (NKJV)
18 “Therefore you shall
lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a
sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You
shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And
you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that
your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which
the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the
heavens above the earth.
22 “For if you
carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the Lord your
God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him— 23 then
the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you
will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves. 24 Every
place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness
and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea,[a] shall
be your territory. 25 No man shall be able to stand
against you; the Lord your God will put the dread of you and the fear
of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.
Let us follow God’s words and allow God
to do great things in our lives.
Prayers:
Pray
that God will help us abide in his ways and keep his commandments.
Pray
that God would send the right people into our live to guide and help us.
Pray
for a humble heart and allow God to give us favour of man.
Pray
that God would help us shine his glory and
be a great person for Him.
By:
Andrew
Tham