With Gideon and Adam we've seen the cooperation of submission.
We see the same with Abraham.
God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. God showed grace to them and fulfilled His promise. At the time God said, Sarah became pregnant.
Now how did she become pregnant? Immaculate conception? Did God Himself impregnate her, as some falsely believe that He did with the virgin Mary? BLASPHEMY!
God opened Sarah's barren womb. God gave her the ability to be impregnated by her husband, though she was naturally beyond the age of child bearing. But Abraham "knew" his wife as as any other husband would know his wife. God opened and empowered Sarah's womb. Abraham and Sarah did what husbands and wives do.
Now we come to what I consider a kind of climax in my Old Testament examples. For me, this example makes the point better than any other.
God calls Moses to deliver Israel in Exodus chapter 3. In chapter 4, Moses is concerned about Israel doubting him, and asks God about his concern. God says these words in reply,
"What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," Moses answered.
"Throw the staff to the ground."
Let's stop here and ponder what is happening.
Now this staff in Moses' hand is the very staff he has been using as a shepherd. It is this staff that God commands Moses to throw to the ground. Moses doesn't say, "LORD, I can't throw it down 'in my own strength.'" Of course Moses can throw down a stick...or allow gravity to simply pull it to the ground as he opens his fingers.
God did not command Moses to turn the staff into a snake, because Moses could not do that "in his own strength." But what Moses could do, God commanded. He did not take charge of Moses' arm and make his arm throw down the staff. Nor did God pull the staff from Moses' hand by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Most importantly, God did not even tell Moses the staff would become a snake! Moses had no idea this was going to happen, which is why he ran from the snake! So it took little to no "faith" for Moses to obey the commandment of God. He only did what he had the ability to do.
The same is true for his hand becoming leprous and being healed. God told Moses to put his hand inside of his cloak, not telling him it would become leprous. Moses performed the simple acts of putting his hand in his cloak and taking it out.
Moses throws down his staff. God turns it into a snake.
Moses puts his hand in his cloak, God makes it leprous.
No magical golden staff came from heaven for Moses, but only the staff in Moses' own hand was necessary, the same old staff he'd been using. With this staff, Moses performed mighty wonders.
The same is true with David. He didn't receive a super slingshot to kill Goliath, but instead he used the same slingshot he always used as a shepherd protecting sheep. He used the same basic slingshot skills he'd been using, and God blessed this with success.
Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Gideon used the strength they had, or their own strength, to do God's will. And what they could not do, they trusted God to do, according to His ability, responsibility, and authority. But they used their God given ability, responsibility, and authority, for God's glory.
There is even a situation where the men of Israel go to war under the leadership of Joshua, and we see men of God using "their own strength" to accomplish God's will. Read these verses with me:
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus 17:8-13
Wow!
First, notice that the "staff in Moses' hand," the same old staff he'd been using as a regular old shepherd, is now THE STAFF OF GOD! Not a new, shiny heavenly golden staff, mind you! The same old staff!
Second, MOSES' HANDS GREW TIRED!
Now wait just a minute!
Why didn't God give Moses supernatural strength and endurance, like he would give Samson later on? We know Moses is holding up the staff "in his own strength" because he is getting tired, and God never gets tired. So what happens? Does God strengthen Moses' arms? Negative. Aaron and Hur hold up Mose's hands, IN THEIR OWN STRENGTH! It is human strength that is holding up Moses' hands--the human strength of Moses, Aaron, and Hur. Now why didn't Aaron or Hur just take "the staff of God" and hold it INSTEAD OF MOSES? In fact, and again, WHY ANY OF THIS? WHY DOESN'T GOD JUST WIPE OUT THE AMALEKITES HIMSELF?!!?! FIRE FROM HEAVEN? PLAGUES!!!? SOMETHING!?
No, we see a cooperation between God and men, earth and heaven. God would not do for Moses, Aaron, and Hur, what they could do for themselves, according to the ability, responsibility, and authority He gave them, as well as not doing anything for Joshua and the army that they had the ability to do.
These are my examples from the Old Testament. Now we move to Jesus, God in the flesh. As it was with the Father, so we will see with the Son....
No comments:
Post a Comment