God is our gracious king
Genesis 17:13
INTRODUCTION
Monday 6 February is the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth has ruled well during times of great change. For sixty years, she has endured the strain of war and peace, of life and death, of duty and responsibility. She has stood firm while many around her have faltered. One royal commentator said, “You can kid people for a short time, but not for sixty years. Only real substance endures the test of time.” As we reflect on this, let us remember that during this time, God has been on his throne, God is still on his throne, and God will stay on his throne. Only real substance endures the test of time. This is what we are going to look at today as we move from God save our gracious Queen to God is our gracious king. As we do this, we should be…
1 ASSURED IN OUR GRACIOUS KING
It seems a long time since we looked at the life of Abram in Genesis 1116. For Abram thirteen years have passed between Chapter 16 and Chapter 17. Genesis 16:16 says Abram was eightysix years old when Ishmael was born. Now Genesis 17:1 says, “When Abram was ninetynine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El Shaddai—God Almighty.”
So far in Genesis, we have had the name Elohim, which is a general name for God. In Chapter 14, Melchizedek referred to him as Elyon or God most high. In Chapter 16, Hagar used the name El Roi (the God who sees). Now there is a further revelation of God as El Shaddai or almighty. God is not only omnipresent and omniscient; he is omnipotent. El is a general name for God and Shaddai or Almighty comes from a root meaning all powerful or all sufficient. What an encouragement to Abram who had been waiting thirteen years for something to happen. It was now impossible for Sarai to give birth, but the allpowerful, allsufficient God says, “I will increase your numbers!” In v4 God says, “My covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.”
For thirteen years, life went on as normal for Abram with no direct revelation. In the daily affairs of life, we do not always sense God’s presence. We wish for more revelation, but the LORD God Almighty (El Shaddai) is present. Hebrews 13:5 says, “He will never leave us nor forsake us.” As followers of Christ, we can be assured in the presence of a gracious king who does not change in his person, in his perfection, or in his purpose. This is to be assured in our gracious king and it should then lead to being…
2 BLESSED BY OUR GRACIOUS KING
At times, the Queen has been accused of being out of touch with her people. It is impossible, however, for the Queen to be with us all the time. But God can. God is not out of touch with his people. This comes out in the second part of Genesis 17:1 when he says, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.”
To walk means no more than that—to walk or to move forward. The problem is what follows: El Shaddai says, “Walk before me.” Literally, this means to walk in front of my face. In other words, we are to live in God’s presence. The LORD then adds these words… and be blameless. This means to be complete or sound. It is similar to Matthew 5:48 when Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Abram’s response may have been the same as ours… “LORD, how can you expect me to live like this? I have not lived like this yet, and nor am I going to live like this! As Abram goes on with his objections, we hear the LORD saying, “Hang on Abram I haven’t finished. He says in v2, “Walk before me and be blameless, and I will affirm my covenant with you.” God’s covenant came to Abram in Genesis 15:46 when he believed and it was credited it to him as righteousness. As Abram heard this command, “Walk before me and be blameless” he would try. He would try hard because this is what he wanted to do. When he failed, however, he would not despair. He would turn to God’s promise, and trust that he would fill the gaps in his righteousness.
The LORD comes to us today and says, “Walk before me and be blameless.” Like Abram, we have a desire to obey this command. Like Abram, however, we struggle. We then look to Christ to fill the gap in our righteousness. Galatians 3:1314 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us… He redeemed us so that the blessing given to Abraham might come to us.” Our standing before God is not based on our status in the church. We are blessed in the righteousness of Christ and not in our own works. When we are assured in this, and blessed by this, we are then ready to commit ourselves…
3 COMMITTED TO OUR GRACIOUS KING
When people are knighted, they kneel before their sovereign who then touches them and tells them to rise for service. They are then on her majesty’s service. This brings us to Abram’s response in v3. The text is very dramatic. It says, “Abram fell on his face.”
It is interesting to note that Abram’s response comes after God had said walk in front of my face. Having heard this, Abram fell on his face. This is an expression of humility and reverence as one’s body rests on the hands and knees until the forehead touches the ground. Abram fell on his face because he was in the presence of El Shaddai—the LORD God Almighty. Isaiah had a similar experience when he was in God’s presence. He said, “Woe is me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips, and I live amongst a people of unclean lips. My eyes have seen the King.” John’s experience is similar in Revelation 1:17. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet as though dead. Jesus placed his right hand on him and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore!” This should be our response too. 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Abram fell to the ground, because he could not look God in the face. In a day when we can look God in the face and be indifferent to his majesty, isn’t it time to fall down in reverence and reflection. In a day when we look God in the face and ignore his claims on our life, isn’t it time to fall down in reverence and respect. In a day when we look God in the face and are indifferent to sin, isn’t it time to fall down in reverence and repentance. In a day when we look God in the face and ignore the challenge to greater commitment, isn’t it time to fall down in reverence and renewal. This is how we can be assured in our gracious king, to be blessed by our gracious king, and to be committed to our gracious king.
Bernard Cartledge