Sermons
Vander Kam on Genesis 18:19
Sermons
Vander Kam on Genesis 18:19Genesis 18:19 – "'For I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.'" (New American Standard Bible)
Beloved in the Lord: One of the things that we are always worried about and that is, what we are going to leave our children. And there are some of course, who are going to be able to leave them an inheritance, an inheritance that is of some value. But with the great majority there is not much of an inheritance and then we begin to wonder what we can leave them. And we should realize that the greatest heritage which we are able to leave to them is this, that of a Godly walk, and that of a Godly teaching. That we are going to teach them the ways of the Lord and that they are thus going to come to the understanding of the way of salvation.
That is the greatest thing that you are able to do for your children after you, and that is the Word of God from beginning to end. That is the way in which He spoke to the forefathers, that is the way He spoke to the patriarchs, in order that they might keep that alive. And today we do not know Abraham so well for all the cattle that he possessed, but rather for this, that he went on in generations, that it was also Isaac and Jacob that followed him that way.
And so it has come to us throughout the years that we are to leave that as an inheritance, as a heritage for our children, for our young people; that they may know the way of the Lord, and that they may know that way well, and that they may also see it living before them.
Now it is one thing beloved, and Paul also refers to that in one of his letters to the churches; that we are to be very careful in the instruction of our youth, and that it is to be done in such a way so that we will not offend, that we will not turn them off. That it will be done in such a way so that we will not in any way offend them to such an extent that they turn away from it, but that we will capture them for the sake of Jesus Christ; that is the burden that is placed upon every parent. And that the young people may also realize that that is the greatest inheritance that they are ever going to get, and that there is nothing like it already for this present time and also for the future. And that is, that they may know the way of the Lord, that that may be part and parcel of their whole being, that it may be in their bones, that it may be in their whole being, that they love the Lord, that they are His children. That covenant faithfulness goes on from generation to generation.
We speak to you tonight on: Abraham's Instruction of His Household. Noticing in the first place, its divine approval; secondly, its content; and finally, its urgency.
Now here in chapter 18 beloved, you are dealing with some of those things that are about to happen. And God has a soliloquy that He now makes known to us, that is, He is talking to Himself. And in that soliloquy there we find this, that He is talking to Himself concerning Abraham, what He is going to do. "Shall I hide from Abraham the things that I am about to do? But no, that would not be right, because he is the one who is going to be great and he is going to be the father of many nations, and many of the nations of the world are going to be blessed in him, so that he will have to know. He will have to know the way of the Lord, He will have to know that which God is about to do."
And as a result of that He gives His Divine approval upon the kind of teaching that Abraham is to give. Abraham is to do this, that he is to teach, for I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him. That is the purpose; He has chosen Abraham for that purpose, not in order to inherit Canaan, not in order to conquer Canaan – he never did – but that He is going to choose him for this one purpose, and that is, that he is going to instruct his children.
What a purpose in life, what a goal! Only that you teach your children, that you teach your children the way of life. That's the goal! And that, to many people, is very little. If that's the only purpose in life that I have, well, then it doesn't amount to much.
But it amounts to a great deal; that's why I have chosen him. So that the covenant might be perpetuated through Abraham to the others. In that covenant relationship he is to teach, he is to teach the coming generations, and that is the greatest thing that he is going to do. Much more than this, that he is going to be the father of many nations. It is going to be a whole lot more important because of the fact that he is going to see it before his eyes. And that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to call him blessed. That is going to be the upshot of it all, that he is going to be faithful in these things; because He knows that Abraham will be faithful.
He has tried him in many ways, but Abraham is faithful. He has tried him so that He has taken everything from him, but he has been faithful. And that faithfulness is not something that he has now pulled out of himself, it is a faithfulness that God has given to him. That is a part of that covenant faithfulness, that He has shown to him what is required and that is this, that he is now going to teach his children. That he is going to teach them what they have to do, that he is going to teach them what they have to know. He is going to teach them concerning those things, those few things that had already been known, that had been transmitted from generation to generation up to the days of Abraham. That is, things concerning creation, for example; things concerning the flood; those were the things that he had to make known to his children.
And what a task it was in those days to do that. Because you had nothing to go by, except the oral transmission. Only the oral transmission of all those things, there was not a word on paper. And now to teach; but I know him, I know him, that he will be faithful, and for that reason I have chosen him; that he will instruct. I have chosen him in order that he may command his children and his household after him. May command them so that they will see, so that it is an instruction that is going to be very clear. That they may know the way of the Lord, that they may know that way and that they may also see that he himself walks in it. That is the great danger wherein Abraham stands and every parent since. The great danger that when he himself falls, that when he himself sins, that stands in the way of his own teaching.
He is going to have to teach that Isaac who is to be born as well as Ishmael. And he is going to have to teach them the ways of the Lord, and he is commanded to do that; that is the command that comes out of the covenant relationship in which he stands. That friendship with Jehovah, that friendship of Abraham and Jehovah; that will demand this, that he is going to instruct his household, that he is going to instruct them in the things concerning their Maker. Instruct them in His ways, instruct them in His words, whatever he knows of that Word. That has to be transmitted, and that is his calling.
That is the noble calling beloved, that every parent has; every parent is called upon to do that. That is the real covenant, that we transmit it from generation to generation; that our God is faithful, that our God has made a promise, and that His promises stand, and that they will never fail, but that they will stand unto the very end of time, because He has made His promise to His people, and no one shall ever see the Word of God fall to the ground.
Now that is the way in which He gives His Divine approval upon it, and that is the approval that is necessary. See, all the teaching that we do, the teaching that we do by word of mouth and also by example, is tremendous over a period of time. When you have your children at home, let's say for twenty years; all that you have taught them is tremendous, all that you teach them in school is tremendous, all that we teach them in the church is tremendous; but it has to have His Divine approval. There are many parents that teach their children things that are of no value, no value, does not have His approval; and that is the covenant. It has to have Divine approval. It has to be such, not only that we have taught them, but that we have taught them that which was right. The things concerning Himself, concerning our God; that we have known it, that we have lived it, and that we now give it to them. That is the intent, and for that that's the soliloquy that He has with Himself; "should I keep back from Abraham these things?" No! Not from Abraham, from a Solomon later on? Yes! From a Manasseh? Yes! But not from Abraham. Because, "I have chosen him in order that he may command his children and his household after him. He will be faithful, and because he is faithful, that's what it is due to." His faithfulness! You call that, now one of the options, you call that one of the things that has to be there? Yes! The Bible does. One of the conditions? You have to believe, and he did, and was the father of all believers!
Secondly, notice it's content. Now this teaching of Abraham has the Divine approval and that shows what the content of it is going to be. And that content, he says, is this, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about it. So that they are to know the way of the Lord, and that is an enormous task. An enormous task because of the fact that then we have to know the way of the Lord. We have to know that way and we have to know it well in order to be able to teach it. See, the one who teaches must always know more than the one who is being taught. You always have to have more in reserve, so that you may be able to teach, that you may be able to transmit it to others.
Now to know the way of the Lord, the way in which He has dealt with Adam, with Cain, with Abel; how He has dealt with Noah, how He has dealt with Enoch, how He has dealt with all of these; to know the way of the Lord, and how He has dealt with me; that is, Abraham. How He has dealt with him; he is to know the way of the Lord, and he has so little to go by so that we are standing in such a more favored position.
We are standing in this kind of a position so that we are standing right in the noonday of the revelation of God, and he had so little. But I am sure he has been chosen for this purpose, to make known the way of the Lord, and that he is going to make known to Isaac, so that when he lays him on the altar there, that Isaac will also know what is really required, what is required.
That it isn't a minor matter, that it isn't a matter how you do this, and how you do that; it isn't a how-to. No, it is a matter of fundamental; the way of the Lord, and the way of righteousness. Doing righteousness and justice; that is, that he is going to teach morality, that is, that he is first of all going to teach a morality within; for himself, for his family; and that he is going to teach a morality without, that is, that justice to others. That is the necessity; the Lord has come down to see what is required now in this time. Sodom and Gomorrah's cry comes up to Him. And that Sodom had fallen into such low sin, to such a degree of sin. Now He is going to come to see whether it is really so or not. And now this one, this Abraham, must teach morality; so necessary in the day when you have Sodom and Gomorrah surrounding you. And that he must also teach that to others, so that they will also see that there is that morality which is found only with the people of God. Is found only in His revelation. Finally the world has no morality, and they are still wondering whether this deed was right or wrong or what.
They don't know! Was it right to let the bomb fall on Japan in 1945? They have no idea, have no idea. You can make a good case for it, you can make a good case against it; but he must teach morality so that they will know what is right, what is wrong. And that is one of the greatest things that is ever going to be made known to anybody. Then you are far ahead of the great majority of your time, if you know morality, the morality within and the morality without. As it is made known to others that there is true justice.
"Now shall I keep this back from Abraham?" No, he's got to teach this. "And I'm sure," says the Lord, "that he will, I have chosen him for that purpose; to make known the way of the Lord and that he will thus show that righteousness and that justice." That is a tremendously important thing that is given to us. Tremendously important assignment, that we are to teach them morality on the basis of the Word of God. That we are to teach morality outside on the basis of the Word of God. There is no other; that is the God of morality, that is the God who has given the moral law. And then you cannot, you cannot argue with the deeds of the present day and say, "I don't know if it's right or wrong." No, they don't! But you go to Exodus 20 and you will know. "And I know that he will show them, that he will teach them." And that's what every parent has to do.
Ah, it may be sometimes that thereby the young people are somewhat offended; could be! And there's no offense that is to be taken because of the fact that their welfare is in mind. They have their welfare in mind in order that they don't fall victim to the immorality of the day; because that is the danger. And those are the things that are again so common in our day. Immorality is rife, found everywhere, and don't think that that makes no impression upon the church of Jesus Christ. Of course it does! Upon our young people, and in the older ones. It is rife, and the only moral standard that is given to us is here in that Word; "And I have chosen him for this, that he will instruct them in the ways of the Lord, in righteousness and justice, to show them the way of life."
And besides that, and in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about. Now this is rather a strange statement that you consider that that might be one of the conditions. And some have really stumbled over this, some commentators stumble over this; that it is now that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about it; He has spoken these things concerning him. Now it is still in mid-air? Now it is yet up to Abraham? Yes, that's the way He puts it, that's the way he puts it. That's the only way you and I are able to understand it, too. That he is to be the believer, he is to exercise that faith, he is to hold onto it tenaciously, in order that he may be able to teach the coming generation. And if he doesn't hold to it himself, he cannot teach others.
Now that is the truth of God. That is the truth that he has to recognize. That is the truth that comes to us, and that comes to us so clearly, that comes to us here so that we will also realize that the world is in poverty, and that we have the riches, the riches of God. He has shown to Abraham what He will do; "and I will make thee the father of many nations, father of many nations."
He has one child, that's that Ishmael, and the promise isn't even going to go through him, no. Doesn't even have any other; but Isaac shall come. A year from now Sarah will have a son. "Hah, it can't be," she says. "I'm far beyond that time of life." Laugh about it, laugh about the ways of God? Don't you dare! And the next year she has a son. And now you are to instruct him, and I know that he will, that he will instruct him in the way of the Lord; in righteousness and justice. That the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken of, because He will bring it. He will cause those promises to be fulfilled, but that means that Abraham is to be a believer, is to believe the promises of God.
Conditions. I have often mentioned in theological discussions. If you want to call it a condition, that's all right to me; if you don't want to call it a condition, call it something else, but it's there, it's there. He has to believe. That is the weight that is placed upon him. The weight isn't all upon Isaac and his descendants, but this on Abraham, he has to believe, and believe it firmly, and then be an example. And that's the way he teaches. "And I have chosen him for that purpose, that he will do that." So does he instruct his household after him.
And finally, notice its urgency. Now, going back once more to that soliloquy; He has come down for that purpose, to see once whether the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is as bad as it is. Whether the conditions, and He goes and stoops so low to us, you know, to make clear to us, as though He doesn't know yet how bad it is; He's got to come down to see it. Stoops so low to make it plain, to make it clear to us. He will see once what it is like. And then He will find that indeed it is true, that it indeed is true that Sodom and Gomorrah have given themselves over unto such lasciviousness, unto such immorality that there is no possibility anymore that they are going to be able to continue. So that the life of these cities is going to be snuffed out, there's going to be nothing left. Now when Abraham sees this, that when he looks out from his tent and there he sees the whole world on fire, what is he going to think! That the promise of God still stands? That His covenant promise is still going to go on? He is going to wonder, wonder when he sees the whole world seemingly on fire. Because that was some blaze, people.
When it causes a cavity to form which is today part of the Dead Sea, then you have an enormous conflagration, tremendous conflagration. And now "shall I hide from Abraham the things that I am going to do?" No. Then he is going to begin to wonder and he is going to be able to wonder concerning the things that are happening around him. And he's got to be able to see that, in the light of what he has to teach, that is, in the light of what he knows, and in the light of what he believes. We see the world on fire around us; it's coming to a climax. How can it go on much longer this way, when there is no realization of law or order, when there is no realization anymore of right and wrong, of authority, of power or anything. But people take it into their own hands. And then when God's people look out and say, "what is this that we are to do?"
Yah, it is this, that we are going to instruct our children after us; and children's children. We are going to instruct them and we are not going to say immediately, "Well, it is so close to the end, it isn't even worthwhile anymore." No, you are to teach, and teach some more, and teach constantly until the very end of your life, and you leave the rest in the hands of the Almighty. And He will call a halt to history at His time, and not in your time. He will call a halt to the history of this world in His time, and He will then come with His judgment. But that is not ours to do.
We are to be faithful in this, and that is, that we are to teach our households after us. When the whole world is, as it were, on fire, when it is burning all around us, as it was with Abraham. What a sight that must have been; this man is out here in this land, this desolate land, and here looking out of his tent he sees the fires of Sodom, sees the fires of Gomorrah going up. What an awful awakening. But the most important thing is this, next year Sarah will have a son and you have to instruct him; that's your calling. It's not your calling right now to go to Sodom to put out the fires; it is your calling to instruct Isaac.
And that's the way He has placed it in this kind of a framework, in this kind of a context. In order that we may see the urgency of it, that urgency is born of this, that everything goes and is destroyed. That everything else comes to naught, but that this shall stand – the promises of God. His covenant faithfulness will endure. So that even though the world about us is on fire, nevertheless that promise of God is going to go on in generations. That they will fear Him, that they will bow the knee to Him, and every age again. And these times have come again and again in the history of the world in different forms, but they have come again and again; but the people of God are called to be faithful, faithful in their calling, faithful in their covenant relationship. They are to instruct their children and their children's children. That is the most powerful force that they exert on the future, the most powerful force that they exert on the present, that they instruct their children.
And to do that, both by precept and by example, to show to them the way of righteousness, and the way of justice. To show to them the way of the Lord. That's what he has to do. That's Abraham's task, that is the task he has to perform, that every parent has to perform, and he will never be able to get rid of that, that accounting that he will have to give for this task that is his, to instruct and to instruct in such a way so that you see them walking in the ways of the Lord. And that is the greatest joy of every parent, to see them walking in that way.
Let's come to the Table of the Lord together, with our children, when they are grown up, and there praise Him, glorify Him. The same God and Father of all, who is in all, who speaks to all. That's the way Abraham is to instruct his household as a pattern for us. Amen.
We thank Thee, heavenly Father, for the Word wherein Thou hast spoken to us. We thank Thee for the grace and mercy Thou hast revealed. We thank Thee Lord that Thou dost reveal Thyself to us, and that Thou dost reveal to us what is required of us. Grant, O Lord, that that Word may then be applied unto our hearts by the operation of Thy Spirit. That we may so live from day to day, and so live with our children and our grandchildren, in order to show them the way of light and the way of life. Bless us further; be near to us in the days of the week to come. Forgive our sins and hear us in Jesus our Redeemer's Name. Amen.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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