When the chapter begins, we see that Eliezer of Damascus (mentioned in verse 2 of the Amplified Bible version(s)) is involved again, this time to find Abraham’s son, Isaac, a wife. Her name is Rebekah, if you remember the end of Genesis 22 after Isaac was almost sacrificed (thank God that Abraham didn’t plan on killing him!) — she later gave birth to two of Abraham’s grandchildren, Esau and Jacob, and her in-laws had some children of their own, and so did Ishmael, in fact! But more of that later, for this long chapter is found in pages 12-14 of my NKJV Bible, pages 16-17 of my NASB Bible, pages 28-31 of my VOICE copy, and pages 27-30 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.
Funny enough, I have little to say concerning this chapter, only that footnote z of the Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) version says this is highly illustrative of God sending Jesus to ransom His Bride, but He died for everyone, as the Scriptures proclaim without room for misinterpretation. Doesn’t it say in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 in the Greek for both chapters that reprobate people have been bought back, too? 2 Peter 2:1 says the same thing. I really don’t think I need to say this again, for anyone who knows me would know me as the guy who hates unloving “truths” that the Bible has been twisted and dangerously warped into. Remember what it says in Matthew 5:13 about Jesus saying that useless salt is trampled underfoot because it’s beyond recovery? So many have been salty about the truth because it sets people free (John 8:32). I don’t think their “truth” is even remotely liberating, and if Gandhi, a Hindu who died without Jesus could see by the Holy Spirit that the Church had become extremely heretical about things like this by his time, how much more should we believe that the Church is being separated into oblivion? Let me introduce you to a term I heard in college: The Great Disconnect. It’s when hypocrisy divides people in Christian communities, and before long, both parties are unyielding. When that happens, the godly have no choice but to leave it behind, and never come back. It’s why I was so frustrated with churches across the country and in much of the world when I was reading more of my Bible each day. It’s why I came to hate the church I grew up in. A part of Satan’s purpose lives inside them. What shall we do, you might ask? Well, get connected with your friends and have your hearts knit together in the love of Christ (Colossians 2:2), for by doing this you’ll win plenty of people over to Him, if they don’t get deceived by the hypocrisy in the bad ones, first. Thank God it’s still kind of low in my generation and in our children’s age groups, but I’m starting to be afraid because there’s not many 90s kids in college left…
Rebekah was a perfect fit for Isaac because the Holy Spirit had told the servant to bring her to Canaan. But it seems like people decide hypocritical things for others all the time, even when they use accounts like this! Remember the words of 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. Anyone proclaiming Jesus as God could be a hypocrite, even with a large amount of today’s young adults in the Church, authentic as so many are. This culture needs to hear us, but most of the people in our region don’t deserve them. And I’m in the U.S., so that’s really saying something, for both the east and west coasts are the shores of Babylon. I don’t know about Alaska and Hawaii, or the territories the U.S. has, but I pray for people to get saved in those areas, too. I know I say things like this a lot, but I don’t think I can ever stop being frustrated with my own people, for if I have no homeland and the nations take vengeance on the good and bad people alike, will Jesus ever be glorified again? I can’t give a positive answer for this, unfortunately… I legitimately don’t know what’s going to happen to the global Church because of them. I don’t know if there will even be a godly movement in the future. I guess that’s why the Rapture is necessary, before the 7-year Tribulation described in Revelation starts. For it seems like Christianity as we understand it might come to an end soon. Please pray that the hypocrisy is gone forever, for I don’t know what to say on Isaac marrying Rebekah to find comfort for his mom’s death, either.
I’ll schedule this for 7 p.m. tonight, maybe 7:30 (you’ll see it when you see it), yet because I’m paralyzed with fear about if the Church deserves to have a future, I can only ask that you pray concerning the fact if Jesus can even be trusted, for He deserves our worship, having never done anything wrong or told any lies, always being kind to others, as the Gospels illustrate. And we’ve had some decisive works of the Spirit before, but if He’s put to death all over again, we can’t live. But Jesus cannot die again (Romans 6:9), so hopefully retribution doesn’t have the final word.
Ron And His Stories 