The Patriarchs - Infinitely Generous

This is the sixth post in a series that I am doing based on the lives of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), the accounts of which are found in the book of Genesis.  In spite of the title of this series, the record of the experiences of the men listed above are only incidental to me.  What I find far more interesting, relevant, and important is the revelation of the character and nature of God that we can see by observing these men's lives.  Each post will coincide with a lesson being taught in a classroom.  As such, they will not be in a traditional essay format.  Rather, it will be a slightly expanded version of the notes that I hand out in class. 

The Genesis Account

Gen. 12:1-3 – The Hebrew word translated in verse two as “bless” has multiple contextual definitions.  On the one hand, it can refer to a blessing directed toward God as an act of adoration.  On the other hand, it can refer to a blessing directed toward man as a benefit.  Clearly when we take part in the process of being blessed by God it is not the same as when He commands us to offer up blessings to Him.  Nevertheless, it is nothing short of astounding that God would condescend to make us any part, in any way, of the same process by which He receives the worship which is due Him.

Gen. 15:1-4 – Abraham pours his heart out to God and God responds directly and specifically to His servant’s requests.  Notice that God in this passage is responding both to what Abraham says (v. 2-3: fear of no offspring) as well as what he doesn’t say (v.1: fear of reprisals from the conflict in chapter 14).

Gen. 23:6 – Notice the tremendous respect given to Abraham by the Canaanites in this verse.  God has blessed him not only with possessions, offspring, and the promise of descendants but also with a good civic reputation.  Although this was probably mostly for the purpose of Abraham acquiring property in Canaan as a sort of down payment for the nation of Israel, there is undeniably an element of material blessing for Abraham in the fact that his neighbors respected him.

Supporting Scriptures

Matt. 7:7-11 – Jesus teaches what should be obvious here.  Humans are intrinsically evil.  Yet in spite of their propensity for selfishness and pride they are still capable of giving their children good things rather than bad.  In light of this, God (who is perfectly good) will likewise give His children exceedingly abundant and good gifts.  The fact that Christ even needed to teach this says volumes about the depravity of the human heart.  That is, people tend to white wash their own sinfulness and count themselves as good in their own minds.  This prevents them from seeing the obvious truth of God’s perfect holiness and righteousness.

John 15:7 – The phrasing in this verse is very important.  Jesus said that if we abide, that is, rest or wait or remain in Him, and if His words reciprocally take up residence in our hearts, then and only then will God do whatever we ask.  The principle is that there is a condition to be met before God will give us whatever we ask.  That condition is to consciously and intentionally place Him as the central and most important pillar of our lives.  If we do that then the things that we ask for will automatically be according to His will.  The Father’s will is that all glory and honor and power be given to His Son, through whom the Father will in turn be glorified.  Therefore what we will really end up asking for is that He be glorified in the giving of gifts to us and the granting of our requests.

Questions For Meditation

Does Scripture really teach that God will give us material blessings?  I believe that it does.  We have already looked extensively at the account of Abraham’s life.  God guaranteed him very real and tangible benefits resulting from the covenantal promises given in Genesis.  We have seen how this played out in Abraham’s life in a concrete manner through wealth, power, prestige, and offspring.  Furthermore, Romans 11:17 paints a picture of we Gentiles as being wild olives who have been grafted in among the branches of the rich olive tree of Israel.  Along with that imagery, Romans 9:6-8 declares that it is the children of the promise (meaning all those who have received salvation through Christ) who are children of God and inheritors of that which was given to Abraham.  Namely, as it relates to this question, the glory and the covenants and the promises spoken of in verse 4.

To make this concept of gift giving even more plain, consider the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7:7-11.  We as human parents do not act with cruelty or harshness to our children when they ask for things.  To use Christ’s examples, we don’t give them a rock instead of bread or a snake instead of a fish.  And this is so in spite of the fact that we are rotten to the core apart from the righteousness of God granted to us through Christ.  If we, being of such a debased nature, can act with kindness toward our children then how much more will God act with exceeding abundance and generosity to His children?

If the above is true, then wouldn't it follow that we should expect our own lives to be showered with blessings?  Again I would answer yes to this question.  However, there is a rather large catch.  Consider once again the words of Jesus in John 15:7, given in the notes above.  If we as children of God are taking our ultimate satisfaction in Him alone then His greatest concern will become our own greatest concern.  Given that the chief end of God is to bring glory to Himself through all of creation, including us (1 Pet. 4:11; 1 Cor. 10:31), it would follow that we, following this pattern in accordance with God’s preference, would only desire whatever material benefits for ourselves that would ultimately serve that same purpose. 

This is what Jesus was getting at when He said “if My words abide in you…”  If the thoughts and intentions of the mind of God as revealed in scripture are the meat and potatoes of our spiritual diet then we may certainly ask for anything we wish because whatever we ask for will be in line with what will bring God the most glory.  There is an element here of cause and effect, similar to the “works-centric” faith that James talks about in chapter 2 of his epistle.  In that model authentic saving faith will automatically produce authentic good works.  Here in John chapter 15 authentic satisfaction in God will automatically produce authentically appropriate material requests.

Now then, if the answer to the first two questions are both yes, and if we tend to think that our lives are not quite as rosy as this would imply, what is the source of this perception? I believe the final piece of the puzzle of God's generosity can be found in considering the answer to this question.  I know for myself, there have been numerous times over the years where I have become disgruntled over that which I did not possess that I desired to obtain (e.g. vehicles, a house, a better job, computers, etc.).  Furthermore, I would sometimes look at what others had and long for those same perks to be realized in my own life.  And in these moments of envy and covetousness the thought may come to our minds that this picture of material blessing that is given in scripture is either completely inaccurate or at least imbalanced in favor of some people over others.  And that’s not even taking into account our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who have far less than we in America in terms of material comforts and blessings.  So what gives?  Is this teaching really accurate?  Does God actually give material blessings to His children or is this all a fabricated ephemeral pipe dream? 

Some would say that the blessings He gives us are wholly spiritual in nature and that this is the resolution to the mystery of why some have more than others.  There is definitely truth to this.  Job 5:17 and Psalm 1:1-3 both speak of the happiness or contentedness, rendered by most English translations as blessed in those passages, that comes when a person is disciplined by The Lord and who does not follow the depraved patterns of the world.  These passages are clearly indicating a sense of spiritual well-being and internal happiness rather than material comforts.  But I believe scripture also teaches that God will grant physical blessings to us as well, as I indicated in the previous questions.  However, once again there is a huge caveat to this.  It is God alone who determines what physical blessings are appropriate for each of us.

Returning to the book of Matthew, in chapter 20 Jesus tells a parable about some laborers in a vineyard.  The land-owner hires four groups of workers during the course of a single day.  He promises a specific wage to the first group for their efforts but seems to be non-specific as to the wage the other three groups will earn.  When evening comes the employer settles his debt with the laborers.  To the shock and dismay of the first group, who toiled all day long through the heat of the sun, every other group, including the last bunch who only worked for one hour, all received the same wage as they did.  They rise up in anger against the land-owner because of the unfairness of the situation.  But he professes his innocence of any wrong-doing, claiming that his money is his to do with as he pleases.  He asks them rhetorically whether they are simply being envious because he desired to be generous.

The point of this parable is that it is the land-owner, representing God, who determines who gets what and when.  It is purely His mercy that any of us gets anything.  And we have no right whatsoever to question His decisions or complain about them.  Furthermore, the tendency that we have to do so directly stems from our corrupt natures, represented in the parable as the first group’s envious eyes.  It is the fallen state of our being that causes us to perceive that which God chooses to give us as being less than we can be satisfied with or even deserve.  If we are truly finding our greatest satisfaction in Him alone then what we possess will become far less important.