The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS

90

GENESIS

said in Genesis 24:7,

The LORD GOD of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land ; he shall send his ANGEL before thee…

We know, according to Scripture ( Exo 23:20,21,23 and Mic 5:2 ), that the term “angel” in the OT (in its singular form) always refers to a person of deity (Gen 16:7-13 and Judg 13:1-22), and in this case, to the SECOND PERSON of the Triune Godhead. Thus, the Person who spoke to Abraham here in Genesis 12:1-7 was GOD THE FATHER , who promised to send His ANGEL ( CHRIST ) before Abraham. 12:16 David H. Stern, a Messianic Jew, in Complete Jewish Bible rendered this verse as follows: He (Pharoah) treated Avram (Abram) well for her sake, giving him sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels. 1 Abram did not enter Egypt rich; he left Egypt rich ( And he entreated Abram well for her sake ). Abram had nothing but the will of God for his life when he started out from the Ur of the Chaldees (Gen 11:31), the world’s wealth being concentrated almost a thousand miles away in Egypt. Then, due to a famine in Canaan (God’s will for Abram’s life), Abram entered Egypt (Gen 12:10). Although he entered Egypt in a famine, he left Egypt full and famous (Gen 12:16). NOTE - No one better illustrates how divine economics work than does Abraham. Those who choose to follow the same biblical principles that guided Abram concerning divine economics will end up blessed, just like Abram. Note the following principles: 1. Divine economics is all about meeting one’s needs , not one’s wants (Mt 6:33) Divine economics is all about seeking His will (Gen 11:31 and Acts 7:2-4), not ours. His will, which is determined by His Word, is centered upon two subjects: (1) the kingdom of God (the future; the eternal perspective) (2) the character of God (His righteousness) Whenever a Christian decides to seek God’s kingdom (focusing on that which is eternal versus that which is temporal - II Cor 4:14-18), and His character (focusing on His godliness versus our goodness - I Tim 6:6-10), God will begin to meet his needs, showering His blessings and open rewards upon that believer (Gen 12:16 and Psa 35:27). 2. Divine economics is based solely upon the eternal Word, God’s miracle Book (Mt 24:35) Divine economics is all about taking God’s Word over your own ( Gen 12:1a and Psa 138:2 ). NOTE - Three miracles distinguish the Bible from all other books: (1) the miracle of inspiration ( II Pet 1: 15- 21 ) (2) the miracle of preservation (Psa 119:89 and Jere 36:1-2,20-23,27-28) (3) the miracle of illumination ( I Sam 19: 19- 22 -24) 3. Divine economics means God owns it all (Psa 24:1, Lev 25:23, Deut 10:14, Haggai 2:8 and Job 41:11) Divine economics is all about the Owner ( Gen 12:1b ). The question is not: How much money should we give to God? The question is: How much of God’s money should we keep for ourselves (I Chro 29:10-14)? Did you know that when you tithe you are not giving to God? You are simply returning to God what already belongs to Him (I Chro 29:15-16). God blesses His children with financial resources so that they have everything they need to accomplish “His purpose” in the world (Deut 8:18). Do you care how you’re handling His possessions? As Christians, one of the quickest ways to discover the priorities of our own hearts is to address the placement of our finances and our families (Mt 6:19-24 & 10:34-39). According to Jesus, we can give our life away (as did Abraham - Heb 11:8-16) or we can throw it away (as did Lot - Gen 13:5-13), but either way we are sure to lose it; we cannot keep it. Any plan of economy, therefore, is constructed on a platform of principles. These principles may be right or wrong, but the plan will be as strong as the rightness or as weak as the wrongness of those principles (Psa 50:7-12). Man may garner the resources here on earth and put a price tag for sale or lease, but God is still the owner and it all belongs to Him. Man may put a NO TRESSPASSING sign on the mountain, but the mountain still belongs to God. Man may tax your land, but the land still belongs to God. Man may try to ration the fresh air and the breezes that blow, but the atmosphere still belongs to God. Man may try to put a tax on the vastness of the reaches of space, but the universe still belongs to God. Man may attempt to draw royalties on the beautiful songs that the birds sing, but every fowl and every song still belongs to God. The Devil may appear to have a lot of this earth in his custody (Isa 45:1-4), but God is still its Owner. Joe Gibbs in Game Plan for Life notes: Understand that God owns it all . That means you’re just a steward, manager, or trustee of God’s resources. Ultimately, even if you lost everything, it would still be okay because it’s His. 2 4. Divine economics means God controls it all (Isa 45:1-3) Divine economics is all about the Owner/Operator (Gen 12:7). God not only possess it all, He presides over it all as well. Although Satan wants to use the world’s wealth as a means to an end (he wants to foil God’s will for planet earth with it), still, God presides over it all. Just because the world’s wealth is referred to as the “treasures of darkness” (Isa 45:3) does not mean that the Devil is in control of it. You can only preside over what you possess. Since the Devil doesn’t own the earth (Psa 24:1), he doesn’t have control of its riches. He may accumulate this world’s wealth for his own purposes, but in the end he cannot control it. Then again, neither can we (Prov 23:1-5). Only the possessor can preside over His possessions. For example, * Abram had nothing when he entered Egypt, yet he left a wealthy man (Gen 12:10 - 13:2). The world’s wealth may be amassed