God Behind The Scenes Series

Genesis 14

March 30, 2003

The young couple were in a rush to be on their way. They put the baby’s care seat on the roof of the car while they were loading up for their trip. Somehow in the confusion and rush, they drove away with the car seat still sitting on the roof of the car. The car seat stayed where it was until they reached a major highway. At that point the wind blew the car seat off the roof, it landed on the road right-side -up, and skidded of the highway onto the verge. The baby was fine. This story that I just told you - was it a miracle?

The voice I hear in my head - is it the voice of God?

Is it more spiritual to be healed of an illness by the miraculous work of God or by the doctor prescribing medication?

By the end of this morning’s message I hope that you will be able to answer these questions.

Scene 1: Rebellion in the Dead Sea valley 14:1-4

Scene 2: Battle in the Dead Sea valley 14:5-12

Scene 3: Abram’s rescue of the captives 14:13-16

Scene 4: Aftermath of the liberation 14:17-24

What is the point of the story?

A. Brotherly devotion v.13

B. Walking by faith not sight v.22

Something more?

#1 God is explicitly left out till verse 18

#2 The climax of the story is verse 18 not the end of the battle

God could have made the sun stand still

He could have sent a plague on the enemy

He could have sent his angelic chariots

Providence

- a word we don’t use very much anymore

- because God is sovereign, he works through the ordinary running of life to accomplish his purpose. He works within the rules and order He established to accomplish His will.

By contrast, a miracle occurs when God suspends the natural order of creation to do something extraordinary to accomplish His will.

16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

What about our story?

Providence - no suspension of the Laws of nature.

What about the voice in my head? The providence of God working through the natural thought process He created. Because of this I need to check those thoughts by Scripture to discern which ones are God’s provident prompting versus which ones are my own sin nature.

We are enamoured with the miraculous - yet everyday God’s providence is at work in our lives to accomplish his will. Our praise should be just as great for the God who works through His creation as it is for the miracle-working God who occasionally works outside of the box.