In the first message of this series, looked at Adam and Eve’s rebellion, from the perspective of how it changed their relationship, and ours, from being “dumb phones,” being dependent on God to becoming “smart phones” and acting independently of God.
Smart phones have a function that dumb phones do not – auto-correction, which is a text replacement or replace-as-you-type function. Its principle purpose is to correct common spelling errors and to say time.
When I had a dumb phone, my messages were always sent as written – typos and all. My smart phone, however, replaces my words with words that it believes I meant to use. The “receiver” correcting the “source”. The clay correcting The Potter. Do you see the similarities “clay”?
Let me reiterate a point from the first message. It’s crucial. Adam’s descendants are born smart phones with the auto-correct function preset and turned on. We are born ready to argue with and disagree with God and the Bible. This is who we are before we are born again.
Today we’re going take a somewhat detailed look at two examples from the Old Testament of how the clay auto-corrected the Potter.
Scripture is clear in identifying why the clay acts this way: we hear The Potter’s words but we don’t agree with His Words and we decide to follow our own words instead. In other words, the clay tells The Potter I know better than you.
Let’s look at a couple examples from the Old Testament.
The first is Abraham and Sarah.
Let’s begin by looking at the word the Potter, the Lord, gave to the clay, Abraham and Sarah. In Genesis 15, the Lord appears to Abram in a vision to reaffirm their relationship and His protection. “...Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (verse 1b). This vision occurs about 10 years after Genesis 12 when the Lord tells Abram to leave his family in Haran. We’re going to read verses one and two.
“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I well show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation (the promise of a son), and I will bless thee, and make thy name great (through the son’s birth); and thou shalt be a blessing.”
Ten years later Sarai is still childless. When Abram asks the Lord for a son, I’m sure he didn’t ask because he had forgotten what the Lord had promised when he left Haran.
Abram was no different than we are today.
We see and claim the promises in God’s Word and expect them to manifest shortly or soon or within a reasonable amount of time or sometime in the very near future, with the emphasis being on very. Okay, let’s just be honest: we want the promises now but we don’t say that because we don’t want to appear impatient. Can I get a witness?
Abram has another reason for wanting, and in a gentle way, reminding God why he desires a son. Without a son, when he dies everything he owns goes to his steward, Eliezer of Damascus. We see this in Genesis 12, verse two. Now jump down to verse four.
“And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him (Abram), saying, This (Eliezer) shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.”
Although scripture doesn’t tell us, I’d be stunned if Abram doesn’t immediately share this vision with Sarai. In their culture, being barren – without a male heir – was a sign that the Lord has withheld His favor.
Now, let’s see how the clay auto-corrects The Potter.
When we get to Genesis 15, Abram is about 85 years old and Sarai is about 75 and still barren. So she tells Abram to marry Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid, so that she can have a child through her. In that culture, Sarai would get on her knees between Hagar’s knees to catch the baby as he comes out of her womb. The child would then be considered her child.
In the latter part of verse two and the first part of verse four we read “...And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. ... And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived.”
Notice the phrase “hearkened to the voice.” We read it for the first time in Genesis chapter three, verse 17 when the Lord confronts Adam after he eats of the forbidden tree. When we listen to and follow another “voice” we will auto-correct God.
Why didn’t Abram say ‘no’ to Sarai and remind her (and himself) of the Lord’s promise? It had to be more than being intimate with a younger wife. I believe the answer is found in Romans 4:21. Let’s turn there.
“And being fully persuaded (the Greek word is plerophoreo) that, what he (God) had promised, he (God) was able also to perform.”
In the Greek “fully persuaded” is one word and means, in essence, having no doubt whatsoever. At this stage in his life, Abram is not plerophoreo. He still has doubts, and so does Sarai, that they will have a son. After all, it’s been 10 years. Perhaps, they reason, Abram and Hagar are the way to bring the Lord’s promise to pass.
Ladies and gentlemen, rationalization is not faith.
When God doesn’t act as quickly as we think He should, we go into “rationalization mode” to explain, to ourselves, why we aren’t seeing the promises. Bottom line: we’re looking for a way to justify our unbelief. Ouch! That hurt. Bro. Barry. I know. It hurt me too.
Abram and Hagar’s union produces Ishmael and births the nation of Islam. Muslims recognize Ishmael as the forefather of Muhammad. Abraham and Sarah’s union produces Isaac and births the nation of Israel, out of whom Jesus Christ came. Isaac is born 14 years after Ishmael and since then the two nations have been at war.
We see this in Galatians 4: 28, 29: “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh (Ishmael) persecuted him that was born after the spirit (Isaac), even so it is now.”
What is one result of the clay auto-correcting The Potter? When you auto-correct God, you can set in motion years of strife and turmoil for you and for those you love.
Let’s look at another example from the Old Testament – The 10 Unbelieving Spies (Rulers) in Numbers 13.
Again, let’s begin by looking at the word from The Potter to the clay. In Numbers 13 Moses sends 12 spies into Canaan, the land of promise, at the request of the people (if you’re taking notes this is in Deuteronomy 1:22) and with the Lord’s permission, which we see in verse one of Numbers 13. The Lord tells Moses to assign the ruler of each tribe to this expedition team.
Moses reminds Israel of the passage we’re about to read in Numbers in Deuteronomy 1:20, 21.
“And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold, the Lord thy God hath set (given) the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.”
Moses reminds the 12 rulers of the 12 tribes that even before they go to spy out the land the Lord has already given it to them.
When you read Numbers 13:17-27, the 12 spies (rulers) spend 40 days searching out the land. They bring back evidence that the land is everything the Lord said it would be. Look at verse 23.
“And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.”
Now jump down to verses 26 and 27. “And they told him, and said, We came into the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.”
Let’s see how the clay auto-corrects The Potter. In verses 28 and 29, ten of the 12 spies (rulers) tell the people why they should ignore God’s command (word) to go up and possess the land.
“Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land (Hmmm, I wonder if the Lord knew this before He sent them?), and the cities are walled, and very great (Hmmm do you think the Lord said “The cities are what? Walled? Really?”), and moreover we saw the children of Anak there” (Hmmm, I’m sure the Lord said to Himself, I didn’t see that one coming.)
Please pay attention to what I’m about to say: Everything the 10 rulers say about the land is factual and accurate in the natural. They are not lying to the people. But they convince the people that what they had seen is true and that God’s word, which Moses spoke to them, is not true. I’m going to say that again. Because of fear, the rulers convince the people that God’s Word could not be trusted.
Caleb, one of the 12 who went to spy out the land, does not disagree with them. But God’s word is more real to him than what he had seen. Look at what he says in verse 30: “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
Now here’s the heart of the issue. Verse 31: “But the men (10 rulers) that went up with him (Caleb) said, We be not able to go up against the people (“We don’t care what Caleb says or what the Lord says through Moses.”); for they are stronger than we.”
Now here’s the verse, 32a: “And they (10 rulers) brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel.”
Even though the Lord has always gone before them and searched out the place for them to pitch their tents (You can read this in Deuteronomy 1:33.), the 10 rulers are afraid of the people of the land because of what they had seen and what they had forgotten.
Even though the spies’ report is factual, why does the Bible call it was an “evil report”? What they saw and experienced was immaterial to what the Lord had said in Numbers 13:2. Turn there. “Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I (the Lord) give unto the children of Israel...”
The 12 rulers chose to live by what they could see rather than taking God at His Word. Turn back to Numbers 13 and let’s read verse 33.
“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
The 10 rulers talk the children of Israel out of their inheritance.
In Deuteronomy 1 the Lord says take the land and don’t be fearful or discouraged. Remember reading that? What are we seeing here in the 10 rulers? They fear the people of the land and exaggerate what they had seen. They talk the children of Israel out of going into the Promised Land.
This is a fascinating story. I would encourage you to read Deuteronomy 1:19-46 first and then read Numbers 13 and 14.
What was the result of the clay auto-correcting The Potter? The children of Israel believe the ten rulers and spend the next 40 years in the wilderness, about 11 miles from the Promised Land, until all the smart phones are dead. When you auto-correct God, you could spend your entire life within walking distance of your Promised Land. Let that sink in ladies and gentlemen. Until next time.
