God's Touchpoints - An Old Testament JourneyExemple

GOD’S SPECIAL INTERVENTIONS We have seen God’s activity throughout Genesis. Was Jesus involved? How do we know it was Jesus? What message does He communicate on those occasions? Genesis 3:8,9 indicates God walks and talks with and even clothing Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. John 1:18 states that “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known”. If no one has ever seen God, who walks and talks with Adam? Who fights with Jacob? Who appears to Abraham and Hagar? It must have been Jesus. Let’s look at a few of these “special interventions” – of Christ. In the valley of Shaveh after defeating Kedorlaomer, Abraham, receives bread and wine from Melchizedek (first Holy Communion), King of Salem and gives him (the first) tithe. (Gen 14:17-20). Heb 7:3 refers to him as being “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God”. Heb 13:20 mentions Jesus as being “in the order” of Melchizedek. Who stops Abraham’s hand from killing Isaac? This is more meaningful when we see many similarities between Jesus’ death and Abraham’s sacrifice. Both were the only son, carry the wood/cross, experience substitutionary sacrifice, on Moriah, God’s provision, etc. There is Jacob’s famous wrestling bout with “a Man” culminating in him worshiping God. (Gen 32:24-25, 28-30). In Genesis itself we see the promise of Christ, through Christ, who is: • A seed who would defeat Satan (Gen 3) • A Savior who provides alternate sacrifice – prelude of Calvary (Gen 22) • A Son who enables joint-sonship into God’s kingdom (14:17-20) • A Spirit who: o comforts and perseveres with the lost world, o is wrestling with us to draw us to submission to God • Same as God o Receives tithes, judges, wins battles, blesses, saves, etc. While man fails, God prevails. What man kills, God rebuilds. • God never lets his knowledge of the future or the past interfere with his present dealings with an individual. • God provides opportunities for recovery in the most hopeless of situations and people. • God continues to work his plans through the current circumstances when his perfect plans are jeopardized. Are we leveraging the tremendous power that the presence of Christ brings?