The Growth of Faith

⁶So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. ⁷These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.[i] (1 Peter 1:6-7, NLT)

The Lord told Abram to leave his native country, relatives and his father’s family and go to a land that the Lord would show him. (Genesis 12:1) Abram demonstrated his faith by doing just as the Lord asked.  He left not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

Abram arrived in the land and set up camp beside the oak of Moreh in Shechem. (Genesis 12:6) In this place the Lord appeared to him and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” (Genesis 12:7, NLT)

Abram demonstrated his faith by obedience and God rewarded that faith by appearing to Abram and confirming that Abram was in the right place. This was a spiritual high place, a mountain top experience.

Immediately following this mountain top experience, Abram’s faith is tested. It happened to Jesus as well.  Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan.  The Spirit descended as a dove and landed on Jesus. A voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” (Luke 3:21-22, NLT) Then Jesus was immediately led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. (Luke 4:1-13)

Abram’s test comes in the form of a severe famine.

In response, Abram leaves the land that God has promised him and goes to Egypt. He feels compelled to lie to the Egyptians to protect his own life.  His wife Sarai is a beautiful woman and he fears they will kill him in order to take her.  So, his solution is to lie and tell the Egyptians that Sarai is his sister.

Earlier the Biblical account tells us that there were Canaanites living in the land when Abram camped in Shechem, but Abram did not feel compelled to lie to the Canaanites. I assume this is because he was integrating more with the society of the Egyptians.

Abram builds no altar in Egypt.  God is silent.  Abram’s wife is taken by Pharaoh to be Pharaoh’s wife.  Pharaoh gives many gifts to Abram in exchange for Sarai, who Pharaoh believes is Abram’s sister. As Abram remains silent, God intervenes, causing a plague on Pharaoh’s whole household.  Pharaoh realizes what is going on and kicks Abram out of the country, having him escorted out.

In all this, Sarai is silent.  Abram gained riches by her, but at what cost? Can she trust him? Has he protected her honor?  God rescued her, and Pharaoh showed more respect than Abram did.

From this debacle, Abram moves into another. 

Lot traveled to Egypt with Abram, but is not mentioned in the texts concerning Abram’s time in Egypt.  He reappears in the story as Abram travels back to Shechem where God had appeared to him.  Abram returns to the altar that he had built there and worships God.

However, there is a problem.  Abram is very rich in livestock, silver and gold. How much of it was from selling his wife to Pharaoh? Whatever the case, the riches become a problem in the family.  Lot is also rich and the land cannot support both of them.  Lot and Abram do not quarrel but the herdsmen do.  What a mess! 

The Canaanites are still living in the land, and there seems to be enough room for them and Abram and/or Lot.  The text tells us there was conflict and that the land could not support them living close together.  In the time of Jacob, his sons traveled all over the land grazing his flocks.  Why could not Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen do the same thing? There is a conflict in Abram’s family that centers on possessions and livestock, but I believe it is deeper. 

The resolution of the conflict is found in them separating.  The same kind of thing happens with Paul and Barnabas in Acts. Two righteous men cannot agree on a traveling companion so they part ways. (Acts 15:36-40) The Bible does not tell us who was right and who was wrong in the case of Barnabas and Paul, nor does it tells us in the case of Lot and Abram.

When it comes to the point of having to separate, Abram offers the choice to Lot. I am not critical of Lot’s choice.  The text tells us that at the time the Jordan valley was like the Garden of Eden and was well watered everywhere. This is certainly not the case now, but this was before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot chooses a favorable location, but we must remember that the Scriptures describe the land of Canaan as a land flowing with milk and honey. It seems there is no unfavorable choice. However, Lot leaves the Promised Land to Abram.

This brings me to a key point. 

Lot was the son of Abram’s brother Haran.  Haran died way back when the family was still in Ur. Abram had no children of his own so Lot was like his son. Lot was a potential heir to all of Abram’s possessions and promises.

In Genesis 12 verse 7 God says to Abram, “I will give this land to your descendants.” This promise is clear.  The word “descendants” is the word “seed.”  For Abram the implication is clear.  The land is to be given to his physical descendants, not an adopted or substitute heir.

When Lot moves east, he removes himself from the Promised Land. 

This must have been tough for Abram.  Lot has been with him since Ur.  He has been attached to Abram through all of his travels this far.

These two incidents, the time in Egypt and the separation with Lot, are trials for Abram’s faith. Both require Abram to trust God.

When Abram had his experience with God, his faith was tested by a drought. He immediately fled.  Although he did not go home, he did leave the land that God said, “I will give this land to your descendants.”  From our perspective 4,000 years later, it is easy to say he should have stayed in Canaan, but we do not know what it was like for Abram.  The Bible just tells us there was a severe famine.

Rather than trying to solve Abram’s problem, we can consider our own.  Has God given us a clear vision of what He wants us to do? Have we abandoned the vision because of difficulties?

Jonah was given instructions to go to Nineveh.  He fled, was swallowed by a fish and spit back out in the right direction.  Abram was promised the land.  He fled, and was spit back out in the right direction. The first lesson that comes from the testing of faith is perseverance.  The testing has to come so that we become convinced that the promise is from God. Romans 5:3 and James 1:3 both teach us that the testing of our faith produces endurance or perseverance.

This is deeper than stick-to-itiveness. This is conviction that leads us to hold on to the promises of God.  This is refusing to let go of the vision.

Each one should look at where he or she is.  He or she is there either because of the promise or because he or she has fled from difficulty and needs to get back to the promise. 

This leads us to the second trial of the faith of Abram, the separation from Lot.

Abram was expelled from Egypt.  His faith took him back to where God had appeared to him.  However, his obedience or surrender or faith was not complete.  He was still holding onto something as a crutch or maybe as a backup plan: Lot.

Romans 5:4 tells us endurance develops strength of character, and James 1:3 tells us endurance makes us perfect and complete.  Both of these are referring to maturity. The first trial of our faith is to develop endurance, through which we mature.

The Lord uses conflict to accomplish his purposes. He did this in the case of Paul and Barnabas, by causing the dynamic duo to split up and thus accomplish more.

By allowing Lot to separate himself, Abram trusts God’s promise in relation to his descendants. At this point, he does not have any descendants. Since the promise to give the land to his descendants is clear, the giving of descendants is implied. Trusting God without the safety net of Lot shows Abram’s maturing faith.

At the time of Abram, nations were being established. Only a couple of hundred years earlier, mankind had moved as a unit to the place from which Abram moved.  There they had started to build a tower to make a name for themselves.  After the tower of Babel, men built cities and nations to make a name for themselves.  Egypt is a good example of a successful nation building effort.

In this environment, leaving an heir and establishing a name is very important to Abram.  It is everything.  However, God has promised to do it for Abram. In Genesis 12:2 God says, “I will make you famous.” Separating from Lot means Abram has to trust God to provide descendants.

A maturing faith takes God at His word.  Endurance holds on to the promises.  Maturing faith relies wholly on those promises.

God calls each person to leave everything and follow Him. For Peter, James and John it meant that they gave up fishing and left their families behind.  For Paul it meant giving up all his political and religious ambitions. 

Today, some may be uncertain of what the vision is.  They may be at the stage that would be equivalent to Abram leaving Ur of the Chaldeans.  The challenge for these people is taking the first step of trusting God.  It might be as simple as saying, “Okay, God I am not even sure You are there, but I am willing to be shown.” God sent Jesus to make a way to Him. So start by asking Jesus to show Himself to you.

Others may have taken the first steps, but they are wondering what God’s purpose for their life is.  Trust God to make it clear.  In other words, like Abram, step out in faith not knowing where you are going.  God is able to make the way clear. Just take the next step.  Are you in school? Complete your studies.  As long as you ask God to guide you and are seeking Him, you can trust that He will guide you.

Finally, if you know you are where God wants you to be, but you are still holding onto a backup plan in case God does not come through, give it up.  A person cannot skydive without jumping out of the plane.  Jesus said you can’t serve God and money.  We cannot hold onto God and the world at the same time.  We must choose.  We must either let go of everything and trust only God, or choose to hold on to other things and let go of God’s promises.

Abram did, and the text says he was living by the oak at Mamre in Hebron.  Hebron means fellowship, and Mamre means fatness, the implication being that Abram moved into a place of peace.

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[i] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

God Does Something New

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.[i] (Genesis 12:1, NLT)

Through Abram the Lord begins to reveal His plan of Salvation.

People were multiplying on earth.  Henry Morris in his research states:

It seems reasonable to assume, for this 400-year period of history, say, 10 generations and an average family size of 8, with an average life-span of 5 of the 40-year generations, or 200 years. . . . The world population at the time of Abraham (neglecting any possible gaps in the genealogies of Genesis 11) is then calculated as 2,800,000, a figure that more than adequately explains the Biblical and archaeological population inferences for this period of earth history.[ii]

If we follow the Biblical chronology, Abram was born in the year 2161 BC or somewhere close to that. Or, if calculated in years after the flood Abraham was born in year 292 after the flood.

Following a chronology taken from the Bible, we assume with Dr. Mitchell that: “Mizraim, Noah’s grandson, founded Egypt around 2188 B.C., a date consistent with both biblical and secular records.”[iii] 

Fitting this into overall world history, Egypt was still a young nation at the time of Abram’s birth.

In our present day, when a difficulty arises in understanding world history the practice is to ignore the Bible and treat it as myth.  According to the article listed above, in the 3^rd century B.C. an Egyptian named Manetho compiled a list of Pharaohs and their reigns.  This is where we get the modern chronology of Egypt that puts Egypt as having been established in 3000 BC.  Manetho never intended to make a chronological account of Egyptian history.  The stones and monuments erected by the Pharaohs conflict with the chronology taken from Manetho’s list. Modern Egyptology bases its timeline on this list. In times of a divided kingdom there was more than one Pharaoh at the same time.  By listing their names sequentially on the list, the chronology is lengthened.  Because of problems like these, even non-Bible based historians have debunked the modern historical timeline. Anyone interested in knowing more can read the article listed.  I am not an expert in ancient Egyptian history. However, I am concerned that we understand that the Biblical account is reliable and is readily supported by the evidence.[iv]

I do not treat the Bible as myth. I believe that World history shows a rapid growth of population, and a rapid departure away from the knowledge of the one true God. The world before the flood moved away from God within the second generation.  After the flood, the same sort of departure took place. Within 100 years, men began building the tower of Babel. Before the flood Noah was the only righteous man of his day. After the flood, the situation was not much better.

God does something new at the time of Abram.  There is a transition in the narrative of Genesis in chapter 12 when God chooses a man, Abram. God has been working with all mankind.  From this point on the story will focus on God working through His chosen people. Abram is the physical father of that chosen people.

God promises Abram:

“²I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3, NLT)

God is doing something new.  God has singled out a man and has made specific promises to him. 

Seven promises are mentioned.

I will make you into a great nation.

I will bless you. 

I will make you famous.

You will be a blessing to others.

I will bless those who bless you.

I will curse those who curse you.

All the families on earth will be blessed through you.

From these promises we see that God is going to bless the world through this man.  He is going to be the conduit of God’s blessing. This is new.  It is new to mankind, but not to God.  He planned it from the beginning.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God explained to them the consequences of their sin. In the midst of that explanation God predicts: “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NLT)

 From the beginning God planned to save humanity. This transition in the Genesis story is the unfolding of this plan. Abram is chosen as the father of a people through whom salvation would come. The plan of salvation is behind the words, “All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3, NLT)

At the time of the tower of Babel incident, the people said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” (Genesis 11:4, NLT)  They were going to work out their own salvation by being famous and making a name that would never die. 

What these people were trying to do by their own effort, God did for Abram.

Egypt epitomizes the world’s system.  The world tries by its own efforts to get the very blessings that God promised as a gift to Abram. Egypt still exists.  They came closest to achieving what men had set out to do at the tower of Babel. Egypt is one of the great nations of history.  And yet with all of its history and monuments to human achievement, it has not won the blessings that God freely gave to Abram.

Jesus is a descendant of Abraham according to the flesh. (Matthew 1:1-17)  This is the central and most important element in God’s promises to Abram. God chose Abram and set him apart from the rest of the world in order to bring salvation.  Jesus is the direct and most obvious fulfillment of the promise to bless all the families on earth through Abram.

There are promises to the nation of Israel that still stand.  In Romans 11 verse 1 the Apostle Paul says, “¹I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.” (NLT)  The nation of Israel still has a role to play.  Prophecy concerning the end times contains much about Israel and the role she will play.

Israel as a nation has a role to play, but as I have said, the most direct fulfillment of the promises is found in the person of Jesus Christ. These seven promises to Abram are about blessing, and these promises find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. When the political world was solidifying into nations and the major players were setting up their kingdoms, God chose one man to bless and through Him to shape the spiritual future of the world. Christianity, Judaism and Islam all point back to Abraham as their source. All three try to claim the blessings that God gave.

All people are invited to enjoy these blessings through Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20 is speaking of this when it says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.”[v] (NIV)

Judaism and Islam miss the blessings because they reject the One through whom the blessings are given. All efforts to earn, achieve or grab the blessings fail.  Like the tower of Babel and Egypt illustrate, these blessings are beyond human achievement.

The blessings were given to Abram so that the whole world could be blessed through him. The Apostle Paul explains how we are to enjoy the blessings for ourselves in his letter to the Romans.  In chapter 4 he says:

            ¹Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? ²If his good deeds [read human achievement] had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. ³For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

¹³Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. ¹⁴If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.

¹⁶So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. ¹⁷That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” (NLT)

Let’s compare this to what the Apostle Paul says about the nation of Israel in Romans 9:30-32:

³⁰What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. ³¹But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. ³²Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. (NLT)

Before the flood Noah believed God.  Noah’s faith saved his family.  We know Noah believed God because he built a boat.

Abram believed God.  We know he believed God because when God told him to leave his native land, his relatives and his father’s family, Abram did.  He left not knowing where he was going.  He left his brothers, their wives and children behind.

By choosing Abram, God was doing something new.  God had not changed.  He was revealing more about Himself.  There are things here that help us understand God’s unchanging character.  There is His desire to bless us.  In Exodus 20:6 He says, “I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” There is also His pleasure at displays of trust or faith.  These two things are consistent throughout Scripture.

Faith is a confused subject.  I hear, “You have to have faith.” I think what is meant is that we are to hope for the best.  Faith often seems to be another word for having a positive attitude.  This is not what is meant when we talk about the faith of Abraham that brings blessing.

How do we show our faith?  Is there anything in our lives that we do because God tells us to and only because God tells us to? Does our faith move us to tithe our resources?  Does our faith move us to say no to our favorite sin? How far are we willing to trust God?

When God chooses a man or woman, He calls him or her to leave everything and follow Him.  He did it with Abram. Jesus did it with the 12.  If God is calling you today, you know in your heart what it means for you.  It might mean changing friends. It might mean changing a job or lifestyle.  It might mean changing an attitude.  The question is: Are you willing to trust Him? No safety net, just step out in faith and trust Him.

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[i] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] http://www.ldolphin.org/morris.html

[iii]  https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/ancient-egypt/doesnt-egyptian-chronology-prove-bible-unreliable

[iv] Ibid.

[v] Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Let's Make a Name for Ourselves

At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words.[i] (Genesis 11:1, NLT)

After the flood, Noah’s family grew quickly. Genesis 10 says, “This is the account of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood.” (Genesis 10:1, NLT)

They were all one family, and they all stayed together.  They had gone from a world with an immense population to being the only 8. 

As the family grew, they moved together as a unit.  Genesis 11:2 says, “As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.” (NLT)

Noah lived 350 years after the flood (Genesis 9:28). He was able to see a few generations of his family.  Two years after the flood Shem had Arphaxad (Genesis 11:10). When Arphaxad was 35 years old he had Shelah.  Thus, Shelah was born in year 37 after the flood.   When Shelah was 30 years old he had Eber.  So, we can put Eber’s birth at year 67 after the flood. No one has died yet that we are aware of.  Noah is still alive. Shem, Ham and Japheth are still alive. When Eber is 34 years old his son Peleg is born.  This puts Peleg’s birth at 101 years after the flood.  Although there might have been deaths by this time, the Bible does not report any. The family is still intact.

Calculating the population of the world at the time of Peleg is a guessing game.  How many children were born to each family? If you would like to get deeper into the population question, read an article by Henry Morris on the web at http://www.ldolphin.org/morris.html.  He goes into the subject in depth.  I am just going to say that at the birth of Peleg at 101 years after the flood the world population could have been anywhere from 700 to 1,200 people.

 

Imagine that family.  They were all living together in the area of Babylonia, and just starting to develop what seemed like a significant population. Approximately 1,000 strong, they all spoke the same language.  Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth and their wives were all still there.

Peleg has a significant name.  Genesis 10:25 tells us, “Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups. His brother’s name was Joktan.” (NLT) 

From this, we are able to put a time on the tower of Babel incident told of in Genesis 11. As Eber watched the family break up, divide and scatter, his son was born. So, he gave him the name Peleg. It was 101 years since the flood. 

The family set out to build a tower to keep them all together.  This is what the Bible says:

⁴Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

⁵But the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! ⁷Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” (Genesis 11:4-7, NLT)

What is the big deal? 

Why does God care that the family wants to stay together? 

Let’s try to answer these questions.

In verse 4, the New Living Translation says, “This will make us famous.” The Hebrew from which this is translated says, “And let us make to us a name.” Many translations translate this, “Let us make a name for ourselves.”

Digging a little deeper, let’s consider what is meant by making a “name.”  Here we find the New Living Translation on track.  The word used here means “fame” or “renown”.  As part of its meaning it carries the idea of giving one a posthumous life.  Thus, it means a name never to be forgotten.[ii]

This is the big deal. 

This big deal has always been a big deal.  It will always be a big deal.

The human heart has always been drawn to the same sin.

Examine the Scriptures and see if this is not true.

The sin that Adam and Eve committed is the sin that each succeeding generation has committed.  It is the same sin that knocks at the door of our hearts.  It is the sin that happened at the tower of Babel.

Let’s go back and look at what sin tempted Adam and Eve. 

In Genesis 3:5 the serpent tells Eve, “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” (NLT) 

I am suggesting that the core of the temptation was and is “you will be like God.”

How interesting that throughout history men became kings and reigned as gods.  Pharaoh was supposed to be a god.  The Emperor of Rome was supposed to be a god.  The emperor of China was supposed to be a god.

In January 1989, Jeretta and I were in Japan.  We watched on television as a long funeral procession drove down a major expressway in the Tokyo area.  The emperor Hirohito had died. He was the 124^th emperor of Japan. We saw on the screen of our television a picture of a shrine where a ceremony was taking place. The 125^th emperor of Japan was going through a special ceremony where he was becoming a god. It is a strange thought to be watching the funeral of a god. It is stranger still to think of the graves of 124 gods.  

Are gods supposed to die?

There are many teachers who say that we all must get in touch with the divine in each of us. These ways of thinking appeal to that part of ourselves that the tempter appealed to in the garden.  We all try at some point to be the god of our own little world.   We try to extend our godlike control over those around us.  Or, at least I should say, I catch myself trying to extend my control over circumstances and people around me.

In Genesis 11 we see God responding to what the people were planning to do.  In verse 6 it says, “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!” (NLT)

Here again, let’s look at what the Hebrew actually says.  The word translated “impossible” is a word that means barricaded or fortified.  The old King James Version is probably the closest translation when it says, “now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” It is talking about the restraint of the imagination.

In Genesis 6:5 we learn about man, “The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.” (NLT)

 

Within 100 years of the flood, while Noah was still alive, the problem of the imaginations of the heart of men was back.

Genesis 12 introduces us to a contrasting attitude.  We find it in the person of Abraham.  Abraham believed God and it was counted to Him as righteousness. 

We learn in Hebrews 11:6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (NLT)

When Noah and his family left the boat they were told, “Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.” (Genesis 9:7, NLT) This was all that was required of them.

Why did they think they needed to be famous? Did they ask who they were being famous for?  Who were they trying to impress?

We can ask ourselves.  Who are we trying to impress?  Who are we trying to be famous for? 

Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done.”

God wanted to bless the earth of Noah’s day.  Consider how he blessed Abraham.  The difference was in the attitude toward God. 

Micah 6:8 says it this way, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”[iii] (ESV)

God wants to bless us.  He says so in His Word (Jeremiah 31:3, Psalm 81:10, Matthew 23:37).  He has created each person for a purpose.  He has gifted each one and positioned each one where He wants each one to be fruitful. What He does not want is for us to try and take His place.  He wants us to trust Him, believe in Him, to walk with Him.

Another proof of what I am saying is contained in John 3:16. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT)

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[i] Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Word studies for this article were done at: http://biblehub.com/hebrew

[iii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.