ALONE WITH GOD------

The Confusion of Tongues. The 10th chapter of Genesis is a very important record telling of the origin of races and peoples and of HOW the earth was divided. (ch. 10:32). The 11th chapter tells us WHY the earth was divided. In building the tower of Babel, the survivors of the flood and their descendents revealed how far their hearts were alienated from God. Their purpose was to defy God and possibly to escape a similar judgment in the future. "Let US build US a city and a tower…and let US make US a name." Ch. 11:4. God was left out of their planning. It was us, us, us. So God confounded their language and they were forced to cease their wicked plan and were scattered all over the world. Verse 8 says, "So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth." The confusion of tongues is a judgment of God.

Among the scattered people were the descendants of Shem and from his lineage came Abram. He was also called "Abram the Hebrew," but is best known as Abraham. Possibly no life other than that of Jesus Christ has meant so much to the world as Abraham's. The Mohammedans trace their origin to him through Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar the bondwoman. The Jews look to him as the founder of their faith and the patriarchal head of their race. Christianity recognizes him as "the father of the faithful." It is impossible to study all the details of his life, but we shall endeavor to see why his life is important to us.

God's Covenant with Abraham. Let us first introduce God's promise to Abraham as found in Gen. 12:1-3. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram. Get thee out of they country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land that I will shew thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." This promise is renewed in Gen. 15:5, with the additional promise that he should have a son. "And he (God) brought him forth abroad and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them; and he saith unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed God and he counted it to him for righteousness." This is probably the most important event in Abram's life. The words "Abram believed God" are the foundation of all righteousness by faith. God counted Abraham righteous, that is, justified him, because he believed. So that from that time, Abraham attributed his righteousness, to Another. Read Romans 4:3, 9, 22. It was the birth of righteousness by faith and in this manner Abraham became the "Father of all them that believe." Rom. 4:11. There can be no doubt that Christ had reference to this great event when He said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and saw it and was glad." John 8:56. This statement also throws more light on Paul's teaching in Gal. 3:16, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith, not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one which is Christ."

Now since the promises were made to Abraham through Christ it is easy to trace their fulfillment in each particular. The promise already quoted from Gen. 12:1-3 is repeated by Peter in Acts 3:25, 26. "Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the Covenant which God made with Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." The "seed" you have noted is Christ, and Peter declares here that the blessing is salvation from sin. Salvation is a universal blessing and is offered to all the families of the earth. God's promise that Abraham should be the "father of many nations," (Gen.17:4, 5) is thus fulfilled in Christ. Since Abraham is the father of all them that believe, he has children in every country on earth today and so becomes "heir of the world." Rom. 4:13. Gal. 3:7, 9, says, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." It should also be noted in passing that the blessing was not given until Abram believed God and his name was changed to Abraham. We are blessed in faithful Abraham.

The Contrast between Abraham's Flesh and Abraham's Faith

Abundant proof is furnished in God's Word to show that it is Abraham's Faith that is important rather than his Flesh. This is a very important distinction, since it determines those who inherit the promises of God. It is not Abraham's descendants in the flesh but his children by faith who are heirs to the promises. Notice, for instance, the preaching of John the Baptist in Matt. 3:9, "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." The people whom John was addressing were Abraham's descendants, but they did not have Abraham's faith. John compared their flesh to be of no more value in God's sight than the stones about them. A glimpse of what happens should one persist in trusting in the flesh is given in Luke 16:22-30. It relates that "The rich man cried out in his torment, 'Father Abaham, have mercy on me'…but Abraham said, 'Son, remember…' " Being a child of Abraham in the flesh did not prevent the rich man from going into torment. He failed to have Abraham's faith.

In John 8:33-58 Jesus gives us a comprehensive idea of His attitude toward the fleshly descendants of Abraham. There He characterized them as "children of the devil," when they rejected Him and sought to slay Him. It is pointed out in Gal. 4:22-31 that Abraham had two sons. These two sons signify God's two covenants, that is, the Old and the New. Ishmael typified natural Israel with its law and bondage. Isaac was the child of promise and he typified the believers, or the spiritual Israel. The one represents the descendants of Abraham in the flesh, the other his children in the faith. The judgments of God are just a certain as His promises. Gal. 4:30,31 gives both. "Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free." This casting out of the bondwoman and her son was final. They never returned to Abraham's home again to mock Isaac. Paul declares, therefore, that God will never again deal with the natural or fleshly Israel as a nation. The New Covenant is for all people and will neither be revised nor revoked for it is everlasting. Heb. 13: 20.

The Chosen People. The confusing of the natural Israel with the spiritual Israel has led to much error and controversy. Sometimes people refer to the Jews even yet as "God's chosen people." This is true only in the sense defined by Paul in Rom. 2:28, 29, "For he is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men but of God." Like the true child of Abraham, the true Jew is the product of faith and not of the flesh. To claim to be a Jew on any other ground is declared to be blasphemy in Rev. 2:9, "I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." Depending on the flesh and "saying" one is a Jew does not make one a Jew any more than saying one is a Christian makes one a Christian. Faith is required in order to be truly one of the chosen people.

In John 3:6 Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh:" and in Ch. 6:63 He said, "The flesh profiteth nothing." That applies to all flesh, even the descendants of Abraham. This is what Paul had reference to in Rom. 9:6-8. "For they are NOT all Israel which are OF Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children; but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are NOT the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed."

The "Chosen People" of the New Testament are clearly defined as the host of believers. Jesus declared that, "Many are called but few are chosen." Matt. 20:16. He further restricts the choosing to His followers. John 15:16, 19, "Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit…if ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." Paul shows that from the beginning of time God had this plan of counting His chosen ones as we read in Eph. 1:4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world…" This is the group whom Peter fondly refers to in 1 Pet. 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people…" Out of the eighteen times in the N. T. that the word "chosen" is used, all of the references are either definitely or indirectly applied to the believers.

Thus we conclude that the true Jew or the true Israelite is not reckoned according to fleshly descent from Abraham, but according to spiritual descent, by having his faith. The significance of this fact is that the promises of God belong to the children of God and not to Israel after the flesh. Concerning Israel after the flesh, Paul said, "They please not God and are contrary to all men…for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." 1 Thess. 2:15, 16. We need but study the history of these unfortunate people during the past nineteen hundred years to see abundant testimony to the truth of the above declaration. The Israel of faith, the Christians inherit ALL the promises of God, according to 2 Cor. 1:20. "For ALL the promises of God in him (Christ) are yea, and in him, Amen, unto the glory of God by us."