What does your Abba Father want to tell you today?
Men may fail you. Organizations may fail you. Politicians may fail you. Leaders on earth may fail you. But your Abba Father will never fail you nor abandon you!
Genesis 28:1-2 (NKJV) says, 'Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother."'
For the record, Abraham (Isaac's father) wished the same for Isaac. Now, Isaac wished the same for Jacob his son, that is, not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, but instead go to the parents' hometown.
You may ask, "Why were they finding wives for their sons from among their relatives? Don't you think marrying relatives may present genetic risks?"
Let's interpret these verses in the context of 'finding life partner of the same faith, not different faith'. In other words, not to be unequally yoked with people of other faiths and beliefs. That's how you can apply these verses as believers of Christ.
Genesis 28:11-13 (NKJV) says, 'So he (Jacob) came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: "I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants."'
The Lord then spoke further in Genesis 28:14-15 (NKJV), "Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."
The word 'leave' here is 'aw-zab' in Hebrew, meaning 'fail, leave, forsake'. In other words, the Lord was saying to Jacob that He will not fail him. As long as Jacob never leaves the Lord, the Lord will never leave him nor forsake him. And the Lord will never fail him nor abandon him.
Beloved of God, it is the same with you and I. If we do not leave Him nor abandon Him, He will never ever leave us nor abandon us. He still remembers His plans and purposes for our lives.
Let's now see what Moses said to all of Israel just before they began the conquest of the land the Lord had given to them. Deuteronomy 31:1-3 (NKJV) says, 'Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel, "I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, 'You shall not cross over this Jordan.' The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the Lord has said."'
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 (NKJV) says, 'Then, Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."'
You see again, the Lord was saying He will be with His people, His beloved; and He will not leave them nor forsake them. In other words, He will not fail them nor abandon them!
The word 'leave' here is 'raw-faw' in Hebrew, meaning 'to slacken, to cease, to faint'. Indeed, He is the Lord who never slackens, never ceases, and never faints in your life. Very interestingly, the word 'forsake' here is the same word 'aw-zab' in Hebrew, exactly the same word for 'leave' in Genesis 28:15 that we've read just now. Over there, the Lord was speaking to Jacob that He would not leave Jacob.
As you can see here, these words 'leave' and 'forsake' have been used interchangeably, and both can be translated as 'aw-zab', meaning 'fail, leave, forsake'. In fact, in King James Version, it is written this way: "And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."
The sentence above here is a 'double negative' statement. In other words, it puts a strong emphasis that the Lord 'will never ever, not by any means' fail you nor forsake you.
So, take heart, beloved. No matter what situation you may be facing right now, the Lord is saying the same to you, that He 'will never ever, not by any means' fail you nor forsake you. Amen!
Keep looking to the Lord. That's your part. Keep trusting the Lord. That's your part.
Let's look now at Job. He was abandoned by his spouse, and he was abandoned by his pitiless friends. Job 2:7-9 (NLT) says, 'So Satan left the Lord's presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot. Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die."' And in Job 16:20 (NLT), Job said, "My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God."
As a matter of fact, the Lord had never abandoned or left Job. It was the people around him who abandoned him. In fact, the Lord had already in view of Job being restored and being blessed. When Job began to let go of his own self-righteousness, and began acknowledging who the Lord God is, the Lord then restored Job and gave him twice as much as he had before. The Lord also blessed the latter days of Job more than in the beginning!
Job 42:10 (NLT) says, 'When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!' Job 42:12 (NLT) says, 'So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning'. Hallelujah! And you know what? Job then went on to live another one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations!
What a happy end to this Job story! The Lord remembered Job. Now, it is the same with you. The Lord remembers you, even in a time when you feel there's just no headway in your life. Be patient, beloved. Don't lose sight of Him. He loves you. He will never fail you. He will never leave you nor forsake you, as long as you keep looking to Him and keep trusting Him.
At this juncture, I want to pray for the Lord's strength to be with you, and the Lord's power to be with you. You shall see many more good days ahead of you, in spite of whatever that had happened in your life!
Finally, let's look now at the Parable of the prodigal son. The question here is, "Who abandoned who?" You can see that in Luke 15:11-32. In these verses, Jesus told of a parable where the younger son took the portions of goods given by his father, journeyed to a country far away, and there he wasted all his possessions with prodigal living (i.e. wasteful and wild living). But when he had lost everything and came back to his senses, he returned to his father, ready even to be made one of his father's hired servants. But when the father saw him from afar off, he had compassion for him, and he ran and embraced him. You see, the father could have turned this prodigal son away. But no! The father even said, "Bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
So beloved of God, whatever sin or mistake that you've committed in the past, let the past be past. Let the bygones be bygones. The Lord is saying to you right now that He loves you, He has forgiven you, and He remembers you.
The 'father' in this prodigal son story speaks of 'our Abba Father in heaven', whereas the 'son' speaks of 'someone who had abandoned Him before', or 'someone who had failed Him before'. You see, we are all on the same boat. Imperfect as we are, there's no one on this earth that has never sinned or committed mistakes before. But you see, the moment the son returned to the father, the father was so glad that he celebrated his return with a banquet and with music and dancing! This is the Father's heart for you and I as well.
Throughout the Scripture that you've read today, you can see the heart of your Abba Father in heaven. He will never abandon you, nor will He abandon His plans and purposes in your life. Will you take this time to receive His love and embrace afresh and anew today?
He promised Jacob that He would never leave him, and that He would bless him. He also promised Joshua the same. And He's saying the same to you today. As you look forward in your life, I pray that you too will experience the power, the goodness, and the lovingkindness of your Abba Father. Amen!
Prayer:
"O Lord God, You are our Abba Father in heaven, our Daddy in heaven. You are the Lord who never fails us. You have spoken that You will never leave us nor forsake us, nor will You abandon Your plans and purposes for our lives. You have done it for Jacob. You have done it for Joshua. You have done it for Job. You have done it even for the prodigal son. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. We take heart, and we can be assured today. As we look forward in our lives, we too shall see many good days ahead of us. We receive Your love. We receive Your hope. We receive Your assurance afresh and anew today. All this we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen!"
