Msg #1545 Between the Lines

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Reading between the lines of the Holy Bible is a skill. Some gaptists and cultists make it a misleading art, but there is insight to be gained if one is careful to ascertain just the facts. Genesis 12 begins, “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 will shew thee.” The sentence continues to detail promises that hinge on his obedience, but notice that God “had said,” and ponder between the lines how long ago “had” he said all this? I love the opening paragraph of my historical fiction, “Abram Learns the Names of God.” It reads:

“Abram sat at the table and watched as his aged host cut bread into thick slices. She placed them on a ceramic plate beside a stack of roasted meat and lettuce leaves. He tried to guess her age, and was thinking she was probably over 900 years old! Her husband, Noah was expected shortly, returning from a neighbor's farm. Abram was very eager to talk with Noah. He was struggling with a decision, and the struggle had caused him to travel three days north of his home, just to talk with Noah, the oldest man in the world.”

Abram left Ur of the Chaldees with his father and then hung around Haran, a city named after his dead brother, for 17 years after Noah's funeral. One can't read between the lines and imagine he never met Noah. Noah died in 1998 when Abram was 58. Also between the lines one can see the difficulty of leaving his father, who died in 1921, sixty years after Abram's departure to the Promised Land. So, how is your obedience coming along? “Go ye therefore” (Matt 28:19).

An Essay for week #45 Nov 8, 2015

This Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs151108.mp3

Abram Learns... at www.theology.gsbaptistchurch.com

In print at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch