back to basics
Contents
Last week we saw Isaac's passive life.
Today we are going to take a look at his active faith.
There are verses in the Bible that tell us about his gentle personality, adapting to life and handling important factors well.
“Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well there too” (Genesis 26:25).
It feels fresh that Isaac has reopened the well that his father had dug.
Here is a spiritual lesson.
We who live today also need to remember once again the great truths of our forefathers.
Pedagogy calls this "back to basics".
We need something like this in our moral and spiritual life.
I hope that you will learn from these three important points that Isaac returned to the basics.
These are important factors that lead us to a prosperous life.
1. Faith - Isaac built an altar
In fact, the verse where he calls on the name of God says more.
Building a church building and having a real church in it are two different things.
The church is not brick and cement. The members of that church are the members of the church.
Isaac did both of these things.
He built an altar. And he called on the name of God.
The life of faith is not complete until we acknowledge that God is not only the creator but also the savior.
The Gentiles also recognized the necessity of religion.
The Israelites built altars to their God in many places where the Canaanites used to offer sacrifices to their gods.
They tried to purify the wrongs of the Baal faith.
Unfortunately, on several occasions it has had the opposite effect.
A more secular form of worship overshadowed the spiritual.
You don't know how difficult it is to keep your spiritual faith.
We have a sinful nature to try to transform God according to our own will.
Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman emphasize this.
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Civilization needs an altar.
First the Jews and then the Christian faith made the world we live in a dignified place.
If monotheism is removed from the world, there will be chaos, as in the days of Noah.
When James Russell Lowell saw someone criticizing religion and speaking of skepticism, he said:
"If there is a place in the world where there is no Christianity anywhere in the world, where men's lives and women's honor are safe, and where I can raise my children with dignity! Then I will abandon my faith and move to that place."
Isaac had a deep realization that he needed to worship God.
2. Home - Isaac pitched his tent there.
The tent that Isaac had piled up to cover himself and his possessions was a temporary weakness.
But it was an assumption.
We must never forget or underestimate the value of family life.
How is your home?
Those who own only a tent or a house are only food for the passing years.
But if that person builds an altar in their house, that person transcends time.
And death loses its power when the sacred unity of the family and the relationship of love are firmly united by prayer and faith.
The most holy home is with us when we leave this world.
But on the other hand, the family remains in this world to bless and influence those we knew.
The expression "home altar" refers to a sacred home where families serve God.
If they live this way, they will also increase their knowledge of the Bible.
Such acts of faith help develop example or integrity in the lives of families.
You can clearly distinguish between right and wrong.
Even if children in the family become rebellious during adolescence, they will almost always return to their father and mother's faith over time.
It is very important to remember that Christ wants us to be a part of our homes.
W.E. Channing said of the family: "It is an infinite neonatal room."
3. Labor - Isaac's servants dug a well there.
Religious devotion or family happiness is no substitute for honest work.
How valuable is work in our relationship to God and to others? It is something that can never be underestimated.
A lazy person gambles on the happiness of his family and the character of his children.
Not working is a symptom of selfishness that eats everything so that no home can sustain it.
A lazy person cannot serve God because he does not have the resources to serve.
One psychiatrist says that people who love and have the ability to work have good minds.
He also said that work is the most complete and fundamental principle of life.
All work is honorable, if not dishonest and destructive.
Work is the way we contribute to the world.
This allows people to connect with each other and create lasting and healthy relationships.
Work is "the most energetic and active sign of life" for an individual or civilization.
A well-balanced life is impossible without labor.
The secret to Isaac's blessing is the three virtues: faith, family, and work.
He formed a core group that builds a productive and happy society through an active life based on faith.
If we too live faithfully to these three parts, we will inherit true power and nobility.
Notice the order.
God comes first. That
The other two then come from a right relationship with our Redeemer.
This is the basis of faith.
In conclusion, there is a spiritual lesson in the contrast between the altar and the tabernacle.
The altar was built of solid, permanent stone, but the tabernacle was made of trivial materials.
If the altar dwells in the tabernacle, the temporary will become eternal.
The New Testament equally emphasizes this truth.
If we enter into an extremely important and meaningful relationship with God, after we have cast off the veil of this earth, we will have an eternal, not made by hand, house from God in heaven. Let's stick to the basics.