Numbers of the Bible

Day 19 – I am the Lord that…

I have truly been enjoying this series of the numbers from the Bible. Everything I read now, I am looking for something to glean in this area! I was in Genesis 15 the other day and read “I am the LORD that…” When I did a search for that phrase in my electronic Bible, I discovered seven beautiful verses! I just stand amazed how these blessings have been hidden from me all these years and are coming out through this series! Let’s review the seven things the Lord does.

(1) The Lord that brings us out. (Gen 15:7) And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. The Lord God brings us from of a life without Christ to an eternal inheritance in Heaven. He is the One who brings us out of the world to salvation.

(2) The Lord that heals us. (Exo 15:26) And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. The Lord heals us, not only physically but spiritually. (Isa 53:5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Without Christ’s death on the cross, we would not have salvation.

(3) The Lord that sanctifies us. (Exo 31:13) Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. The Lord sanctifies us. (Heb 10:10) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. God sets us apart from the world. He wants us to be a peculiar people. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Pe 2:9) Noah Webster defines peculiar as:

Exclusive property; that which belongs to a person in exclusion of others.

We are the Lord’s exclusive property. He has purchased us with His own blood. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Eph 1:14)

(4) The Lord that brings us out of the world. (Lev 11:45) For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. We cannot change ourselves. 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. (Joh 15:19) It is the Holy Spirit of God that convicts us and molds us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. God does not leave us helpless once we are saved. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. (1 Jo 2:27)

(5) The Lord that knows us. (Isa 44:24) Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; The Creator of all things formed us and knows us intimately. (Col 1:16) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: God outlines His qualifications in Is. 44:24. Who better than the Creator of all to take care of us? Is any detail too intricate for Him? Just meditating on the human body and all of its intricacies should answer this. Look at the inner ear! The smallest bone in the human body abides there! The God who created a planet created this tiny bone!

(6) The Lord that chastens. (Eze 7:9) And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth. Noah Webster defines smiteth as:

4. To afflict; to chasten; to punish. Let us not mistake God’s goodness, nor imagine, because he smites us, that we are forsaken by him.

(Heb 12:6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Praise God that we are His child! He will not allow us to continue in sin, my friend. He will chasten us to mold us and form us into His image. If we ignore His chastening and cause harm to His ministry, He will take us home. Ananias and Sapphira are good examples of this.

(7) The Lord that judges. Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. (Eze 20:12-13) We should not take lightly what the Lord commands us to do as a nation and as a church. He has not only set us apart and sanctified us but He expects us to follow and obey His Word. Many believers today do not view the God of Heaven as a God of fury and judgment. This side of God is taken lightly. But we cannot forget the history found in the Word. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our country is reaping what it has sown through the years of continuing down the path away from God. God has begun His judgment on our nation. It is evident in the news daily. He is also judging the church. I have often wondered how Christ’s words in Luke 18:8 could come to past. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luk 18:8) But I can clearly see it happening today. Soul winning has changed dramatically since I was first saved 27 years ago. There are more and more people who have not even heard of Jesus Christ. I never thought I would ever see this for myself.

Perfection provides us with all that we need. God tells us that He is the Lord that:

1. Gives us eternal life
2. Heals us spiritually
3. Sanctifies us
4. Brings us out of the world
5. Made all things so He knows us intimately
6. Chastises
7. Judges our country and the church

God is complete – His provisions are complete – His Word is complete – His judgment is complete.

GOD IS WORKING HIS PURPOSE OUT
Ar­thur C. Ain­ger, 1894.

God is working His purpose out
As year succeeds to year;
God is working His purpose out,
And the time is drawing near;
Nearer and nearer draws the time,
The time that shall surely be,
When the earth shall be filled
With the glory of God
As the waters cover the sea.

From utmost east to utmost west,
Where’er man’s foot hath trod,
By the mouth of many messengers
Goes forth the voice of God:
“Give ear to Me, ye continents,
Ye isles, give ear to Me,”
That the earth may be filled
With the glory of God
As the waters cover the sea.

What can we do to work God’s work,
To prosper and increase
The brotherhood of all mankind,
The reign of the Prince of Peace?
What can we do to hasten the time,
The time that shall surely be,
When the earth shall be filled
With the glory of God
As the waters cover the sea.

March we forth in the strength of God,
With the banner of Christ unfurled,
That the light of the glorious Gospel of truth
May shine throughout the world;
Fight we the fight with sorrow and sin
To set their captives free,
That the earth may be filled
With the glory of God
As the waters cover the sea.

All we can do is nothing worth
Unless God blesses the deed;
Vainly we hope for the harvest-tide
Till God gives life to the seed;
Yet near and nearer draws the time,
The time that shall surely be,
When the earth shall be filled
With the glory of God
As the waters cover the sea.