Epistle for February 18, 2005
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Dr. Curt Scarborough, President FreeWay
Foundation February 18, 2005
In This Issue:
Interview with ISAAC
Pillsbury College & Seminary
Curt Scarborough's HOLY GROUND INTEVIEWS
Featuring today's special guest ISAAC
CS Isaac, you are the son of Abraham, a great spiritual leader,
and your son, Jacob,
became the father of the Twelve Tribes . . . the nation of
Israel. Some theologians
have called you an obscure molehill between two towering
mountains. How do you
respond to that unflattering characterization?
Isaac I've heard it all . . . I'm a midget between two giants, a
scrawny little sapling between
two mighty oaks! But, I see myself as an important link in
the eternal purposes of
God, as He dealt with His chosen people.
CS You're the middle-man in the famous phrase used to identify
God: "The God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob."
Isaac Precisely! I am the fulfillment of the Lord's promise to my
father and mother, and I am
the one through whom God's Abrahamic Covenant blessing was
passed along to my
son, Jacob.
CS But your wife, Rebecca, and your son, Jacob, tricked you into
blessing him.
Isaac To quote the Messiah, "You are mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures not the power
of God." (Matthew 22:29)
CS How so?
Isaac I was led by God to withhold the spiritual "Abrahamic Covenant"
part of my blessing
until I was absolutely positive I was speaking to God's
chosen one. Not until the day
Jacob left home to go visit his uncle Laban did I officially
pronounce the Abrahamic
blessing. See for yourself in the First Book of Moses,
Chapter 28.
CS Did you have a dramatic, "holy ground" encounter with Almighty
God similar to your
father's or your son's experiences?
Isaac In fact, I did. The Philistines had envied my tremendous
prosperity, and, out of spite,
they had filled my father's wells with dirt, forcing me to
leave the country.
CS Why didn't you fight?
Isaac It's against my nature to retaliate. My name means "Laughter,"
and I've always been a
happy person who avoids trouble, trying to get along with
everyone. So, when opposition
and dispute came with the unbelievers, I moved away.
CS I think you named the disputed wells "Quarrel" and "Hostility."
Isaac Yes, it's good to remember the important events of one's life,
whether they are good or
bad. I often meditated on those unhappy days in an effort
to understand what the Lord
was trying to teach me.
CS Your actions seem rather wimpy in these modern days of
litigation and of demanding
one's rights in a court of law. What spiritual lesson did you learn?
Isaac Non-violence and forgiveness.
CS These spiritual traits were emphasized by the Messiah.
Isaac Yes, and being like Him is even better than being known as a
famous leader, like my
father and my son were.
CS So, rather than being remembered as "Father of the Faithful" or
as "Father of the
Twelve Tribes," you'd prefer to be remembered as the "Father of
Forgiveness"?
Isaac That would be flattering, of course, but Jesus the Messiah is the
prime example of
forgiveness. Beside Him, I'm a very imperfect example.
CS What was God's purpose in allowing you to be persecuted?
Isaac He was using the Philistines to move me along to where He wanted
me to reside:
Rehoboth . . . a place where there was plenty of room.
CS When you arrived there?
Isaac God spoke to me and renewed His covenant with our family. I
built an altar and
worshipped, and there I pitched my tent, making that place
my permanent dwelling.
CS And there you dug another well, I think. But you still were
under enemy attack?
Isaac Correct. Even in that place of covenant renewal and worship, the
unbelievers
continued to harass me. In their hatred, they again tried
to force me to leave. They
destroyed my work, stole my property, and lied about their
motives.
CS But you did nothing!
Isaac I treated them with kindness. With God-given patience, I treated
them as I wished
to be treated.
CS That sounds like "The Golden Rule!"
Isaac Perhaps. At any rate, I feasted them, swore not to retaliate,
and sent them on their
way without hostility.
CS Did "loving your enemies" pay off?
Isaac On that very same day, my servants exclaimed, "We have found
water!" . . . an artesian
well.
CS So you think that was a sign from God?
Isaac Absolutely! Whenever believers today live in the spirit of
forgiveness, they too shall
discover, as the Messiah said, "rivers of living water" flowing out from
their lives to
bless others.
CS Any final words?
Isaac When I was a boy, I asked my father "Where is the lamb for the
sacrifice?" Centuries
later, John the Baptist answered my question when he pointed to Jesus
saying, "Behold,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." My word to believers
today is simply
this: Resolve to faithfully follow the holy Lamb of God, with His marvelous
spirit of silent
suffering and free forgiveness.
CS Thank you, Isaac, for your words of wisdom, and for your
example.
Isaac Shalom!
Pillsbury College and Seminary
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"I want all my senses engaged. Let me absorb the
world's variety and uniqueness."
- Maya Angelou
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