The Purpose of God Shall Stand
“By
faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.”
– Hebrews 11:20
God’s promise is, “It shall be well with the righteous.”
His Word declares, “There shall no evil
happen to the just.” The Lord God promises his own, “I will not depart from them to do them good.” “And we know that all thing work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Vexing Providence
Yet, our lives are frequently
vexed with trials and circumstances that make it appear that God’s promises
have fallen to the ground, and his purpose has been nullified. It sometimes
seems as though evil and not good is our lot.
We are
often like the weeping prophet in Lamentations 3, crying, -- “He hath brought me into darkness, but not
into light…Against me is he turned. He turneth his hand against me all the
day…He hath compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places…
When I cry and shout, He shutteth out my prayer. He hath enclosed my ways with
hewn stone. He hath made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a bear lying in
wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled
me in pieces. He hath made me desolate…He hath filled me with bitterness.”
Remembering
our affliction and misery, the wormwood and the gall, how often, like Jeremiah,
our circumstances cause us to think, even if we do not express it in words, “Thou hast removed my soul far off from
peace…My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord.” How foolishly and ignorantly we behave when we
judge the goodness of God by the things we see, and feel, and experience!
“Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense,
But trust Him for His grace.
Behind the frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face!
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower!”
May God
give us grace, in the teeth of adversity, to trust him! What he has promised,
he will perform. What he has purposed, he will do. God’s providence is sure.
His decree is firm and unalterable. His will must and shall prevail. If
everything around us crumbles to the ground, though heaven and earth pass away,
the purpose of God must stand! Nothing hinders his purpose, alters his will, or
stands in his way!
Isaac’s Faith
This great truth is nowhere more
clearly demonstrated than in the life of God’s servant, Isaac. Though Isaac
lived longer than any of the other patriarchs, less is recorded about him than
any of the others. In fact, the entire history of this man, Isaac, is recorded
in two short chapters of Inspiration (Gen. 26 and 27).
In
Hebrews 11:20 the Holy Spirit uses that which, at least to me, appears to be
very incidental to display the greatness of Isaac’s faith. However, when the
event here described is closely examined, it proves to be a truly remarkable
example of faith. Here the Spirit of God calls our attention to Isaac’s act of
faith in blessing his sons, Jacob and Esau, in his old age.—“By faith Isaac
blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.”
Faith Bows
Faith bows to the will of God. It
may not do so initially. I do not suggest that faith never struggles. It does.
But, ultimately, faith bows to God’s will.
Isaac
wanted the blessing of the birthright to go to Esau. He wanted God’s bounty and
goodness for Esau; but when the Lord God made it clear to him that Jacob would
be blessed and Esau cursed, Isaac bowed to the will of God. By faith, that is
to say, trusting God, Isaac blessed both his son, Jacob and Esau.
God’s Purpose Unalterable
The event referred to in this
twentieth verse is recorded in Genesis 27. It shows us the wisdom,
faithfulness, goodness, and sovereignty of God, overruling and using the
frailties, infirmities, and even the sins of men to accomplish his purpose (Ps.
76:10). The fact is God’s purpose is unalterable. It cannot be thwarted,
hindered, or changed in any way. No matter how our circumstances may appear to
oppose it, no matter how disobedient men and women are, no matter how cunningly
Satan works, the purpose of God must and shall stand. “The foundation of God
standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his” (2
Tim. 2:19).