Prov 28:13 – 13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Those who have grown up in the church circles and religious homes are for the most part familiar with the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We know that they were blessed and favoured by the LORD. Yet what leapt out last week and again this morning is that God does not break His own standards even for His own chosen ones. Rather, He will bring them to that uncomfortable lodging place between a rock and a hard spot to overcome their sin.
Part 1 – Abraham had been told in Genesis 18 that within one year, he would receive his long promised son through Sarah. Then in Genesis 20 he travels to Gerar (“a lodging place”) where he lies out of fear and self preservation, and abandons his key to his promised destiny by allowing King Abimelech to take Sarah to the royal harem. Instead of standing boldly for truth and trusting God to protect him, he caved to fear and avoided the confrontation with a lie, hurting and abandoning those God had given to him authority to lead and protect. Passivity led to the potential compromise and demise of his promised destiny. Sarah was now at risk of being bedded by another man that could have blocked her womb from receiving the promised seed due to already being filled with polluted seed.
Thankfully, God stepped in and kept Abimelech too busy to drop his drawers, protecting Sarah from being physically and spiritually raped by her husband’s sin. God loved Sarah so much, a woman who conceived by faith, that He eventually forced Abraham into the place of humiliating confrontation and exposure to finally address his sin by giving a divine dream to a heathen king. Women, it is God himself, and not our nagging those in authority over us, that will vindicate our destinies. Instead of being killed as Abraham’s fears projected, the fear of the LORD fell upon his enemies. As long as Sarah was prohibited by the actions of others from being fruitful in her destiny, God blocked the fruitfulness of everyone else in that territory. How many congregations, businesses, cities, etc are in a state of barrenness because they have prevented the women in their areas of influence from being fruitful?
Now for the good news! Because Abraham repented when he was confronted instead of trying to further deny or hide his sin, Abraham came out of that humbling process with land, silver, sheep, and oxen, and men-/maid-servants. God also confirmed Abraham’s identity as a prophet to and through a secular ruler, of all people! (Gen 20:7) The destiny that looked like it would never materialize received a fresh breath of life and Isaac was born just as the LORD had ordained.
Part 2 – Isaac. In Genesis 26, Isaac walked in the same generational iniquity of fear and deception as his father Abraham, right down to the same location (Gerar) and the same words (She is my sister)! Unlike his father, Isaac was caught red handed in his lie, leading King Abimelech to confront Isaac with his sin. Isaac’s repentance lead to a royal decree of protection upon him and his wife. THEN Isaac planted seed in the time of famine and reaped a hundred fold harvest. Supernatural provision remained blocked until Isaac’s sin was uncovered. Once it was repented of, Isaac prospered in his harvest, his wealth, his influence, and his authority.
When you see the humbling of God’s chosen men on a grand scale, know that it is not for destruction but to release fruitfulness. He is about to release an outpouring of wealth upon a whole generation of women to birth their destinies, which in turn will fulfill the men’s destinies that couldn’t be accomplished independently. They will finally see the wells that were blocked from flowing with living water start to flow again in the place the LORD has made room for them, releasing prosperity in the land.
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