Vayera: The God of Vision (Genesis 18-22)

Today we learned about the God of Vision... YHWH Yireh (Yahweh will see). God manifested to and through Abraham and Isaac the vision of His ultimate victory over death, as He returned Isaac to Abraham as though from the dead (John 8, Heb 11). We learned that our God sees our need, and the provision for that need, and He also wants to be seen by us... He desires a face-to-face relationship with those who seek His face with clean hands and pure hearts. Finally, we learned once again that "vision brings restraint," and concluded with a prayer that the God of Vision would continue to give Echo vision, and that, "like the mountain where Isaac was offered, this Body would be a place for His Name, and a place where He dwells. I pray that, according to the vision that He has given me, this people would be a place known as ‘YHWH Shammah’ that is, YHWH is There."

But wait, there's more! :) Yep, there are areas that I began to explore, but quickly realized were beyond the scope of this week's sermon. Here are some thoughts and questions to consider as you walk in His Word this week, continuing to follow in Abraham's steps of faith...

• "Lamb" or "Ram"? Abraham said God would provide a lamb, but God provided a ram! Ahah! Proof of contradiction! Well, wait... Lamb = simply sheep, one of the flock. A ram is a male sheep, and He chooses to make it clear that it is a male sheep that He chooses for a sacrifice. This little sidetrack brought to my mind someone else’s step of faith way back in the early chapters of Genesis…
  
  Genesis 4:4 "Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;"
  
  From Hebrews 11 we know that Abel made a better sacrifice by faith, and we know that that sacrifice was of the first-born sheep… so now with these two stories we have God’s accepted sacrifice identified as first-born male sheep… and it is just this way that Christ is identified in the New Testament… the first born of creation, and God’s only son (as Isaac was Abraham’s only son of faith). Maybe one of you can add to this little thought-pretzel.

• "Ra'ah" Do a little search for this verb and see some of the way cool places it appears, especially in Genesis.
• "YHWH Appeared" Do a search for where people "ra'ah'd" YHWH, and their responses. Of particular note is Exodus 33:11... "the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face..." Did He stop meeting with Him that way? Vs 20 seems to suggest He stopped appearing to Moses this way... If so, why? I've got some ideas, and we'll come to it, oh, sometime in March... but for those who love His face NOW, I don't think He'd be offended if we looked into these matters a little now... :)

Happy digging, fellow kings, prophets, and priests... and fellow SHEEP/SHEPHERDS! Eat well, that you may feed others well. You are LOVED.