Gen. 17
There are different experiences of a soul that walks with God. They are much more simple with one who walks with God than with one who does not.
Redemption is the ground of all before, but more openly since, the death of Christ.
There were two things previous to accomplished redemption which we now stand in, law, and promises. Promise could never make the conscience perfect, the blood of Christ can and does. You have not kept the law; what are you to do? The ground we stand on is this—accomplished redemption. In the case of Abraham, there was a manifestation of the Lord to him which lays hold of his affection, and this orders his life. So with us, Christ has laid hold of us for eternal life; He has said “follow me.” This characterizes the walk of the believer.
Abraham gets into the land, but he has nothing but a tent and an altar; he is a stranger and a pilgrim in Canaan. We have left everything, because Christ is everything. We have fellowship with God in a strange land. Take Jacob's life, and what do we see? Not one who has his altar in the land, but out of the land, wandering about. There is no communion for the soul away from God: one has not lost righteousness and eternal life; but communion. Jacob comes back again, goes to Succoth and buys land, and there is a new state of things; he builds an altar there, but he has not got back to Bethel yet, but he calls it El-elohe-Israel.
Chapter 32. There is a poor picture of Jacob when afraid of Esau himself, to send his wife and children first. Though at Mahanaim, he could not trust God, but God would not let him go; then there wrestled a man with him. We never find God wrestling with Abraham. Abraham pleaded with God. Here Jacob had to go through new experiences, and the hollow of his thigh shrinks. God gives Jacob a blessing—breaks him down and gives him strength to get the blessing, because He would bless him; but God could not reveal Himself to Jacob then, and be goes halt on his thigh all his days, without the revelation of God to him. A sorrowful thing this! he has his own blessing, but he has not got to the house of God yet. He cannot call it Bethel. He then goes to Shechem, and after that he gets back to the place where he had first met with God and said, “If God will be with me,” &c. (Chap. 28:20.) Now, the instant he gets back here into the presence of God, and God says to him, “Arise go to Bethel and make an altar unto God;” it must be said, “put away your idols. He knew very well he had had the idols all the time. How many idols are you keeping in your hearts? There cannot be communion with God, if you are keeping your idols. Now God can reveal Himself: “I am the Almighty God.”
There is nothing of all this varied and complicated experience with Abraham. Confidence in God makes him disinterested. If I have got Christ, I can be generous to other people. When a man is hungry, he wants something; but when I have Christ, I have what I want, I can enjoy freely, and afford to give.
The Spirit is called the earnest of the inheritance, never the earnest of God's love.
Abraham says,” What wilt thou give me?” when the word of Jehovah came to him in a vision, and said, “I am thy shield,” &c. What a poor answer of Abraham! he does not get beyond himself in his request, and what was on earth. When we are looking to God as the answer to our soul's need, He meets all our wants; but still these wants are the measure of our intercourse with God. But if this is all, it is, though most blessed, short of what it should be.
See Abraham in chapter 27. It is not now God saying to him “I am thy shield,” &c.; but more, “I am the Almighty God.” Then Abraham falls down and worships. This is what we want for worship, communion. It is the revelation of God, and our place is in the revelation of Him, our talking with Him, and He talking with us. Abraham fell on his face, he is annihilated; but he may enjoy God, he has no fear, no halting. God has made Himself known to him, and the result of this is communion. Abraham gets no strength from the revelation, he is on his face, but he has the blessed familiarity of relationship. God takes the soul into communion and worship by the revelation of Himself. Does He now ask Abraham what he wants? No! He gives him a sign of death and resurrection in circumcision. Then in the next chapter do we find him talking about himself? No! he is pleading for others. He has got into the tone of God's heart, not struggling with God for a blessing for himself as Jacob did, but in the sense of what he has got he is able to intercede.
We may have to get back after failure; but then we have Christ to intercede for us, we have not to get back of ourselves. Look at Peter; grace was active for Peter, and brought him back. Christ is gone to God for us. The ground of all our blessing is the perfectness of redemption.