God's Word to the Wise Is Sufficient

"Mann tracht und Gott lacht." It's a Yiddish saying meaning, "Man plans and God laughs." It's laced with cynicism as though God is cruel in how He works: "We devise glorious plans, and God insists on messing them up for us." An adage more truthful might be, "A word to the wise is sufficient." 

I was reading Genesis 16, this morning. It was something in verse 2, that caught my eye; but first...

"Now the Lord had said to Abram:
'Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'”

God's promise to Abram is recorded in Genesis 12:1-3. Abram would be a great nation. Traditionally, this meant Abram would have many strong male heirs to populate and lead a mighty people. But time passed, and still no heir -- not one. Abram began to think he'd missed something but God assured him, very clearly, a biological heir would come. But time passed, and still no heir -- not one. Sarah began to think God had missed something and devised her own plan:

"So Sarai said to Abram, 'See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.' And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai."

Pay attention to the word Sarai uses, "perhaps." The Hebrew word is "ulay," and it occurs some forty-five times in the Old Testament -- not once in regard to God's promises. It is only when people plan something, usually for our own prosperity or recognition, that there is any reason for a "perhaps." Sarai wasn't sure if her scheme would work. Sarai can't see nine minutes into the future, much less nine months. But God certainly can. And Abram? Abram was the one to whom the Lord spoke, more than once! But Abram traded God's "I will," for Sarai's "perhaps." And it worked out terribly. If only they had rested in the word of the Lord. 

And that word was "finished." God said it, and it was as good as done. How much more true that is for us today! 2 Corinthians 1:19-20, tells us that, in Christ, God's promises are "yes and amen." If God promised, it will happen. God doesn't change His commitment or His integrity, the way people do when circumstances change. In Christ, God's promises are already fulfilled. Imagine reading an incredible, wonderful book. It's so good, you can't put it down. Three hundred pages covering three thousand years of human history! And you read it in four hours. You have a larger perspective than those who lived those events twenty-four hours at a time. You are not limited by time and space the way those in history were. That's the closest thing I can imagine to the Bible assuring us that everything God has promised has been fulfilled in Christ. We may not be seeing those things in the natural world just yet -- like Abram and Sarai -- but it is finished. In fact, Jesus said so.

Do I think God laughs when we step outside what He has promised and seek to gain those things for ourselves? Absolutely not. God is not cruel; it's not His nature; God is good and gracious to His people. It's His people, however, who sometimes choose to define goodness as we would like. It's His people, however, who determine grace should be given when we prefer. "Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;" (Deut. 7:9, emphasis mine) Rest on God's promises. Trust Him more and time Him less. Pray more and plan less. God's word to the wise is all we need.