Wells, Stanley: Hebron ~ Poor Audio-Gen 13

Nice to see you all again tonight, and it's sure good to be back here in Beringri. Father Craig, it's three years this month since we were here, so life passes so quickly, and it's sure nice to see you all here tonight, and thank you for coming. We were saying in another location, people ask, do you know Brother Alec Grayborough? I said, absolutely. Even though we live over two thousand miles apart, yet we meet each other from time to time and share in conferences, gospel, ministry, Bible readings, and we certainly appreciate our brother's help, and most of our service is on the west part of Canada and the US. So it is a privilege to be here with you this evening. Now I want to start off to read a little in the book of Genesis, chapter thirteen, is our first reading tonight. Brother Willie, I was asking Craig here what time is the closing moment. It has been left open, but we will be he- we won't be here to midnight for sure. All right, now I want to talk a wee bit tonight about a place called Hebron, and I want to read some of the scriptures about it. The last verse, please, of this chapter. Genesis chapter thirteen and verse number eighteen. Then Abram removed his tent and came and dwelt in the plain of memory, which is Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord. So that's Abram, later Abraham. Chapter eighteen, please. Genesis eighteen for the next reference. Verse 1, and the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of memory as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. Now the last scripture has told us that memory is Hebron. Notice down the chapter a little, please. Verse number seventeen, the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him, that he will commend his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. Notice the closing statement now in verse number twenty two: But Abraham stood yet before the Lord. I'll read one more about Abraham, chapter twenty three, please. Verse one, twenty three one, and Sarah was one hundred seven and twenty years old. These were the years of the life of Sarah, and Sarah died in Kirjath Arba, the same as Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Now we're going, please, to the book of Joshua, chapter fourteen. Joshua, please, chapter fourteen. And this has to do with Caleb. We'll read, please, at the end of chapter fourteen of the book of Joshua. Verse number thirteen. And Joshua blessed him and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenite unto this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel, and the name of Hebron before with Kirjath Arba, which Arba was a great man among the Anakims, and the land had rest from war. Now, other references could be read, but that will suffice. We're going to Second Samuel now, please. Second Samuel chapter five. Second Samuel chapter five for the setting, if you're not familiar. So second Samuel five verse one: then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou, thou wast he that lettest out and broughtest in Israel. And the Lord said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king, to Hebron, and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over all Israel. Maybe I'll read the next little point. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. And in Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. And so the Lord will undertake as these scriptures have been read. Hebron. Hebron. Most know it means fellowship, communion, the God of heaven with his creature. And so I want to talk for a few minutes this evening on three men that are linked in the Bible with Hebron. We've read about them. Others could be linked with it. We have to leave them for this evening. I want to talk about Abraham, the sojourner that lived in Hebron. And then I want to talk about Caleb, the soldier, and he in his day lived in Hebron. And then I want to talk about David the sovereign in his day, and where he lived. He lived in Hebron. Maybe a little background to introduce the subject. You see, Hebron is a literal place in a literal country called Israel in our day. If you were standing today in the Hebron area, you would be in the highest point in the land of Israel. This location, according to the experts, is around twenty miles southwest of Jerusalem on the way to Beersheba. One day, twelve spies stood on that hill, and they could see right across the land of Canaan at that time. So it is unique in its location, and there are truths that we would like to learn tonight in a very practical way that might help us on our Christian pathway from Hebron. Hebron. I want to talk about Abraham that lived there, and to get to the very point, it must have been days of heaven upon earth for Abraham as he communed with the God of heaven, and he dwelt in his tent in Hebron, the sojourner in the land of Canaan. We could say about him tonight that he was a pilgrim. You remember that he left Ur of the Chaldees with all its appeal and all its modern technology at that time, and its materialism and everything that it had to offer. And he went out for approximately a hundred years to live in a tent, and the tent linked him with earth, and the altar linked him with heaven. And so we could say about this dear man, he was a pilgrim and a stranger in the earth. And so right away we think of Hebrews chapter eleven. Here are people, they desired a better country, and they gave testimony to this great fact. They were pilgrims and strangers on the earth. First Peter chapter two tells us the same idea as pilgrims and strangers, we war against those lusts that come our way, even as believers. And so we can learn a very simple point from Abraham the sojourner in Hebron. He was a pilgrim and a stranger. I am but a pilgrim. Heaven is my home. Earth is a desert drear. Heaven is my home. And so right away we challenge our hearts tonight, and we ask ourselves, have we got pilgrim character and stranger characteristics on our way to heaven in the modern world of two thousand and nine? Are you and I known in the area, or wherever we work or labor or toil, or whatever our endeavors may be in this life, do people know that we are pilgrims and strangers in the earth, and our home is in heaven? And we back come to the very bottom line. What world are we living for? Are we living for the world of materialism and all that it has to offer, or are we living for another world? And soon we believe we'll be there. Heaven is our fatherland. Heaven will be home. Eh, other things could be said, but I want to move on. I want to notice that in chapter eighteen, that here is a man, and he was in touch with heaven. It says he stood yet before the Lord, and it is possible that this is a Theophanes or Christophanes. The appearing of the Lord Jesus in angelic form, that he could communicate with men on this day in the tent as a pilgrim. Here the man comes to a point where he begins to pray and plead before the God of heaven, relative to the family circle and those that live in Sodom. Now, we didn't read the, the details, but it's interesting to notice that whenever Abraham started to speak to deity, he starts and he says, now, if there are fifty souls righteous in these cities, will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Nay, verily, won't happen. And he goes down the different name, different numbers. Did ever you ask yourself, why did he stop at ten? Why did he not go on to six or four or whatever? And on the very burden of his heart was a man called Lot and his family and all associated with them. And he desired that God would spare them, but the Bible teaches there was only one righteous man, second Tim- 2nd Peter chapter two, Lot himself, righteous man, as the passage shows. And so we want to pick up a little point here, that if we live in Hebron, we need to know something about supplication, intercession, prayer, and giving of thanks. And in a busy world where there are tremendous demands on our time, take time to be holy. The world rushes on. Oh, that the Lord would help us even right now in our day and generation, to spend a little time with the Lord Jesus Christ and include our families. And that's the next point here. This man is a tyrant. He's going to, he has learned already in this very chapter that one day Isaac will be born, and on that little one, the great purposes of God relative to the future of the nations of earth and families of the earth will depend. And so God says about the man, I know Abraham, that he will command his household after him. And so Isaac is one of those examples. And so we come to parenthood and family life. Bible has a lot to say about that. You know, as far as parents are concerned, Ephesians six would come to mind and would remind our hearts, every one of us, that those who are parents, they have a responsibility to bring up the family and the fear and the admonition of the Lord. The world that we live in today, don't believe a word of it, but here is the divine purpose for every one of our families to bring them up for the God of heaven and cry to God that God will save them and preserve them and keep them in a wicked world. I want to tell you that that's not easy to do. And every one of them have different personalities. But here's a man called Abraham, a parent, and God knew the end from the beginning, and he knew how he would handle Isaac. Now I'm staying on the positive. And so we learn at Hebron, this man, a sojourner, he was interested in his family. One day he arrives in Hebron with the body of his wife Sarah. This is the very chapter, chapter twenty three of Genesis, where it's recorded of that dear man that the tears ran down his face as he thought of his beloved Sarah, his princess. And now the parting of the ways have come, and he's looking for a burial place for his dear wife. Now, I won't go to all the details, save to say this, that we're not here to stay. We're only passing through. And since I was here three years ago, in our part of the world, we have said goodbye to some beloved friends, some believers and some unbelievers. And so all of us need to remind our hearts that life is a solemn affair, and it's short at best, and the only thing that will count when the bottom line of life is drawn, what we have done for the Lord Jesus, how we have lived our lives for him, and how much we have put into it when the day is over. You see, that brings us to the next point. This man that lived in Hebron, as he talks to the people of the land, he was looking for a burial place for his wife, and the bottom line for this is what these men said about him. Abraham, thou art a mighty prince among us. You take the burying place that suits you for your dead, to bury them out of your sight. Remember that testimony came from the ungodly of the land. They recognized that this man was in touch with heaven. He was unique. He had a testimony second to none. How about us? You know what First Timothy chapter three says? Must have a good report of them that are without. That's all of us. Now, I understand the context, but there's an application for each of us. And those that we live amongst, and those that we live with, and those that know us well. What have they to say? There are all kinds of examples that we have come up against over the year. There's a dear brother, he's in heaven years ago, and he used to work with us yonder in Northern Ireland and Belfast, and those that knew him well, ungodly people, they would say, if ever there was a man going to heaven, that's him. That's brother John Hawthorne, likely some of you here know him. Memory of the justice blessed. And so we need to put into practice what we profess to know and do, that we might be effective in our testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. We would have to confess now, and when we look at this man that lived in Hebron. Abraham, you're a mighty prince among us. And he lived his life for God down here, one hundred and seventy five years, and he made his mark for God. Why? He lived in Hebron, and physically speaking, higher than any other place. Spiritually speaking, he rose above the things of time and sense and was involved with the God of heaven and communed with him day by day and left his mark for God. How about it? Let me talk for a minute or two about this other man, Caleb. You see, I could have read you in Numbers chapter thirteen and fourteen. I didn't take time to do that. But this man here in chapter fourteen and fifteen of the book of Joshua stands before Joshua the leader. He's around eighty five years of age, and he desires this place called Hebron that was occupied by the enemy, and the passage shows that as a mighty conqueror and as a soldier, he conquered that area, and it became his inheritance. And so we can learn right away that this man made his mark for God, and he was interested in living in Hebron. Likely the first time that he ever saw it was the time that he went with eleven other men, and they likely stood at that elevation and looked over the fair land. And he was a searcher of the land of Israel, and he tried, when he came back to still the people in a different context, he made his mark for God. And so we can learn a little this evening. We need to be searchers of the word of God, to ponder its truth, to get to know its author, and to give ministry and help that is timely and seasonable and scriptural that we can apply to our own lives and to the lives of others. You see, it cost them a lot to conquer that city of Hebron. And so we all learn from other parts of the Bible that we are in the heavenly army. We are in the spiritual army. And second Timothy two tells us that we are in these spiritual trenches out there with the enemy, and we thank God for the opportunity to prove him as good soldiers of Jesus Christ and to endure hardness for him along the pathway of life. And if we're going to make spiritual progress and grind for him, we need to be involved in the conflict. And right away, we think of Ephesians six, To put on the whole armor of God, and having done all to stand. Lord, help us to appreciate that. You know why? Because of the wiles of the devil. Those special attacks that come into the Christian as he moves for his God in days of difficulty. And they can prove the God of heaven when we put into practice what we know from the Bible and cry to God for help every day as we move on. Let me point out as I leave it. See this man, Caleb, with all that he went through and all that it cost him, he conquered for God, and it became his inheritance. One day, he was very happy and pleased to give it to the needs of the nation and others. I didn't read the passage, but Joshua chapter twenty shows that Hebron became one of the cities of refuge. And people would say to Caleb, Caleb, how come that you, after such difficulty to win this and have this as your inheritance, to give this to the God of heaven, to become a refuge, a city of refuge. Man, do you understand what you're doing? You see, Caleb, he had the right end of things, and what cost him much, he was prepared to give to the God of heaven. No wonder the Old Testament says, of thine own have we given thee. And the ungodly looks at the believer, and they shake their head and say, man, you really don't know what life is all about. You're only wasting your time. Ah, dear soul, we need to all remind our hearts tonight that we're enrolled in God's armor and God's army, and what we do for him we will never regret, and what he has given to us we gladly give to his service until the last step is taken. How wonderful. How are we getting on? See the, the, the person out there, and that's what we were before we were saved. They could see just one person in the horizon, and that was self. But the believer that loves the Lord Jesus Christ learns this: God first, others second, and me last. That world out there don't believe that, but that's what the Bible teaches, and Caleb is an outstanding example of a man that was mighty for God and never regretted what he did. I have only a minute or two. I want to think of this man, David. I was reading these chapters today early and thinking about David the sovereign, Abraham the sojourner, Caleb the soldier, David the sovereign. You know why Hebron was so important to him? One day, in that very place he lived, and Second Samuel 3 and First Chronicles chapter three tell us that he had six sons that were born in Hebron. He was a family man. And in spite of all of the difficulties of former days, here's a man enjoying divine things, and he's a family man. These were raised in Hebron, in Jerusalem, thirteen sons. That's a different line. I want to tell you another wee thing about him. There was a day when Judah and Benjamin anointed him king, sovereign. And where I read, all of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel anointed him king, a mighty sovereign for God. And even Hiram and other places and others around this, the nations understood that David, the son of Jesse, is anointed king, and he's on the throne. What a man. Let me just point out one or two very simple wee things lying here on the surface. Do you see the day that he was appointed an anointed king, it was the end of civil war in the nation. It's the background I'm suggesting to you tonight of Psalm one hundred and thirty three that I didn't read. Listen to it. How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. And then the metaphors, and then the conclusion. Was here the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore. See that man David as a sovereign? One of the greatest things he did in all his career, he united the people of God. He was the unifier of his own. You see, the old devil out there tonight understands the strategy required to ruin the testimony. And you know what it is? One of his greatest tools today and in former days is the tool of division. You see, separation unto the Lord is Godward. That's God's things. Division is manward and possibly satanic in character. Right away we think of the divisions in Corinth. And Paul, the father of the work, says, I partly believe it, absolutely. Oh, dear brethren, the Lord help us to appreciate tonight as never before that there's a great point in being unified as a united band as we move forward in enemy territory. And so Ephesians four tells us the unity has already been made, but you and I have a responsibility endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And David is a great example. I have to stop. When you think of Hebron, do we know anything of communion with divine persons? To move to the elevated place and to learn that Abraham was a sojourner, and all recognized he's a man of God. Caleb, they all recognized that at eighty five years of age he was a mighty soldier, and what he conquered he gave to God, and God bless them. David, at thirty years of age, imagine, after being hunted by his father-in-law as a partridge on the mountains, in the deserts of the land, in caves and dens and all the rest of it, he has come to the throne. He's the mighty sovereign. Where did he start? Hebron. Fellowship with God. What can equal joy divine, or what can sweeter be than knowing that the soul is safe, and that for all eternity, and to be in fellowship with divine persons as the days on earth pass by. And so my time's gone. The Lord bless you tonight. Will you think some of these basic things over? Some of our dear friends in our part of the world are not reading the Bible the way they should. Some read very little, and they don't even know the narrative of the Old Testament, but that's what the Spirit of God can use as we move forward. I know you're very intelligent here. Will you think of the three simple thoughts about Hebron? Three men linked with Hebron: Abraham the sojourner, Caleb the soldier, David the sovereign. Thank you very much.