James 4:2-3

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Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

 

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil

 

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DID FATHER GOD KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING? WHY DIDN’T HE SAY SOMETHING TO ADAM?

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Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

 

Genesis 12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 10And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

 

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DID GOD KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING? WHY DIDN’T HE SAY SOMETHING TO ABRAHAM?

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Isaiah 38:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, 5Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

 

2Chronciles 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: 2But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 3For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. 4Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever. 5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 7And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

 

2Kings 21:10 And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, 11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 12Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. 13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

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DID FATHER KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING? WHY DIDN’T HE SAY SOMETHING TO HEZEKIAH?

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The question for each one of these incidents or happenings in the lives of God’s men was:

 

Why did the LORD not say something to them in their circumstances?

 

It has been said to me that a good father would say something to his children, or at least give them a warning about the action that they are about to take.

 

Let us look at this and see if there is something that we might gain from these thoughts that would help us in our walk with the LORD.

 

  1. The LORD GOD had already given Adam directions about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he had led Abram to the land that he had spoken of and HE had told Hezekiah to “set his house in order”.

 

  1. In none of the three cases did the men of God ask the LORD about the situation they just acted upon.

 

  1. Swiftness to act can be a good thing sometimes but not always is this true.

 

  1. The men of God were not told that they had no access to God. They only acted on what they knew or felt, due to the words spoken or the circumstances that they were in.

 

Adam, I believe did not really know who he was or his identity as far as God was concerned. So he believed the lie the serpent spoke:  “You shall not surely die.” He believed the LORD GOD was holding out on him, so he ate.

 

Abram got to “the land that I will show you” and when he arrived there was a famine in the land. So, acting swiftly, and not asking the LORD GOD anything, he “went south” to Egypt.

 

Hezekiah, in his circumstance did not want to die, just as none of us would want to die. He told the LORD GOD all the good things that he had done and other reasons why he should live.

 

In each of the cases none of the men of God asked the LORD GOD what HE was doing, what HE wanted or what would be the results of their actions.

 

This is not just a case for asking but also a case for drawing near to the LORD GOD for fellowship and communion with HIM so as to really know HIS heart and purpose.

 

I have said that the LORD does not answer questions that we do not ask! I still believe this to be true but there are exceptions to everything.

 

Gideon did not ask the LORD if he was a “mighty man of valor.” The LORD just spoke up and told him that he was.

 

When there came another famine in the land in the days of Isaac the LORD told him not to go down to Egypt.

 

The LORD told Elijah to “anoint Elisha to be prophet in your place” but HE did not, it seems, tell Elisha to anoint a man to be prophet in his place.

 

What is this all about and why all the words? Only this: We must take it on ourselves to purposefully “draw near to God!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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