A Happy Home
May. 15, 2007
7:01 AM
Walking Before God
Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
I’m excited to be back in the book of Genesis again, and I continue to be amazed at how God uses this Book to speak to my heart. It doesn’t matter how many times I read a passage, without fail I willl see something anew that I completely passed over before. For example, I read that when Noah got into the ark, a whole seven days passed before God closed the door. Did all of the people he had preached repentance to actually have the opportunity to get onto the boat? This was a revelation to me. God saved whomever got onto the ark at his invitation to “come”. My hubby said it is the same today; the offer stands, the ark awaits; but someday the door will shut.
Anyhow, when the Lord appears to Abram in Genesis 17:1, 13 years had passed from the time of Ishmael’s birth. You might remember that Abram’s wife Sarah took it upon herself to provide a way for her husband to have the son God had promised to her. And Abram didn’t exactly disagree with the reasonable idea of impregnating another woman to cause it to come about. After all, Abram was 75 years old when God promised him a son, and well, that’s a lot of years of waiting that occured without any baby showing up. So, figuring the Lord needed some help, Ishmael was conceived and grew up, well on his way to becoming the “wild man” whose hand will be against every man (Gen 16:12), which we see today in the Middle Eastern world.
What struck me in Genesis 17, verse 1was God’s words, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Three parts: who God is (I am), the command (walk before me), and the result (be thou perfect). Now, I know that some people read that verse and think God is saying TO be perfect, that is, manifest perfection that only God Himself embodies. I don’t think that is what He is saying here, but at the risk of being wrong (always a risk!), here is what I am thinking.
When God speaks of “walking before” in other verses, it is usually tied to a promise:
1 Samuel 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
1 Samuel 2:35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
1 Kings 2:4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
1 Kings 8:23 And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
1 Kings 8:25 Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
1 Kings 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
2 Chronicles 6:14 And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
2 Chronicles 7:17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; 18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.
Psalms 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
This verse talks about the vanity of life, in that no one escapes the grave, regardless of how they walk:
Ecclesiastes 6:8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
And,of course, in light of all of that, isn’t Ps 116:9 our heart’s cry?
Psalms 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
So, what does it mean to “walk before” the Lord?
To walk, in Scripture, is “to live and act or behave; to pursue a particular course of life.” There are many ways to walk:
*To walk with God, to live in obedience to his commands, and have communion with him. Genesis 5.
*To walk in darkness, to live in ignorance, error and sin, without comfort. 1 John 1.
*To walk in the light, to live in the practice of religion, and to enjoy its consolations. 1 John 1.
*To walk by faith, to live in the firm belief of the gospel and its promises, and to rely on Christ for salvation. 2 Corinthians 5.
*To walk through the fire, to be exercised with severe afflictions. Isaiah 43.
*To walk after the flesh, to indulge sensual appetites, and to live in sin. Romans 8.
*To walk after the Spirit, to be guided by the counsels and influences of the Spirit and by the word of God, and to live a life of holy deportment.
*To walk in the flesh, to live this natural life, which is subject to infirmities and calamities. 2 Corinthians 10.
I looked up “before” in the 1828 dictionary. To walk “before” the Lord, means: In presence of, with the idea of power, authority, respect, in sight of; as before the face. This was a great definition! I was thinking about these two little words, “walk before”. Was God saying to walk ahead of Him? Doesn’t He want me to follow Him? And if He did, wouldn’t He have just said “follow”? And then of course we have so many promises about His presence, so wouldn’t that include His walking with us? Popping open the 1828 dictionary is so great in illuminating words and meaning.
Lastly, I had to continue and ponder the whole “perfect” part. The word comes from the Latin perfectus, and it means (get this) “to complete”. To complete! Does this sound familiar?:
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
You don’t have to be perfect. Not only has God perfected you in Christ Jesus, the job is finished. When God sees you, He sees nothing defective, a perfect likeness to His Son, someone complete. When WE see OURSELVES, we see the IMperfections, the mistakes, the weaknesses, the failings. I guess this begs the question: whose eyes do you trust more?
But going back to our orginal verse:
I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
I see that God, the only wise and glorious Father and Creator of us all, commands us to to live and act or behave as one of His own, walking in obedience to his commands, having communion with him, in the light, by faith, after the Spirit and by the word of God. He is our completion and perfection.
Genesis 17:3 And Abram fell on his face......
May we have the same heart’s response as we walk before God.
I’m excited to be back in the book of Genesis again, and I continue to be amazed at how God uses this Book to speak to my heart. It doesn’t matter how many times I read a passage, without fail I willl see something anew that I completely passed over before. For example, I read that when Noah got into the ark, a whole seven days passed before God closed the door. Did all of the people he had preached repentance to actually have the opportunity to get onto the boat? This was a revelation to me. God saved whomever got onto the ark at his invitation to “come”. My hubby said it is the same today; the offer stands, the ark awaits; but someday the door will shut.
Anyhow, when the Lord appears to Abram in Genesis 17:1, 13 years had passed from the time of Ishmael’s birth. You might remember that Abram’s wife Sarah took it upon herself to provide a way for her husband to have the son God had promised to her. And Abram didn’t exactly disagree with the reasonable idea of impregnating another woman to cause it to come about. After all, Abram was 75 years old when God promised him a son, and well, that’s a lot of years of waiting that occured without any baby showing up. So, figuring the Lord needed some help, Ishmael was conceived and grew up, well on his way to becoming the “wild man” whose hand will be against every man (Gen 16:12), which we see today in the Middle Eastern world.
What struck me in Genesis 17, verse 1was God’s words, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Three parts: who God is (I am), the command (walk before me), and the result (be thou perfect). Now, I know that some people read that verse and think God is saying TO be perfect, that is, manifest perfection that only God Himself embodies. I don’t think that is what He is saying here, but at the risk of being wrong (always a risk!), here is what I am thinking.
When God speaks of “walking before” in other verses, it is usually tied to a promise:
1 Samuel 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
1 Samuel 2:35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
1 Kings 2:4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
1 Kings 8:23 And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
1 Kings 8:25 Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
1 Kings 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
2 Chronicles 6:14 And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
2 Chronicles 7:17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; 18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.
Psalms 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
This verse talks about the vanity of life, in that no one escapes the grave, regardless of how they walk:
Ecclesiastes 6:8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
And,of course, in light of all of that, isn’t Ps 116:9 our heart’s cry?
Psalms 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
So, what does it mean to “walk before” the Lord?
To walk, in Scripture, is “to live and act or behave; to pursue a particular course of life.” There are many ways to walk:
*To walk with God, to live in obedience to his commands, and have communion with him. Genesis 5.
*To walk in darkness, to live in ignorance, error and sin, without comfort. 1 John 1.
*To walk in the light, to live in the practice of religion, and to enjoy its consolations. 1 John 1.
*To walk by faith, to live in the firm belief of the gospel and its promises, and to rely on Christ for salvation. 2 Corinthians 5.
*To walk through the fire, to be exercised with severe afflictions. Isaiah 43.
*To walk after the flesh, to indulge sensual appetites, and to live in sin. Romans 8.
*To walk after the Spirit, to be guided by the counsels and influences of the Spirit and by the word of God, and to live a life of holy deportment.
*To walk in the flesh, to live this natural life, which is subject to infirmities and calamities. 2 Corinthians 10.
I looked up “before” in the 1828 dictionary. To walk “before” the Lord, means: In presence of, with the idea of power, authority, respect, in sight of; as before the face. This was a great definition! I was thinking about these two little words, “walk before”. Was God saying to walk ahead of Him? Doesn’t He want me to follow Him? And if He did, wouldn’t He have just said “follow”? And then of course we have so many promises about His presence, so wouldn’t that include His walking with us? Popping open the 1828 dictionary is so great in illuminating words and meaning.
Lastly, I had to continue and ponder the whole “perfect” part. The word comes from the Latin perfectus, and it means (get this) “to complete”. To complete! Does this sound familiar?:
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
You don’t have to be perfect. Not only has God perfected you in Christ Jesus, the job is finished. When God sees you, He sees nothing defective, a perfect likeness to His Son, someone complete. When WE see OURSELVES, we see the IMperfections, the mistakes, the weaknesses, the failings. I guess this begs the question: whose eyes do you trust more?
But going back to our orginal verse:
I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
I see that God, the only wise and glorious Father and Creator of us all, commands us to to live and act or behave as one of His own, walking in obedience to his commands, having communion with him, in the light, by faith, after the Spirit and by the word of God. He is our completion and perfection.
Genesis 17:3 And Abram fell on his face......
May we have the same heart’s response as we walk before God.
Blessings,
Keri Mae
Keri Mae
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