Genesis Chapter 25
Prayer:
Abba Father, You have chosen me, adopted me, and grafted me, a wild branch, into the True Vine. I don’t claim to understand Your reasoning in such matters, but I am thankful and praise You continuously for it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Introduction:
Five days before Christmas 2007, my husband and I received news that he had prostate cancer. Although prostate cancer is fairly easy to treat if caught in the early stages (and his was), saying the “C” word in connection with someone you love is heart wrenching.
The bottom line—we had three choices of treatment.
Option 1: Watch and wait. This treatment is exactly that and a reasonable choice for some, especially elderly men or men with other serious illnesses. My husband was only 53 and in good physical condition otherwise, therefore, to us it seemed like playing roulette with cancer cells.
Option 2: Radiation treatment. Within this general treatment lie several more choices, all of which leave the prostate intact. Good! But radiation leaves a lot of scar tissue, which renders the prostate virtually inoperable should the cancer return and can cause bladder or kidney cancer especially in smokers (which my husband was—trying to quit). Bad!
Option 3: Surgery. Without pointing out the obvious drawbacks of major surgery, this procedure removes the prostate and hopefully the cancer. Wait! What did they mean “hopefully?”
So we were left with the decision to choose the lesser of the three evils. A decision we decided to trust to the LORD.
The Lesson:
Abraham had learned to trust God in the decision that Isaac would be the heir to the covenant. After Sarah’s death, Abraham remarried and had more sons, but when they came of age, he gave them gifts and sent them away. His entire fortune belonged to Isaac alone. Paul writes concerning this: In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring (Romans 9:8 NIV). Paul continues his discourse by using God’s explanation to Moses: For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Romans 9:15; Exodus 33:19 KJV).
When choosing the heir to continue the lineage of Abraham and thus fulfill the prophecy concerning the Messiah, it may seem to us that God had to choose the lesser of the two evils. Esau was a man lacking faith. He sold his birthright for a meager bowl of soup because he had little spiritual insight to the importance of the unseen covenant. Since he placed little value in his birthright, Esau, by his own choice, was not a child of the promise.
On the other hand, Jacob was deceitful and cunning with both his brother and father. However, he held the birthright and the promise of the covenant high in his priorities. Jacob believed what his mother had obviously told him about his position in life. Regardless of his faith, he took the matter into his own hands instead of waiting for the LORD to establish His will His way.
But God knew the heart of these men and had already chosen Jacob over Esau before either had the opportunity to do good or evil. Paul writes: What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid (Romans 9:14). Some critics protest with accusations inferring that we have no choice in the matter. Even some Christians believe we are “predestined” and those God chose before hand will go to heaven and the rest are simply lost. But then, why did Christ have to die and why did He command us to go into all the world risking persecution to preach the gospel? Why have some, like Stephen, given their lives to proclaim that Jesus Christ only is the door into the kingdom of God?
Paul repeats that God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. Paul says salvation is not up to human’s, but up to God’s mercy. God does use some, such as Pharaoh, to demonstrate His wrath, but in all cases, He has given them many opportunities to repent. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Let’s not be found guilty in humanizing the Almighty God. He knows our end from the beginning. I [God] make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come (Isaiah 46:10). He knows who will receive Him and who will reject His mercy. Those who receive His free offer of salvation are the children of promise and therefore, Abraham’s seed.
Again Paul reminds us that we have no right to question God’s sovereign judgment (see the remainder of Romans chapter 9). There are aspects of God’s righteousness and judgment that no human is capable of understanding. Those things we must trust to God’s omniscience. If we could perceive everything about God, He would not be worthy of our worship for He would not be God at all.
Isaiah writes . . . who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (chapter 45:21 & 22).
Conclusion and Challenge:
God is sovereign and knows what is best for my family and me. Still, my initial reaction to my husband’s diagnosis was, “Can we be in denial for just one week? I just want to get through Christmas with as much normalcy as possible. Then we can tell the world if you like.”
At first, my husband was agreeable, but that only lasted a few hours. The more he thought about it the more he felt the need to tell others, especially his brothers. His main motivation was to encourage them to get check-ups. As with many forms of cancer, the earlier it’s detected, the far better chances you have of surviving it. The risk of prostate cancer escalates to an alarming 1 in 100 after the age of forty and after seventy it’s an unbelievable 1 in 3. Since there are no symptoms, many men carry the disease for ten years or more before they know they have it. The sad part is, by then, it may be too late.
Interesting how enthusiastic we became in urging people to get check-ups. We didn’t want to see anyone suffer, and if our warnings saved one person the agony of cancer, our efforts were well worth it.
Partly because this news presented itself at Christmas time, when we should have been celebrating the glad news of the gospel of our LORD and Savior, it occurred to me that there had been a far more serious and fatal disease plaguing my soul. The great Physician, Jesus Christ, had diagnosed it as sin. He was the only one with the right credentials to perform the necessary procedure to remove it permanently. And the Good News is I don’t ever have to worry about a recurrence. Every time there are traces of it within me, the Holy Spirit detects it, convicts me, and takes me to Jesus to cleanse my soul.
LORD, help me to encourage others to see You for the removal of their sin with the same urgent enthusiasm I have in telling them about prostate cancer. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.
