"The God of Abraham Ain't Runnin' for Office"

"The God of Abraham ain't runnin' for office. Be not afraid. Know who He is. Know His face. Know that He is a God of covenants and a God of miracles. We are leaving the age of man-made miracles like space flight and we are re-entering the age of miracles of God." 

- Glenn Beck

You probably all know – or could quickly figure out – that I am unwaveringly devoted to God. Some of you may even know that I have a deep love for the Jewish people and am a staunch supporter of Israel as a home for the Jewish people. What many of you probably don’t know is that I’m also, yes, I admit it, a Glenn Beck fan. (Although I think it goes without saying the level of devotion to the third is nowhere near what I have for the first two. Just want to make sure that’s clear.)

Glenn is currently hosting the Restoring Courage event in Israel. I just watched an excerpt from Sunday night’s session in Caesarea – one of my favorite places. The above quote is from that session; I want to add my thoughts to what he said. I know Glenn’s religious beliefs cause a lot of controversy among Christians. I don’t know where he is spiritually; that’s not my call to make. However, while watching his video clip, the verse, “by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16) went through my head. The other night I watched a promo video for this event with my husband and mentioned to him, “Why would anyone do all of this? I mean, I know why I would do that, but why would anyone else who didn’t have a similar belief system?” So, I’m not going to judge Glenn by what all the internet religious rumors say about him but rather I’m going to consider the words he speaks, compare them to the truth of God’s Holy Word, and go from there.

Back to the quote; I could write a whole Bible study about it but I’m going to limit it to a single blog post. Forgive me if this goes over my usual few hundred words.

The God of Abraham ain’t runnin’ for office

Absolutely. He ain’t runnin’ for leadership of the world, our country, or even mayor of Jerusalem. He is God and beside Him there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:35). He is the I AM (Exodus 3:14).

Be not afraid

This phrase from Scripture may be cliché but that doesn’t lessen its truth. In these tumultuous times, this concept will become crucial to our survival. A day will soon come when men’s hearts will give way for fear (Luke 21:26). Throughout Scripture, God wrote “Be not afraid” as a command, not a suggestion. We need to just do it; however, we can’t unless we trust Him. We can’t trust Him unless we know Him.

Know who He is

This jumps out at me due to the book I am currently writing. “Everything We Need: God's Path to Know Him Better will focus on twelve principles from Scripture which God wants us to know.

• Know Jesus was the Messiah or the Christ and what that means
• Know our sins are forgiven
• Know the Spirit of God lives within us
• Know how to live right
• Know persecution
• Know God’s provision
• Know the last days
• Know the Second Coming
• Know the Kingdom of Heaven
• Know eternal life
• Know Jesus and God the Father are one
• Know God by knowing His love, grace, and power

Know His face

I don’t know how Glenn intended this one but it is highly significant to me in light of the context. In Exodus 33, in an intimate passage between God and Moses as God gave him the law, Moses desired to see the glory of God. God agreed to show Moses His goodness but said, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live…There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (vs 20-23).

Jesus is the one thing that separates Judaism from Christianity. It is Jesus who enables us to now look upon the face of God. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). For those who accept Jesus, “they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4).

Know that He is a God of covenants

God cut covenants with Noah (Genesis 9), Abraham (Genesis 15 & 17), Moses and the Israelites (Exodus 19-24), Phinehas (Numbers 25), and King David (2 Samuel 7). Jeremiah prophesied the seventh and final covenant, referred to as the New Covenant, in Jeremiah 31:31-34; it was fulfilled through the atoning work of Jesus. See Hebrews 8:4-13, 12:18-24, and 13:20-21. Much more information than I could possibly write about here.

Know that He is a God of miracles. We are leaving the age of man-made miracles like space flight and we are re-entering the age of miracles of God

I prayed for and received a miracle for a family member earlier this year. I don’t know why God chose to grant it. However, the experience and the things He taught me through Scripture have brought me to a new level in my relationship with Him. At that time, I was teaching on John 14 when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. As part of Jesus’ answer, He said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:11). God gives miracles to bring us to Jesus. Miracles happen through the name of Jesus (Mark 9:38-40, John 10:25, Acts 3:6, Acts 4:30).

Like I said,

I don’t know where Glenn is spiritually. I also don’t know if he intended for the sentences he spoke to flow through the order of God’s Word as well as they did. Perhaps he planned it; perhaps he spoke through divine inspiration. Either way, God is doing an amazing work through Glenn Beck and I believe he stands as an example of taking a stand for what we believe in and standing for what is right according to the Word of God, regardless of what the world thinks.