God who tests us to see if He can trust us with His riches from Heaven
By George E Markakis, @IPA Tirana, Albania, 10 March 2024.
1 Kings 17:8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which [belongs] to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. (or, to sustain you)”
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow [was] there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get [it,] he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I [am] gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go [and] do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring [it] to me; and afterward make [some] for yourself and your son.
14 “For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for [many] days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
God tested Abraham
Genesis 22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” … 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
H7200 (BDB/Thayer)
– Original: ראה – Transliteration: Ra’ah – Phonetic: raw-aw’
– Definition: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider
Genesis 22:11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only [son,] from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind [him was] a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said [to] this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” (New King James Translation)
King James Translation: 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
H3070 (BDB/Thayer) – Original: יהוה יראה
– Transliteration: Y@hovah yireh – Phonetic: yeh-ho-vaw’ yir-eh’
– Definition: Jehovah-jireh = “Jehovah sees”
15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only [son–] 17 “blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which [is] on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
Genesis 16:13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, [it is] between Kadesh and Bered.
Beer Lahai Roi = Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me (“roi” from “ra-ah”)
Who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Luke 16:10 “He who [is] faithful in [what is] least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in [what is] least is unjust also in much. 11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true [riches?] 12 “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? 13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Ap. Paul was tested first, before God trusted him with the Gospel
1 Thessalonians 2:4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.