A Principle of God’s
Working with His People
Initial Orientation,
Subsequent Disorientation, and Final Reorientation
By Al Stoner
To
restate and clarify our title we could say:
What and Where We Were, What and Where
We Are Now, and What and Where We Shall Be, by God’s grace.
Or, The Orientation Associated with
God’s Original Design, The Disorientation Caused by the Entrance of Sin in to
the World, and The Reorientation Owing to the Purposed Demonstration of God’s
Manifold Wisdom and Lovingkindness.
Or, having one’s beginnings in an
environment and domain that have been defiled by sin, becoming mercifully and
graciously disoriented from the defilement by a purposeful Divine working, and being
refashioned and transformed unto the far better thing, which God has provided in
the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
This
is a principle that is operative on the personal level as well as with an
entire people. In the beginning orientation, there is, at best, a general sense
of incompleteness and discontent. In the
beginning orientation the Holy Spirit strives with men, as He did in the days
prior to the Flood. He strives with men
to turn from their wicked ways. In the
disorientation, there follows distress, anguish, heartache, woe, and even a
sense of hopelessness. In the reorientation, there is a sense of wonder, and
gratitude for the marvelous working of the blessed God of salvation, the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Adam, and his Time of
Orientation. “And the
LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). “And the LORD God took the man, and put him
into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (v. 15).
“And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat: But 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” (vv.16-17).
“And
the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him
an help meet for him” (v. 18). “And out
of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of
the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and
whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And
Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast
of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
And
the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took
one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which
the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall
be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed” (vv. 19-25).
The Subtle, yet Abrupt, Disorientation
Caused by the Transgression.
“Now 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? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of
the fruit of the trees of the garden: But 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. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not
surely die: For 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. And when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of fruit thereof, and did
eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of
them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig
leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Gen. 3:1-7).
“And
they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the
day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God
amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said
unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I
was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee
that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that
thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with
me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the
woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent
beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because
thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of
the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days
of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception;
in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy
husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast
hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I
commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy
sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the
field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt
thou return” (vv. 8-19).
“Therefore
the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from
whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the
garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life” (vv. 23-24).
Abram’s Time of
Orientation in Ur of the Chaldees.
“Now these are the generations of Terah: TERAH BEGAT ABRAM, NAHOR, AND HARAN;
and HARAN BEGAT LOT. And HARAN DIED BEFORE HIS FATHER TERAH IN THE LAND OF HIS
NATIVITY, in Ur of the Chaldees. And ABRAM AND NAHOR TOOK THEM WIVES: THE NAME
OF ABRAM'S WIFE WAS SARAI; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter
of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. BUT SARAI WAS BARREN; SHE
HAD NO CHILD.
The Inception of His
Disorientation. And
TERAH TOOK ABRAM HIS SON, AND LOT THE SON OF HARAN HIS SON'S SON, AND SARAI HIS
DAUGHTER IN LAW, HIS SON ABRAM'S WIFE; AND THEY WENT FORTH WITH THEM FROM UR OF
THE CHALDEES, TO GO INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN; and they came unto Haran, and
dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and TERAH
DIED IN HARAN” (Gen. 11:27-32).
Completing the
Disorientation and the Beginning of Reorientation. “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: AND I WILL MAKE OF THEE A GREAT NATION, AND
I WILL BLESS THEE, AND MAKE THY NAME GREAT; AND THOU SHALT BE A BLESSING: AND I
WILL BLESS THEM THAT BLESS THEE, AND CURSE HIM THAT CURSETH THEE: AND IN THEE
SHALL ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED.
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and
Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran (Gen.
12:1-4).
The Completion of Abraham’s
Reorientation. “By
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after
receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he
went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling
in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God”
(Heb. 11:8-10).
“Through
faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered
of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had
promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many
as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore
innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but
having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say
such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had
been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had
opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an
heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath
prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:11-16).
Job and the Time of
Orientation Prior to his Trial.
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect
and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. And there were born
unto him seven sons and three daughters” (Job 1:1-2).
The Two Distinct Waves of Disorientation
that Came upon Job. The First Wave.
“And there was a day
when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest
brother's house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were
plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and
took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword;
and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came
also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned
up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone
to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them
away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am
escaped alone to tell thee” (Job 1:13-17).
The Second Wave. “AGAIN there was a day when the sons of
God came to present themselves before the LORD , and Satan came also among them
to present himself before the LORD . And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence
comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD , and said, From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan,
Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and
still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to
destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for
skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine
hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the
LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the
ashes” (Job 2:1-8).
Job’s Reorientation after
his Trial. So the LORD
blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen
thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a
thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters” (Job 42:12-13).
Joseph’s Disorientation
and Reorientation. “He
sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet
they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came:
the word of the LORD tried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of
the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of
all his substance: To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom”
(Ps. 105:17-22).
The Time of Disorientation. “This he ordained in Joseph for a
testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language
that I understood not” (Ps. 81:5).
Joseph’s Ultimate
Reorientation. “Of the
tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand” (Rev. 7:8). Sealed forever, world
without end.
Israel’s Disorientation
and Reorientation. “To
him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever: And
brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: With a
strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. To
him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever: And
made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:
But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for
ever. To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy
endureth for ever. To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for
ever: And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: Sihon king of the
Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever: And Og the king of Bashan: for his
mercy endureth for ever: And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy
endureth for ever: Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy
endureth for ever. Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth
for ever: And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for
ever. Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give
thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Ps.
136:10-26).
The Psalmist. A Blessed
Foretaste of the Final Reorientation.
“A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless
his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy
life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender
mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is
renewed like the eagle's. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all
that are oppressed” (Ps. 103:1-6).
The Reorientation
Overshadowing the Present Disorientation. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of
man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the
angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Ps. 8:4-5).
“For
thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou
broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast
caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but
thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place” (Ps. 66:10-12).
The Church. “Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it
to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27).
“For
for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the
spirit” (I Pet. 4:6).
We, as Individuals.
God’s Wise Design in Disorientation.
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing
this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her
perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (Jas. 1:2-4).
“Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him” (Jas. 1:12).
Chastening and Affliction.
Divine Implements of Disorientation unto Reorientation. “And ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening
of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the
father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers
of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather
be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Heb. 12:5-9).
The Lord Jesus Christ. The
Entire Gamut of Experience. His
Experience Counts for Every Man. “Let this mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
(Phil. 2:5-11).
“For
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit”
(I Pet. 3:18).
“And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:
and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne” (Rev. 12:5).
