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Who Preach the Word of God As It Is To Men As They Are
"Preach The Word"
What About Those Camels
Text: Gen 24:64-67
Introduction:
This scripture passage is given in the context of Abraham sending his servant out to find a bride for Issac. This is one of the most beautiful Old Testament pictures of God sending the Holy Ghost out to bring in a bride for His Son, the Lord Jesus.
As Rebekkah near where Issac was, she saw him, and "lighted off her camel." Someone once said this is the first place in the Bible that mentions smoking. No, it is speaking of a literal, walking, breathing, living camel.
The camel is mentioned some 62 times in the King James Version of the Bible. They were mainly a beast of burden, (the pick up trucks, or ships of the desert, and were a sign of wealth. If you remember, Job owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and other animals as well.
Two times the camel is mentioned in the Bible as forbidden meat. They could be worked but were not to be eaten.
Jesus said in Matt. 19:24 that, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Some think the eye of the needle was a narrow gate that went into Jerusalem, through which the camel could barely squeeze if it would shed its harness and ornamental trappings. It supposedly was a narrow, small gate that could be used by people after the main gates to the city were closed. I believe the figure of the camel and the eye of the needle means exactly what it says--it does not refer to a small gate of Jerusalem.
If you recall, in the Bible it speaks of John the Baptist wearing a garment of camel’s hair (Matt. 3:4--Mk. 1:6). A hairy mantle was a sign of the prophet in the early days of the New Testament. The came’s hair is wooly and can easily be pulled away in clumps from the skin of the animal.
In the New Testament, the camel is mentioned only six times, and those mentions are only in the gospel.
The camel is a "desert" animal. It can survive longer than any other creature of its kind in the desert. It doesn’t require nearly as much moisture as does other animals of its kind. They can survive in a wilderness when other animals would be perishing.
No other animal can live, and at the same time carry such burdens in such a dry and hot climate on such small supplies of food and water. God created the camel with what it needs to adapt to desert life.
Note:
Whether you realize it or not we are living in a wilderness area, this world system, but God has put adequate spiritual resources in us that we might survive, hold up, and maintain our spiritual health.
There are lessons for us to learn about when we think of the camel.
I. The Camel Is a Burden Bearer
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As the OT Bible characters would go from place to place, they often had camels to carry the heavy loads and the supplies that would be involved in embarking on a long journey. We carry our heavy loads in pickup trucks, but the patriarchs used camels. I read somewhere that a normal sized camel can carry a person on board and an additional some 800 pounds above that. The came itself can weigh up to 1500 pounds. That would mean if a human being were not on its back, the adult camel could carry as much as 1,000 pounds on its back.
Rebekah did not lead the camel, but she rode it. Her load was to rest upon the camel and it would get her where she needed to go. She was going to meet her new bridegroom.
Life has its burdens to bear. It is not all shouting and laughing. There are sobering and serious times that we must face as we walk along in this journey of life. There are things that are difficult for us to carry along.
Note:
It was tough on the desert traveler when there was no camel. They had to try to carry the load on their own backs. What a relief it must have been to turn the weight over to a camel. The camel is designed to be able to handle it.
In 1 Pet 5:7 the Bible says, " Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
That word "cast" is an interesting word. It means "to throw upon" or to "roll over on." That is what we had better learn to do with our cares. We had better give them to Jesus before they get the best of us.
Jesus mentioned that mankind worrys about what he is going to eat, what he is going to wear, whether or not material supply is going to come. That kind of frame of mind is inexcusable, if you realize that God controls your today and tomorrow.
Illustrations
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I read once of a woman in a mental institution who sat at here window day by day, looking over a busy city, and said over and over, "Everything is a-moving, a-moving, and a-moving, and there’s nobody else to manage the machine." We with normal minds may not repeat and say that over and over, but it is that same fear that often time torments us.
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I heard about a man who on a dark night, rolled down a steep place, caught a bush growing out of the rocks, and held on with a sense of despair. His muscles strained and his grips was kept for a good while. Finally his endurance level dropped. He was not able to hold on, so in despair he let go of the bush. Guess how far he fell after he let go? About six inches. So many people struggle and battle with problems, when really they need to let go of them and find the Everlasting Arms underneath them.
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Someone has rightly said, "Worry is like fighting shadows." Engineers on a rail train do not like moonlit nights. Why? Because they are all the time fighting shadows. There comes a shadow across the track just ahead, and it may look like a man, a horse, or a tree, but it really isn’t. It’s just a shadow. We spend a lot of our energy fighting shadows. We hardly get past one trouble until we are looking for another one to come.
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Dr. Vance Havner said, "Worry is like rocking in a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere."
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GET IN A HABIT OF GIVING GOD YOUR CARES, YOUR WORRIES,YOUR ANXIETIES BECAUSE HE CAN HANDLE THEM WHEN YOU CAN’T.
II. THE CAMEL IS EQUIPPED FOR SERVICE
Body temperature:
They do not pant or perspire hardly at all. Humans sweat when the outside temperature rises above the normal body temperature, but a camel has a unique body thermostat. It can raise the body temperature tolerance level very high to adapt to the high temperatures in the desert. As a result, the body’s fluids are preserve and water loss is avoided. No other mammal can do this. The camel’s body temperature is often lower than air temperature so they often group together when they rest to avoid excessive heat. It’s body increase and decreases with the temperature outside of its body. That is why you seldom see a camel swetting.
It’s eyes
They are equipped for the sandstorms that would blow in the desert. They are protected by a double row of long, curly eyelashes that also help keep out sand and dust, while thick brushy eyebrows shield the eyes from the desert sun. A sand storm does not stop the camel.
Hard Skin
He has thick calluses, like bare spots of dry skin that appear on his chest and knee joints when the animal gets 5 months of age. Those leathery patches help support the body weight of the animal when it kneels, rises and rests. The sand could be hard on their outer body were it not for the pads.
Travel speed
The camel is designed to cover about 25 miles a day at a normal walk.
Why are you saying all of that about the camel?
I am going to liken the believer to one. Just as God equipped the camel for service, so has he the believer.
Acts 1:8: "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
That equipping comes through our relationship to and fellowship with the Holy Spirit of God. So much is done today in the church in the energy of the flesh, we do not seem to need the power of the Holy Ghost any more today.
I was watching a gospel presentation on TV last night. It really turned my spiritual stomach on the inside. There was so much purely emotional hype and fleshly excitement, that I just thought, "Oh that they only knew the power of the Holy Ghost!" The gospel entertainment media is seeks to encourage people to make a "hootnany" out of a worship service, and a lot of folks do not have enough spiritual discernment to tell the difference. I believe in old time shouting and praising God, but I do not believe in this "Nashville" mentality that has crept into churches all over our land. Folks clap today in the church just like they do at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville.
God will equip us for what me means for us to do, and that is to glorify His name, and get His gospel out to those in need.
III. THE CAMEL HAS AN UNUSUAL NOSE
They have an ultra sensitive nose. In the desert he can smell water is there is any around.
How many of you can smell water? You may an onion or garlic, but you just do not think of smelling water, that is, if it is fresh water.
A camel can. He can tell if there is water around.
NOTE:
In the OT a priest who had a broken nose was not accepted.
Today men of God need to find out where the water is, spiritually sniff it out, and lead the people of God there for freshment. Most so called "preachers" do not have enough sense to get out of the rain spiritually. That is why so many churches are far from what God wants them to be. Everything rises and falls on leadership.
We do not need to drill a bunch of new wells, but get the cover off and get some of the rubbish out of the old wells, and drink out of them again.
We are in a dry and thirsty world, but there are wells of refreshment for the people of God. Get you a drink out of the cool, refreshing things of God! IF YOU DO NOT DRINK YOU DEHYDRATE.
IV. THE CAMEL HAS A CUSHIONED RIM AROUND HIS HOOFS
Their feet have broad, flat, leathery pads with two toes on each foot. When the camel puts its foot on the ground the pads spread, keep the foot from sinking into the sand. That is how it is able to walk in the sand without sinking up in it. When it walks it moves both feet on one side of the body, then both feet on the other side. It rocks back and forth like a boat- that is where it got it’s name--the "ship of the desert."
The Christian is able to walk above the "downward pull" of the world.
I Jn 2:13-14
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
You do not have to sink down into the ungodliness of this present age in which we now live. You can stay on top, through the Lord and His marvelous, abundant provisions.
One sign that you are saved is that you walk in victory over the world, the flesh and the devil.
I Jn 4:4
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
VI. THE CAMEL IS KNOWN FOR IT’S LONG,SHARP TEETH
It actually has 34 sharp teeth. If there is not a water source to be seen around anywhere in the desert, if there is nothing to eat, the camel can eat into rough thorny bushes without damaging the lining of its’ mouth. It can find food when there is no food because of he way God formed its teeth.
Jesus said this in John 4:32, " But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of." The disciples were trying to get Jesus to eat physical food. They felt like he must have been hungry after his journeying. They said, "Master eat." He said to them, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of."
As God’s people, we can find something to eat, when others eat and eat of the worlds table, and are never really satisfied.
VII. THE CAMEL HAS TWO HUMPS TO EQUIP IT FOR LONG TIRING JOURNEYS.
It was thought years ago that the camels had water stored in the two humps on top of their backs. Experts now say that is not so. It does not have water sacks in the humps. It is actually fatty tissue. When food is hard to find, the camel uses its hump fat to make it on during a long journey. When a camel has been using the humps for a while as a nutrirition source, the humps get flabby and they shrink to a smaller size. If a camel gets too much fat from the humps, what is left of the lump will go to one side. After the camel has eaten for a few days, the humb will get back to its normal size and firm condition.
The camel can go in summer 1 week without water.
It can travel in winter 2 weeks without water.
The bloodstream of the camel even stores water in it.
That is a picture of grace.
Grace has brought us where we are today.
Where would we be without the grace of God? I hate to think about where we might be without his unearned favor.
John Newton wrote in Amazing Grace:
Tis grace that brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
CONCLUSION:
If you are here today and have never been saved, you need the saving grace of God.
If you are here and are under a load you feel that you cannot carry much longer, you need the sustaining grace of God.
If you think death is near for you, if a child of God, you will know the dying grace that only God gives.
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Tom Walker