“If … the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:23).
“And … Abram
… went forth … from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan …
Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your
father’s house to the land that I will show you’” (Gen. 11:31; 12:1).
There is
more meaning in this LEAVING UR OF THE CHALDEANS than most understand. It is monumental in its scope and
foundational for all subsequent revelation that God enlightens man with. It has nothing less than the essence of the
gospel of Jesus Christ in it. Breaking
down some of its definitions, we get:
“Ur” means
“shine or flame,” and “Chaldeans” means “as it were demons” (rooted in a word
meaning “to lay waste, to destroy”) or “magicians” or “astrologers.” Essentially, God called Abram to leave the
flame or shine (the natural light) of alluring magic and demonic deception
derived from the stars (a secondary light) or the inner light of self (which is
energized by Satan rather than God). In
other words, come out of the smoke-and-mirror-reality of natural familial ties;
come out of the natural light that family, ethnicity and country give to a
place where God enlarges vision, influence, and reality. Come out of the natural connection to the
supernatural connection; come out of the earthly to the heavenly.
This is no
less than the gospel according to Abram/Abraham and the pattern of the gospel
according to Jesus Christ.
In contrast
to where God is taking us, our family, ethnicity and country reality is
delusional. That is why Jesus said, “If
anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and
children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My
disciple” (Luke 14:26). Assuredly, “That
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit” (John 3:6).
To leave the
shining flame of one’s own fire is to be reignited and fueled by another
source; natural light is darkness and delusion compared to spiritual light and
reality. This is why Jesus said to the Pharisees, “If … the light that is in
thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
“Who among
you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no
light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God. But now, all you who light fires and provide
yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the
torches you have set ablaze. This is
what you shall receive from my hand: you will lie down in torment” (Isaiah
50:10-11 NIV).
LEAVING UR
OF THE CHALDEANS is leaving the light of one’s own fire; the gospel of Jesus
Christ is leaving off one’s own natural light in order to follow the light of
Christ. I would suggest that Abraham—at
least on some level—became the first Christian because “Abraham rejoiced to see
My [Jesus’] day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).
