God Our Rewarder
Ministering: Pastor I.S James
Topic: God Our Rewarder
Text: Ex. 5:22 – 6:3, Heb. 11:6
Moses’ ancestors knew Him as God Almighty (El Shaddai – All Sufficient God); but what exactly did God mean when He introduced Himself to Moses as Jehovah?
God has been revealing Himself to man gradually over time.
Jehovah – The Eternal, The self-existing God. The name is associated with power to liberate you from anything that is oppressing you.
God reveals Himself and relates with man in the way that man needs Him to be.
The Israelites in captivity needed freedom from the bondage of oppression, that’s why God revealed Himself to them as Jehovah.
(Heb. 11:6) Rewarder is another name that God reveals Himself to us as. Rewarder (Greek translation – misthapodotēs) can also be rendered as Remunerator – one who pays wages.
(Isaiah 45:19) God hasn’t called us to serve Him in vain.
(Gen. 15:1) Here we see Abraham (Abram) knowing God as the Reward(er). What God is saying to Abram here is that your investment in serving, worshipping & obeying me diligently will never be in vain.
Reward (Hebrew – Sakar) – Salary, wages. Wages & salary paid as a recompense for services rendered.
Reward (dictionary definition) – Something given or received in return, a recompense for service, merit or hardship.
Reward (Hebrew dictionary definition) – Recompense or equivalent return for good
done, for kindness, for services and the like.
Why aren’t we experiencing/receiving this reward in our lives? What’s the problem? Where’s the disconnect?
1. As a rewarder, there are three characteristics that are necessary:
- A rewarder has to be fair – the reward has to be commensurate to the service.
- He is meant to be righteous
- He is meant to be consistent
2. A reward can only be given to those deserving of it.
From these facts, we can see that it’s likely that the problem is that the quality of the service we are rendering is not up to the level that deserves a reward.
Jacob’s deception of his father & stealing his brother’s blessing deserves a commensurate reward as much as his righteous service of Laban for 20 years deserves a reward.
If God is a Rewarder Who is fair, righteous & consistent then every action of ours (good or bad) needs to be rewarded accordingly.
(Gen 31:42) How much of your love for God & your values have you passed onto your children? Do your children know that you truly fear God?