Genesis 24
In Genesis 23:1, 2, we read about Sarah's death and the impact that her passing had on Abraham. "She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her." After a long and fruitful marriage, Abraham is without the wife that God had given him. He purchased a cave and lovingly placed her remains there to wait for him to join her. As with the loss of loved ones, no doubt Abraham became acutely aware of his own mortality and the fact that his time on this earth would soon be over. His attention shifts to finding a wife for Isaac so that God’s promise of a nation might be fulfilled. (Not that He needs any help)
Abraham calls in his most trusted servant and tells him to return to his homeland to find Isaac a wife. He wants a wife that will help Isaac remain faithful to God and have the same values and beliefs. A Canaanite wife could draw him away to worship pagan gods. So Abraham sends his servant to Nahor. His servant is faithful to him and sets out to find a wife for Isaac. "Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor." (v 10)
His servant arrives in Nahor and waits by the well for the women to come out to draw water. I like his strategy, go to where the women congregate to find a woman that is busy working and taking care of her family. But what he does next really hit home with me. He didn't set out with a list of criteria; it wasn't a search for the prettiest girl or the one with the best figure or hair style. No, he prays. In the midst of his search, the servant takes the time to pray for God to bring just the right lady to him. "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac." (Vv 12-14)
He didn't rely on his own insight or wisdom; he placed the burden of finding the right wife for Isaac on the LORD.... "let her be the one you have chosen". The servant relied on God to deliver that right lady at the right time for the right man. Too often we rely on our own skills, too often we think it is up to us. The servant understood who could make the perfect choice and so he called upon the LORD and left it in His hands. Rebekah comes to the well and gives the servant the exact answer that he had prayed for. He didn't have to guess about God's will in the matter, God made it plain; Rebekah was to be Isaac's wife.
I believe that this story is given to us as an example of a faithful servant. He goes where he is sent, he obeys his master's direction and he leaves the result in the hands of God. If we want to be considered faithful to God, we need to be ready to go, we need to be obedient to His will and we need to be constant in prayer. When we do those things, the result is certain; the result is God's will. When we rely on ourselves, our own craftiness and smarts, we get results that reflect our will, our desires. The servant in this story loved his master and the master’s son and went to find the son a bride. If that sounds familiar, it should! As Christians, we are to love the Father and His Son, we are to be busy doing what he commands and we are to be going to find the Son His bride. (Rev 19: 6-8, Matt 28: 18ff) Remember, just like the servant you made an oath to the Father. You have taken the responsibility of plowing in His field and you must not look back. (Luke 9:62) Be a faithful servant!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Of Sacrifice and Substitution
Genesis 22
Abraham and Sarah had waited many years for God to fulfill His promise. Trough Isaac, God's promise to Abraham and his descendants was to be fulfilled and the world would be blessed. It is in this setting that we see God test Abraham in a very surprising way. Abraham, after waiting so long for Isaac to arrive is instructed by God to sacrifice him.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (Genesis 22:2) Stunning! But Abraham, whose faith has been tested and refined through the years sets out with his son to accomplish God’s command. Trust is the only answer that I can come up with. He must have through faith and trust determined that God would take care of the situation, in His own way.
You know the story, he sets out with his son and servants. He cuts the wood and sets off for the place that God would lead him to go. For three days they travel before they arrive at the place that God had designated. He tells the servants to wait while he and his son go to worship God. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” (Genesis 22:5) “We” will worship and “we” will come back. Abraham trusted God with his son and he trusted that whatever He was to do, his son would be with him when he returned. (read Hebrews 11:17-19)
That brings us to the topic of today’s discussion. They arrive at the spot and Abraham builds an alter and places the wood and his son on it. As Abraham raises his knife in preparation for the sacrifice, God steps in and stops him. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Genesis 22:12) In Isaacs place, God provides a substitute. God provides a ram to be sacrificed in his place. Take time to imagine the emotion of the moment; a father receives back His only son, a son climbs down from the alter unharmed. God provides. We benefit.
Throughout the Bible, the primary doctrines taught are those of sacrifice and substitution as the means appointed by God for taking away sin. In association with these is the need for obedient faith on our part to receive the benefit. Some confuse Isaac and the victim actually offered, making Isaac a “type” of the Son of God; after all he was the one and only son. However, Isaac was not slain and in fact he was part of the sinful human race. He was not fit to die as a sacrifice, the just for the unjust. Rather, Isaac was a representative of mankind; he was in need of atonement as well. But the animal, not of the human race, which God provided and Abraham sacrificed was in fact a “type” of “the Lamb of God”, that takes away the sins of the world. Isaac is the “type” of humanity, guilty of sin, deserving of death, but receiving the benefit of the God provided substitute.
All of this sounds remarkably familiar to Christians; God providing a substitute to receive the punishment that we deserve. Innocent blood shed to cover the sins of the guilty. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:7-9) Jesus died for us! He is our substitute and His sacrifice is all sufficient. Our part is obedient faith. God calls on us to place our faith in Him by believing that Jesus is God’s one and only Son. We are to repent (turn away from) of our sins and confess that Jesus is Lord, submitting to baptism as a means to contact the shed blood of our Savior. Then we are to live a life marked by faithfulness to Him. Get in on the gift; God provided the substitute to be sacrificed for you so that you could get off the alter and live eternally with Him. Think about it!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Abram's Faith
(Genesis 12-14)
Hebrews 11:8-19 tells us all about the faith of Abram (Abraham). We read about his faith that leads him to leave his home and journey to a land promised to him. How he lived in a tent and traveled from place to place with faith that God would build a city that God would design and build. He trusted God to give him a son at a very old age through which God would bless mankind. And how Abraham, by faith offered his son as a sacrifice. We all know these stories and we all admire Abraham for his faith. But...
The story is not as simple as the Hebrew writer might record. While he is giving us the stories of Abraham's faithfulness, Genesis tells us the rest of the story and that should give us comfort. He is held up as a man of great faith and he was; but he was also a man of little faith at times. In the midst of demonstrating his faith, he would show his humanity. Let's see what I am talking about....
Genesis 12:1 begins with God talking with Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you." God promises to make him a great nation and give him blessings and bless all the people of the earth through him (pointing to Jesus). Pretty impressive stuff. "So Abram left, as the LORD had told him". (ch12, v 4) Abram packs his bags, grabs his wife and his people and heads out to who knows where. That takes faith! "God, I trust you to take care of us, I trust you to lead me to this far away place that I have never seen." (my thoughts) So far, so good.
As they travel, they come to the nation of Egypt. And this is where the problem begins. Because Sarai is a beautiful woman and since she looks so different from the Egyptian women, Abram thinks that the men in Egypt will desire his wife and kill him to get her. So he hatches a plan, he asks Sarai to lie and say that she is his sister if she is asked. "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." (ch 12, v 12, 13) A man of great faith? "God, I know you have promised to take care of us and deliver us to a new home, but I have to lie about my wife and ask her to shame herself and sleep with another man". (my thoughts)
You know the story, Pharaoh takes her into his home and he pays the price. Pharaoh and his family come down with all kinds of diseases because of Abram's deceit. He calls Abram in and has a difficult conversation with him. "What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" (ch 12, v 18,19) Abram lies; he asks others to lie and puts his wife in the arms of another man. Faith?
So what are we to make of this mess? God selects Abram to be "the man" and his family to "the family" through which He is going to bless the world. Did God make a mistake in choosing him? Well, we know God doesn't make mistakes, so there must be another reason that Abrams shortcomings are listed for us to learn from. Let's retell the story with you in it....
As a Christian, you are an exile and sojourner in a foreign land, just like Abram. (1 Peter 2: 11)God has called you out of your native land (this world) and sent me on a journey to a promised homeland, just like Abram. (2 Corinthians 6:17). By faith, you accept His call and leave your home and begin this journey with Him leading the way, just like Abram. Along the way, you stumble, but you get up and keep going. Mistakes are made, but you make course corrections and stay on the path. Are you faithful? Let's see what John says about our walk, "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9) The point is this, you and I and Abram are going to make mistakes, and we are going to miss the mark. We will never live out lives of perfection, but if we keep walking, if we keep on getting up and following, we are faithful. Just like Abram, we are faithful.
God gives us real people with real lives to mentor us on our journey. He could have provided whitewashed stories of perfect people, living perfect lives and we would have felt like failures. But instead and for our encouragement, God gave us Abram and David and Paul and many others, real people that sin real sins to show us that we can be people of faith, even with our flaws. He calls us to walk the best we can, so we are without excuses, (Romans 12:1, 2) but He knows and understands our problem and He gave His Son to fix it. Live out your life of faith and your name will be added right alongside Abram and all the others that God has declared faithful. The story is still being written and you are part of it. Have faith.
Hebrews 11:8-19 tells us all about the faith of Abram (Abraham). We read about his faith that leads him to leave his home and journey to a land promised to him. How he lived in a tent and traveled from place to place with faith that God would build a city that God would design and build. He trusted God to give him a son at a very old age through which God would bless mankind. And how Abraham, by faith offered his son as a sacrifice. We all know these stories and we all admire Abraham for his faith. But...
The story is not as simple as the Hebrew writer might record. While he is giving us the stories of Abraham's faithfulness, Genesis tells us the rest of the story and that should give us comfort. He is held up as a man of great faith and he was; but he was also a man of little faith at times. In the midst of demonstrating his faith, he would show his humanity. Let's see what I am talking about....
Genesis 12:1 begins with God talking with Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you." God promises to make him a great nation and give him blessings and bless all the people of the earth through him (pointing to Jesus). Pretty impressive stuff. "So Abram left, as the LORD had told him". (ch12, v 4) Abram packs his bags, grabs his wife and his people and heads out to who knows where. That takes faith! "God, I trust you to take care of us, I trust you to lead me to this far away place that I have never seen." (my thoughts) So far, so good.
As they travel, they come to the nation of Egypt. And this is where the problem begins. Because Sarai is a beautiful woman and since she looks so different from the Egyptian women, Abram thinks that the men in Egypt will desire his wife and kill him to get her. So he hatches a plan, he asks Sarai to lie and say that she is his sister if she is asked. "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." (ch 12, v 12, 13) A man of great faith? "God, I know you have promised to take care of us and deliver us to a new home, but I have to lie about my wife and ask her to shame herself and sleep with another man". (my thoughts)
You know the story, Pharaoh takes her into his home and he pays the price. Pharaoh and his family come down with all kinds of diseases because of Abram's deceit. He calls Abram in and has a difficult conversation with him. "What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" (ch 12, v 18,19) Abram lies; he asks others to lie and puts his wife in the arms of another man. Faith?
So what are we to make of this mess? God selects Abram to be "the man" and his family to "the family" through which He is going to bless the world. Did God make a mistake in choosing him? Well, we know God doesn't make mistakes, so there must be another reason that Abrams shortcomings are listed for us to learn from. Let's retell the story with you in it....
As a Christian, you are an exile and sojourner in a foreign land, just like Abram. (1 Peter 2: 11)God has called you out of your native land (this world) and sent me on a journey to a promised homeland, just like Abram. (2 Corinthians 6:17). By faith, you accept His call and leave your home and begin this journey with Him leading the way, just like Abram. Along the way, you stumble, but you get up and keep going. Mistakes are made, but you make course corrections and stay on the path. Are you faithful? Let's see what John says about our walk, "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9) The point is this, you and I and Abram are going to make mistakes, and we are going to miss the mark. We will never live out lives of perfection, but if we keep walking, if we keep on getting up and following, we are faithful. Just like Abram, we are faithful.
God gives us real people with real lives to mentor us on our journey. He could have provided whitewashed stories of perfect people, living perfect lives and we would have felt like failures. But instead and for our encouragement, God gave us Abram and David and Paul and many others, real people that sin real sins to show us that we can be people of faith, even with our flaws. He calls us to walk the best we can, so we are without excuses, (Romans 12:1, 2) but He knows and understands our problem and He gave His Son to fix it. Live out your life of faith and your name will be added right alongside Abram and all the others that God has declared faithful. The story is still being written and you are part of it. Have faith.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Make a Name for Ourselves
Genesis 10-11
After the flood, Noah and his descendants multiplied and began to fill the earth. That was God's plan, so they were faithful to Him. But something happened along the way that is hard to understand or explain. Noah died and it seems that the message of the flood went with him. Wickedness began to fill the earth again.
Noah's family grew to great numbers and began to look for a homeland to call their own. The steep mountains of Armenia were no place for a civilization to grow, so we are told that "they found a Plain in Shinar and settled there." (ch11, v 2) They all spoke one language and shared a common life. It would seem that all is well and life is good. However, when humans are involved it seems that the good life can only last just so long. Pride enters in to the picture. The people decide that they are to be a great nation with a great city for its capital. So they begin to build a tower that is to be so tall that it reaches the heavens. The purpose in all this is that "we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (ch 11, v 4) Self-reliance, self-adulation and self-determination were the goals of their efforts and they sought to defeat God's purposes in dispersing them throughout the earth. There are no real surprises in any of this; all we have to do is look around at the world today. People are people :-). Empires with great capitals have risen and fallen through the centuries; people seeking to elevate themselves by banding together to build a great nation.
We know the rest of the story. God is displeased by their attitudes and defeats them by confusing their language and disperses them throughout the earth. We understand this to be the origin of languages and the establishment of nations. What had started with prideful attitudes, ended with God defeating their arrogance. Solomon gives us God's view of pride in Proverbs 16:18; "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." When we seek glory for ourselves and elevate our will over the will of God, destruction is on our doorstep. This story is played out over and over in scripture, from David to Solomon to Ananias and Sapphira and many others, pride is the problem.
What is the message that God is wanting us to hear through this story? Is it that God hates skyscrapers? Does God hate nations? Of course not! The issue is the heart. What is the intent of my heart? Am I seeking my own glory or am I seeking to magnify God? Does my heart lead me to seek my will or God's will? These are not new questions; rather these are questions that have been troubling man from the very beginning. Eve can tell you all about it. Adam is well acquainted with pride. Cain, Ham, Abraham; they can all tell you the story of pride. You and I (just like them) will battle pride throughout our lives. May we determine to live lives of humility, submitting our lives to His will. May the intent of our hearts be to elevate God in all we do. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)
After the flood, Noah and his descendants multiplied and began to fill the earth. That was God's plan, so they were faithful to Him. But something happened along the way that is hard to understand or explain. Noah died and it seems that the message of the flood went with him. Wickedness began to fill the earth again.
Noah's family grew to great numbers and began to look for a homeland to call their own. The steep mountains of Armenia were no place for a civilization to grow, so we are told that "they found a Plain in Shinar and settled there." (ch11, v 2) They all spoke one language and shared a common life. It would seem that all is well and life is good. However, when humans are involved it seems that the good life can only last just so long. Pride enters in to the picture. The people decide that they are to be a great nation with a great city for its capital. So they begin to build a tower that is to be so tall that it reaches the heavens. The purpose in all this is that "we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (ch 11, v 4) Self-reliance, self-adulation and self-determination were the goals of their efforts and they sought to defeat God's purposes in dispersing them throughout the earth. There are no real surprises in any of this; all we have to do is look around at the world today. People are people :-). Empires with great capitals have risen and fallen through the centuries; people seeking to elevate themselves by banding together to build a great nation.
We know the rest of the story. God is displeased by their attitudes and defeats them by confusing their language and disperses them throughout the earth. We understand this to be the origin of languages and the establishment of nations. What had started with prideful attitudes, ended with God defeating their arrogance. Solomon gives us God's view of pride in Proverbs 16:18; "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." When we seek glory for ourselves and elevate our will over the will of God, destruction is on our doorstep. This story is played out over and over in scripture, from David to Solomon to Ananias and Sapphira and many others, pride is the problem.
What is the message that God is wanting us to hear through this story? Is it that God hates skyscrapers? Does God hate nations? Of course not! The issue is the heart. What is the intent of my heart? Am I seeking my own glory or am I seeking to magnify God? Does my heart lead me to seek my will or God's will? These are not new questions; rather these are questions that have been troubling man from the very beginning. Eve can tell you all about it. Adam is well acquainted with pride. Cain, Ham, Abraham; they can all tell you the story of pride. You and I (just like them) will battle pride throughout our lives. May we determine to live lives of humility, submitting our lives to His will. May the intent of our hearts be to elevate God in all we do. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
God Saved Noah
Genesis 6-9
There are two ways of looking at the flood in Genesis chapters 6-9. One way focuses on the evil and how God used the flood to punish the "evil doers". (as George Bush would call them) The other focuses on the fact that God saved Noah and his family. The general message is that God is very patient with man and wants everyone to be saved. "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3,4) God wanted all in His creation to repent by hearing His truth preached. In this case, He gave them 120 years to listen to Noah's preaching and repent while they saw the Ark being built. "God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." (1 Peter 3:20) "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
That is God! He is longsuffering with us, thankfully. He wants every person to come to Him. Whether in the days of Noah or the present day, God still calls on all men, everywhere to repent and come to Him. For 120 years, God called and the people didn't respond. That is patience! For 120 years, the Ark was being built as a visible sign of faith, but no one took Noah up on his invitation. (Hebrews 11:7) In the end, after all the preaching and all the waiting and all the building, God saved Noah and his family. He saved them from a world of sin; sure he saved their physical lives, but it means more than that.
Out of all the people on the earth, Noah found favor in God's eyes. (Gen 6:8) He was chosen to be a type of new Adam. It was through him and his family that the world would be repopulated. You and I are related through Noah. He is our common ancestor. Could God have just started over? Sure! But He loves His creation and works to redeem it for Himself. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:20 that the means by which God saved Noah was water. It was through water that God worked to redeem the world and through water that Noah was saved. It was through water that the earth was cleansed of its sinfulness and it was through water that a new birth for the world would occur.
In 1 Peter 3: 20, Peter uses the Greek word "dia" (translated "through") which is a preposition denoting the channel of an act. Water was the "dia" through which salvation came to Noah. Water was the "dia" through which God would remove the sinfulness of the world. Water was the "dia" through which He saved Noah.
So what does this have to do with you and me? Good question! Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:21 that this water (the water that saved Noah) was a symbol of something that saves us. This water that God used to save Noah and cleanse the world of its sin is said to be a symbol of baptism. He tells us that "only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also". (1 Peter 3:20, 21) God chose water as the "dia" through which to work in Noah's day as a symbol of the "dia" through which He would work in our day. He could have chosen any number of ways to destroy the wicked and save Noah, but he chose water. He used water for His purposes; it accomplished His work and Noah was saved and the earth was cleansed. Praise God for His power and wisdom.
God saved Noah and I am thankful for that. It gives me hope for the day and hope for the future. He demonstrated His patience with us and I need His patience, daily! He clearly showed us that He would not tolerate sinfulness forever and that He would provide a way for salvation. Also, you and I are Noah's kids. We are family and as such we should treat each other with love and respect. And lastly, God provided us with a picture of His salvation that was to come. Water, His water, the water that He created is an essential part of His plan for the redemption of man. Be careful what you say about His water and His plan. They both belong to Him and so did Noah, so do I and so do you. God is calling for each of us to get on the Ark. The 120 years just might be about over. Oh, and remember He shut the door!
There are two ways of looking at the flood in Genesis chapters 6-9. One way focuses on the evil and how God used the flood to punish the "evil doers". (as George Bush would call them) The other focuses on the fact that God saved Noah and his family. The general message is that God is very patient with man and wants everyone to be saved. "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3,4) God wanted all in His creation to repent by hearing His truth preached. In this case, He gave them 120 years to listen to Noah's preaching and repent while they saw the Ark being built. "God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." (1 Peter 3:20) "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
That is God! He is longsuffering with us, thankfully. He wants every person to come to Him. Whether in the days of Noah or the present day, God still calls on all men, everywhere to repent and come to Him. For 120 years, God called and the people didn't respond. That is patience! For 120 years, the Ark was being built as a visible sign of faith, but no one took Noah up on his invitation. (Hebrews 11:7) In the end, after all the preaching and all the waiting and all the building, God saved Noah and his family. He saved them from a world of sin; sure he saved their physical lives, but it means more than that.
Out of all the people on the earth, Noah found favor in God's eyes. (Gen 6:8) He was chosen to be a type of new Adam. It was through him and his family that the world would be repopulated. You and I are related through Noah. He is our common ancestor. Could God have just started over? Sure! But He loves His creation and works to redeem it for Himself. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:20 that the means by which God saved Noah was water. It was through water that God worked to redeem the world and through water that Noah was saved. It was through water that the earth was cleansed of its sinfulness and it was through water that a new birth for the world would occur.
In 1 Peter 3: 20, Peter uses the Greek word "dia" (translated "through") which is a preposition denoting the channel of an act. Water was the "dia" through which salvation came to Noah. Water was the "dia" through which God would remove the sinfulness of the world. Water was the "dia" through which He saved Noah.
So what does this have to do with you and me? Good question! Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:21 that this water (the water that saved Noah) was a symbol of something that saves us. This water that God used to save Noah and cleanse the world of its sin is said to be a symbol of baptism. He tells us that "only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also". (1 Peter 3:20, 21) God chose water as the "dia" through which to work in Noah's day as a symbol of the "dia" through which He would work in our day. He could have chosen any number of ways to destroy the wicked and save Noah, but he chose water. He used water for His purposes; it accomplished His work and Noah was saved and the earth was cleansed. Praise God for His power and wisdom.
God saved Noah and I am thankful for that. It gives me hope for the day and hope for the future. He demonstrated His patience with us and I need His patience, daily! He clearly showed us that He would not tolerate sinfulness forever and that He would provide a way for salvation. Also, you and I are Noah's kids. We are family and as such we should treat each other with love and respect. And lastly, God provided us with a picture of His salvation that was to come. Water, His water, the water that He created is an essential part of His plan for the redemption of man. Be careful what you say about His water and His plan. They both belong to Him and so did Noah, so do I and so do you. God is calling for each of us to get on the Ark. The 120 years just might be about over. Oh, and remember He shut the door!
Monday, January 2, 2012
The First Worship
Genesis 4-5
Our reading today brings us the first family, and I am not talking about the Obama’s. Adam and Eve have their first two children, Cain and Abel. We are not given lots of detail about their lives, but we are told that Cain "worked the soil" and that Abel "kept flocks". So, the first two sons are a rancher and a farmer. Life carries on and sometime and for some reason, these two sons bring an offering to God. Worship of God has officially begun. We don't know how or when or by what direction, only that these two young men each bring an offering to God.
Sounds very nice, but what happens next is anything but nice. We have "worship wars" today, but thankfully they don't usually end like this story does. Evidently, God has given some instruction or He sees the attitudes and hearts of Cain and Abel. Abel brings an animal sacrifice and Cain brings a vegetable sacrifice. Next we are told that "The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor." (Gen 4:4, 5) We are not told the circumstances of God's favor, only that one pleased Him and the other did not. We are left to understand that possibly one of two things has occurred: 1. God had given instruction on the type of offering to bring and Cain had ignored it or 2. God saw the hearts of the two and distinguished between the intent of the heart. Either way, Cain's offering did not please God.
From this point on in the Bible, worship is in play and God either accepts the offering of an individual or He rejects it. If He rejects it, the consequences are severe. Whether it was Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-3) or the Pharisees in Matthew 15 (Matthew 15: 8, 9), God demands worship that complies with His commands and comes from the heart. Any worship that doesn’t meet this standard, God calls vain, worthless. John puts it this way, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4: 23,24)
Whatever Cain did in his worship; whatever Nadab and Abihu did in their worship, we must not do. God desires worship from the heart, but heartfelt worship alone will not do. God desires worship that is based on His truth, but truth based worship is not enough. Only worship that engages the heart and demonstrates our respect for His word will do. Our entire being is what God is after, our emotion and our intellect. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind". (Luke 10:27) Paul tells Timothy to "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." (! Timothy 4:16)
Truth matters, but so does the heart! Heart matters, but so does the truth. We can take either to an extreme and not please God and we can diminish either and find ourselves worshipping in vain. It is a matter of love and respect. The heart demonstrates our love and our obedience to truth demonstrates respect. I don’t know many parents that would find it acceptable for their children to show love but not respect. “I love you dad, but I am not going to obey you" or "I don't really like you dad, but I will do what you say." Niether works for a parent! What parents want are children to love and respect them; obey them out of love and God desires the same. Jesus put it simply, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)
As we read through the Bible again this year, may we with honest hearts examine our worship. Are we offering God our hearts in worship? Are we seeking to offer true worship or are we more focused on what we like, what entertains us. God preserved the story of Cain and Abel for our benefit, for our learning, may we determine to offer heartfelt, truth based worship (like Abel) that will find favor with our God.
Our reading today brings us the first family, and I am not talking about the Obama’s. Adam and Eve have their first two children, Cain and Abel. We are not given lots of detail about their lives, but we are told that Cain "worked the soil" and that Abel "kept flocks". So, the first two sons are a rancher and a farmer. Life carries on and sometime and for some reason, these two sons bring an offering to God. Worship of God has officially begun. We don't know how or when or by what direction, only that these two young men each bring an offering to God.
Sounds very nice, but what happens next is anything but nice. We have "worship wars" today, but thankfully they don't usually end like this story does. Evidently, God has given some instruction or He sees the attitudes and hearts of Cain and Abel. Abel brings an animal sacrifice and Cain brings a vegetable sacrifice. Next we are told that "The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor." (Gen 4:4, 5) We are not told the circumstances of God's favor, only that one pleased Him and the other did not. We are left to understand that possibly one of two things has occurred: 1. God had given instruction on the type of offering to bring and Cain had ignored it or 2. God saw the hearts of the two and distinguished between the intent of the heart. Either way, Cain's offering did not please God.
From this point on in the Bible, worship is in play and God either accepts the offering of an individual or He rejects it. If He rejects it, the consequences are severe. Whether it was Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-3) or the Pharisees in Matthew 15 (Matthew 15: 8, 9), God demands worship that complies with His commands and comes from the heart. Any worship that doesn’t meet this standard, God calls vain, worthless. John puts it this way, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4: 23,24)
Whatever Cain did in his worship; whatever Nadab and Abihu did in their worship, we must not do. God desires worship from the heart, but heartfelt worship alone will not do. God desires worship that is based on His truth, but truth based worship is not enough. Only worship that engages the heart and demonstrates our respect for His word will do. Our entire being is what God is after, our emotion and our intellect. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind". (Luke 10:27) Paul tells Timothy to "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." (! Timothy 4:16)
Truth matters, but so does the heart! Heart matters, but so does the truth. We can take either to an extreme and not please God and we can diminish either and find ourselves worshipping in vain. It is a matter of love and respect. The heart demonstrates our love and our obedience to truth demonstrates respect. I don’t know many parents that would find it acceptable for their children to show love but not respect. “I love you dad, but I am not going to obey you" or "I don't really like you dad, but I will do what you say." Niether works for a parent! What parents want are children to love and respect them; obey them out of love and God desires the same. Jesus put it simply, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)
As we read through the Bible again this year, may we with honest hearts examine our worship. Are we offering God our hearts in worship? Are we seeking to offer true worship or are we more focused on what we like, what entertains us. God preserved the story of Cain and Abel for our benefit, for our learning, may we determine to offer heartfelt, truth based worship (like Abel) that will find favor with our God.
The Consequences of Sin
Genesis 1-3
Life was good in the garden. Adam and Eve lived in the perfect setting with no worries or fears. God visited with them regularly and they took walks together through Eden. Perfect people in a perfect relationship with a perfect God in a perfect world. God made them in His image. They were eternal, spirit being in the flesh. They were made with a free will and the ability to make choices. And they did!
That is where the story takes a turn for the worse. God told them they were free to eat of all the trees in the garden, except one. The tree in the middle of the garden was off limits to them, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They understood that they would die if they ate the fruit from that tree. (Gen 2:16, 17) They knew the consequence and chose to do it anyway. People! God had demonstrated His goodness to them by the vast freedom He had given them. But the prohibition of the one tree demonstrated that they must live under a law and that the law was enforced by a practical penalty of which they had been mercifully warned.
Satan, the father of lies presented sin to them the same way he does to us today. He said to Eve, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3: 4-5) He tells her that God has lied to her and that He wants to keep them from being like Him. Who should she believe, the God that created her and has provided for her or her new "friend" that offers her a chance to be like God. She listens to him... her first mistake.
She looks at the fruit. She takes the time to examine the fruit... her second mistake. Her time of inspection comes to an end with her decision to eat it. She thinks it will taste good, that it looks good and that she will be smart after she eats it. John puts it this way in 1 John 2:16, "For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world." Eve was no different than you and me. She was tempted by the same things that we are today. Sensuality, pleasure and ambition, the threefold nature of sin are still pulling at us today. Pretty girl, handsome man... sure. New car, fancy house.... got to have them. Power and influence.... give me more. Solomon got it just right when he wrote..."What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecc 1:9)
That brings us to the consequences of sin. Adam and Eve realized what they have done. They understood that they had broken God's law and that everything had changed. I cannot imagine that moment, the one when they looked at each other and realized that they had made an eternal mistake. A momentary pleasure had destroyed the relationship they had with the Father. A momentary pleasure... we would never do anything like that. So what are the consequences... the first is shame. Adam and Eve realize what they have done and for the first time in their lives feel shame. Their innocence is gone. Moses puts it this way... "Then the eyes of both of them were opened".
The second result of sin is fear. Adam and Eve understood that they had disobeyed God and naturally they were afraid. They heard God taking His daily walk through the garden and they hide from Him. Their relationship has changed. The open, honest relationship between the Creator and the created had changed. The consequences of this are eternal. God calls out to His people and they hide and are afraid. Sin always produces fear and fear causes us to hide. We run from God, we cover our sins, we put up a good front, but in the end we are all sinners and our relationship with God is damaged. That is the story of man and thankfully God provides a way for our sins to be dealt with. John tells us in Revelation that God was already dealing with our sins from creation..."All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." (Rev 13:8) Jesus was slain from the creation of the world. God's plan of redemption was already in place when Adam took the bite that changed man's relationship with His Creator.
The third thing that sin produces is blame. When God confronted Adam with his sin, Adam quickly pointed the finger at Eve, "the woman you put here with me". When God turned to Eve, she pointed to Satan, the deceiver. As Flip Wilson used to say, "The devil made me do it". We are always looking for excuses, for someone or something to point to when it comes to our sinfulness. James clears up the controversy this way, "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." (James 1:13-15) Sin comes from within us, our desires, our wants, our lusts. The finger of blame must be squarely pointed at ourselves. I don't sin because of Adam; I sin because of Dale. You don't sin because of Satan; you sin because of your own personal desires. God does not tempt us to sin; we are drawn away by our own desires.
Shame, fear and blame. That was and is the consequences of sin. From the beginning until now, it is always the same. We are ashamed of our conduct. That shame causes us to fear a loving God, our Creator. And because of the shame that we feel, we seek to blame someone or something for actions. We can choose to go down that road and suffer the consequences of sin or we can recognize our condition and turn to God. Just like in the garden, God calls out to us... "Where are you?” And just like Adam and Eve, we are free to choose. Do I respond to His call or do I ignore Him and live in my sinful state? We must make the choice; the Lamb was slain from creation to deal with the sins of mankind. God did His part; he provided a solution for the problem. Now it is up to you and me. Live separated from God or have our relationship with Him restored. If you are interested in learning more about this restored relationship, send me a message on my blog. God is calling, will you answer? May God richly bless you as you study His word.
Life was good in the garden. Adam and Eve lived in the perfect setting with no worries or fears. God visited with them regularly and they took walks together through Eden. Perfect people in a perfect relationship with a perfect God in a perfect world. God made them in His image. They were eternal, spirit being in the flesh. They were made with a free will and the ability to make choices. And they did!
That is where the story takes a turn for the worse. God told them they were free to eat of all the trees in the garden, except one. The tree in the middle of the garden was off limits to them, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They understood that they would die if they ate the fruit from that tree. (Gen 2:16, 17) They knew the consequence and chose to do it anyway. People! God had demonstrated His goodness to them by the vast freedom He had given them. But the prohibition of the one tree demonstrated that they must live under a law and that the law was enforced by a practical penalty of which they had been mercifully warned.
Satan, the father of lies presented sin to them the same way he does to us today. He said to Eve, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3: 4-5) He tells her that God has lied to her and that He wants to keep them from being like Him. Who should she believe, the God that created her and has provided for her or her new "friend" that offers her a chance to be like God. She listens to him... her first mistake.
She looks at the fruit. She takes the time to examine the fruit... her second mistake. Her time of inspection comes to an end with her decision to eat it. She thinks it will taste good, that it looks good and that she will be smart after she eats it. John puts it this way in 1 John 2:16, "For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world." Eve was no different than you and me. She was tempted by the same things that we are today. Sensuality, pleasure and ambition, the threefold nature of sin are still pulling at us today. Pretty girl, handsome man... sure. New car, fancy house.... got to have them. Power and influence.... give me more. Solomon got it just right when he wrote..."What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecc 1:9)
That brings us to the consequences of sin. Adam and Eve realized what they have done. They understood that they had broken God's law and that everything had changed. I cannot imagine that moment, the one when they looked at each other and realized that they had made an eternal mistake. A momentary pleasure had destroyed the relationship they had with the Father. A momentary pleasure... we would never do anything like that. So what are the consequences... the first is shame. Adam and Eve realize what they have done and for the first time in their lives feel shame. Their innocence is gone. Moses puts it this way... "Then the eyes of both of them were opened".
The second result of sin is fear. Adam and Eve understood that they had disobeyed God and naturally they were afraid. They heard God taking His daily walk through the garden and they hide from Him. Their relationship has changed. The open, honest relationship between the Creator and the created had changed. The consequences of this are eternal. God calls out to His people and they hide and are afraid. Sin always produces fear and fear causes us to hide. We run from God, we cover our sins, we put up a good front, but in the end we are all sinners and our relationship with God is damaged. That is the story of man and thankfully God provides a way for our sins to be dealt with. John tells us in Revelation that God was already dealing with our sins from creation..."All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." (Rev 13:8) Jesus was slain from the creation of the world. God's plan of redemption was already in place when Adam took the bite that changed man's relationship with His Creator.
The third thing that sin produces is blame. When God confronted Adam with his sin, Adam quickly pointed the finger at Eve, "the woman you put here with me". When God turned to Eve, she pointed to Satan, the deceiver. As Flip Wilson used to say, "The devil made me do it". We are always looking for excuses, for someone or something to point to when it comes to our sinfulness. James clears up the controversy this way, "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." (James 1:13-15) Sin comes from within us, our desires, our wants, our lusts. The finger of blame must be squarely pointed at ourselves. I don't sin because of Adam; I sin because of Dale. You don't sin because of Satan; you sin because of your own personal desires. God does not tempt us to sin; we are drawn away by our own desires.
Shame, fear and blame. That was and is the consequences of sin. From the beginning until now, it is always the same. We are ashamed of our conduct. That shame causes us to fear a loving God, our Creator. And because of the shame that we feel, we seek to blame someone or something for actions. We can choose to go down that road and suffer the consequences of sin or we can recognize our condition and turn to God. Just like in the garden, God calls out to us... "Where are you?” And just like Adam and Eve, we are free to choose. Do I respond to His call or do I ignore Him and live in my sinful state? We must make the choice; the Lamb was slain from creation to deal with the sins of mankind. God did His part; he provided a solution for the problem. Now it is up to you and me. Live separated from God or have our relationship with Him restored. If you are interested in learning more about this restored relationship, send me a message on my blog. God is calling, will you answer? May God richly bless you as you study His word.
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