Prayer Moves God’s Mercy - Genesis 16-19

Genesis 18:22-26 (ESV)
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

In the Old Testament we have times when the Second Person of the Trinity (In the New Testament He is named Jesus), appears.  The Theologocial term for the appearance of God is called a “Theophany.”  In the above passage we have an example of a Theophany.    Abraham is visited by “three men” and quickly seeks to provide food and shelter for them (typical in the Mideast).   But, Abraham treats them and honors them as Deity.    These “three men” are a Theophany of the Trinity.  Note the way they are referred to earlier in this chapter.  They go from the plural to the singular.  The go from three “men” to “the Lord.”   Note:

Genesis 18:9-10 (ESV)
They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

The text reads that “they” (the three “men”) spoke to Abraham about his wife Sarah.   Then we read “the LORD said,” something to Abraham.  This is one of the rare times in the Old Testament that we have a “Theophany” of the Trinity.    

The essence of the above passage, however, not only tells us that God appeared in human form to men in the Old Testament, He also entertained their request.  The Theophany, earlier, revealed to Abraham that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.   That is the town that Abraham’s nephew, Lot, lived in with his wife and two daughters.   Abraham, in deep reverence, asked the LORD, if there were 50 righteous people in these cities, if He would spare the city.  The LORD receives the request and agrees that if there were only 50 righteous people He would not destroy the city.   If we read the entire passage we see that Abraham asked the LORD five more times and whittles his request down to just ten righteous people. The LORD agrees to not destroy the city if there were only ten.   (However, there are not even ten and we read later the two cities are destroyed, but not before Lot is rescued by the LORD, Himself.)   

The point to be made here is that God is approachable and in fact, typically, approaches us, first.  The Theophany approached Abraham.  The Triune-Theophany revealed to Abraham what He was going to do.  In return, Abraham prayed for his nephew.   This is how God works in our lives.  When we read God’s Word we are given insights into God’s ways, His movements, His plans and His desires for us and others.   We know God is going to destroy those who reject His Son, Jesus. It is revealed to us throughout Scripture.  We can, in turn, take that revelation and come to God and pray for those we love, as Abraham did for Lot, to be rescued from God’s wrath.   Our prayers ought not to always be about us and our needs.  But, that God will spare those we love from His certain wrath.  God is NOT obligated to rescue them, but if God does rescue them, it starts with our request to do so.  Prayer moves God to show mercy on those we love.   

Victory in Christ via the Spirit - Romans 7-8

Romans 8:9-11 (ESV)
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The above three verses are paramount in our understanding of not only what Paul is trying to say in these couple of chapters (7&8), but also understanding what a victorious life in Christ looks like.  If we tried to summarize what Paul has said in chapter seven it would be that when we live under the “law,” or by the “law” of God (tying to keep the commandments of God in our flesh) we will fail, since knowing what to not do is not powerful enough to keep us from doing it.  But, when Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven He didn’t leave us alone.  He sent His Spirit to led us, guide us, empower us, change us, etc.   Notice how one theologian stated the power of these passage:

“Paul explains that we are not in the flesh, in the painful condition he has just described: But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you (v. 9). That is the only necessary condi-tion Paul gives. Paul does not say that we are in the Spirit if we have the victorious Christian life. We are in the Spirit if one condition is met—the Spirit of God dwells in us. This is where an understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is so vitally necessary to a biblical understanding of what Christianity is all about. We cannot be Christians unless the Holy Spirit regenerates us and changes our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh”

Excerpt From
Romans
R. C. Sproul
https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=366318344
This material may be protected by copyright.

We can’t keep the Laws of God in our flesh.  The entire Old Testament is an example of those who tried.   We need to empowerment of the Spirit.  We have life in us because the Spirit is producing life.  Those who wish to take credit for their success in Christianity are just sad.   They are attempting to steal the glory only deserved for the Spirit.   Our walk in the Spirit is the source of victorious living.   Chapter eight is completely full of this truth.   It is the work of the Spirit in our lives that produces a successful walk with God, in Christ.   

Jesus is Not Economically Correct - Matthew 8-10

Matthew 8:28-34 (ESV)
And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Jesus is not economically correct.   In the above passage we read that Jesus cast the demons out of two men.  Throughout this section of Matthew, Jesus’ healing and casting out demons is somewhat the norm.  In chapter 5-7 of Matthew, the writer was showing Jesus’ teaching.  In chapters 8-9 Matthew is showing Jesus’ power, healing, and compassion.   All of this is to show Jesus’ authority.  Soon, Matthew will show Jesus dying for mankind.  The writer has to make the argument that Jesus was the Son of God (the Messiah), so he has to show the power of and authority of God, by Him, over the spiritual world and the physical world.  Hence the healings and casting out demons.  

In the above passage we read that Jesus chooses to cast out the demons that were in two men.  Rather than just cast them out into outer darkness, Jesus cast them into a visible heard of swine.   This is to demonstrate visually Jesus’ power.  However, the town people mad they living off the pigs.  So, when the entire demon-possessed-heard took a nose dive off the cleft, it did not settle well with the town.  They all came out and compelled Jesus to leave.  Never mind that Jesus just restored the life of two of their citizens in the town.   It was the pigs that matter.   It seems that healing by the power of God is not an economic strategy well received by the world. 

In the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul will preach the Gospel in Ephesus.  The entire town starts to turn to Christ.  As a result they bring their idol worship books and start a fire in the town square.  That really hurts the economy, when the main financial structure of the town was idol worship sales centered around the goddess Diana.   Note: 

Acts 19:18-19 & 27 (ESV)
Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver ... And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

When mankind thinks their wallets will be impacted by the Gospel they are not as willing to listen and place faith in Christ.   The impact of Christ on the world from an economic point of view is hard for the non-believing world to accept.   Our property and treasure tends to get in the way of our faith and commitment.   Following Jesus means to put the power and teaching of Jesus before our income and well being.  

God’s Discipline is Visual - Isaiah 18-22

Isaiah 22:5 (ESV)
For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.

In this section of Isaiah (chapters 18-21) we read about disaster that will come upon the nations that have attacked, or not defended in their time of need, the nation of Judah.   Chapter 22, however, is a poem about the same type of disasters that will actually come upon Jerusalem, the capital city Judah (remember, when the nation of Israel split, ten tribes went to the north and kept the name Israel and two tribes went to the south and were referred to as Judah).  These were God’s people.    The above verse is pulled out of this poem about the destruction of Jerusalem.   Reading this entire section is difficult.  It is a collection of poems, but we have little, or no, background for any of them.   As one commentator stated, it is like coming into the middle of a movie and trying too figure out the plot and meaning of the producers.   The above verse, therefore, is on verse out of a brief look at the movie screen.   It makes it difficult to understand what is being spoken.  But, this one verse does capture the essence of this poem about Jerusalem’s destruction.   It simply states that God is going to have His day.  They peoples of Jerusalem did not know when and many were confused as to why (it was their unrepentant hearts).   The phrase that there will be “tumult and trembling and confusing” carries, in the Hebrew words, a certain rhythm.   The words in the Hebrew do rhyme.   Perhaps this is a subtle way for God to communicate to us that even in His wrath and anger, He has demonstrates harmony, structure and organization.   God has an intended plan.  The phrase, “valley of vision” is actually the title of the entire poem (22:1).   We don’t know what it means.  Again, we are coming into the “movie” with no context.  But, Jerusalem’s natural security is that it is surrounded by ravines that protect it from normal attacks.  Perhaps what Isaiah is saying to us is that this destruction is going to be clearly seen, like looking down, from above, into a valley.  That elevated position allows us to see all.  Perhaps we are being told that when we walk away from God, as Jerusalem’s inhabitants did, destruction will come and that destruction will be highly visible to all.  God is not going to do this work in secret.  God’s discipline is often seen by the world.   God wants us to know that disobedient is dealt with and sends a clear message about the character and ways of God.   

Why Do the Righteous Suffer - Job 8-10

Job 10:3 (ESV)
Does it seem good to you to oppress,
to despise the work of your hands
and favor the designs of the wicked?

Chapters 8-10 record the conversation between Job and Bildad, another of Job’s “friends.”  Remember, these three friends traveled a long way to “comfort” job.  However, Bildad’s choice words of comfort are to tell Job right off the bat perhaps the reason his children were crushed to death in storm is because they were sinners.  Note:

Job 8:3-4 (ESV)

Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
If your children have sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.

If you are going to bring someone comfort, it might be wise to not condemn the dead children first!   His truth is true. He application of the truth, however, is way off.   Chapter 8 is Bildad’s speech to Job.  Chapter 9 is Job’s speech back to Bildad.  But, chapter 10 is Job’s response to Bildad’s speech, but directed to God.   Bildad has put Job in a mindset.  Bildad has boldly stated that the reason for all these disasters in Job’s life are due to his sin (again, good truth but completely upside down application to Job).  But Job does begin to pivot Bildad’s argument to God.  He will state in chapter 10 that God is difficult to figure out.   In the above verse, Job plainly asks God, “Does this make sense to you, God? Do you think it is wise to crush the person you created and bless with all this disaster, while at the same time allowing the wicked to flourish?”   This could be a back-handed statement to Bildad, but probably more meant to capture what Job is observing.   Job knows his own righteousness (remember, in chapter 1 God even told Satan that Job was righteous).   Job is seeing the wicked in the world around him and sees no struggle for him.  He sees his own life and simply asks God why?   Why is he being “punished,” although declared righteous before God, and they are living in prosperity, although living absent any faith toward God.  This philosophical thought has been at the heart of man for centuries.   The question is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”   That is Job’s thought.   Asaph, the song writer in the Psalms, asked the same thing.  But, he asked and answered it for himself.  Note:

Psalms 73:2-4 (ESV)
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.

Asaph was complexed by the same thoughts Job had.  However, note the conclusion that Aspah comes to at the end of his song:

Psalms 73:16-17 (ESV)
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

Job will eventually see this truth, as well.  The wicked (those who reject God) will, in the end, receive their due reward.  Those who have faith in God, in the end, will receive their due blessings from God.  Right now, like Job and like Bildad, we see it as those who are suffering must be wicked and those who are blessed, must not be wicked.   But, God will turn the tables on all that in the end.  We are to love God, despite our sufferings, because in the end, we will be blessed by God (as with Job at the end of this book).  

What is the Cause of Social Injustice? Psalms 9-11

Psalms 10:2-11 (ESV)
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

The wicked boast and forget God.   That statement summarizes the above portion of Psalm 10.   It should be noted that in the original Hebrew writings, Psalms 9 and 10 were one song.   Psalm 10 does not have a “heading,” which is unusual in this section of the Book of Psalms.   The two psalms, together, are a lament of those who are being socially marginalized.   The two speak of the inequality between the oppressed and the oppressor.   That truth was as true back in these Bible days, as it is today, for us.  The two psalms are perfect for the conversation we are having in our society today about social justice.   However, in the above passage we read the reason those speaking (the oppressed) are being oppressed is because the oppressor is “wicked.”  The “oppressors” are not defined by their ethnicity.  The oppressors are defined based upon their relationship with God.   Notice in the above passage, in verse 4, that the oppressor states in his/her heart, “There is no God.”   God identifies them as wicked.   They are not oppressing because they have power.  They are not oppressing because they are a particular ethnicity.  And they are not oppressing because of their skin color.  They are oppression because they have rejected God and are therefore wicked.   That is the cause of social injustice.   It is the wickedness of man that causes what we read in the above passage.   If we want to explain and correct social injustice we only have to do a deep dive into the first murder of mankind: Cain killing his brother Abel.   That gives us the template for what we read up above and what we read about and hear each day in our society.   Why did Cain kills his brother?   Cain slew his brother Abel because his brother’s deeds were righteous and he was wicked.  Wickedness, that rejects God, is the cause of social injustice: 

1 John 3:12 (ESV)
We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.

God Believes in Due Process - Joshua 16-20

Joshua 20:1-6 (ESV)
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them. And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not give up the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him in the past. And he shall remain in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment, until the death of him who is high priest at the time. Then the manslayer may return to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled.’”

God believes in due process.   In our US judicious world, due process is a basic foundation block for all we do.  We believe, whether someone is guilty or innocent, they deserve due process under the law.  There was a time when we rejected those who wanted to skip due process and go right to punishment.   As I write this in 2022 I am not sure this is true in our country anymore.  In the above passage we see God’s plan to ensure due process.  We see that a person who takes a life of another, without prior intent (what today we be classified as “manslaughter”) is given a place of asylum and allowed to be safe from revenge and/or rash behavior.   Today our country tends to condemn those simply because social media has deemed them unfit or wrong.   Today we skip due process when it fits our political agenda.   God knows the heart of mankind.   He sees the way we can turn on someone or someones, rather quickly.    Blood revenge is in the heart of most people.    God sees that and knows that.   So, God, thousands of years ago, established for His chosen people a way to ensure that due process is carried out.  We should be slow to condemn.  We should be hesitant to want to exact revenge. That type of behavior is NOT what God wants for those who claim to love Him.  It may not fit our political agenda, but it does fit our faith agenda.  

The Eye is the Gateway to the Heart - Genesis 12-15

Genesis 13:10-11 (ESV)
And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

The above verses come out of the middle of the story of Abraham and his nephew, Lot.   God had enabled both of them to grow exceedingly.   But, as Solomon tells us in his book of Ecclesiastes, with riches comes strife.  A contention rose between Abraham’s servants and Lot’s servants.   (That is when you know you have a good life, when you have enough servants that they are fighting with another’s servants.)   Abraham proposes that Lot take a look around and choose where he and his family, flocks and servants might want to live and Abraham will take what is left.  That is the setting for the above words.   We see that Lot lifted his “eyes” and choose  Sodom and Gomorrah.   This was good place, but we read later it was a wicked place.    So, we see that Lot was not spiritually driven in his choices, but material and physically driven.    His heart choose what his heart wanted.  Notice what Jesus tells us about this type of life:

Matthew 6:21 (ESV)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:22-23 (ESV)
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Lot’s “eyes” were full of desire, so that directed the decisions of his heart.   Later Abraham would rescue Lot because of the struggles with Sodom and Gomorrah’s leadership (chapter 14).  We will read even later that God will rescue Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah, due to His destruction of it, because of their sin.   Lot is making a foolish choice in the above verses.  He was guided by his heart and not by the Word of God.   If we want to avoid these types of decisions, we have to defend the entrances of how they get into our hearts.  Again, note what Jesus said about defending the entrances where sin tries to creep in.  Jesus demands radical defense of those areas that can cause us to make sinful choices: 

Matthew 5:29-30 (ESV)
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

New Life - Romans 5-6

Romans 6:1-4 (ESV)
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

In Paul’s day, during this time that the letter to the Romans was written, there were many in the church who thought that now they were “saved” they could live their life the way they wanted.   They thought, improperly, that if God’s grace saved you, then where we sinned, grace abounded more and more.  So, sin was allowing God’s grace to flow.   Paul gives an emphatic, NO, to this argument.   His argument against this false teaching goes something like this:

1.  When Christ saved us, spiritually we died to sin (to the impact and effects of sin on us).   Yes, we are physically alive today and feel the pain of sin (and, for a brief time, the pleasures).   But, spiritually sin has been crucified in us.  Therefore, if truly justified, we are DEAD to sin.   

2.  Paul uses the word “continued” in verse one of this section.  The word “continued” is the Greek word, epimenō.    It means to have a continuous habit of sinning.  Paul, in this section, is NOT saying we won’t sin. We are still in this body and the body is inherently full of sin.  But, those who are “in” Christ, by faith in His sacrifice for us, will not habitually continue to sin.   Paul will go on in chapter six to tell us just how that works, but his argument is that those in Christ have been set free from the power of sin in their lives as they submit to Christ’s control.  They will sin, but they will not live a life full of sin, as a habit.  

3. Christ was raised from the dead.   That is the picture of our “new life.”  In Christ, we too have been raised to new life.  There is no such thing as a believer who has one foot in one canoe and one in another canoe.  We don’t have one foot in this world and one foot in God’s world.  Once we came to Christ, our old life was crucified with Christ.  We were given a resurrected life that is different than the life we had.  Our hungers and passions will (should, if our faith is sincere and genuine) continue to change to hunger more and more to be like Him and less and less have desire to be like who we were.  We are to walk in “newness of life.”   That is the teaching Paul gives us. There is NO such thing as a believer who is “justified” (declared righteous), who is also not “sanctified” (giving a new, holy life).  

How Do We Pray? Matthew 5-7

Matthew 6:7-13 (ESV)
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

How do we pray?  The above section is taken from Chapter 5-7 of Matthew.   These three chapters have been entitled, the Sermon on the Mount. It might be said that this is the ONLY complete sermon we have of Jesus’ teachings.  It takes about twenty minutes to read.   It is spoken to the disciples, but in front of a crowd (Matthew 5:1).   The sermon has 111 verses.    It contains some of the most practical teachings in the entire Bible.  The above passage speaks about how we pray.   Although many denominations quote the above passage in a ritual manner, the instructions about how to pray actually forbid that.   The nation of Israel had turned to ritual worship.  The Pharisees (probably in the crowd that day) taught rituals.   Jesus is not actually telling us “what to say” in this section (although it is certainly proper to pray Scripture like this back to God).  Jesus is telling us how our prayers should be constructed.  Here are seven principals of prayer life we should follow:

1.  (V. 7) - Pray without Empty Repetition - we are not to simply utter words for the purpose of uttering words.   Especially a lot of words so that others are impressed with our prayer.   

2. (V. 8) - Pray with the Presumption of God’s knowledge - we are to not sound like mankind, but in our prayers focus on God’s omniscient power. 

3. (V. 9) - Pray with Adoration to God - we are to recognize in our prayers that God is holy and awesome and over the entire heavens. 

4. (V. 10) - Pray with Submission to God - we are to pray not for our wills to be done but that God’s will for us in heaven will be completed by us on earth.  

5.  (V. 11) - Pray with Supplication to God - we are commanded to ask God to meet our NEEDS.   He invites us to do so.  

6. (V. 12) - Pray with Confession to God - we are to confess to God our sins and ask for forgiveness for those sins.  This freedom from sin is directly proportionate to our practicing of our faith in forgiveness to others.  

7. (V. 13) - Pray for relief from Temptation - God is actively in our life to free us from temptation. He wants to and can deliver us from evil but we must be humble to ask Him and realize we cannot do this on our own. 

In this brief section Jesus is telling His followers how to pray, not what to pray.  As we come to God we should come boldly in this way. He invites us to do so.  

Accountability - Isaiah 12-17

Isaiah 17:9-11 (ESV)
In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
though you make them grow on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away
in a day of grief and incurable pain.

Forget God and God forgets you!   In this section of Isaiah (12-17) we have Isaiah’s prophecy over the nations that have been used by God to punish Israel.  Israel had disobeyed God, so God “allowed” the surrounding nations to persecute them.  This seems odd, since the surrounding nations demonstrated the same, if not, more evil as Israel. But, Israel was God’s chosen people.   In this section we see a pronouncement against Babylon, Assyria,  Philitia, Moab and, above, Damascus.  All were nations or cities that persecuted God’s people (allowed by God to do so) but showed no mercy to them.   God, in turn, would show no mercy to these nations/cities.   In the above passage we see why this is true.  Damascus was the capital of Syria.  Syria and the northern tribes of Israel formed and alliance to go up against the southern tribe of Judah.   Notice why, however, God will destroy them.   God says He will destroy them because they have “forgotten the God of their salvation.”  They key here is that his foreign nation was going to be held to the same criteria as Israel and Judah.   God will hold mankind accountable to His salvation.   Even though they were not directly the people of God, they are still held to the same Word of God.  All mankind are held to the same standard.  No one is exempt.   God declares who He is each day and no one can say they did not know.   We are all held to the same standard of God’s character, will and salvation.   Whether we agree with it and recognize it or not.  Note:

Psalms 19:1 (ESV)
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Listen! Listen! Job 6-7

 Job 6:24-27 (ESV)

24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone astray.
25 How forceful are upright words!
But what does reproof from you reprove?
26 Do you think that you can reprove words,
when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
27 You would even cast lots over the fatherless,
and bargain over your friend.

Have you ever had someone see your despair, complaint about life and destitute situation, and instead of being gracious to you (offering words that encourage, support and even correct) they chastise, ridicule and point out a false reason for your dilemma?   If so, you could say the above words to them.  These are Job’s words reacting to the counsel given to him from one of his friends, in the proceeding chapter.   Eliphaz had simply jumped right in to telling Job the reason for his situation. He spent little time listening to Job.  Eliphaz’s points to Job was that the reason for his condition was his sinfulness and this was God’s retribution on him for that sun!  Notice the points Job makes in response:

Verse 24 - He admits that he is willing to hear advice from friends.  That is not his dispute.  He is NOT avoiding being reproved.  He just wants them to come with something that benefits him.  There is nothing more powerful than someone in strife that comes for help, with a listening ear (Proverbs 25:12 (ESV) Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.)

Verse 25 - Job challenges Eliphaz (and his other friends who are about to speak to him) to speak “upright” (“honest” in the NIV) words.   He believes that Eliphaz’s last speech was at best a distortion of the truth, if not an all out lie.   If we bring wisdom to others it ought to be wisdom based upon truth! (Ephesians 4:25 (ESV). Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.)

Verse 26 - Job accuses Eliphaz of distorting his words and treating them a wind (empty and aimless, as on commentary mentions).   When we talk to others about their condition it is paramount that we allow their words to carry weight in the conversation.  We can often discount what someone is saying (feeling) and not consider their framework.  Job is in a bad position.  But, that doesn’t mean his words don’t matter.   Eliphaz discounted Job’s words (and, we will see at the end, God’s Word).  

Verse 27 - Job’s interpretation of these friends (who said they came to comfort him) was that they not only disregarded his words, they were doing so in such a way that it seemed, to Job, like they were treating him like someone who was cheapening the needs of an orphan or neglecting the needs of a friend.  Eliphaz so much wanted to maintain his argument, he was doing so to Job’s detriment.   

When we counsel others in need, it is easy to think they are blinded by that need. It is easy to think since we are not IN IT, we know everything ABOUT IT!   Job simply wants his “comforter” to consider his situation with the weight it deserves and to hear his words and needs, verse presenting their argument.

Claim It! Psalms 6-8

Psalms 7:10-11 (ESV)
My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.

Psalm 10, in the heading of the ESV, is attributed to King David.   In the opening lines of the song, David is asking for God to intervene in his life.  He is being “pursued” and needs an intervention.   Someone(s) are out to destroy him and he appeals to God for refuge and vindication.  He is willing to admit that he might have done something wrong, and if so, he asked God to consider that variable in his plight.  This song is not the song of an arrogant man who believes he can do no wrong.  This is the the song of a man who knows, he too, his human.  But, he needs deliverance.   After pleading and outlining his case to God, in the above passage he turns to his “claim.”  He might not, yet, have a change in circumstances, but he does have a change in perspective.  He is going to “claim” what he knows to be true.   Note these four truths David “claims” despite feeling like he might be torn apart like a lion by this situation.  

1.  He claims that God is his shield.  What a marvelous truth for us to embrace.   God is there before us to deflect, ward off, and cover us from the attacks of the spiritual and physical world.  We, alone, can not handle the darts fired at us each day.  Paul tells us to take up the shield of faith, in order to quench the fiery darts of the Evil One (Ephesians 6)

2. He claims that God saves the righteous.   David knew he could not be righteous.  In fact in Psalm 51 we read how wicked he is.  But, he does know that by faith in God, God will declare him righteous and, as a result, be covered by God’s care for those He declares so.   

3. He claims that God is a righteous judge.  That means that David believes God can do no evil in His judgments.  Remember, in this song he is pleading for vindication, but also admits his own failures.   He is being attacked and wants protection, but also knows only God can judge between he and his attacker with righteous judgment.   

4. He claims God’s empathy.  David “feels” under attack.  He appeals to God because he knows that God, too, knows the feeling of “indignation” (wickedness).    Every day God rages against the injustice and corruption of the world.  Yes, God could stop it all today.  But, His plan was to provide a Savior to redeem us from the corruption vs removing the corruption. God wants us to recognize and claim Him. David had to look forward to Jesus coming.  We look back on that coming.  But, in the coming, Jesus will experience all the same emotions and pain of David.  In this phrase, David is claiming what will happen in Jesus’ life.  He will “feel indignation.”  

David claims God’s righteous character to enable him to survive this moment and time in his life.  Some of what he claims he was indeed experiencing and feeling.  Some of what he was claiming was still yet to come.  Never-the-less, David claims the character and plan of God to encourage him in a time of deep despair.  Claim it!!

His Retirement Plan: Complete the Mission - Joshua 11-15

Joshua 15:13 (ESV)
According to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak).

One of the struggles to read through the Bible is when you come to passage in this section.   Joshua has conquered 31 kings in the land and now needs to divide the rest of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel.  When we look at all these names we have no clue who they are, or where their cities were.   We would do better at dividing our state up and telling the readers which city each tribe gets.  But, we don’t know the cities, so this makes these verses easy to skip over.  However, the above verse is a reason to note skip the text.  Right in the middle of dividing the land we read about Joshua giving a man named Caleb a significant portion of the land.  Caleb and Joshua grew up together.  They were the two spies who served under Moses, that came back with a positive report.  Everyone else, including Moses, died in the wilderness.   Joshua wants the 85 year old Caleb to have his choice of the land.   He could retire and simply find a nice lake to build his retirement cottage.   But, instead Caleb wants the hill country of the Anakim.  The Anakim were the giants of the land.  It is ironic that the spies who first saw the promised land did not want to go into the promise land because they saw the Anakim.  Here is what they said back then:

Numbers 13:27-28 (ESV)
And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

Numbers 13:32-33 (ESV)
So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Here is what Caleb said back then:

Numbers 13:30 (ESV)
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

So, here he is at 85 about to fulfill both his mission and demonstrate that God will, indeed, overcome.   It took the 40 year old Caleb, 40 years wandering in the wilderness and another 5 years for Joshua to conquer those 31 kings.  But, finally, Caleb can go in, and with God’s power, defeat the last of the Anakim.   There was not retirement village for Caleb.  On a fulfillment of his mission.  

God Prepares the Nations for His Redemption Plan - Genesis 8-11

Genesis 11:31 (ESV)
Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Chapters 8-11 of Genesis can be a tough read in some spots.   Obviously, the end of the flood with Noah in chapter 8 is the easiest of this narrative.  But, as we move to chapters 10-11, the walk through the verses is much more daunting.   In order to understand what is really happening we have to recall the point of the Bible.   The Bible is God’s redemptive story about Christ saving the evilness of mankind.   Chapters 8-11 are a microcosm of that story.  In chapter 8 we read about the evilness of mankind.   God even says that mankind is evil in his heart (Genesis 8:21).  In order to save mankind from this sins, God allows Noah to start a new generation.  Yet, we then read of the sin of Noah and his son, Ham (soon to be named Canaan ... remember, later the nation of Israel will come to conquer the land of Canaan).  God needs a savior for mankind.  As we reach the end of chapter 11 we begin to see this take place.  God begins the call of the nation of Israel by calling the patriarch of Israel, Abraham.   This call of Abraham is mentioned in Acts 7 in the sermon of Stephan.   Not what Stephan says: 

Acts 7:2-4 (ESV)
And Stephen said:
“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran.

God calls Abraham.  Abraham gives birth to Issac.  Issac gives birth to Jacob, who is later renamed Israel.  Israel has 12 sons (the tribes of Israel).  Of those sons, one is named Judah.  From the tribe of Judah comes the Messiah, Jesus.   So, this passage of Genesis 8-11 can look out of place and we could think, “to what end?”   But, God is directing the sin of mankind to produce a nation, that will produce a king, that will produce a savior for mankind’s salvation.   God directs even the nations to make sure His plan of redemption is fulfilled for us.  In that we can rejoice.

Faith First, Works Second - Romans 3-4

Romans 4:9-12 (ESV)
Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

In these two chapters (3 & 4) of Romans, Paul has a very large task.  He is writing to the Christians at Rome, but some of them were from national Israel (Jews) and some of the were from the Gentile race.   Those from the Jewish race had been taught, up to this point, that it was being “circumcised” that made them a People of God.   Being “circumcised” is an “act of works.”   They thought that by “them” doing that “act” they would be part of the family of God.   Paul, from the beginning of chapter three is trying to show that group of people, in the church at Rome, that doing “works” (whether keeping the Law or being circumcised) was NOT the way to being accepted by God and part of His family.  They mistakenly thought they were part of God’s family simply because they were part of Israel and that circumcision was the “work” they did to prove it.

  To nullify that argument, in the above text, Paul goes back to Abraham, the farther of the nation of Israel.  In this text he argues that Abraham was accepted by God on the basis of faith.  He was “counted” as having faith BEFORE the Law or circumcision was even mentioned.   This is Paul’s main argument.  National Israel was chosen by God.  But, their acceptance by God has ALWAYS been based upon faith, not works.   Paul is telling the church at Rome, and us that their (and our) acceptance by God is based upon faith alone.   Abraham is the example of the believer.  He was circumcised, but as a result of his faith and acceptance by God, not to be accepted by God. So, too, our works are a result of our faith in Christ and acceptance by Him.   Faith first - Works second!   

Light on the Word - Matthew 3-4

Matthew 4:12-16 (ESV)
Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”

Matthew is starting to outline Jesus’ ministry.  The rest of the book with capitalize on the fulfillment of the passage he quotes, above.   Jesus is sent to show a “great light.” The people of God (the Jewish people ... the nation of Israel ... at this point) are in darkness.  God’s Word has not been spoke since the last words of the Old Testament (Malachi).  There was 400 years of silence during this time.  After Malachi, God ceased to speak to Israel through the prophets.  They only had the Old Testament Scriptures.  That was not really “silence,” years since they did have the “Old Testament” Scriptures.   However, when Jesus arrives on the seen He brings a new Word and a display of great power.  But, as we see from the above passage, Jesus also brings illumination.  The doctrine of illumination is an important doctrine in the Scripture.  The long and short of it is that man can hear nothing spiritual unless the Spirit of God illuminates the eyes of the person reading the Scriptures.  This is why people might read the Bible and not get it.  The interpretation and illumination of the Bible must come by Christ, through the Spirit. Note how Christ frames this truth in John’s Gospel:

John 14:26 (ESV)
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

God’s Word Calms Emotions - Isaiah 7-11

Isaiah 7:1-3 (ESV)

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field.

What happens to our emotions when we have under great stress?   In the above passage we hear of King Ahaz when he comes under the attack by the kings of Syria and Israel banded together to attack him.  Remember, Israel had split into two nations.  Israel to the north and the tribe of Judah to the south.   Israel will eventually fall to Babylon.  Years later, Judah will also eventually fall into captivity.   But, before this happens, King Pekah, of Israel, joined forces with King Rezin, of Syria to attack Judah.    Jerusalem is the capital city of Judah.   King Ahaz saw these kings as a mighty force that would certain crush him and his tiny nation.   Remember, Judah would be the tribe that God promised would bring forth the Messiah.  So, the destruction of Judah would mean that Satan could crush God’s promise of the Messiah.  This potential attack causes the Ahaz and the people to shake like trees in the forest.   Notice that the Spirit of God tells us about their emotional state.   God wants us to know that these people are impacted by this event.  Having our emotions impacted by attacks is a pretty normal response.   These are not super-humans.  They are not deity.   What is God’s response to this?  Notice verse three:

Isaiah 7:3 (ESV)
And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field.

God’s response to this event and the citizens of Jerusalem was to send a messenger with His Word.   God’s Word is sent to encourage us and bring us refreshment and empower us.   This is God’s response to our emotional needs.   God does not ignore us when we hurt.  But, His solution is to hear His Word and trust His messenger who brings the message. Note how Paul says it:

Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

God’s Got This!! Job 3-5

Job 5:8-16 (ESV)
8 “As for me, I would seek God,
and to God would I commit my cause,
9 who does great things and unsearchable,
marvelous things without number:
10 he gives rain on the earth
and sends waters on the fields;
11 he sets on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime
and grope at noonday as in the night.
15 But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth
and from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth.

The above words are being spoken to Job.  Job is in the midst of an extreme crisis.   He is has lost everything in his life that he values except his wife who simply tells him to curse God and die.  In chapter three we read that Job wants to die.  He wishes he had never been born.   His mental state is not good.  He is depressed and suicidal.   We don’t think of Bible characters in that state of mind.  But, Job is suffering from mental illness as a result of the trauma he has experienced.    Three friends come to “comfort” him in this state of depression.   The first friend is Eliphaz.  He is the one speaking the above words.  In context he is off as he believes Job is experiencing this because he has done something to invoke God’s wrath.   Like most of us trying to “comfort” our friends or family who are “depressed,” Eliphaz is woefully under prepared.   His theory in life is bad things happen to bad people.  

This is bad, therefore Job must be bad and we all did not know it.   The one thing that he does right, however, is in the above verses.  Despite his wrong premise, the above words that he stated to Job are correct.   In the midst of our struggle it is right to recall that God is the one who cares for all these things that Eliphaz lists out.  Eliphaz’s problem is that he has the right solution, but has already given Job the wrong cause.  When Job responds in in the next chapters we will read that Job can’t get past Eliphaz telling him the wrong cause for his problems and therefore will miss the solutions, entirely.   When working with others who are in a struggle, it is not always necessary to expand them why something is happening ... especially when we don’t know all the variables.  There was no way the Eliphaz was going to know that Satan was allowed to beat Job with a stick, almost till death (chapters one and two).   But, he just had to say this is why!  It might be smarter at times to just say, God’s got this!  That is what he says in the above verses.  He should have said, “Job, God’s got this!  Why this is happening, I have no idea. But, God, like all things in life, has control over this!!”   Instead he says, “Job, you are a bad man.  Confess your sin. God can make it right but you have to confess you are evil, first.”   We might be better to point to God as the solution before we think we always know the problem.  God’s got this!

Dark Times - Psalms 3-5

Psalms 4:1 (ESV)
TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM OF DAVID.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

The above opening verse of Psalm 4 is the theme of the entire song.   David has written this song for the nation of Israel to remind them that when things are tough and seemingly out of control, God has everything in control.   David is calling out for “relief” from the distress he is facing.  We are not told the exact struggle David is facing.  He simply uses the word “distress.”   The word is used about 100 times in the Old Testament.   It doesn’t necessarily describe the situation but rather what the situation is creating in the spiritual, the emotional and the psychological life of the person in the situation.   Apparently King David was in a stressful time that was impacting him in many facets of his life.   Even though he was the king of Israel, something had impacted his life in a way that created “distress.”  His solution was to turn to three aspects of God’s character through prayer: 

1. David appeals to God’s righteousness.   He confesses that God is his “righteousness.”  So, puts his trust in the fact it is God who declares him righteous because God is righteous.  God’s righteousness is that aspect of His character that everything God does is done in perfection and in justice.  So, whatever the distress David is facing, he confesses that God has allowed it in His righteousness. 

2. He appeals to God’s grace.   It is only because of God’s grace that he can find relief from this situation.   He realizes that the “relief” he gets might not be a change in his situation, but rather God’s grace to live through the situation.   This is Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.  Paul stated that in tough situation God’s grace was sufficient.   

3. He comes to God with confidence that God will “hear” his prayer.   That is a boldness in a dark time that only believers can have.  They can rejoice that God gives us an audience to speak to Him and that hearing allows God’s grace to flow through the situation and demonstrate God’s righteousness toward us ... even in dark times.  

God Intervenes to Give Us Victory - Joshua 6-10

Joshua 10:9-14 (ESV)
So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel.

Probably everybody on the planet, whether they actually believe in God or not, have “prayed” that the weather would be good for their outdoor wedding, picnic or family event.   The “prayer” is not always verbal but the hope is there that “fate” will make the sun shine for their graduation open house, or vacation at the beach.   In the above passage we read something rather remarkable about Joshua’s battles and God’s intervention.   In one place we read that God sends a “panic” into the hearts of Joshua’s enemies.   Then we read that God sends giant hail stones from heaven to fight for Joshua.   Lastly we read that God actually made the sun stand still so Joshua could fight longer into the day.  That act of God is so amazing the author of the book even tells us there is source material to look into to confirm the fact that the sun stood still.   It is doubtful that we even pray this way today.  It is move doubtful to find someone who believes God even did this back then, much less could do so now.   The lesson to learn here is that God intervenes in the affairs of mankind in miraculous ways.  He does so every day, but we seldom notice or look for His moving.   That should not limit us in our faith and belief in regard to God’s sovereign intervention to protect us.   God is powerful and is constantly intervening in our lives to give us victory.   

Noah’s Ark - Fact or Fable - Genesis 4-7

Genesis 7:11-16 (ESV)
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.

The story of Noah’s ark is one of the most famous of all Bible stories.   Even those who know little about the Bible have probably heard the story.  To most, that is just what the above verses are, a story.   Like many who view the Bible, Noah and the ark is just another “fable” told by religious people.   However, if we believe the Bible to be God’s written truth to mankind, we have to realize that God is not just spinning a yarn, but is telling us about Himself, mankind and His eternal plan.   In the above passage, in the story of Noah’s ark, we find some very key lessons in life:

#1 - God does not tolerate sin in the lives of mankind.   This whole venture started because God’s patience with the evilness of man had run out.    The lesson to learn is that God does have patience, but His patience is not forever (Genesis 6:1-4)

#2 - God is in control.  You have to marvel that in this historical story, God is controlling the animal kingdom, the weather environment and the fate of mankind.   We owe our moment by moment breath to God.  He has control over everything.   He didn’t just send any animals to Noah to fill the ark.  He sent male and female animals.   Animals “according to their kind” were sent to Noah.   

#3 - God empowers those He chooses for the work He chooses them to do.   Noah, as far as we know, did not go to engineering school.   We don’t know anything about his technical skills.  Up to this point we don’t know if he was a man of the ground or a man of the flocks.    But, what we do know, is God gave him the skills and strength to build a ship that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.   That would be the biggest recorded ship until around the 1800s.  

Where God calls us to do His work, He provides wisdom and strength to complete that work. 

#4 - There is a lot to learn from the story of the flood and Noah’s ark.  But, it is not a fable.  It is a real story of God using a single man to save mankind from certain annihilation.   Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and God used Noah to provide grace to all mankind.  That is the story of the Gospel message.  God sent His Son, by His grace, to save all mankind.  Noah is a type of Christ.  The story of Noah and the ark is a story of God’s provision of grace to a wicked and evil mankind.   It is not a fable.   

Are You Growing? Romans 1-2

Romans 1:7 (ESV)
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The above verse is the beginning of the book of Romans.  It tells us who the book was written to. But, it is the last verses of Romans that Paul tells us why he was writing to them:

Romans 15:14-15 (NASB Strong's Bible Text)
14 And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. 15 But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,

Sandwiched in between these two verses we have the letter to the Roman Christians.   It should be noted that this book is written toward the end of the 50s AD.    Probably around 57 AD.    In 65 AD we know that the Emperor of Rome (Nero) would burn Rome and put the blame on Christians.   He would also have the Temple of the Jews destroyed. Therefore, this book was written, proceeding all that government mayhem to destroy the people of the Way (Christians were referred to the People of the Way ... see Acts 9:2).   In the beginning of the book, Paul calls these people “saints.”  

The Greek word for “saints” is “hagios.”  It is where we get our thought of “sanctification.”  It means to be separate from sin and consecrated toward God.  It should be noted that even though they were “saints” (holy before God) they still needed instruction.   Paul wants them to know more about their faith.  He wants to correct some false teaching that was seeking a platform in the church (and would actually continue to become more and more dominate in the church as the church grew).   Paul knows that you and I can settle for what we know and believe we have “enough” of our faith.   Paul wanted them to know that he recognized them as saints, but that he also knew they needed growth.   There is no such thing as a non-growing believer.   It is only how we are growing.   Are we growing with intentionality or is God forcing growth on us in discipline.   Paul wanted the saints to grow more and more.    We have to asked ourselves if we are growing.  That is the purpose of the book of Romans. He stated the same thing to the church at Philippi:

Philippians 1:9 (ESV)
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

Jesus: Inconvenience or Deliverance? Matthew 1-2

 Matthew 2:1-3 (ESV)

The Visit of the Wise Men

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

In the story of Jesus, most people are familiar with the visit of the wise men.    You can’t drive past most nativity scenes without seeing these very well dressed and designed characters, each carrying some type of small, but important, package for Jesus.    We really don’t have many ways to relate to this scene in our own lives.  If you think about the town you are leaving in receiving a visit from the State Department, or, better, the State Department from another country, that might put this story in perspective.   Wise men of that day were the most revered.  They didn’t just show up in a town, much less Jerusalem.  At the time, Jerusalem was under Roman dominance.   King Herod was not really a King, but more like a Governor over a providence.   But, to those in the region, that made him Rome’s man.   When the wise men show up and proclaim that Jesus, the Messiah (King of the Jews) was just born, Herod takes notice.  As does all of Jerusalem.  Even though God sent His son, Jesus, to save all mankind from their sins, the Jews saw Jesus as a King who would deliver them from Rome in general and Herod, specifically.   Herod was not a nice man.  Understanding that Jesus was born to take away the sins of the world would make a visit by Wise Men a reason to celebrate.  But, to Herod it was a threat to his power.   To the Jews it meant redemption from the power over sin.  To Herod it meant a possible demotion of power over men.   That is the thing about the Gospel message of Jesus dying for our sins.  To some it is deliverance.  To others it an inconvenience.   Jesus comes to offer acceptance, so that we have a way to God.  But, most in our world see Jesus as a disturbance of their life and way of living.   Jesus demands we change our life for Him and the Father.   The world does not want to change.  Jesus demands we submit to Him.  The world does not want to submit and give up control.    The Wise Men came to announce Jesus birth.  Like then, so, too, now: For some that is glorious news, but to most it is an inconvenient truth.  

Bad News - Good News - Isaiah 1-6

Isaiah 1:10-18 (ESV)
THE BAD NEWS:

10 Hear the word of the LORD,

you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 “When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,

THE GOOD NEWS

17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow's cause.
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.

If you have ever seen a beautiful lilly pad in the middle of a dirty swam you would be able to understand the book of Isaiah.   God sent the prophet to proclaim His good news to the kings of Judah, the southern tribe of Israel, (Isaiah 1:1) and to the people of Judah, in the backdrop of their rebellion.  The above passage is a good summary of the entire book.   God was so tired of their pathetic offerings and worship that He commanded them to STOP brining them before Him.  Imagine in our church services today, if right in the middle of the worship, someone stood up and just yelled, “STOP!”   Imagine that this person, this prophet, suddenly began to tell us that God was no longer pleased with our worship and just wanted us to stop it.   Put this in the context of a wife who’s husband continues to buy her flowers and gifts, while at the same time she well knows he is sleeping with other women ... and he knows she knows.   This is what Judah (Israel) was doing to God.   They were having an affair with the world, while at the same time feigning love for God.   That is the entire book of Isaiah.  If we think we can bring gifts and offerings and worship to honor God, while at the same time in love with the world and all its trinkets, we are fooling no one.   God is highly aware of our duplicity.   This book was written and covered the years of 740-680 BC.  That is almost 3,000 years from today.  Yet, man has not learned the lessons of the book.  In the above passage verses 17 and 18 are the good news.  Isaiah is one of the most quoted Old Testament books in the New Testament.   The good news is that Christ came to cleanse our hearts and to make us holy before God.   Though our sins are as red as blood, Christ blood will make us white as snow.   What a contrast between evil and good.   The book of Isaiah is bad news to those who refuse to hear the message.  It is good news to those who hear and obey in faith.  That is why Isaiah was commission by God to preach this message: 

Isaiah 6:8-10 (ESV)
Isaiah's Commission from the Lord
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”

God Controls it All In Love - Job 1-2

Job 2:7-10 (ESV)
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

The power of Satan in our lives, only extends to the sovereignty of God over our lives.   In the above verses we see the evil that Satan has brought upon Job, personally.   In chapter one we saw his material possessions and his children taken from him, by the power of Satan.   However, prior to that happening, God said:

Job 1:12 (ESV)
And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Those words gave Satan permission to go as far as he wanted with Job, yet, not touch Job himself.   When that did not change Job’s faith in God, he came again before God to ask more “permissions” from God.    Notice what God said to Satan’s second request:

Job 2:6 (ESV)
And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

We have to wonder why God is allowing anything to happen to one of His favorite creatures (Job 1:1-2)?  It is perplexing when we read about what Satan did with that permission he received from God!   The entire rest of the book of Job is to try to answer that question: “Why God? Why would you allow such a thing?”   Now God never actually answers the question.  Not in all 42 chapters of the book.   Job’s three friends are about to come to “comfort” him, but in their “comforting” attempts, they really attempt to “explain” why and only end up accusing Job of being a bad man.   That is not comforting.    As we read in the next few chapters, Job himself is suicidal as a result of these things. His mental health is completely deteriorated.    Yet, the one thing we do see in all this, is that Satan, in all his power, is limited by God’s sovereign boundaries for Job.   That is not reassuring to Job, not at first.   In the end of the book, Job is justified, but will never see those seven boys and three daughters again on this earth.    Yet, the truth is, no matter how bad it gets, no matter what Satan brings into the lives of a child of God, he is restrained by the boundaries of God’s sovereignty over us.   This is why I love this quote from Octavious Winslow. From his book, “Christ’s Sympathy to Weary Christians:”

"It is I who formed your burden, who carved your cross, and who will strengthen you to bear it. It is I who mixed your cup of grief, and will enable you to drink it with meek submission to your Father's will ... I have sent all in love! (THUR) It is I who ordered, arranged, and controlled it all! In every stormy wind, in every darksome night,  in every lonesome hour, in every rising fear, the voice of Jesus shall be heard, saying ' Be of good cheer. It is I; be not afraid.'"

God controls it all in love!

God Laughs at Our Government Leaders - Psalms 1-2

Psalms 2:2 (ESV)
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

In 2022 we have a very charged political system across the globe, and significantly in the U.S.   The leadership systems of the world and our own government seem to be set against the traditional Christian principles of God’s Word. To those who grew up in a time when society was much more bent toward a Christian world-view, this seems to be a surprise to them (those older in life).   However, this should not be a surprise.   The believer in Christ should not be surprised that leadership of the world’s systems have a bent against God.  We should not be surprised that the world’s leaders “set themselves” and “take counsel together against the LORD.”    In Psalm 2 we read those words.  Those words were written by King David in 900 BC.   That is almost 3,000 years ago.   Why would we be surprised that in 2022 the leaders of our country are imagining ill toward the things of God?   We might be surprised, but God is not.   God so is not surprised, David writes that God even laughs at them (verse 4).    God actually sits in heaven and laughs at the plans of the kings of the earth.   They are like bumbling idiots to the mind of God.    We fret and worry and plot ways to break their leadership power over us.  But, King David simply states of God:

Psalms 2:9 (ESV)
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

God is in charge and laughs at the plans of man.   Why do we have consternation about our leader’s conniving?   God doesn’t.   We should relax and enjoy the fact that God knows it, laughs at it and will, in His time, dash their plan to pieces.   

Circumcision of the Heart - Joshua 1-5

Joshua 5:8-9 (ESV)
When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

The act and word “circumcision” in the Old Testament and New Testament have both similar and different uses.   In the OT when a man was circumcised, it was an outward, physical action that was to reflect what the man believed in his heart.   The “cutting away” of the skin was to reflect the “cutting away” of sin in the heart.   This is why in the above passage the LORD said, “Today, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.”  The physical sign of circumcision was an outward sign, done by man, of an inward condition, completed by God.   In the New Testament we read about circumcision, especially in the books of Romans and Galatians.  In the New Testament circumcision is spoken as the heart of faith is circumcised for Christ.   In the NT circumcision continues the inward change of heart done by God, through faith in Christ.  The outward, physical practice of circumcision is not required in the NT for our salvation.  The outward demonstrations of our inward circumcision is the demonstration of love to those in the body and to our neighbor.   The point of the above passage was that before the nation of Israel entered the promise land they needed to, internally, allow God to sanctify their hearts.  They needed to identify with God as His children.  The same is true of us today if we want to enter the promise land of blessing with Him.  We need to, by faith, allow Christ to cleanse our wretched hearts and cleanses us from all sin.   Our inward faith will be demonstrated in an outward walk of obedience in love for Him and our neighbor.   That is the circumcision of the heart that happened then and must happen now.  

The “Hovering” Spirit - Genesis 1-3

Genesis 1:2 (ESV)
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The Spirit of God, prior to creation, is said to be “hovering over the face of the waters.”  In the Hebrew this is “merahefet.”   The same word is used in Deuteronomy 32:11 about an eagle “hovering” over its young and in Jeremiah 23:9 about Jeremiah’s bones “shaken.”    The word could mean, therefore, that prior to creation the Holy Spirit was a controlling agent of God at the beginning of creation.  The tense of the verb, “hovering,” is an active tense.   Prior to creation we read the the earth was “without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.”

  In the beginning of creation the Holy Spirit seems to be a governing agent over this chaotic scene, in preparation for God’s verbal creative message.  When verse three starts, it begins a new section.  The Spirit of God is, at this point, the Person of God, is active only in, what appears, as assuring that the chaotic scene is prepared for the creative voice of God.   This is truly fascinating when you think about the Spirit’s job in other areas of God’s work.  It is the Sprit of God who “hovers” over us and prepares us to hear the Word of God, prior to the creation of a new life in us.  It is the Spirit of God, who “hovers” over us as we hear the Word of God and He creates new life in us. It is the Spirit of God, how “hovers” over us as we are Sanctified by the Word of God.   The Spirit of God, in creation, is the preparing Person of God.  In our lives, it is the Spirit of God who prepares us to hear the Word of God, which will create in us a new life.   We rejoice that the Spirit of God “hovers” over the chaotic mess of our lives and prepares it and God brings it to perfect order for His Glory.   

Christ: Triumphant King - Revelation 17

Revelation 17:14
These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

Reading The Revelation of Jesus (Revelation 1:1) is sometimes tough.   There are various interpretations of different passages and sometimes the imagery is difficult to be assured.  However, despite the mirky waters of some passages, there are some very clear themes and crystal clear outcomes.  In these chapters (12-17) God is pouring His wrath out on the earth; on those who rejected His Word and His Son.   That is quite clear.    In the above verse we also have another obvious outcome:  Christ will win the final battle.  Despite the wrath pouring out on mankind and God continuing to offer them grace and mercy, the world will rebel and wage war against each other (chapter 17) and, ultimately, against Christ.   Think about that ... about the foolishness of that statement.  How do people, created by God, think they can destroy their Creator?  They can't!   God will overcome them.  Why?  Because there is no king like our King!  There is no lord like our Lord!  God will have the victory in the end.  When reading the book of Revelation there is no secret about that.   How the events will unfold may be, at times, foggy.  But, in the end the fog dissipates and the Victor will stand ... Jesus Christ, Lord of Lords!!    The other truth that is repeated over and over in Revelation is that those who aline themselves with God and His Son, will also stand with Him in the end, as the Victor.   The established truth in God's Word is that we can either be with the world and wage war against Christ, or be with Christ in the end as He is crowned the ultimate victor.    If that is the choice, that really is not choice.  Believe, by faith in Christ's finished work, and we can rejoice along side the Victor in the end.   The path to that end might seem dark and dreary and distant.  But, the end is full of triumph and rejoicing.