Enemies at Pease with You!! Genesis 20-23

Genesis 21:22-24 (ESV) (A Treaty with Abimelech)

At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

When you make a contract with world, mutual respect can go a long way.   In the above passage we have the introduction of Abraham and his contract with two of the local power, Abimelech and his army leader, Phicol.  In chapter 20 we read that Abraham had wandered into Abimelech’s territory.   Out of fear, Abraham told Sarah, his wife, to say she was his sister, least they kill Abraham and take Sarah.   When Abimelech almost does take Sarah for his sexual pleasure, but God intervenes.   Abimelech, instead, gives Abraham sheep and oxen and sends him on his way (Genesis 20:1-18).  So, in one respect, Abimelech is responsible for making Abraham a rich and powerful man.  But, it was God’s hand upon Abraham that made Abimelech and Phicol want to sign a contract of agreement with him.   When God’s hand is upon us, the world will see it, if we allow ourselves to be used by God.  The world will approach US, as did Abimelech and Phicol, and want to make treaties with us.  It is when they don’t think we have the power of God in our lives that they tend to want to think they can conquer us.  Isn’t it interesting that the Queen of Sheba SOUGHT out Solomon because they heard of his wisdom (1 Kings 10).   When we walk with God and fear God we can walk in confidence that God will make even our enemies be at peace with us.  Just ask Solomon:

Proverbs 16:7 (ESV)

When a man's ways please the LORD,

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Grafted Into the Vine - Romans 9-11

Romans 11:11-16 (ESV)
Gentiles Grafted In
So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

In chapters 9-11 we have one of the most profound passages of God’s Word, if not all literatures combined.   There is no one on the planet who would dream this up and/or create the truth found in the chapters.  You could study these three chapters forever and never really pummel the depths of there meaning.  

In these chapters, Paul is speaking about the doctrine of election.  He is explaining it to the Roman (Gentile) Christians.   The doctrine of election, simply put, is that God choose us to be saved.  The implication (in our minds) is that means He chooses others to NOT be saved.   This devotional is not focused, however, on the implication, but on what is exactly stated.   The main thought Paul is saying in the above passage is that Israel was giving all the benefits to be God’s people. But, because they attempted to do so by works and not by faith, God rejected them.  That rejection was God giving “all the nations” the message of the Gospel.   In chapter 11, Paul address two questions.  The first one is in 11:1 and simply asks, “Has God rejected His people, Israel?”  The answer is NO, because in reality they rejected Him and there are still some to be brought into grace.   The second question Paul attempts to answer is in the above passage:  “So, I ask, did they (Israel) stumble in order that they might fall?”   Paul answers, “By no means!” The point is, did Israel’s stumble (not believing in God’s plan by faith) mean God’s plan is ended.  Paul explains that the fact that Israel fell made it possible for Gentiles to receive all the riches of the Gospel.   So many study election and fail to realize the beauty of God deciding to adopt Gentiles into faith.  Israel’s rejection meant our reconciliation.   That is the amazing truth God wants us to have.   Yes, God still has plans for the remnant of the Jews.  But, God has made it possible for Gentiles to partake of those blessings.   We are grafted into the vine.   As branches we partake of the fruit of the Vine (Jesus).   

The Spirit Was Upon Him, But Why? Matthew 11-13

Matthew 12:18 (ESV)

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

God sent the Second Person of the Trinity to become the Son, to proclaim justice to the entire world.   Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity.  He was born in the flesh as Jesus and became The Son.   Although always external, there was a point in time that He became flesh.   God the Father refers to Him in the above verse as “my servant,” and “my believed.”   The Father states that He is “well pleased” with the Son.   But, one of the most powerful aspects of that above commentary by Matthew on that Jesus will have the Holy Spirit upon Him.  Matthew is taking this message from Isaiah 42:1-2.    Notice that in this verse we have the Father, the Son and the Spirit all in concert.    This is not the only interaction of the Spirit with the Son.  Jesus was:

1. Conceived by the Spirit - Matthew 1:2

2. Baptized by the Spirit - Matthew 3:16

3. Fill by the Spirit - Luke 4:1

4. Lead by the Spirit - Luke 4:1

5. Anointed by the Spirit with Power - Acts 10:38

6. Anointed by the Spirit to proclaim good news to the poor and needy - Luke 4:18-19

Remember, that Jesus took upon the form of man.  This would allow Him to represent us in every way.   Jesus’s humanity received all this, as His deity was already One with the Spirit!  Just as the Son had the power of the Spirit, so too, do we.   What a marvelous thought.  We have the indwelling of the Spirit to enable us to live a life like the Son, in order to please the Father.   Jesus not only died for us, He set the pattern for us to live.  

Wait! God is in Control - Isaiah 23-28

Isaiah 23:1-3 (ESV)
An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon
The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!
From the land of Cyprus
it is revealed to them.
Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;
the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.

The book of Isaiah is a continuous unfolding story of God both revealing His plans and actually activating His plans for mankind.   God interacts with mankind and the affairs of mankind.   God has chosen to reveal Himself and these plans through prophets, like Isaiah.   Prior to the above passage we read about the downfall of Babylon (chapter 21).  After a short intermission about Jerusalem (chapter 22) we now read the downfall of Tyre and Sidon.   To those in the Western world, the names are just historical hooks we remember from school days or old movies.   But, in Bible times, Babylon, Tyre and Sidon were significant cites.  We can understand this in our terms if we think of Babylon as New York and we think of Tyre and Sidon as Los Angeles and San Francisco.   Babylon was the largest city next to the Persian Gulf and Tyre/Sidon were the cities that sat on the Mediterranean Sea (the “Great Sea” in the Bible).  Like NY and LA, there was a major trade route from Babylon to Tyre.  It would run near Jerusalem, capital city of Israel.    Bagdad, Iraq would be the modern day equivalent of Babylon and Lebanon would be Tyre.   What God is saying, through Isaiah, in these chapters, is that despite the power, prestige and prominence of mankind’s cities and strength and trade, God was completely in control.   Isaiah, in the above passage (a poem) tells the citizens of Tyre and Sidon to “wail,” because of the coming destruction on them.  Just as then, so too today, God is not ignorant of this world’s power and wickedness.   God is not sleeping as the political and power structures of our world deteriorate around us.   He has not closed His eyes to the evilness in our society.   God is in complete control and throughout Isaiah we read of what He was doing in Isaiah’s day, Jesus’ day and, eventually, our day.   Note one of the verses in this section.  God will destroy those who act wickedly toward Him (entire cities).  But, God will also redeem those who turn toward Him and wait in faith.  We can rejoice that God is in complete control and will bring salvation to those who put faith in Him:

Isaiah 25:9 (ESV)
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

What if God Called you to Court? Job 11

Job 11:10 (ESV)
If he passes through and imprisons
and summons the court, who can turn him back?

What if God summoned you to court?   

In this portion of Job’s unfolding story we have Job being confronted by his friend, Zophar the Naamathite.  Unlike the other friends of Job, who speak three times, Zophar only speaks twice.   And, to be honest with his character, it is a good thing for Job.  Zophar is the guy who looks you straight in the face and thumps his Bible at you and calls you a sinner.   Zophar has no patience like Job or for Job.   His name means sparrow, but his actions are more like a crow.   He tears into Job and declares him guilty.  Zophar’ s suggestion, or solution for Job, is that he simply repent of his sin and God will restore him.  

In the above verse we see that Zophar is making the case that when God calls us to account for our lives, it is like standing in court before a judge.  Zophar’ s immediate point to Job is that he is guilty and therefore the “Judge” will condemn him if he does not repent.   Zophar may be wrong in his application of this truth to Job’s cause and condition, but he is not wrong in regard to standing before God as judge.   Who can stand guiltless before God.   Note Paul’s words on this point:

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

No one can stand before God and say they are pure.   Psalms 14:1-2 makes that statement crystal clear.  We are guilty and do no good to merit favor with God.  But, the believer, the one who puts trust in Christ for their salvation, can stand before God.  In fact, the writer of Hebrews makes a big deal about that.   As the writer draws that book to a close, there is a summary of what benefits we have by having Christ as our High Priest, our advocate (our lawyer) before God.  In the following verse we read that believers have come to God and enjoy these benefits.  We have come to ... 

Hebrews 12:23 (ESV)
...  the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

Believers have come to God, the judge of all, yet, righteous, made perfect.   This is the benefit that Zophar fails to convey to Job.  Zophar likes to condemn, but he gives no indication that Job has a good position before God (Job 1).   Job, like all who have faith in Christ, can come before God in full assurance and full faith that God will receive them and judge them, not on their own merit, but on the blood of Jesus Christ.   What if God called you to court (and He will)?  We stand before God, the judge of all, completely righteous through the death and resurrection of Christ.  

The Nature of Mankind - Psalms 12-14

Psalms 14:1 (ESV)
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.

The world would probably not agree with the above verse.    Depending on your world view, very few would align with the above statement made by King David in this song.   There might be many who agree with the first part of the verse.   Perhaps even the majority would say it is foolish to deny the existence of a supreme being.   To believe the world exist and that there is some moral conscious/code inborn in our society from that supreme being, is not logical.   However, it is then minority who believe that this supreme god is Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, manifested on this earth through Jesus Christ and in our lives by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Those that believe that are called fools in this society.   

Certainly many might believe and confess the middle part of the verse; that men are corrupt and do abominable deeds.  We don’t have to watch or listen to most of the nightly news (no matter where you get it) to see that mankind can and does abominable deeds.   That truth very few would disagree with.   It is doubtful, however, that they make the connection David is making.  David is saying that “all those” who reject the truth that God exists, do abominable deeds and are corrupt.   That truth they would never agree to.  For, to admit to that truth they would have to admit their own undoing.  

It is the last part of the above verse that many would never agree with, at least those who reject God’s existence.  The last part states that “there is none that does good.”   As much as we are willing to admit that mankind “can be” corrupt and “can” do abominable things, very few in our society would agree that mankind and they themselves “can’t” also do good. In fact we have an entire industry created to allow mankind to do good: The non-profit industry.   However, if the first and second part of this verse is true, so also the third part.   The truth is, the nature of man is corrupt.   This verse is not saying that mankind can’t do good things for himself or for others.  This verse is saying, in relationship to the first line, that those who reject God are lost in their sin and can’t do anything good that measures up to God’s standards of holiness.   Only those who accept Christ and do good and that is only because it is the Spirit of God indwelling them that does the good. 

We may not like the way God paints the picture of mankind’s nature.  But, it never-the-less is true.   Only God can make a person “good.”   Yes, evil men can do good things for their own benefit.  But, only in God can we do good that merits God’s favor.   The nature of man is corrupt when it is minus faith in God. 

Commitment Comes from the Heart, not the Mouth - Joshua 21-24

 Joshua 24:16-18 (ESV)
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

Instant commitment does not necessarily make the commitment sincere.   In the above passage the people of Israel are making a commitment to Joshua about their commitment to God.  They commit to following His ways and to not follow the habits, believes and behaviors of the people of the land they just conquered.   Probably, at that moment, they were, indeed, sincere about that commitment.   Joshua is about to die and he is giving the nation his last instructions.   In this section we have read the final dividing up and distribution of the land.  We have read about the 2 1/2 tribes who helped them conquer the land and their return to the land Moses had promised them.   We have read about how that 2 1/2 tribe put up an alter to remember they are, too, part of Israel, albeit on the other side of the Jordan river.  We have read about how sensitive the nation was about this alter.  That was the key in this part of Joshua’s story to us.  The nation was so sensitive to the 2 1/2 tribes false alter, they were rallied to stop them.  This is the spirit that Joshua wants.  The above verses show that the nation is committed to national purity and resolved to follow the Laws of Moses.  However, in the next book (Judges) we will see just how quickly that resolve and commitment folds.   This particular group of Israelites are “all in” with Joshua.  But, it won’t be long before they begin to marry into the surrounding nations and start to practice their wicked behaviors.   Words of the mouth have never satisfied righteousness of God.   Sincerity of words only works if the heart is cemented in commitment.   They were not.  We can say it, but unless we live it, it means nothing to God.   Holiness is not a word.  It is an action of our heart completed in us by God to assure we fulfill the desires of His heart.