Week 32, Day 4: The Right Wife
Today’s Reading: Genesis 24:1-67
Some thoughts from the reading…
In Genesis chapter 24, we read the account of Abraham sending a servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. It is interesting to note that Abraham was clear about where this wife was to come from. He specified that Isaac was not to take a wife from among the people of Canaan, but rather from among his own people. This same principle would be important throughout the history of Israel. Later, God would command His people to not take wives from among the people of Canaan, but rather were to marry only from among their own people. This was to help keep them from the temptations that would come from intermarrying with ungodly people. If they married those from Canaan, there would be the temptation to accept the gods of those people. We will see as we continue our study, that this became a major problem among the people of Israel. They did not heed this warning, and suffered the consequences that came with the idolatry that they brought into their homes.
There is a lesson in this for Christians today. There is a need for young Christians to seek out a mate from among Christians. The same types of dangers exist today that existed in the time of Abraham, and the time of the Israelites. It may not be that a mate will cause one to begin worshiping idols, but the temptation to live in an ungodly way will certainly be present. If one surrounds themselves with people who are going to be participating in ungodly actions, such as drinking, smoking, going to clubs, being promiscuous, etc., they will increase the probability that they will participate in those actions. If a Christian chooses to marry an ungodly person, then they are constantly tempted to participate in the immorality of their mate. They will also have a very difficult time raising children in a godly way under those circumstances.
We should have the same dedication (especially as parents) to helping young Christians find godly mates, that Abraham had. He was not going to be satisfied with a mate for his son from the land of Canaan. We should not be satisfied with ungodly mates for our young Christians. We need to teach them, from a young age, what they should be looking for in a mate. If they are molded the way they should be, then they will know just what they are looking for, to ensure that they find a mate that will help them and their children make it to heaven.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 32, Day 3: Death of Sarah
Today’s Reading: Genesis 23:1-20
Some thoughts from the reading…
In Genesis chapter 23, we read of the death of Abraham’s wife, Sarah. It is interesting to note that scripture does not make a big deal of the death of Sarah, but mentions her death almost in passing. It is evident that Abraham mourned his wife, as is clearly done for many biblical characters, but God did not spend a lot of time covering the death of the woman who was the mother of the great nation of Israel. We are not told why this is the case, but perhaps it is because the faithful should not view death as something so terrible. Of course, the death of a loved one brings on sadness, and we mourn. However, from the biblical perspective, the death of one of the main characters is merely the transition of that person from service here on earth to service before God in their eternal reward.
What is interesting in this chapter is that most of the space is filled with a discussion of Abraham’s purchase of a burial plot. Why is this so important? Consider that Abraham had been promised all of the land that he had walked on, and yet, he possessed nothing. In fact, this small field, with a cave in the end of it, was the only property that Abraham owned in the land of Canaan. Abraham would not see the fulfillment of all of the promises in his lifetime. In fact, he would see very little of the promises fulfilled. But, that didn’t change his perspective. He trusted in God enough to purchase this field for burying the dead of his family, knowing that it would be a part of his inheritance for many years to come.
Keep in mind this burial plot. We will see it mentioned a few more times as more relatives of Abraham are buried there. In a time of the wandering of the Patriarchs, men who had no home of their own, they had this small plot of land that belonged to them. It would not be until several hundred years later that Abraham’s descendants would truly possess this land.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 32, Day 2: Sacrifice Your Son!
Today’s Reading: Genesis 22:1-24
Some thoughts from the reading…
In Genesis chapter 21, we saw the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah in the blessing of their son, Isaac. In chapter 22, God demands the unthinkable of Abraham–that he take his son of promise and offer him as a burnt offering to God. Think of how much God required of Abraham. Often, we consider this passage from the standpoint of a parent and question our own faith: would we be able to go through with what God demanded, just as Abraham did? That is a difficult question to ponder, and we can certainly be thankful that God is not going to ask such of us. However, there was much more at stake for Abraham than just the losing of a son, though that would have been difficult enough. Consider that Abraham had to take into account that he was going to possibly lose all of the promises that God had made (a great nation, a great land, and that all nations would be blessed through his seed). How could God possibly fulfill those things, if he were to kill the son of promise? Abraham thought about this, and according to the Hebrew writer, decided that God could raise Isaac up from the dead if he were to slay him as a sacrifice to God (Hebrews 11:17-19).
Consider how much faith Abraham had to have! He trusted so fully in God that he was willing to do whatever God required, and it didn’t matter that it made no sense from the human perspective. Abraham had already seen God provide for him in ways that didn’t make sense from a human standpoint. The mere fact that he even had Isaac was proof that God could do whatever He decided to do. Abraham was fully convinced. This seems to be exactly what God was testing for in Abraham. In Genesis 22:12, God told Abraham that He now knew that Abraham feared Him. Abraham had proven himself!
It is comforting to know that God will not ask us to kill our children. However, God has clearly told us that we must put Him first, and that means even before our fleshly families. We have a responsibility to serve God, regardless of what others (including those in our families) might do! We can certainly be tested, at least in principle, in similar ways to Abraham. If we must choose between our family and God, which will we choose? Are we truly willing to be obedient to God, no matter what the consequence? We may hope that we never have to make such decisions, but we often are tested as to where our priorities lie. It is our responsibility, no matter the circumstances, to make sure that we have our priorities in line, with God at the top. If we do that, then the rest will certainly fall into place!
Abraham’s faith should be a great encouragement to us. We should be able to see the way that he chose to serve God, no matter the cost, and realize that God wants the same kind of commitment and faith from us today. Seek Him first, and He will see that you have all that you need (Matthew 6:33)!
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 32, Day 1: The Son of Promise
Today’s Reading: Genesis 21:1-34
Some thought from the reading…
One of the greatest points that can be made from Genesis chapter 21 comes in verse 1:
21 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.
The Lord came to Sarah, just as He had promised, and He did for her just as He had spoken. That message is very powerful, and the foundation of all that God was going to do for mankind from that time forward. Remember, back in Genesis 15, God made a 3 fold promise to Abraham, but every bit of the fulfillment of that promise would rely on God’s ability to bless Abraham and Sarah with a son. Here in chapter 21, we see that God was able, under circumstances that would be considered impossible by men’s standards, to do just as He had promised. Because He blessed Abraham and Sarah with this son, He was able to fulfill the rest of the promises that He had made with Abraham. This is the beginning of the great nation of Israel, and it is through this lineage that “all nations of the earth” would be blessed–the Messiah would come from him!
Seeing the fulfillment of promises such as this should give us great confidence in God today. How can we doubt His power, and His ability to provide us what we really need? Perhaps we fail to ask God for things that we would like because we can’t see how it could be possible for Him to provide for us. But, if we look at this account, we should see that God’s ways are far greater than our own (Isaiah 55:9)!
We also see from this account that God will indeed fulfill whatever promises He makes to us. There is comfort in that, but there should also be a certain “fearful expectation” in it. We can have confidence that God will fulfill the promise to save us, if we are obedient to Him. We can see He has fulfilled every promise He has ever made, and know that He will indeed fulfill His promise to provide us with an eternal home if we are His children. However, we should be fearful of the flip side of that promise–that He will punish those who are disobedient. It is just as certain that God will fulfill that promise as well. May we all work diligently, so that we might have confidence in our salvation (2 Timothy 4:6-8), and so that we do not have to fear the coming of the day of the Lord!
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 28, Day 5: Walking With God
Today’s Reading: Genesis 5:1-32
Some thoughts from the reading…
I think many people, when coming to a chapter like Genesis 5, skip over to the next chapter. Often, genealogy chapters are thought of as being difficult to read, and maybe even boring. But, often, these chapters serve a particular purpose, and have some very interesting gems of information. For example, Genesis chapter 5 serves the purpose of spanning two periods of time: the time of Adam and the time of Noah. There is not much information given in the period of time in between, but the time is covered by the genealogy so that we can know the general time frame that has been covered. We are given a couple of interesting notes from this period of time.
We are told about Enoch, who was a man who “walked with God.” We are told that he was one of only two men who did not have to die a physical death, because God took him (the other being Elijah). Enoch only has a couple of verses penned about him, but what is written is an amazing testimony. If you could have just one thing written about you in the Bible, this would be a good choice! Enoch has enough written in these four verses (Genesis 5:21-24) to tell us what kind of character he had. The testimony that God gives to his faithfulness is greater than what any man could have given! We can have the same testimony if we will just be faithful to God. It will be wonderful, when this life is over, to have the testimony that we have walked with God! John uses this imagery extensively in his epistles, as he writes about our need to “walk in the light”. And Paul uses a similar image in Ephesians 5:1-2, where he tells us to be imitators of God as dear children.
Another interesting man is Enoch’s son, Methuselah. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. He is the oldest recorded man in the Bible. Perhaps there were men who lived to be older, but we are not told about them. One interesting thing about Methuselah is that if you do the calculations, you will find that he most likely died in the same year as the flood. We are not told if he died in the flood, or just happened to die in the same year.
There are many other interesting characters in this chapter. Who stands out to you?
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 28, Day 4: Doing Well…
Today’s Reading: Genesis 4:1-26
Some thoughts from the reading…
In Genesis chapter 4, we have the well known account of Cain taking his brother’s life. Cain became angry when his offering was not accepted by God. There has been much discussion about what exactly Cain did that made his offering unacceptable, but it doesn’t really matter. The important thing to notice is that God did not accept it because it was not what God commanded him to do! When God spoke to Cain, He asked him (Genesis 4:7) the question: “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” God followed that with the statement, “And if you do well, sin lies at the door.” This is the really the basis of all the instructions and commands of the Bible. That which God commands or instructs constitutes that which is “doing well.” If we will do what He has told us to do, then we will be accepted by Him! But, if we do not do those things, then “sin lies at the door.”
People today seem to try to make as many excuses as they can to avoid what God has said to do. They think they can come up with a better way, and that they don’t have to do just what God said to be pleasing to Him. Like we mentioned yesterday, it is very clear that men in general have not changed! This is exactly what Cain was doing. He obviously thought that he didn’t have to do just what God told him to do. We aren’t told why he came to that conclusion, but obviously he did, since his offering was not accepted by God. So, whatever he changed, it was not acceptable, and therefore was not better than God’s original instructions to him.
We need to learn the lesson of Cain. God gives instructions because He expects them to be followed.We have no right to change anything about His instructions. We cannot think that He is just giving us some general suggestions. We have to follow exactly what He has told us to do. If we do that, then we will do well, and we will be accepted. But if not, sin lies in wait for us. When we stray away from what has been commanded, we enter into the realm of sin. We end up serving Satan instead of God, and Satan is very happy to have us serve him when we think we are serving God. He doesn’t need for us to declare allegiance to him!
So, do not allow sin to lie in wait for you. Do well, so that you may be accepted by God!
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 28, Day 2: The Garden of Eden
Today’s Reading: Genesis 2:1-25
Some thoughts from the reading…
I like to garden. I live in a small house in the middle of town, with not much space in the yard, but I still plant a small garden. We have a few vegetables in there, which do better some years than others. I am constantly learning, trying to make my garden produce better than it has in the past. I have to put a lot of work into the garden if it is going to grow. Often, when I am in the garden, I think of what it must have been like to be in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis chapter 1, we saw how everything that God made was good. Everything grew, everything produced. Adam and Eve had the perfect environment. Conditions had to be perfect! I am sure that they didn’t have lime their soil to get their garden to produce better. They didn’t have to make sure that they had the right amount of fertilizer, and they didn’t have to make sure that they watered everything properly. Don’t forget that God did give Adam instruction on how to “tend and keep” the garden, so Adam had to work. But, it had to be a much different environment than what we have today. I know that I don’t keep the weeds out of my garden like I should. I had to dig out huge rocks from the soil to be able to till it up and grow crops. I wonder how perfectly deep brown (almost black, perhaps?) the soil was when Adam and Eve were in Eden?
And yet, with all the perfection given to them, Adam and Eve still were disobedient to God! We are getting a bit ahead of ourselves, and we will talk about this more later, but I think it is important for us to realize what they had available to them when they were disobedient to God. This seems to indicate that people are always looking for something better, no matter what they have! Adam and Eve had perfection in the Garden of Eden. It doesn’t get any better than that! And yet, they were willing to walk away from it all on the promise of something that they perceived to be greater.
Not only was there perfection in the Garden, but there was innocence. This concept is conveyed in Genesis 2:25. Adam and Eve were naked, but they were not ashamed. It was not until their innocence was taken away by their sins that they were embarrassed by their nakedness. They had the only opportunity to live in a sin free world. The world will never be as perfect as it was in those first few days following the creation. But, that perfection (and far greater) will be realized when we are able to make it to heaven and enjoy the reward that God has prepared for us!
We see in our reading (Genesis 2:16-17) one of the first commands given by God to man. As we progress our study into chapter 3, we will see that this is the beginning of the downfall of man into sin. The rest of the Bible story will be the redemption of mankind from the results of his disobedience. Sin enters the world, and God spends much time and effort to redeem man from that sin. Tomorrow, we will discuss in further detail the sin of Adam and Eve.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 27, Day 1: Coming Quickly
Well, this is the last post of our New Testament reading. If you have been following along, you have now completed the whole New Testament in the last six months. I appreciate your efforts, and hope you have gained much from your studies along the way. We are planning (starting Monday, July 20th) to start a reading schedule in the Old Testament. This will, of course, take us much longer. We are going to plan to do one chapter per day, except where the chapters are very short (such as in the Psalms). I think we may try to post about the reading for the day, instead of the previous day’s reading. We may try that for a while, and see how it works. If it does not go as smoothly, then we will switch back to our current pattern. I look forward to our coming studies!
Some thoughts from Friday’s reading…
The one idea that keeps being repeated, especially in Revelation 22 is the idea of the coming of Christ in judgment. In the book of Revelation, the warning was that the judgment was coming against Rome and the ungodliness that she (the great harlot) was responsible for. The Christians needed to be ready for that coming judgment, so that they were not guilty of falling short of their goals. If they gave up, and joined in the wickedness, then they would be a part of the judgment that was coming quickly. At least 3 times in this one chapter, the idea is repeated that the judgment was coming quickly. The reward would come with Christ (Revelation 22:12) whether it be for the righteous or the wicked. The righteous would be rewarded with good, while the wicked would be rewarded with condemnation.
We too must be ready for the coming of the Lord. He may come in judgment on the nation that we live in, due to its wickedness. If that is the case, we want to remain righteous so that we don’t suffer the same condemnation as the wicked. But, even if He chooses not to do that, He has promised that He is coming back to judge the whole world. At that time, the righteous will be taken to their eternal reward, but the wicked will be condemned eternally. It should be clear that we want to be on the right side of the judgment! So, the words of Jesus should be loud in our ears today as well. He has not told us when He will come, but just knowing that it could be any time should be enough for us to keep ourselves in a constant state of preparedness!
Popularity: 17% [?]
Week 26, Day 4: God’s Judgment
Today’s Reading: Revelation 19:1-20:15
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
It is impossible to examine in any detail in this format the book of Revelation, and so I have tried to choose some more general ideas from the chapters to consider. One idea in chapters 17-18 of this book that is vitally important is that of judgment. The judgment in these chapters is against Babylon the great, which is symbolic of Rome. God was going to bring His judgment against Rome because of the wickedness that they had been involved in. This should serve as a warning to us today. God is still in control of the kingdoms of men. He can still bring judgment on nations that involve themselves in wickedness.
This should make us think seriously about our own nation, as it seems to continue further and further into sinfulness. Actions that were once taboo are now acceptable in our society. Just because they are acceptable does not mean they are not sinful! God will eventually lose patience with this nation, and bring judgment. The good side, for the christian, is that we are separate from the world. We should not be involved in the sinfulness, and a judgment by God on the nation will not affect our spiritual standing with Him in any way. We need to remember this concept, and make sure that we are different from the world, so that we do not get caught up in the judgment that God will eventually bring.
The book of Revelation was one of both warning and comfort for the Christians. They needed to be warned not to forsake their first love, that is God. And, they needed to be comforted in their time of persecution. We should also be warned, and comforted by reading the book. But, we can only be comforted if we remain faithful to God! So, follow the warning of the book, and “keep on keeping on.”
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 26, Day 3: Keeping Our Garments
Today’s Reading: Revelation 17:1-18:24
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
In Revelation 16:15, Jesus said, “Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments…” The idea of keeping one’s garments, or cleansing one’s garments is found throughout the book of Revelation and is tied to being obedient to God. One cannot have his garments cleansed without being obedient. In this particular passage, the one who has kept his garments is the one who is prepared when Christ comes as a thief.
The idea of keeping one’s garments has to do with keeping them white, or pure. One does this by obeying God in all things. He will keep himself unspotted from the world (James 1:27). Nothing that would be-smudge the clothing would be participated in. This could be anything from immorality (foul language, adultery, fornication, etc…) to the idolatry that was so prevalent in the first century. Today, we may not be tempted to succumb to idolatry (at least in the USA) but there are plenty of dangers lurking to soil our garments. If we do not keep ourselves separate from the sinfulness of the world, then we will not be ready at the judgment of Christ.
We should keep ourselves ever vigilant when it comes to avoiding the worldliness that surrounds us. If we let our guard down, even a little bit, Satan will take advantage of us, and it will not be long until we are not longer clean. We need to make it our priority to keep our garments, so that we can continue to have hope beyond this life!
Popularity: unranked [?]