January 19

Genesis 20; Matthew 19

Genesis 20

Ready:
Coming off of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah but the bugger picture Lord is that Abraham has assumed a role of mediating the covenant for your people and he is serving as intercessor.  Abraham foreshadows the role of Christ as prophet, priest, and king.  You display your righteous judgement and your loving mercy together here Lord and you drag Lot our of the City by the hand when he sinfully and apathetically lingers.  Lead me Lord by the hand and show me the lessons to take from your Word today.

Reading thoughts:
I see Abraham making the same error again and this time it is worse because his wife has been promised to bear his long awaited offspring within the year! She is supposed to have his baby within 12 months and pregnancy lasts 9 months.  How in the heck does Abraham figure to go ahead and let the King take his wife now?  This is not a high point in the life of Abraham but hopefully in his error he still held out the hope that God will keep his promise despite Abraham’s folly…and indeed he does.  I see God intervene in an amazing way in that he does so through the very will of this King Abimelech.  God protects the womb of Sarah, which may already be carrying young Isaac.  The story also includes Abraham praying for and God healing the family of Abimelech of their barrenness and the patriarch and his wife are sent to live wherever they would choose with gifts and provision from the king.

Key Verses:

“2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.” (Genesis 20:2, ESV)

“5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.” (Genesis 20:5–6, ESV)

“14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.” (Genesis 20:14, ESV)

“17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” (Genesis 20:17–18, ESV)

I see the them as- God protects his promise and displays his sovereign power over the will of man.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1.  For some reason Abraham leaves the oaks of Mamre and decides to spend time in Gerar.
    v2.  Here Abraham blows it again and the timing is terrible.  He certainly knows that Sarah may be with child at this time and that if not she will be very soon and yet he is seemingly content to allow her to be taken off by the king.  Interesting that this even happens because there is no clear indication here that the king had more than one wife by practice and I also recall that Sarah is 90 years old.  Now it was said that she was very beautiful but yet she is well past child bearing age and yet this king, as Pharaoh did, sees something in her that is compelling.
    v3-7.  This is an interaction between God and Abimelech in a dream where he is confronted concerning his actions and we learn that Abimelech had intention to sleep with Sarah because he admits that his actions were in the integrity of his heart with a defense of his lacking the true information that she was married.  This can only mean that yes he intended to sleep with her but he was surely not aware of the great sin that this would have been toward Abraham (certainly his sin against his wife would remain).  We also learn that God agreed with this integrity but is silent regarding the king’s assertion of his innocent hands.  So God may agree here that he did not know she was married but he does not give him approval that this means he was innocent.  Certainly he would be guilty of adultery to begin with because he himself was married (there is no written law against adultery yet but God made it clear in Genesis…then repeated in Matthew 19 that his description of man and wife becoming one flesh establishes that adultery and is sin).  So God concedes to he king that this whole scenario exists without the king knowing the degree of sin involved, but then God announces something amazing.  He explains what has already occurred before this dream began.  Before God approaches Abimelech in the dream he had already moved his heart to cause him to refrain from touching Sarah.  SPOILER ALERT- (I am going to present what I believe the Bible teaches here but there is more than one take on this so take no offense is you disagree…but you shouldn’t- he he).  We see here God interrupting what was the intention and inclination of this man in taking Sarah and God seems to have given an alternative preference to Abimelech that the king takes to be his own will, indeed it was at that point.   Perhaps we see here what Jonathan Edwards (preacher in the 1700s) taught about the free will of man.  This being that man’s will is not autonomous (wholly independent and free from manipulation by external influence) but is actually influenced by many things and this includes the influence of God upon it to cause a previously impossible preference (such as a preference for God in a wholly corrupt and spiritually dead person who is a slave to sin).  This influence upon the preference of the will being accomplished by the Holy Spirit’s quickening of the heart in spiritual birth (regeneration or being “born again") that would overcome the enslavement of the will that had been corrupted and sold into sin since birth due to original sin in the garden (John 8:34, Rom 5:18-19, Rom 6:6 &17, Eph 2:1-3).  So perhaps the free will of man is not really so free until it is set free by the Spirit of God in new birth and now seeing for the first time the goodness of God and perceiving the knowledge of the promised offspring the heart is enlightened and freed (Eph 1:16-21, Eph 2:4-5, 2 Cor 4:5-6) to choose the previously imperceptible (1 Cor 2:14, 2 Cor 4:4) hope of the glorious riches of belonging to God.  Back to the story at hand…So God kept Abimelech from touching Sarah and this carries an implication that God can interrupt the evil intentions of man to protect his children.  The context here is protecting the specific performance of what he has declared in the birth of Isaac but there is clearly no censure in God against interrupting the will of man.  This is good news regarding how to interpret Rom 8:28!  So maybe I don’t need to carry a gun after-all!  Interesting here that God tells Abimelech that he will die and so will all his house if Sarah is not released and if Abraham does not pray for him.
    v8-13.  Here Abimelech believes God and takes action.  He advises his household of the dilemma and they follow the instructions of God.  Abimelech has a discussion with Abraham an expresses his displeasure that Abraham contributed to this scenario by lying about the identity of Sarah.  Abraham gives his logic and though he is in the wrong it does not appear to be challenged by Abimelech, who knows that he needs Abraham to pray for him yet.
    v14-16.  Here Abimelech shows his obedience to the Lord and he gives honor to the prophet of God and he declares the honor of Sarah being intact and he offers to allow the couple to dwell anywhere in his land as he gives them gifts and provision to take as well.
    v17-18.  This is interesting to consider.  Here Abraham prays for Abimelech and he is healed, along with the women of his house who had been made barren by God.  Two things are unclear.  What illness did Abimelech have and when did the women go barren?  Did all this illness and barrenness happen since the night with Sarah or did it begin before Abraham and Sarah arrived?  Maybe the king took Sarah because he sensed he was dying and had no heir and his wife and servants were barren?  Maybe he and his wife were destitute and they saw Sarah as a way to save his lineage?  But here Moses records that the barrenness was because of Sarah.  So in this version (sick and barren before Abraham arrives) then God worked the circumstances to bring Abimelech to the inclination of taking Sarah in order to teach us and Abraham about his sovereignty and his protection.  OR…maybe there was more time than is evident between the dream and the sending off of Abraham and Sarah that allowed for the King to perceive his illness by God and the barrenness of his household.  I dunno?

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  God intends to deliver his promises and he will keep his covenant against all threats and in spite of the faithlessness of his people.  The implication for today is that I know God works right on through my sin and my bad choices and the actions of others to still deliver me to the intended destination.  The significance to my life is that I can have peace and I can trust God to work his mighty will in my life.  I can rejoice and rest in his promise.  Paul warns me in Romans 6 and in Titus, however, that God’s grace is not to give me license to sin but quite the contrary…the saving grace of God trains me in godliness.
    2.  God can and does influence the will of man.  The implication for today is that God does not limit his power to stop evil actions of men.  Though he may not at all times choose to restrain certain actions of men I can trust that he is able.  The significance for my life is that I can pray that he indeed intercede for me and that he would not only influence my will according to his mighty plan but that he guide others as well.  I can know that God is serious when he tells me in Romand 8:28 that he works all things together for my good!  So if I am in a car wreck there is a mystery no doubt but somewhere in the big picture this was what was needed for me that I did not and would have never known if it were not for the Spirit of God being at work (Rom 8:26-27 is the preface to verse 28!).  Another implication is that he may influence the will of men to turn to God.  The significance of this in my life is that there is a reason for me to pray for unbelievers.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 19

Ready:
I pick up after Jesus taught about humility and sin and forgiveness.

Reading thoughts:
I see that there is a change of setting and that Jesus is entering into a different teaching now in a different area.  I see Jesus teaching on the permanence of marriage and on the type of person who is part of the kingdom and of what it takes for a rich man to inherit eternal life.

Key Verses:

“3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”” (Matthew 19:3, ESV)

“6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”” (Matthew 19:6, ESV)

“9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”” (Matthew 19:9, ESV)

“14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”” (Matthew 19:14, ESV)

“16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”” (Matthew 19:16, ESV)

“21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:21–22, ESV)

“23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23, ESV)

“29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:29–30, ESV)

I take the theme as- Those who belong to the kingdom of heaven are those who follow Jesus with humility and dependance- those who remain a faithful bride to him over all the other offerings of the world and despite all challenges.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-2.  Jesus is now in Judea and he is performing miracles before a large crowd.  This attracts the attention of the Pharisees.
    v3-6.  Here they test Jesus and it is unclear if they are trying to trap him in some error or what but they pose a question to him about divorce.  They are wondering if it is lawful to divorce and Jesus takes the conversation back to the invocation of marriage in the Garden of Eden.  He essentially describes marriage and expects the answer to be plain.  I can almost hear the pause at the end of verse 5 where he finishes describing marriage.  A pregnant pause and then “…so they are no longer two but one flesh.” and maybe another pause…”What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate”.  Jesus tells it like it is.  Marriage involves a union between the man and woman that is made by God and it is through the consummation of their love and commitment to each other.  It is later explained (Eph 5:32) that this statement about being one flesh is speaking also of the church being one flesh with Christ.  There is a mystery in this union that represents how a believer becomes united to Christ.  So the permanence and the significance of the marital union is profound.  Jesus also started off his response by asking them if they have read their Bibles!  Clearly marriage, as our union with Christ, is meant to be permanent.
    v7-9.  He answers their next question about Moses approving of some divorces by issuing divorce certificates but Jesus clarifies that this is only for the case of adultery (let no man separate) and then is further allowed only because of the hard hearts.  This could be the hard heart of one spouse who runs off with another person abandoning the marriage or maybe the hard heart of the spouse who should yet remain with his husband or wife in spite of the adultery that occurred and was subsequently repented of.  This is what Jesus does…he remains.  See Ezekiel 16 and the book of Hosea.  God is faithful to his unilateral covenant.  In marriage God does not hold man to a unilateral covenant but he plainly desires that each husband would consider it such.  The nature of the union created by God is such that the covenant is not broken by a legal divorce but only when adultery occurs.  This mean that a divorce for something other than Biblically justifiable reasons leave the two as one flesh and this union is broken by adultery when either party remarries or otherwise is joined to another person.  So there is a teaching here about divorce and remarriage that is significant for the Christian.  Paul adds to the discussion in 1 Cor 7 with the topic of an unbeliever being married to a believer and the situations that can occur there.
    v10-12.  The discussion goes into a tangent with the disciples wondering if it is best to just not get married in the first place.  Jesus suggests that for some people this is indeed the case but that is only for the one who sees it that way and is able to live without intimacy with the opposite sex.
    v13-15.  Now out of nowhere is an encounter with little children that seems from left field.  Trying to consider the nature of scripture and the reasons that this is placed here I connect all of this passage (chapter) together and see this as the hinge point.  I see Jesus here describe the person who belongs to the kingdom of heaven…people that are like little children desiring to honor Jesus and who recognize their need for his intercession for them.  This is a picture of humility, surrender, and dependence.  This is what the husband should look like.  In the next passage, this is what the rich man should look like.
    v16.  Here Jesus is approached by a man asking how he might acquire eternal life.  Right off the bat I get the sense that he wants to acquire this eternal life as another possession to put in his coffer.  How do I get this thing that I hear is greater even than all my other possessions?
    v17.  Jesus begins straight off by going to the heart.  Let us remember that standing before Jesus is standing before the author of life and he knows the heart and mind and history and future and all that is the person who stands before him and it is the will of Jesus that holds this person in existence for the next moment…and the next (Col 1:16-17).  So Jesus knows that this man considers himself to be good (when he is not) and he knows that this man does not perceive Jesus correctly.  The man called Jesus a teacher (slight understatement).  Jesus goes after the man’s thought that there are deeds that are good that a man can do.  Jesus points out that there is only one who can do good…him.  He then gives him the terrible news that the only way for one to be “good”, as the man wrongly thinks that eternal life is to be earned by this goodness, is to keep the law of God.  This is terrible news because there is none righteous, no not one (Rom 3:10-19).  There is not one who keeps the law of God but Jesus.
    v18-20.  The man is delusional and believes that he keeps the law of God but to be sure he wants to know which commandments Jesus speaks of.  Jesus goes along with the man and he chooses to only cite from the second table of the 10 commandments.  However, Jesus leaves out the last commandment…thou shalt not covet.  The man hears this and is mistakenly encouraged because in his blindness he figures that he has kept each of the commandments that Jesus describes.  Maybe Jesus left out coveting because he was not giving an exhaustive listing or maybe it was on purpose here.  I take it that Jesus was reading this man’s heart and he knew the very thing that would keep this man from following him would be his coveting heart that wants and wants more and more of all that he sees.  So in absence of the most controlling sin in his life the man entertains the thought that he has indeed kept these commandments and says so now what?  What else am I missing here?
    v21-22.  Here Jesus blows up his world and he blows up mine and yours.  Jesus unties the shadow around this mans head that blinds him to his diseased heart.  Jesus opens up the man and exposes to him the very thing that enslaves him and that will keep him from following Jesus…which is the answer to his question.  What does one need to do to inherit eternal life?  Answer- Follow Jesus.  But this takes being like a child and being like a dishonored husband who stays with his rebellious bride and this takes putting God ahead of all else in my life.  This takes losing my life to gain it.  Following Jesus is not less than dying to the world and to selfishness and to pride and to rights and to independence and to lust and to greed.  Jesus diagnosed this man to be a covetous idolator who valued his riches too much to choose God over it.
    v23-30.  Now the lesson to the disciples.  He does not here tell them that this means that everyone must sell all they own and give it away.  What he tells them is that it is a very difficult thing for a rich person to make that decision to value God above all they own and to devote their lives no longer to the acquiring or more wealth and instead to the ministry of reconciliation (making others glad in God).  Are conversions maybe easier in third world countries than on the OC?  Yep.  Not impossible, though!  Jesus makes it plain that the thing that makes it possible is not the will of the man (thinking of our lesson in Genesis 19) but the will of God to show mercy (Rom 9:16).  What makes it possible for someone who is rich to become a follower of Jesus is the mercy of God changing their desires and their will.  Maybe this person does then sell all they own…or maybe they would be willing to if they sensed it to be the call.  Maybe they devote their riches to the cause of Christ and they keep shoveling in the money in order to give most of it away in missions or mercy upon the afflicted or evangelism or whatever.  Maybe they find contentment in little and devote the rest to the work of God.  I think I see Francis Chan and David Platt peeking in the window.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  Don’t divorce.  The implication for today is that marriage is seen by God as representing the covenant he has with his bride (the church) and marriage is intended to me permanent.  The significance for me is that I can model the heart of God in my marriage and I can model the heart of God to the world in how I am committed to my wife.
    2.  Be like a child and seek Jesus so you can honor him and receive from him.  The implication for today is that those in the Kingdom are humble, dependent people who seek Jesus.  The significance for me is that I will be living this way if I know Jesus…if Jesus knows me…if I am following him.  I can ask him for more of him and less of me.
    3.  Be prepared to give up all if you want to follow Jesus.  The implication for today is that Jesus could call me to give up something…anything…everything. The significance for my life is that I need to live with such a detachment to the things of this world (1 John 2:15) that to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21).  My life needs to be so hidden in Christ that my eyes are on the things above (Col 3:2-3) and my hope so in the unseen (Rom 8:24-25) that this is not a problem whatsoever.  Let us be on mission in this world…not vacation (John 17:18).

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!