January 6

Genesis 6; Matthew 6

Genesis 6

Ready:
In chapter 5 I saw the introduction of Noah and the righteous line of Seth.  I saw that it was about 2,600 years from creation of man to Noah’s sons being born.  There was one named Enoch who walked with you and who you took before he died.  Speak to me in the pages of this next chapter Lord and let me see how this story ties into the big picture and how I fit into it.

Reading thoughts:
There is a steep spiral down into wickedness in mankind with the exception of Noah and his family. God expresses his sorrow over the state of mankind and he relents determines to cleanse the earth of wickedness in order to allow Noah to re-establish mankind anew.  Noah is given the command to make ark and to preserve the animals during a destructive flood to come in judgement of man upon the earth.  Noah did as he was commanded regardless of how it may have looked to others who had never seen it “rain” before.  There are a few hard things in this text that deserve more discussion than I will have time for this morning.

Key Verses:

“5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5, ESV)

“13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.” (Genesis 6:13–14, ESV)

The theme is- That God is holy and he will not tolerate the unrighteousness of man forever, but he will preserve a remnant from his judgment who will be delivered due to his eternal plan to redeem his people.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1-3.  Here there are a few interpretations but I take that the “sons of God” are the righteous line of Seth who are sons of God by adoption.  I take the daughters of man to be the daughters of the line of cain probably through Lamech (the bad one).  So from here is is only Noah and his family that remains pure and does not mix with the unbelievers in marriage.  The unwise descendants of Seth chose their wives solely based on looks and ended up dishonoring God in their actions.  Seeing this corruption God here announces that he starts a clock for mankind whereby he will bring a judgement soon.
     v4.  Another hard thing here is this idea of Nephilim (giants) and the men of renown.  I take what John Calvin says about this and along with the interpretation I gave above I think the Nephilim were merely certain descendants from Cain and that they were living among the mixed lineage of Seth and Cain.  The might men of old, the men of renown is not a good name.  This is likely to refer to the evil men of power who assigned themselves such a name and who flaunted their power and lust and greed and wickedness.  This comes from context as I see the very next verse is a condemnation of wickedness.
     v5-8.  Here again is a difficult text.  God announces that he will destroy all life on earth due to the wickedness that has spread over the earth.  I take the terms “regretted” and “sorry” to be an expression for us like what Paul referred to in Romans 6:19 where he says “ I speak in human terms because of your natural limitations”.  God knows all and his plan is not thwarted here in the least so there cannot be a regretting in the sense that we know regret.  This is explained in human terms here and we are not to take from this that God was surprised or that he literally wished he had chose otherwise.  He is expressing to us his hatred of evil and we are learning here more about God’s holiness.  There are a few other places in the Bible where terms like this are used about God and it is clear that God will reveal a plan and then change it not because he changed the plan but because he was using his revelation of something to change us.  This happens with Jonah and the people of Nineveh for example.
     v9-10.  Here we see and island of righteousness on the earth in Noah and his family.
     v11-22.  Here God discloses the specific of his plan and directs Noah to make a way for survival for his family (to include the wives of his children).  I take here that the wives of his children were in the lineage of Seth and thus not “daughters of man”. This is the fulfilling of his naming by Lamech (the good one) where Lamech declared that relief from the curse would come through Noah. Remember that this happened before the proliferation of wickedness and this helps us see that God was not surprised by these events or needing to react as if not part of his original plan.

Response:
Lord it is clear that you intend for your people to be holy as you are holy.  It is clear that you intend to judge sin and that you will not bear with wickedness forever.  Let this be a clear warning to me and to mankind.  There had been no record of a law given after the expulsion from the garden so the evil was not in transgression of a specific recorded law but there should have been a passing down of the clear roles established where you are king and we are subjects.  We should have remembered that the men are to lead, provide, protect and love.  You made it clear to Cain that he must have self control and overcome the law of sin and death that would well up from within.  I recall that there had been no law given of not murdering but God expected Cain to know this was wrong and to control the desire for envious violence.  Noah’s family received the message and they were faithful.  The fear of God as creator who threatened death to the one who would not trust and obey was lost except in Noah and family.

Reaction:
Lord there is evil all around and I pray that you would preserve my heart and my family and cause us always to fear you.  Let me walk not in self service and selfish ambition but let me be faithful to you and let me love others as I love myself.  Let me consider your flooding of the earth and let me see that you have done this partly to show me your holiness and what I am spared of by your mercy.

Matthew 6

Ready:
Jesus seems to still be in the Sermon on the Mount here as I begin this chapter.  Please give me understanding and let me know you better in reading your Word.

Reading thoughts:
There is a lot here and little time.  I see lessons on how to give, how to pray, the need to forgive, how to fast, where to lay treasures, and what to concern myself with.  These are very practical lessons continuing in the idea of correcting wrong views of life.

Key Verses:

“1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1, ESV)

“33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, ESV)

The theme is- Similar to the last chapter the theme here is that mankind misunderstands absolutely everything.  Different though is the way this chapter is entirely about relating to God whereas the last was more about relating to others.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1-4.  Here I see that I am not to try to bring attention to myself for praise or self-exaltation when I do the good works you prepare for me Lord but I should quietly go about loving you and loving others.  This is contrasted to the last chapter in verse 16 where you say to let my light sine before others that they may see my good works and give glory to the Father.  The difference is clearly where the glory is going.  Here you warn not to try to get the glory ourselves.  Like the rest of the chapter this text is really about how I relate to you and not to the poor.
     v5-13.  Here you teach us not exactly what to pray but how to pray and embedded in it is a requirement that we be forgiving since this is what we seek from you.  You show us that the first order and focus of our prayer should be about you.  I see that after the humble and reverent address the first three petitions are about your majesty and glory and kingdom and plan.  They are upward and outward prayers about God and spiritual life.  The next three are about me and my neediness as a fallen and dependent creature.  Hallowed means feel reverence for or to regard as holy.  This is to be the pattern of my praying.  I am to look to God and orient myself to his will and his kingdom and then to present my needs and seek help with my struggles to love him and love others well.  This looks nothing like presenting a laundry list but more like worship!
     v14-15.  Here is the breaking out of the forgiveness piece.  There is a clear link in loving God and loving others.  It seems that God is relational and his love for the Son breaks into our lives here and we are to understand that we are not alone.  We are to live in community and we are to love others if we are to be like God.  We are called to live not unto ourselves but unto God and others.  We simply will be forgiving if we know God and love God.  This is clear.  See 1 John 3:10, 4:21.  I am an image bearer and God loves mercy so much that he sacrificed his Son to show it.  Christians forgive. They do not ask how many times lest we want the Father to ask us how many times he shall forgive.  It again returns to fear of the Lord.
     v16-18.  Here I see that I should again not seek attention for attention's sake in my spiritual disciplines but it should be between me and God.
     v19-24.  My devotion will follow my investment.  Pastor Kent covered this well at the men’s retreat this year.  Where I invest my time and effort and resources is where my heart will be.  I can choose this.  But if I choose to invest primarily in the world and in material things then there will me desires and thoughts and dreams be as well. And you make it clear that where my attention is focused reveals the desires of my inner man.  My inner man cannot desire the world and claim to serve you!
     v25-34.  The key here is our focus and our seeking.  Verse 33 is the key.  Am I seeking what I can see and touch for the sake of comfort and security?  Or am I seeking God above all else?  Am I trusting him to provide for me like he does for the rest of his creatures or am I sacrificing a seeking of him in order to provide for this comfort and security for myself.  Am I too busy to seek after God?  Do I give him my left overs or is he my first and top order of business every day?  Do I claim that he is the priority of my life but then he does not end up the priority of my day?  When do I live that day that is my “life”?…maybe tomorrow?

Response:
Lord you teach me here to have a Godward focus to my life in all I do.  You teach me to relate to you with fear and trembling and to honor you and you show me how to pray.  You see my heart in all I do and you call me to rely on you and to seek you first. You want me to not do it on my own but in reliance upon you.

Reaction:
Let me wake each day and hunger for you O God.  Cause me to focus my attention on you and to give attention to my desires and thoughts and let me pray for the things I ought to pray for.  When I fail to pray rightly Lord, please intervene and may your Spirit pray for me as you promise in Rom 8:26-27.  Let me daily seek you and rely upon you for my satisfaction and security and comfort.  Let me continue to work and to provide for my family but from a place of gratitude for the provision being from you and from a place of contentment where I do not sacrifice time with you to gain up greater belongings or worldly pleasures or some late night TV.  Let your name be hallowed in my heart and mind O Lord. Let thy kingdom come Lord that you would rule in this heart and in this body. May thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven that your people would joyfully obey you with full trust and belief that you are faithful and righteous and good.  Please meet my physical and emotional needs here as I walk in a broken body Lord.  Grant me the grace and love to forgive others Lord because I know that you have forgiven me.  Protect me from the enemy and give me wisdom and discernment to not walk in the counsel of the wicked that I may not be led into temptation.  Be praised today in this worm Lord and may you reign forever.

Soli Deo Gloria!