January 7

Genesis 7; Matthew 7

Genesis 7

Ready:
Picking up with Noah after he was directed to build an Ark to survive the flood that God was going to send to kill everything on earth due to the wickedness of man.  This is a huge event and was a judgement of God upon mankind.  Mankind was less than 3,000 years old perhaps but wickedness was rampant and evil were their thoughts continuously.

Reading thoughts:
Noah is given clear instructions to follow with regard to saving every type of animal pair by pair.  Noah is faithful to do as God commanded even though it must have sounded crazy.  This was a very large ark but not an impossible feat…for God.  The flood comes and does what it is supposed to do and it takes 40 days and nights.  This would have been a scary time for Noah’s family considering what was happening to all mankind outside of that boat.  Of course since everything was happening according to what God had said they probably rested in their trust that he was going to deliver them precisely as he stated.

Key Verses:

“1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.” (Genesis 7:1, ESV)

“22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.” (Genesis 7:22–23, ESV)

I see the theme as sweeping judgment comes upon the wicked and the righteous remnant who trust in the Lord are delivered.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1.  God calls Noah righteous here but we know from Romans 3:10-18 that there has never been one righteous, other than Jesus.  So here as with other places in the Bible I must understand that the writers use the term righteous not to represent a perfect actual righteousness in their flesh bur a righteousness that comes from faith.  This is actually the righteousness of Christ accounted to them even though they don’t know about Christ.  This I refer to as passive righteousness that comes from outside of me.  There is also an active righteousness that comes from within but this is due to the indwelling Spirit of God and is not a perfect righteousness but is increasing as the Lord molds me and makes me more like Jesus (sanctification).  Here there could have been reference to either type of righteousness but the key is to know that Noah was still a sinner like me.  But whatever kind of righteousness this was in Noah, God used that as the reason for saving him from judgement here.
     v2-5.  This summarizes their instructions and Noah does precisely as he is commanded.
     v6-16.  Here the flood comes and Moses pins it down to a specific day in history probably so that we do not allegorize this into a mythological occurrence.  We see evidence of this flood on the earth by fish fossils on mountain tops and valleys cut into mountains and more.  Many theorize that there would have been a completely cataclysmic event and not a 40 day thunderstorm.  Picture the worst hurricane ever with simultaneous earthquakes and volcano eruptions around the earth.  “The fountains of the great deep burst forth” in verse 11 is where much of this conjecture comes from.
     v17-24.  It is done.  God wipes out mankind in judgement with water and only 8 people are spared due to righteousness.  This is a radical statement of the holiness of God and his hatred of sin.  God has displayed for all future mankind to see that he indeed judges sin and he will ensure that his children are righteous.  Later God will tell the Israelites through Moses “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy."

Response:
Lord you flooded the earth and destroyed mankind in a cataclysmic event to teach me that my sin is awful and defiles the earth.  You have displayed your wrath so that I will run to your Son.  You have made known this aspect of your holiness so that I will know that you do not trifle with wickedness or tolerate forever those who rebel against you.  You killed all flesh to teach us Lord and to reveal yourself.

Reaction:
Lord let me learn here of your holiness and let me understand that you are a consuming fire and an awesome God who created all and who has authority to take all life.  May you grant me to walk humbly before you and to trust in your Word. Thank you for saving the remnant and for bringing deliverance then and deliverance now.

Matthew 7

Ready:
Jesus appears to still be teaching his Sermon on the Mount here as I begin the next chapter.  He has so far turned the world upside down and told us to seek God first and to pray to him and to rely on him and to love put our treasures in heaven and to forgive others and to remain devoted in our marriages and to not seek glory that is his alone.  He went from teaching about relating to others to mostly about my heart and attitude toward God and now this chapter closes out his sermon.  Let me hear your message Lord and submit to do your will.

Reading thoughts:
Another series of teachings here that are clearly related and flow one to the next.  A good opportunity to see context here as he leads into each successive teaching.  He goes from judging to relying on him in prayer to how we fulfill the law by loving others to watching out for teachers of a false faith and the results of such a faith are then contrasted to the truth that comes only from submission to the authority of Jesus.

Key Verses:

“12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12, ESV)

“21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21, ESV)

“24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24, ESV)

I see the theme as how I think and how I pray and how I live matters because it reveals if I am under Jesus' authority or not and the one who is not has built a house on the sand and he will face destruction in final judgement.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1-6.  Here is a command to not judge but there is more to it than the plain statement because elsewhere we are told to judge (1 Cor. 5:12).  This is seen as early as verse 6 where we are to judge between who is a dog or a pig.  We will make judgements but if we are gracious then we fulfill this command.  Note in the story of the spec in the eye that eventually (verse 5), once the hypocrite pulled the log out of his eye, he still helped the other guy get the spec out.  This seems to be a clarification that we ought not to judge others of something we are also guilty of.  This matches Paul teaching in Romans 2:1-4 and 2:21-23.
     v7-11.  Ask, seek, knock.  The main thing I take here is to come continually to God in many ways and petition him.  He wants to hear from me and he wants to bless me. Jesus suggests that earthly fathers are evil compared to our Heavenly Father who gives good gifts.  This teaching of receiving what you ask for must be considered in full context of scripture because James says hat we often do not receive what we ask for in prayer because we ask wrongly to spend on our own passions (James 4:3).  Notice that in this teaching in Matthew the sons were asking for needs (food) not luxury or things to idolize and replace God with.  I should not expect God to feed my idolatry when I ask him for the thing I actually want more than I want him.
     v12-14.  Here the law is fulfilled by loving our neighbor according to Rom 13:10.  How we treat others here is immediately followed by a reference to salvation.  It seems that there is a close tie to my living the love of God and my salvation.
     v15-20.  Here I see that I am again expected to judge the quality of fruit in order to know false teachers.  Perhaps this relates to the verses above?  Maybe I should look for teachers to be lovers of others.  This concept continues into the next paragraph.
     v21-23.  This is a scary passage and it suggests that there will be people who think they are saved but are not.  They profess a confession of Jesus as Lord and even offer up things they did in his name as evidence of their faith.  Jesus gives a reply that should wake me up and cause me to consider my heart.  He declares to this group that although they claim to know him, HE never knew THEM.  He tells them to depart because they are workers of lawlessness.  No time to elaborate on this but suffice it to say that there is a sense in which Jesus knowing me is more critical than me thinking that I know him.  Am I making myself known to Jesus? How do I do this?  It is not about what I do but it is about being known by him.  So fruit is not known just by seeing some good works on the surface or some actions done but fruit is consistent because it flows from the heart that is surrendered to Jesus.
     v24-28.  Jesus here comes out against all previous wisdom and announces that he holds the words of truth, the words of life.  He declares that it is his word that must be heeded and that one who does not do as he has stated is a fool who will face destruction.  No winder the people marvel and acknowledge that he teaches with authority!  It is not enough to “believe” what Jesus says or to “believe” in him.  We are to act upon his commands and to walk humbly before him submitting our lives to him and making ourselves known to him in prayer and through being part of his body (the church).  We are to love others and to bear the fruit that matches the loveliness of the one we abide in. He says to obey his words.  He says that we will bear fruit evidencing our faith.  He says to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Do I do this?  Will I do this today?  Can I do this without prayer and submission?  Can I do this without first ever asking Jesus to be my Lord and savior and surrendering my life to him?

Response:
Thank you Lord for teaching me and for revealing so much about the way we see life and our relationships and how we relate to you in the Sermon on the Mount.

Reaction:
Let me surrender to you Lord and seek your first today and every day.  Let me not put trust in my actions or my good works but let me only rely on the righteousness of your Son and let me make myself known to you by laying my prayers before you in the manner you taught in the previous chapter as well as in this chapter about making my needs know and expecting to receive from my loving Father.  Cause me to live reliant on you and to love others well Lord.  Let me bear fruit consistent with this and let me stand form in a home built upon the truth of your Word.

Soli Deo Gloria!