January 14

Genesis 15; Matthew 14

Genesis 15

Ready:
The last chapter showed me Abram going after Lot when he was taken captive in the battle between the kings.  Abram was successful in rescuing him by the hand of the Lord and Abram then tithed and was blessed by the Melchizedek king of Salem.  Let me hear your message here Lord and may you grant me understanding and submission to the authority of your Word.

Reading thoughts:
I see in this chapter the amazing unilateral covenant of God with Abram.  I see Abram’s trust in God’s spoken Word counted to him as righteousness.

Key Verses:

“3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”” (Genesis 15:3, ESV)

“5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:5–6, ESV)

“7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”” (Genesis 15:7–8, ESV)

“12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.” (Genesis 15:12–13, ESV)

“17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,” (Genesis 15:17–18, ESV)

I see the theme as- God declares that it will be for his own sake that he will keep his promises and that he will be faithful and it will not rest on the faithfulness of Abram that he shall do this thing that he has declared first to Adam and Eve and then to Noah and now to Abram.  He will indeed deliver a people from sin and death by the offspring of Eve as he has spoken because he is the unstoppable God of all creation who has set his love upon us.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-3.  Here Abram asks the Lord to keep his promise.  Abram is told by God that his reward shall be great for his selfless actions of faith in rescuing Lot and Abram’s response is to see if God would consider the reward to be the offspring he is waiting for.  Abraham basically says that all he sees now is that a member of his “household” would be the closest thing to a descendant so far.
    v4-6.  Here God makes a double statement to Abram by asking him to look to the sky and count the stars.  He illustrates that just as he created the multitude of stars in the sky by the power of his Word so too can he give Abram an offspring with no more than the thought of his infinite and unstoppable mind.  He says “So shall your offspring be” and this refers to the quantity and the quality.  I hear God promising that it will be him that brings the offspring, not Abram’s manipulations (like with telling lies to Pharaoh about who Sarai is to him).  I also hear God promising Abram that his offspring will be numerous and as brilliant lights that declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1, Rev 7:9-12).  And I take this vast multitude of offspring to be the inheritance of Jesus (choir of burring lights) that he looks at from the cross and brings him joy in and satisfaction in the seeing (Eph 1:18, Isaiah 53:10-11, Heb 12:2).  These are promises that he will keep through many future actions of God and through many actions of men in the coming drama of the story of redemption that we are reading.  Here God counts Abram righteous and this means that it is not his own righteousness since it is “counted” to him.  Here God tells the world that anyone who trusts him can and will be declared righteous before God with God's own righteousness, which we will lean to be his Son (Rom 10:3-4, Rom 3:22) despite their sin and despite their not being part of some special family by birth (Rom 3:23-24, 4:11, 20-25, Rom 9:8, Gal 3:7).  Note that God declared Abram righteous before he changed his name and before he told him to circumcise himself…before Abram became the first Jew.  Yes salvation is from the Jews but is is for all who would become a Jew by faith (Rom 2:28-29, Gal 3:26-29)!
    v7-8.  God reminds Abram of what he has already done for him and Abram, trusting God- I believe, asks now how he can know that he will possess it.  I take this perhaps to be Abram questing himself and his ability to do what God is saying because God’s response is not one of curse like the angel had for Zechariah when he doubted the prophecy concerning his own son.  Instead God’s response is to declare to Abraham that it will be him alone who accomplishes this mighty thing that is never meant to be a celebration of the faith of the one loved but a celebration of the glory of the one who loves.  Salvation is about the glory of God and not the value of man.  If God’s choice to save is about my value then I am tore up and without hope when I consider my sin and my weakness and my heart that is inclined to evil. But when I understand God’s choice to save to be about the glory of God he lifts my head and he conquers my sin to the praise of his glorious name!
    v9-11.  Here God has Abram prepare a common covenant ritual where both parties would walk between the torn carcasses in agreement that each will keep their end or else they would be sawn in two like these animals.  This would be a binding covenant resulting in death to the party that did not perform.
    v12-16.  Here God interrupts as Abram waits for God to direct him now that the ritual has been set-up.  God puts a sleep upon Abram and gives him a vision with a declaration that there is certainty of the things to come.  He describes the future of the people of Israel and even indicates their captivity in Egypt (which will require unborn descendants to sin against their brother to bring about and then the sin of Pharaoh in holding the Israelites so that God judges Egypt).  So God declares that these things are certain even though they include the many choices and actions of people.
    v17-21.  Here God wakes Abram from the vision of the future to now see what God is doing for him in the present.  He wakes to see God, in the form of a smoking fire pot (foreshadowing how he will show his presence to the Israelites in a column of smoke or fire) passing between the carcasses without him!  God was supposed to bring Abram through with him so that both parties are bound to the agreement!  "I will be their God and they will be my people”…we are supposed to be bound to be his people!  Why does God leave Abram on the sidelines as he himself establishes this covenant alone?  Moses narrates for us and tells us that on this day God made a covenant with Abram to give his offspring this land.  This covenant does not rest in any sense upon Abram but solely upon God to keep.  This helps us know why God declares over and over as he deals with the unfaithful Israelites things like “for my own sake I will do it” (Isaiah 48:11).  How then does his promise rely on my decision to have faith?  (See Eph 2:8, Acts 11:18, 2 Tim 2:25, Rom 4:16-17).  God gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist!  What was the context of this statement there in Romans 4…search for it.  What is he talking about with this life to the dead and making things exist by a call (Rom 11:28-30, Acts 2:39, Rom 1:5-7)?  And then- Am I saved for my sake or for the glory of God in keeping his promise in order to show the sinfulness of the sin committed in the garden and the glory of his holy name to a multitude of nations and tongues who will live and be saved by his mighty hand?  Is this a story about me or about our amazing God?  Is the question “why does he let good people that he loves go to hell” or “why does he slay his Son to save some of the God haters who defile his name with every breath and thought until he would mercifully give some a new heart?”  Is hell an injustice and heaven fair and right?  Or is hell fair and right and heaven the glorious riches of the mercy of God upon those whom he freely chooses from the pagan idol worshipers in the plains of Haran?  This is the epic story of God’s revelation of himself to us!!

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  I hear God declare that he puts his own truth on the line and his own name on the line and his own glory on the line with regard to keeping his promise to Abram.  The implication of this is that God intends to do a work and he will do it.  The significance is that I can trust that God will work in me to kill sin and to love others and to give me hope and to be my strength and that I can trust that he will complete the work he has begun in me.  I can trust that my faith is a gift and he will bring me across the finish line.  I, like Abram, can step forward in faith that the promise is a done deal and I can walk as one victorious.
    2.  I hear Moses teach that the righteousness of God is counted to him in the same manner that he declares me righteous by faith in the truthfulness of God in his promise of offspring.  The implication is that righteousness does not come from self accomplishment or religious duty but it comes by trusting God through the person and work of his Son.  The implication for me is that I do not need to work for my salvation but I need to trust God to have clothed me in the righteousness of his Son and trust that he will bring the fruit in my life as I walk in the obedience of faith.
    3.  I hear Moses teach that it is the people of faith that are sons of Abraham and therefore sons of God.  The implication is that Christ is available to save all who will trust in his name.  Will I trust?  Will I have faith?  Who is the one who trusts in God?  The significance for me is that I am in the family of God and I am part of his choir of burning lights to the glory of his name and not to the value of mine.  I rejoice that my salvation rests not upon me but upon the covenant of God to hold true to his Word.  This is not a weak Word that leaves me to muddle and toil in sin with some empty guarantee that my living and my desires and my thoughts and my actions do not matter…nope.  He gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.  He will make me like his Son and he will do much of that work here and now because that is what grace does (Titus 2:11-15, 1 Thess 5:23-24)!

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 14

Ready:
In this chapter we are coming from a series of parables by Jesus and now there is a shift in the setting and the characters to indicate something different being taught.

Reading thoughts:
I see the death of the last of the OT prophets and the striking symbolism given by Jesus to his disciples to teach that they will deliver his Word to mankind and they will indeed feed his sheep (John 21:17).  He further helps them to see that this word they deliver is the very Word of God.

Key Verses:

“9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,” (Matthew 14:9–10, ESV)

“19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” (Matthew 14:19, ESV)

I see the theme as -The new revelation from God has arrived and it will go forth at the hand of the apostles with the very power of God.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-12.  It looks like Herod the tetrarch believed that John was Elijah come from the dead (close but a little off) but because of an oath he took he sorrowfully orders the beheading of this prophet of God as a result of John calling all out of this sin and Herodias being offended.  The law of God offends those who want to justify themselves and the OT here comes to a full close with the death of the final prophet (Luke 11:49, Acts 7:52).  But John’s job is complete!
    v13-21.  Here I take this miracle to be the transition of how God spoke in the OT through prophets and angels but now through his Son and his Son is only here teaching for 3 years and then the Word will go through the apostles to the ends of the earth.  Here the Word or the “bread of life” is blessed by Jesus, handed to the apostles, and distributed to all who hunger.  There is a message there.
    v22-33.  Then Jesus shows them a miracle that results in their perception that he is the Son of God without question.  The Word that they are given comes not from a prophet but from God himself, come among us as a man.  Their power is not their own but it comes by the command of God and his call to step onto the water.  When they rely on self or believe the lie that God does not reign over their circumstances then they start to sink.  Jesus reaches out and is their rescue and the one who will keep them afloat.  He will not allow their faith to fail for it is his gift to them (Luke 22:31-32).
    v34-36.  I take the final paragraph here in closing this passage to be the display of the power of God extending beyond the flesh of Jesus.  His very clothing carries his power and so certainly his people can.  Only those who touched his garment were healed.  It took faith in action…obedience of faith for the sick to be healed.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance:
    1.  I hear Matthew teaching that the transition from the OT to the NT is complete.  The implications is that from here the proclamation of God relies on the God-man Jesus and his followers.  The significance is that I carry this message and it is up to me to be a proclaimer of the truth.  Jesus is in heaven and the prophets are all dead and the apostles are all dead…who is left?
    2.  I hear Matthew teach that Jesus has power over creation and over sin and illness and he gives this power to his apostles when they will trust him and put their focus on him.  The implication is that the power of God goes with the messengers of God.  The significance to me is that I can manifest the power of God here on earth when I trust Jesus and carry the message of the gospel.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 13

Genesis 14; Matthew 13

Genesis 14

Ready:
Lord please bless this time in your Word.  Let me seek and find and may you cause me to search like for silver and gold and may you incline my ears to wisdom and my heart to understanding.  Teach me the fear of the Lord and let me find the knowledge of God.  I recall that Abram and Lot separated in the last chapter and Abram was trusting in you and he was remembering you even in his prosperity.

Reading thoughts:
I see Abram bringing salvation to a remnant among the sinners of Sodom in the way that Jesus comes to rescue us out of the world.  Lot is as an adopted son to Abram as I am an adopted Son to God.  I see Abram giving a tithe to the somewhat mysterious priest king known as Melchizedek.

Key Verses:

“14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.” (Genesis 14:14–15, ESV)

“18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” (Genesis 14:18–20, ESV)

I see the theme as- Abram remembers his family and risks his life to rescue them in the end to be blessed with success and with an encounter with Melchizedek.

Rumination thoughts:
v1-12.  There seems to be a battle breaking out that may have little or nothing to do with Lot or Abram but the bottom line is that it is impacting them.  Lot and his family and their belongings are all captured by the five Kings who invade Sodom.
v13-16.  Abram finds out and gathers his allies and his army and they make pursuit of the 5 kings and their armies.  In the night Abram attacks and by the grace and power of God he rescues Lot and all his family and belongings.
v17-20.  Here Abram encounters a mysterious figure in the Bible.  Some say this priest King had no parents but most agree that he simply did not have any noteworthy heritage (Hebrews 6:20-7:28).  Jesus comes later as a priest King in a similar way as this Melchizedek.  What is special about this priesthood is that it pre-dates the establishment of the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood under Moses.  The high priest will be the person who makes the offering of atonement each year for the people of God but this has not been established yet.  So this priest is somehow more transcendent and of a higher nature than the earthly ones to come.  Abram here makes offering to the priest-king and this establishes that the Melchizedek is greater than Abram.  This becomes important later because Jesus will tell the Pharisees that "before Abraham was, I am” and this establishes that he pre-dated Abram and is greater than Abram similar to the Melchizedek (John 8:56-59).  This priesthood is also royal and held by a king whereas the Levitical and Aaronic priesthoods are not that way.  All this sets up a different type of priest-king as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ role.
v21-24.  Here there is a contrast where the other King who comes to Abram, after being rescued by him, and he does not bring blessing and praise for God but he simply offers Abram stuff.  The first king feared God and was a righteous man whereas this king rules a land of wickedness and what he values are goods and money.  Abram was gracious with the first King and he even tithed to him 10 percent of all he had, but to this king Abram is discerning.  Abram denies the offer from the King of Sodom in favor of keeping his commitment to God.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
     1.  I hear Moses teaching that Abram valued family and he loved them at risk to himself even though they were unwisely living in the city of sin.  The implication I take is that we are expected to risk for the kingdom and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and we are to not love our life so much that we are unwilling to risk it for others.  The significance for me would be that I need to watch for scenarios in my life where I need to take action that may risk my well being or my livelihood or my resources when there is a need.
     2.  I Hear Moses teaching that there is a priesthood that was before the priesthood that God will reveal to Moses.  The implication is that Jesus is this type of priestly king who comes not with an authority based on a lineage (Jesus was from the line of Judah and these were not the priests) but based on the authority of an indestructible life (Heb 7:15-17).  The significance for me is that I have a huh priest who never tires and who never dies and who ever lives to intercede for me!!  This means I have security and hope and joy and access to God always.
     3.  I hear Moses teaching that Abram sought after God and not after wealth or recognition.  I take the implication to be that a proper response to the miraculous provision of God in my life is to give back to him and to worship him and to honor him.  The significance for my life is that I receive from his hand every two weeks and I should be tithing from this blessing and honoring him in this way of worship to express that I value him over wealth and over the blessings he gives.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 13

Ready:
Picking up now where Jesus has just corrected the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath and has established that the church is a family in an even greater sense than our physical family.

Reading thoughts:
I see parables stacked on parables here and it begins with one that teaches a primary purpose of parables by reference to Isaiah and his call to be a mouthpiece for God.  I see Jesus teach about the impact of his Word upon the one who would hear it and on what God does with small things and how righteousness and wickedness dwell together in this life and how to loo at the world and how a judgement is clearly coming and how the revelation from the OT and the NT come together in the person of Jesus.

Key Verses:

“11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (Matthew 13:11, ESV)

“22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22, ESV)

“41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:41–42, ESV)

“44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44, ESV)

I see the theme as- Jesus teaches those who will hear and he teaches about the way God works and how we are to understand the world and how to view Jesus as the culmination of all of the revelation of God.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-9.  Here is the parable of the sower that Jesus himself will explain later.  The teaching here as Matthew gives it to us would seem to be for the purpose of knowing how a parable works and the purpose of it.  This comes in the next passage.
    v10-17.  Here Jesus explains that parables can be just as much for hiding the truth as they can be for revealing it.  SPOILER ALERT!- (there are different views here so please do not take offense if you disagree with me…but its my blog!  He he…) Jesus makes reference to the passage in Isaiah 6 where Isaiah is commissioned by God to be a prophet.  Comparing the citation with the actual text there are some subtle differences (partially due to the citations in the NT usually being from the Greek Septuagint) but it seems cleat that God is determining that in a broad sense that he will make the Israelites NOT understand the message of the prophet and that for a certain period of time this will be the case.  Paul clarifies for us in Rom 11 that this is until the fullness of the gentiles has come in since the Jews were to reject Jesus in order to bring salvation to the Gentiles.  Paul also makes it clear that this was not the case for every individual since there has always been a remnant that was not hardened but were elected to believe (Rom 11:7).  Some will place this election in response to God’s foreknowledge of their choice and I accept this view as Christian but I don’t believe it follows the revelation of God’s plan seen in Romans 9-11 and arguably throughout the Bible.  No doubt there is surely personal responsibility in rejecting God just as he held Pharaoh accountable from an earlier post but I think the belief requires God’s intention upon us to believe for the sake of his glory rather than something worthy he sees in us.  This topic can divide so we must ensure that we offer grace both directions and love one another regardless of how we take this.  
    v18-23.  Here Jesus explains how different people will react to he message of the gospel and it seems that there are various ways in which the word is kept from bringing about salvation.  Some will interpret some of the people (soil) as saved and others only the good soil as representing someone who is saved.  Either way, if we are in the thorns…we need to get out!
    v24-30.  Here is seems clear that there will be a co-mingling of sin and righteousness until the end when a judgment comes.  This has been taken by some to speak about people within the church who are not saved and others take it to more simply mean that in this present age there are both.  In both cases there is an understanding that Jesus will bring judgment and in the end the unbelievers will be separated from the believers just as Psalm 1 says that the sinners will not stand in the congregation of the righteous.
    v31-33.  These two quick parables seem to teach that God does huge and amazing things with very little resources.  We can bank on that in a ton of ways…
    v34-35.  Jesus declares that he is fulfilling God’s plan and he is revealing things that have been a mystery since the dawn of creation.  
    v36-43.  This is the explanation to the parable of the weeds that I already addressed.
    v44-46.  These are probably my favorite parables in the Bible and they give us an understanding of how to view life.  This life is to be about getting God and not about getting other things!
    v47-50.  This seems to be a restatement of the weeds parable and I have no time to inquire further today.
    v51-58.  I take this last parable together with Jesus being rejected because it seems very related.  He says that the old treasure and the new treasure are to be brought out and then he explains that his new revelation is not being received.  It seems clear that he is saying that his message is one with the old message and that they go together.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance:
No more time today...

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 12

Genesis 13; Matthew 12

Genesis 13

Ready:
In the previous chapter you called Abram and you are now establishing a certain people with whom you will dwell and through whom you will bless all families of the earth Lord and you will be keeping promises to Abram for all time to come and this will result in many more covenants and promises and in action and in mission.  Let me see again how your plan unfolds Lord and may you cause me to be humble and submissive to your Word today that I do not bring in biases or preconceptions without checking all against you Word.  Teach me Lord I pray.

Reading thoughts:
This chapter describes how Abram and Lot parted ways after they left Egypt with great possessions.  They had been blessed by God and now the great deal of possessions caused trouble between them.  Abram shows faith and love and humility in allowing Lot to make his choice of the land and determine where he will settle and then God speaks again to Abram reiterating the promise to give the land of Canaan to the offspring of Abraham.

Key Verses:

“2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.” (Genesis 13:2, ESV)

“4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 13:4, ESV)

“8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”” (Genesis 13:8–9, ESV)

“12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.” (Genesis 13:12–13, ESV)

“14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.” (Genesis 13:14–16, ESV)

“18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.” (Genesis 13:18, ESV)

I see the theme as- The blessings of God are also a test of our love for God and for others and our possessions should not become a distraction from our trust in God alone.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-4.  Here Abram leaved Egypt pretty much expelled by Pharaoh for the trouble he brought them…again just like the Israelites will leave 400 years from this point and they also take a plunder of wealth with them.  Exodus records that they Israelites took silver and gold and much livestock just as Abram does here in Genesis.  Abram does not forget the Lord in the enjoyment of his wealth and prosperity but he goes back to an altar he had previously built where she lived before and he called upon the Lord.  I take this to mean that he asked God to direct him in his next actions in anticipation of God keeping the promises he had made to Abram.
    v5-7.  I take the reason for this conflict being the next thing perhaps to be God’s answer to Abram’s call.  Just as I do not know how to pray for myself as I ought to pray and so the Holy Spirit intercedes for me according to the will of God (Rom 8:26-27) so God here seems to bring about what would be a negative scenario in order to do good and to further his purpose in something Abram would never know or want to pray for (Rome 8:28-29).
    v8-13.  Here Abram and Lot settle their conflict well no doubt due to Abram’s humility and trust in God for his future.  Lot makes a choice based on what he sees rather than hoping in what is not seen like Abram (Rom 8:24-25).  We are given a clue by Moses of the trouble to come since he says that the land Lot is choosing is full of great sinners against the Lord.
    v14-18.  Here God speaks to Abram again and it follows this faithful and loving response that Abram had to the conflict.  God again gives confidence to Abram that his hop is in the right place and he reminds him that in all directions the land of Canaan shell belong to his offspring.  But those born after the flood in chapter 11 were fathering children at about the age of 29-70 years old and Abram was more than 75 years old (Gen 12:4) at this point with no offspring.  God tells Abram to travel through the land so that he can survey it and rejoice in what will belong to his family.  Then, settling at Hebron, Abram builds another Altar to the Lord and worships the God in whom he trusts.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance:
    1.  I hear Moses saying that God blessed Abram with riches but Abram kept his original focus of relying on God.  The implication is that it is honoring to God when we are more in love with him than with the gifts that he gives.  The significance for me is that I need to continue to go to God with my devotion and praise even during times of prosperity.
    2.  I hear Moses saying that trust, action, and worship was the response that Abram had to God speaking promises to him.  Since this is consistent with the rest of scripture I take the implication here is that trust in God does not lead to sitting on my butt but on getting going in the direction he leads.  The significance for me is that I should act upon what God promises and I should do so with confidence in his goodness and I should be grateful for his faithfulness to his own name.  Now to see the promises and understand them as intended is another thing!  Lord let me hear your promises well and know how they apply to me.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Matthew 12

Ready:
In the last chapter Jesus responded to the messengers sent by John the Baptist and he addressed the crowd to explain the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament for those with ears to hear.  I also consider this morning how I make observations with my eyes but I hear messages with my ears.  I think it is helpful to approach text of the Bible with that tough that I need to see the plain things stated and the story unfolding but then I need to try to hear what message or meaning is intended by the author..as Jesus says there to those listening “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”.  Lord let me not only observe the story and see what is said but let me hear your message and may you change me in this hearing.

Reading thoughts:
I see teaching here on the Sabbath about how to honor it and how to dishonor it.  I see that by the Spirit of God leading Jesus he comes and goes and chooses where he will teach and heal and he works toward the goal of the cross as primary.  I see Jesus teaching on the seriousness of calling God’s work by his Holy Spirit evil.  Jesus relates this to how our actions come from within us and suggests that evil brings forth evil and good brings forth good.  Jesus speaks of a universal sign to be given as his death and resurrection like Jonah in the great fish that they would know about.  He speaks of a couple instances where the people reacted to messengers but notes the irony that now the incarnate message himself speaks and this evil generation does not react.  I also see him teach about how a demon removed is a job incomplete that will only invite him back with friends.  He closes the chapter announcing that it is the family of God, the church united by the Spirit of God, that is our enduring and true family.  Abraham is our father!

Key Verses:

“8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”” (Matthew 12:8, ESV)

“12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”” (Matthew 12:12, ESV)

“20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”” (Matthew 12:20–21, ESV)

“30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30, ESV)

“35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:35–37, ESV)

“40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40, ESV)

“50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”” (Matthew 12:50, ESV)

I see the theme here as- Surface level law keeping and power wielding is different than the obedience of faith and the one who knows God will bear good fruit that will testify to their standing with God and their faith in him and their love for one another.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-14.  Here Jesus corrects the Pharisees and simultaneously rebukes them for not reading the scriptures that they claim to live by.  He cites and instance where David sustained himself and his men with the holy bread from the temple that is meant only for priests who indeed do labor on the Sabbath.  Two things stated here at once is that there indeed is work to be done on the Sabbath…the work of God!  Priests are to labor at the work of the Lord and so shall we!  Here David is assuming a priestly role in taking this bread and looking at the reference to 2 Samuel where this occurred I see that the priest also gave David Goliath’s sword which he had used to cut the head off Goliath years earlier.  Very cool providence of God to give David a sign of victory at this moment when he and his men are lacking food and need help!  Jesus also seems to be saying that gathering and eating is also a valid use of the Sabbath.  David had no other option…it was necessary for him to do this on the Sabbath for the sustaining of himself and his men.  Similarly I may need to go to work on the Sabbath in order to provide for the basic necessities of my family and because my employment requires it.  Jesus makes clear that the Sabbath is not intended as an excuse for not working for the Lord and for not doing good to others and for not helping one another and for not meeting our basic needs of provision.  This is making the Sabbath about man’s convenience rather than about honoring the Lord with our time.  Besides, Jesus created the Sabbath and they need to let him explain it to them instead of the other way around.  The pharisees despised this teaching and sought to destroy Jesus who would turn their religious observances upside down, stripping them of their pride and accusing them of doing wrong.
    v15- 21.  Here Matthew narrates here giving the inside scoop about how Jesus is the servant of God that is referenced in Isaiah 42 and therefore also in Isaiah 53 and it is his sacrifice that vindicates the justice (righteousness) of God.  Jesus fixes a huge problem for God in that his mercy given for ages past to mankind who is allowed to live in spite of our sin is an attack on his justice.  Verse 21 makes clear that Jesus came to make God’s justice victorious.  Jesus came to show exactly how it is that God’s mercy is not set against his justice…because the price is fully paid in the blood of Jesus for all who trust in an offspring of old and for the present time for those who hope in the offspring himself, Jesus (Rom 3:24-26)!  So it seems here that Jesus tries to not cause excessive eruptions in order to continue on his main purpose of heading to the cross of Calvary.
    v22-32.  Here is a difficult passage about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  I think the main teaching here is directly related to the next passage so to say that the Holy Spirit, being goodness, brings forth good fruit in Jesus and in anyone person.  To claim that the good work of someone who works by the power of the Holy Spirit is evil is to claim ascribe God’s good work to the devil and it not only makes no sense but that is a wicked refusal to accept the work of God.  Jesus basically says you can question my identity and my authority because I am here as a man and it takes some illumination by the Holy Spirit for you to perceive me as God in the flesh, but never…never question the identity of the Spirit of God.  Indeed test the spirits (1 John 4:1) but when you see God working in perfect agreement with his Word then you dare not accuse it to be the devil’s work.  This is to deny God working in the world that he created.  Jesus declares that whoever is not with me is against me and so do not set yourself against the Holy Spirit or against the Word of God.  Most people say that if you are worried whether you may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit at some point…that very thought of humble submission is evidence that you have not!
    v33-36.  Here Jesus tells them to stop hiding the truth about themselves.  Stop dressing up the ugly fruit on the rotten tree to make it seem good.  Jesus declares that our words spring forth from our hearts or our inner person and the real desires of our soul.  This makes out words very indicative of our real self and there are no words we speak that are meaningless.  He says that we will be justified or condemned by our words.  This can sound like a contradiction to Rom 10:9-10 that says belief in the heart justifies.  I take this as complimentary and it helps me understand that the truth of that belief in my heart will in fact come forth from my mouth as clear evidence of the reality of what is unseen within me.  So my trust in God will be known even to me (since I cannot see the justification of my heart) by what comes forth through my mouth.  My words are meaningful.  Do I speak life and peace and do I build up?  Do I evidence a trust in God with my words or something else?
    v38-42.  Here the pharisees ask for a sign from Jesus and I learn that there are two ways to ask for a sign.  Here the Pharisees seek to make Jesus prove something they do not believe.  They do not trust him and want him to provide them with a reason to trust him.  This is wicked.  Abraham, however, asks for a sign (Gen 15:8) of God’s intention not from distrust but from joy and from wanting something tangible to help him focus his remembrance and he knows that his flesh is weak and will later wonder about spoken words.  God then displays before Abraham the amazing covenant that is made only by God on behalf of Abraham.  Zechariah is an example of the wrong motive in asking for a sign (Luke 1:18) because he did not trust that God could do what was being said (it seems, but the angel’s reaction).  Jesus declares that his resurrection will be the true sign of his authority and identity (Rom 1:4) and he condemns those who do not see and believe this sign.  The Bible regularly speaks of people condemning other people by their responses (Rom 2:26-28) because what is possible to see and to understand or to accomplish is evidenced by one person to the discredit of the other.  The perfect man, Jesus, is the standard we are judged by and we are thus condemned by his perfect obedience (Rom 2:16).
    v43-45.  I take Jesus to be teaching here that the Pharisees may cast out demons but if they are not bringing a message of trust in God and reliance upon God rather than empty external religion, then the demons will return.  I figure this speaks of the exorcisms performed by unbelievers (professing believers who are not trusting in God and bearing real fruit- The Pharisees) because Jesus adds “So also it will be with this evil generation”.  I don’t see him using this term to refer to the work being done by the Apostles who preach the arrival of the Kingdom or God (the bridegroom or offspring).  The evil generation simply preaches to be good and to keep rituals and to impress God.      v46-50.  Here I think Jesus is making the point that the eternal bond of the Holy Spirit forming the body of Christ (the church) is deeper and more real than the fleshly bond of bloodlines and family.  He knows some will be divided from their families by his message and some will need to choose him over family.  Jesus also knows that our eternal marriage is to him and not to our earthly spouse.  We recognize our church family because they are the ones doing the will of God.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance:
I have included some of this above and will focus on the following.
    1.  I hear Jesus teaching concerning the Sabbath that it is better to love mercy than religious observances.  I take the significance to be that I am not to use some religious excuse to avoid helping the needy around me.  I take the significance to be that I should not look for reasons to make it right to ignore the needy and to not help anyone but I should instead seek to have mercy on those in need and I should carry the message of loving kindness wherever I go.
    2.  I hear Jesus teaching that my words matter and are an evidence of my heart.  I take the implication to be that I can know my heart by my words.  The significance for me is that I should reflect upon my speech and the use of my words and this will help me to know the ever changing condition of my heart and help me to pray better and to seek God’s help to mold me better.  This would not just apply to specific word choices but conversations and the total of what I use my speech all day long to accomplish.  Do I speak the Word of God to anyone?  Do I speak about Jeff?  About Jesus?  About cars and luxury?  About the needs of others?  About global missions?  About what do I speak?
    3.  I hear Jesus teaching that the church is our family in a way that is bigger than our blood relatives.  I take the implication to be that I need to consider my relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ to be pretty important (including within my physical family).  A significance for me here can be to ensure that I am not ignoring needs among my brothers and sisters and that I am loving them like I love my physical family.  My physical family is still the standard to compare to and I am certainly not do discard them or think less of them because of this teaching but I am simply called to elevate my understanding of the family of God.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 11

Genesis 12; Matthew 11

Genesis 12

Ready:
The previous chapter left off with the sons of Noah being dispersed over the earth in multiple languages and nations and Terah moving his family from Ur of the Chaldeans into Haran (stopping short of Canaan).  So thus far the lineage of interest is Adam to Seth to Noah to Terah to Abram, with others in between (like Enoch) but these are the main characters leading to Abram.  At this point the person that will be known as Abraham is still named Abram and he lives with his father Terah and it may have only been a few hundred years since the flood.  Lord let me see the wonder of your story here and give me ears to here the significance to my life and eyes to see your plan unfold as I know that Jesus is foreshadowed in all of the law and the prophets by the words of Jesus himself.

Reading thoughts:
I see in this chapter two main parts.  I see Abraham being chosen or “Adopted” by God from among offspring of Adam and Eve to be made into a select and unique people of God.  There had been a promise of an offspring from Eve that would crush the head of the serpent and it seems here now to be narrowed to Abram as he is called out from among the people of the earth, from among the descendants of Noah.  Lamech’s naming of Noah and believing that the curse would be relieved by Noah is coming further along now in God’s calling of Abram.  Abram responds to this call positively and he does as the Lord commands him.  Then I see a second part of this chapter where I get detail of Abram’s journey and his decision and his way of thinking is shown to me.  I see Abram choosing to protect himself in a rather unbecoming manner by giving up his wife to be as a wife to Pharaoh to save his own hide.  Interesting that Sarai goes along with this according to her husband’s will.  Here I remember that as a narrative story Moses is not writing prescriptively so as to tell me that everything recorded is being taught as good and for my instruction, but he write descriptively so as to relay a story to me that will include acts both good and evil by all characters so I can’t assume that what a “good guy” does is always good and recommended for me.

Key Verses:

“1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”” (Genesis 12:1–3, ESV)

“7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:7, ESV)

“10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.” (Genesis 12:10, ESV)
“13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”” (Genesis 12:13, ESV)

“17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.” (Genesis 12:17, ESV)

“20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.” (Genesis 12:20, ESV)

I see the theme here as- God chooses and adopts Abram from among idol worshipers and makes a verbal covenant with him in keeping of his promise to Adam and Eve of an offspring that will conquer the enemy who brought sin and death upon them.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1-3.  Here there are a number of nations and languages on the earth that are all from the line of Noah and any of them could fulfill the promise of an offspring at this point.  But God specifically selects from among them Abram.  He is called out from a land and from a family where idol worship is practiced and most likely by Abram as well (Josh 24:2).  God give him the command to “go” to an unknown land that God will lead him to.  God also makes a promise to Abram involving him  1. becoming a great nation 2. being blessed 3.  having a great name 4. being protected by God by blessing and cursing of his allies and enemies 5.  becoming a blessing to all families of the earth.  So I take it that I should watch for these 5 things to be fulfilled from this point forward in the story up to and including in my lifetime and unto the great day of the Lord where Jesus returns.  These things may come in steps of fulfillment along the way but here God, who is truth, promises something to Abram.  He included the command so there is a sense here that this promise is dependent upon Abram obeying the command to “go”.
     v4-9.  Here Abram responds to the call of God and he goes and he takes his wife and the “people” that are with them (I assume servants and other family members) and specifically mentioned is his nephew Lot.  God again speaks to Abram and now he promises 6.  his offspring will have the land in Canaan.  Abram reacts by building an altar and worshiping God there where God spoke to him again.  He decides to pass through and settle toward a place called Negeb where he builds another altar and worships.  He seems to have a clear picture that he is not yet to go into the land but that he knows it is now given to his offspring.  At that point Abram was 75 years old.
     v10-20.  Here now the story shifts significantly so I know that there is something else that Moses wants me to get or to follow.  The message changes as the plot thickens and more characters are introduced.  There is a conflict of a famine that drives Abram and his bride into Egypt.  This is beginning to play out as a parallel to his descendants who will also end up in Egypt due to a famine.  But here we see something interesting in Abram.  Though he seems convinced that God will deliver what he has promised Abram still interprets that he must lie to protect himself.  It can be debated as to whether this was a lack of faith or if Abram simply figured that he was working toward making God’s promise a reality.  Like when he “went” to fulfill the promise so here maybe he wants to keep alive because he knows that God is doing a work and it seems to involve Abram making choices and taking actions toward that promise.  Like Josephs’s brothers years from now Abram is favored because of Sarai being in tight with Pharaoh just as Joseph was in Pharaoh’s court and offered protection and help to his brothers who arrived seeking relief from the famine (Gen 47).  But also like the Egyptian captivity of Israel where they were eventually abused as slaves Sarai is abused in the sense of being taken as a bride to another man to whom she does not belong.  Then the Lord afflicts Pharaoh with plagues very much foreshadowing what will come upon another Pharaoh in the future when Moses comes to bring the bride of the Lord out from the captivity of Egypt.  Pharaoh ends up sending them off with orders to his men, presumably to provide them with provisions just like the Israelites leave Egypt with gold and provisions when they leave with Moses about 400 years in the future.  So God works with error through Abram’s choice to lie and to treat his wife without the kind of regard that God would have expected but this becomes a visible pattern in the Bible that God uses our imperfect actions and even through the evil of the world he brings his good purpose and cause to fruition.  

Response:
Thank you Lord for the foreshadowing of your plan for your chosen people and for the establishment here of this people.  Thank you for the promises you have made to Abram and I pray that you would allow me to see clearly throughout this entire Bible how you keep these promises because you are truth and your word is authoritative and powerful.

Reaction:
Let me trust the circumstances and outcomes in my life to be under your control Lord and may I understand how my actions and choices play into your work and may I learn that you can and will accomplish your work in my life without my extra helping.  Yet when I blow it and sin and error Lord I know that this does not derail your plan nor does it put me outside of your promises.  Let me worship and rejoice as Abram did when you spoke and when you promised and when you gave him confidence.

Matthew 11

Ready:
Jesus has sent his apostles on mission and he has explained to them how to proceed and what to expect and it is not a rosy picture.  Now He moves on to other cities to teach and preach.

Reading thoughts:
I see Jesus calling attention to a passing of the torch from the prophets of the old testament to Jesus and his pronouncement of condemnation on those who reject God’s speaking through both the prophets and now Jesus.  I also see that Jesus calls those who would set aside the world’s wisdom and come to him like children and take the yoke of his grace rather than the heavy yoke of the law.  These who come to him will be given rest.

Key Verses:

“10 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:10–11, ESV)

“24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”” (Matthew 11:24, ESV)

“25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Matthew 11:25–26, ESV)

“28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”” (Matthew 11:28–30, ESV)

I see the theme as- Jesus announces the transition of revelation from the law and prophets to the incarnate Word among them and he declares woe to those who did not and who will not either now receive the message, but rest to those who will receive it.

Rumination thoughts:
        v1-6.  Here is an interesting account that sounds like the mighty John the Baptist as he sits imprisoned may have doubts or at least is looking for further confirmation that he has been right in his assessment of who Jesus is.  I recall that John kept in the womb of Elizabeth when pregnant Mary come into her presence and the two “met” for the first time in-utero.  But now John, like all of us, is thinking to himself and is hoping for confirmation.  Jesus here responds with amazing love for this man.  Jesus first sends word back to him citing prophecies concerning the Messiah and therefore makes plain to John that he is who John has expected.  Then the story gets better as we see how Jesus speaks of John to those that heard this doubt or question coming from him.
        v7-15.  Jesus here defends John and declares to the world and all future reader of this book that John the Baptist is the greatest man ever to have lived on the earth!  My paraphrase of his comments..."Careful there you who would cast stones at John!!  This man is the last of the old testament prophets and he has prepared the way for me like nobody before him.  He came like Elijah and he has done the work of God among you.”  In verse 12 he says “from the days of John the Baptist until now” as if to designate some transition.  Well John is still alive so this is a unique transition and I take it to mean that John was indeed the final prophet of the Old Testament and now God will speak through his Son as described in Hebrews 1:1.  The prophet Malachi spoke of one who would come like Elijah and there was a common question as to whether John was actually Elijah come again but John himself refutes this and he clearly just came with a similar purpose.
        v16-19.  I take this paragraph to mean that there is no pleasing the one who is dead set to reject the message.  Like children who can’t find the right tune at either extreme to please their friends, God has given Israel a prophet who was very set apart and did not commune with sinners and they did not listen to the message.  Then God sent his Son who did commune with sinners and express the same message with compassion and mercy but still the majority of Israel does not listen.  There is no pleasing the one who wants to reject God.  I take the implication to be just that.  There is no arguing someone into trusting God, rather it is a work that the Holy Spirit does on their heart and our job is merely to give the message as faithfully as we can with joy and compassion.    
        v20-24.  I take this paragraph to be Jesus making it clear that knowledge brings accountability.  There can be an error here to watch out for however.  Seeing that someone who knows more about something is held to a higher standard in their response than the ignorant person does not mean that the ignorant person is not still guilty.  I take the context of the clear judgement of God falling upon cities that were known to be God haters to make it clear here that Jesus is not saying that these cities were not condemned as well (Gen 13:13, Gen 19:24-25).  We are talking about degrees of punishment being commensurate with knowledge. This makes sense with Rom 5:20 that says the law came it increase the trespass (knowledge of sin) and Rom 7:13 says that the law made sin more sinful.  Therefore, there remains an urgency to global missions.  Yes, the punishment will be worse for someone who has rejected Jesus outright with a full gospel presentation being made to them, but the truth is that what sets us on a course of judgment is not what we do with Jesus.  It is our sin nature and our rebellion before we ever heard the name of Jesus.  It is the completely free and radically undeserved mercy of God that I ever heard the gospel.  Now I owe it to every other human on the planet to extend that mercy to them because even without the gospel proclaimed to them they are accountable to God and remain under his wrath (Rom 1:18-21, John 3:36, Eph 2:1-4).  The great commission is real and the call to missions and evangelism is directed at me as much as to a missionary in India.  Before I am tempted to judge God or to doubt the plain meaning of this text I need to consider the additional context of Paul’s teaching in Romans (Rom 9:8-29, Rom 11:32-33, & Rom 4:13-25).  These texts help me see that it is the mercy of God alone and God does not owe redemption to a single person.  The way to become a child of Abraham is now through faith in Christ specifically, not just trusting God to send an offspring to deliver us like it was in the Old Testament…now we need to give our lives to the child born in Bethlehem because the offspring has arrived!  “It will be counted to us who believe in the one who was raised form the dead, Jesus our Lord…” so we need to spread this message.  Every New Testament scripture referring to Jesus being the only name and the need for the Son applies to those hearing this message (people alive after the death and resurrection of Christ) and not to the Old Testament saints who did not know who Jesus was and who did not confess his name... but they did trust in an offspring to come and they took God at his word.  How wonderful that the OT saints Simeon and Anna in Luke chapter 2 got to lay eyes on their salvation!!  Most OT saints were not this fortunate to see the source of their salvation (Luke 2:25-38).  These texts help me see that OT saints were saved by the blood of Jesus just like I am.  
        v25-30.  An interesting blending of concepts here in this paragraph where Jesus simultaneously says that only those who he chooses can know the Father and the Son but then immediately makes a broad invitation to anyone to come and take his yoke for deliverance from what oppresses them, namely the law.  Somehow hiding his will from the proud and independent (like Babel) and revealing it to the dependent and submissive is a gracious act of God.  This is gracious to the proud because 1. They are still alive and 2.  The salvation of the Gentiles comes back around and leads to the salvation of Israel as well (Rom 11).

Response:
    I have decided to make these last two sections private from now on in order to preserve the effectiveness and sincerity of my own devotion because I find too much mental distraction related to the fact that this is becoming public.  I recommend that you continue with these steps and I will therefore keep them on the posts but they will simply say “Private”.
    I may begin to post at the end of the rumination section the headings Meaning, Implications, and Significance where I can plainly list what I am taking away from the reading rather than it coming out partially in what I am making private now.

Reaction:
"Private"

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 10

Genesis 11; Matthew 10

Genesis 11

Ready:
After reading about Noah’s descendants that spread across the earth now Moses brings me back to see what event lead to this dispersion with the different languages and such. Lord let me hear your message and see the significance for my life.

Reading thoughts:
The chapter opens with the focus on the construction of a tower for the purpose of making a name fore themselves so their greatness would never be forgotten by their descendants that spread all over the earth eventually.  Knowing that God did not approve of the tower it seems that maybe this was a great arrogance and an effort to establish themselves apart from God (remembering God and his greatness from generation to generation might have been a better idea).  So the tower is a kind of humanistic expression of independence and accomplishment (compare to the space race maybe).  Maybe “we built that tower reaching into the sky”  would be like “If we can go to the moon…”.   I also see in this chapter a descending length of life from the first generation after noah living 500 years (Shem) to Abram’s father (Terah) living 205 years. I don’t know enough right now about biblical timelines and such to say for sure but just by adding up this timeline it looks like Noah was alive for about 60 years after the birth of Abram…of course there was a dispersion generations early across the earth and who knows if Noah and his descendant Abram were communicating.  I found some interesting information on the internet about linguistic studies of a protolanguage where linguistic scientists are suggesting the existence of an ancient language (protolanguage) that was the source of all languages on earth long ago.  Thinking back to the last chapter it is interesting that God divided the languages according to the grandsons of Noah…very orderly.

Key Verses:

“1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.” (Genesis 11:1, ESV)

“4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”” (Genesis 11:4, ESV)

“6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” (Genesis 11:6–8, ESV)

I see the theme as- God disrupts mans errant attempt at independent greatness and self realization through the establishment of languages and nations.

Rumination thoughts:
Limiting my thoughts to the broad message in this chapter the main things I see here are below:
     1.  God does not approve of human arrogance and efforts of independence.  God was pleased with the sacrifice of Noah when they got our of the ark but not so pleased by this tower effort.  In some manner it appears that God saw a very negative impact of this coming together of man in their own prowess to establish a name.  I think the name of God was the name they should have been proclaiming.  Hard to say exactly and no time to look up what others have suggested on this today.
     2.  It seems that something drastically changed on earth due to the flood as the descendants seem to rapidly have a reduction in lifespan and it seems erasable to consider that this was a result of the food and the changes to the earth.  I imagine that the dinosaurs death and long life of the first people came to an end with the flood.
     3.  The creation of the nations is a giant step in the big over-arching story (sometimes called a meta-narrative) of the Bible.  In the end God seems to be more highly glorified by the coming together of many nations to worship than he may have otherwise been just by one people group.  It is to his praise that he is able to send messengers empowered by his Holy Spirit to the ends of the earth and to build his church across cultures and languages (See Rev. 7:9-12).
     4.  Moses leaves us at the end of the chapter looking at Abram and his family.  We see that there is a practice of marrying within one’s family still at this point since Nahor seems to marry his niece.  We see and early death of Lot’s father and Lot seems to be taken under Terah's wing.

Response:
Thank you for intervening and guiding your people into your wonderful plan of diversity and unity O God.

Reaction:
May we see through the color of skin and the language and the cultures and may we know that all mankind is made for your glory and all need Jesus as their King.

Matthew 10

Ready:
Jesus had asked the disciples to pray and consider the need for many workers to be harvesting for the kingdom after he was moved with compassion by the people who were lost and did not have faith in God.

Reading thoughts:
I see Jesus sending the twelve on mission and telling them that it will not be easy and he tells them that they will suffer (v16-24) and that there will be families divided over this challenging message that is not tolerant of falsehood (v35-36) and that they must choose Jesus over family (v37-39) and that there will be reward eternal for our living for God and for others (v40-42).  He stresses that they are not to fear because man cannot do any more than kill the flesh but God has authority to damn the soul (v26-28).  But this authority is wonderful because this all-powerful (omnipotent) God loves us and he is all-knowing (omniscient) and has the ability to sustain us and keep us and protect us (v29-31).  Since God is omnipotent and omniscient, our thinking of Jesus and our response to Jesus defines everything, including our eternal destiny (v32-33).  So this is back to the loving and gracious God who holds us accountable to love his Son.

Key Verses:

“1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.” (Matthew 10:1, ESV)

“5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5–6, ESV)

“16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, ESV)

“19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:19–20, ESV)

“28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:28–31, ESV)

I see the theme as- The all powerful and all knowing God has called the Apostles to carry a tough message to the people and he wants the message to be heard and to be honored regardless of the cost and he promises great reward to come.

Rumination thoughts:
     Again limiting my thoughts to a broad brush here due to time.  To the summary above I only add that I see the parallel in the message Jesus gave the apostles here with the theme in the Bible of salvation coming to the Gentiles because the King and his gospel was rejected by the jews.  Jesus had to die on the cross for the whole plan of God to come together (Acts 2:23).  Paul speaks of this idea that salvation was first to the jews and then to the gentiles (Rom 1:16 & 2:9-11).  He also speaks of the Jews rejecting Jesus, according to the plan of God (John 11:49-53), is how God brought salvation to the Gentiles (Rom 11:11) and would then bring it back around to the Jews (Rom 10-11 and summarized in 11:25-36).  It was necessary and therefore God hardened the Jews in order that they would reject Jesus (Rom 11:7-8, 25).  This hardening is like what he did with Pharaoh (Rom 9:15-18, Exod 7:3-5 & 9:34-35) and is not an active turning of the heart but a passive release of his mercy that keeps an unbeliever from being as evil as they could be without his restraint (person is accountable for their sin).  So it is a releasing and allowing the person to do what they would do from the sinful nature they have and this serves God’s purpose (see Rom 1:24, 28).
     Also to note is that they were not spreading the gospel of Jesus crucified and risen here in this chapter.  The disciples did not even understand what was going to happen and how salvation was actually to come.  Their message was simpler than that.  It was about the obedience of faith and it was an announcement of what Israel should have been waiting for.  It was a proclamation of the arrival of the bridegroom, the Messiah. They were announcing to the Jews that their long history and their long story from the promise to Abraham to their deliverance under Moses and the promise to David is being fulfilled!  This is a trumpet to awaken a people who has forgotten to pay attention to the Word of God and who are not waiting for the Messiah the way Simeon and Anna were waiting for him (Luke 2:22-38).

Response:
     Thank you Lord for those who were worthy of this message carried by the Apostles and by Jesus- those who recognized the offspring of Eve that would come and conquer and the Messiah who wold deliver Israel.   Thank you for your amazing plan of rolling out your identity and your mission with such wisdom and purpose that you would accomplish the salvation of all peoples through such an amazing denial and then eventual returning of the nation of Israel.  Paul sys it well in his response to this amazing plan O Lord…

“33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33–36, ESV)

Reaction:
Though this message was to your apostles and their message was different than the message you have given us due to the full revelation of your plan, I pray that you would enable me and all the men of our group to serve as your workers in the harvest. Your gospel message is dividing and tough and you do not call us to lives of luxury and comfort but to lives like this…

“38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38–39, ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 9

Genesis 9 & 10; Matthew 9

Genesis 9

Ready:
Noah has come out of the Ark and received charge from God to be fruitful and multiply. They have found the land to be dry and are re-habitating the earth in a kind of a re-creation and purification.

Reading thoughts:
So I see your covenant of mercy to mankind, your approval of eating meat, the verbal law of capital punishment for murder along side a reminder again to multiply and fill the earth.  I also see a strange account of Noah’s life and his family dynamics.  Noah curses the son who seemed to disrespect him and blessed those who looked out for him and gave him honor even when he was behaving poorly and was in a bad way. Interesting that 350 years of the life of the patriarch of the history of the world is summed up in a story about him being drunk and naked.

Key Verses:

“3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” (Genesis 9:3, ESV)

“6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Genesis 9:6, ESV)

“15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”” (Genesis 9:15–16, ESV)

I see the theme as- A promise of mercy to a fallen people who will need it.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1.  A return to the command given in the garden as a new beginning.  This time man knows that God judges sin righteously.  We know more of the justice of God by this revelation.
     v2-4.  Man will now be carnivorous and the animals will know it.  This is new and there is now a tension I suppose between them as there was no fear or violence between man and animal at that point.  This leads God to mention animals as murderers as well as man in the next verse.
     V5-6.  Here God requires a life for a life whether it requires the life of an animal that kills a man or another man.  Capital punishment is instituted by God and man is in a modern sense told to establish government.  Justice is clearly an attribute of God and he calls us to administer it among ourselves.  Later there will be clear rules for the witnesses and a legal system to protect the innocent (Deut 19:15).
     v7-17.  God determines and sets himself in covenant to never again flood the earth to destroy mankind.  This is a revelation of his mercy and it would seem that he must know we will need this understanding.  This is a redemptive promise that only foreshadows or vaguely explains how it works or why.  We know enough to know that God is just and that he yet has mercy when he is pleased to have mercy.  I recall that the Lord said in his heart when he received Noah’s sacrifice that he would not destroy all life again and also that he told Noah before the flood that he would establish a covenant with him…and now he does it.  So the sacrifice of Noah here could be, as the ESVSB notes suggest, representative of the sacrifice of Christ that is the basis of God’s mercy for all time.  It can be a picture here of God first determining that he will have mercy and save a remnant by mercy.  Then he indeed does spare and save them from death and then the sacrifice that made it all possible comes and then he honors that sacrifice into the future.  Just like Christ’s sacrifice came after many years of God’s mysterious mercy and now we enjoy the mercy of God knowing that is is rooted behind us in the cross.  This is the directional focus of redemption either forward to the cross in the OT or backward to the cross for us today.
     v18-29.  I take this to be an expression that things didn’t all go so hot from the time they came out of the ark.  This is about like life as we know it.  Sometimes we can blow a good thing in half a second.  Noah’s youngest son mocks his father and does not respect him and this sets him off.  Interesting that this youngest son’s son and subsequent descendants become the enemies of Israel.  These are the people that God drives out of the promised land with the Israelites.  The first born son, Shem, is blessed and it is him who will carry the lineage to Abraham.

Response:
Lord thank you for this picture of success and failure.  You bless and we blow it.  You promise mercy and we need it.  Thank you for the picture of redemption and the way that you base your actions on something future that you set out to accomplish and we benefit from it.  You designed a marvelous plan and we get to live in it.

Reaction:
Let me think to regard your mercy regular and to see the ways that I rely on it.  Let me honor my father and family always and let me look out for even those who are not doing right things.  Let me think more highly of others than myself and let me not expose or mock others in any way.

Genesis 10

Ready:
Continuing today here into the next chapter...

Reading thoughts:
I see that chapter 10 is chronologically out of sequence with chapter 11 to come.  This chapter focuses on genealogy and does not respect the scenario of Babel that actually happened before it.  Here I see the aftermath of babel with the nations being born and the sons of the sons of Noah dispersing over the earth with various nations and languages.

Key Verses:

“32 These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.” (Genesis 10:32, ESV)

I see the theme as- The earth is populated with diversity of tongues and nations from the blessed and the cursed sons of Noah.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1.  This is a simple summary of the chapter right at the outset and the beginning of the populating of the ravished earth.
     v2-5.  Japheth’s sons and their sons.
     v6-20. Ham’s sons and their sons.  Extra attention is given here to establish for us that this is the source of some of the wicked people on the earth that will oppress the Israelites.  Babylon and the Canaanites are included in the lineup and there are to be “mighty men”.  Perhaps giants?
     v21-32.  Shem’s sons and their sons.  Here is a summary although in the next chapter we will have a breakdown including ages and more detail for Shem’s descendants.

Response:
Lord you have your reasons for allowing wickedness and surely you use evil for good and I see the story playing out and leading toward Israel’s captivity and crying out to you.  You lead us to call to you O Lord and this is your mercy.  Hosea 6 explains that you tear us in order that you may heal us and so that we will run to you.

Reaction:
Let me be a quick learner Lord and run to you swiftly and let my descendants honor you.  May Asher and Anna extend a legacy of fearing the Lord and of seeking you hotly.

Matthew 9

Ready:
I pick up now after Jesus was asked to leave the area of the Gadarenes since he seems to be hurting their business by their pigs mysteriously running off cliffs.

Reading thoughts:
I see Jesus show that the faith of a community matters in the life of an individual and I see him declare that he came for sinners who know they need mercy and I see him announce his identity as the bridegroom of Israel, God himself, in the presence of whom there will be no fasting or weeping because the bridegroom is here!!  I see Jesus healing people as quickly as he can move and judging hearts in a moment as he disperses a crowd mourning a death differently than when he wept with the family of Lazarus.  Jesus here proclaims and displays that the Kingdom of God has come to earth.  He is compassionate and recognizes the need for laborers beyond on man.

Key Verses:

“5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”” (Matthew 9:5–6, ESV)

“11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”” (Matthew 9:11–13, ESV)

“14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:14–15, ESV)

“36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;” (Matthew 9:36–37, ESV)

I see the theme as- Jesus proclaims himself as the bridegroom and displays the coming of the Kingdom to rescue sinners who will acknowledge their need and put their trust in him.

Rumination thoughts:
     v1-8.  Jesus’ own city is now Capernaum based on Matt 4:13.  This is an abbreviated account of the man who is lowered through the roof by his buddies in Luke chapter 5. Matthew also calls out the fact that Jesus is responsive to “their faith” and not merely the faith of the paralytic.  Here is a wonderful picture of brotherly love an community and the impact of building one another up that we can have.  Our faith is strengthened by others just as Paul speaks of in Romans 1:11-12.  Jesus also makes it clear that he is able to forgive sins.  He reads the thoughts of the pharisees and he explains a huge reason for all the miracles that he is performing.  He wants to give visible, verifiable evidence of the authority that he carries so that they will believe it when he also claims authority to forgive sins, which is clearly an invisible act.
     v9-13.  The calling of Matthew (our narrator) the tax collector.  A very simple description of Matthew answering the call of Jesus without question.  He appears to leave his job and the next thing we see recorded is Matthew hosting a dinner for Jesus and some other disciples.  There are also a number of other people there that include shady characters and people who the religious establishment would not typically associate with.  These were sinners who knew they were sinners and who wanted help from this Jesus.  When the pharisees ask the disciples why the shady people are here and why Jesus is spending time with them Jesus spoke up, maybe from across the room, and told them that they are jacked up.  He makes clear that he is here to help those who are sick and who know it.  He tells them to think about having mercy on others rather than following religious rituals.  In other words, he rebuked them for not understanding that they are called to love others and they don’t recognize that they are failing to do this.  He comes to rescue those who admit their sin, not hide it or cover it with a bunch of outward actions.
     v14-17.  This is the heart of the chapter I think.  Here Jesus makes reference to Isaiah 61-62 where the bridegroom of Israel, their God, delivers them and delights in them and they rejoice in the Lord and exult in their God.  Jesus is asked why his disciples don’t fast.  Fasting before the coming of Christ was about sorrow over sin and a longing for the Messiah and a need for relief and it was an anticipation.  Well wait no longer!!  There is no reason for such fasting when God is with us!  Here he is…the long awaited Messiah is here and there can be no fasting for this is a celebration!  God has come to earth and he walks among us and we shall rejoice.  This is the message Jesus proclaims when he says that the Kingdom of God is here.  Fasting in the OT (old wine skins) was anticipatory of something that they were told of but had not tasted.  The new wine skin of the New Covenant arrival and work of Christ gives us a taste and a knowledge of his glory and now we fast since he has left to the right hand of the Father but it is with new wine skins and new understanding of our hope.  We no longer look forward to some rescue but we look back at the work of Christ and rejoice for “it is finished.”  My opinion on the wine skins interpretation here comes from a sermon by john Piper.  
     v18-34.  I don’t know how much time passed in this flurry of miracles but it seems unending and like he doesn’t get a breath.  In the end the pharisees blaspheme God by concluding that Jesus is working miracles by the power of the devil.
     v35.  Here Matthew summarizes the ministry of Jesus in teaching from the scripture about himself, preaching the good news of forgiveness, and healing to prove his identity, authority, and power to change everything, including our sinfulness.
     v36-38.  Now Jesus makes observation that this flurry in one town needs to spread and there needs to be more witnesses and more people declaring the kingdom.  He tells his disciples of this and they perhaps get the idea right away that he is talking about them stepping up.  "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”…and he tells them to pray about this.  He was likely speaking to a broad group that is referred to as disciples rather than just the 12.  I am thinking that the 12 were among these and their hearts probably burned in hearing this and they came to know that they were called specifically for this ministry that Jesus spoke of.  The next chapter leads us on in their sending...

Response:
You are amazing and your arrival and announcement to the world is more plain to us than to these who watched it happen.  I thank you for the revelation of your scriptures that help us to interpret and know what it is you have done.  Thank you for coming as the bridegroom to Israel and although they did not recognize you this was for the salvation of the Gentiles and the good of the world.  You have changed everything Jesus and now we can fast with different focus and hope and understanding and assurance and joy.

Reaction:
Lord let me rejoice and be glad that the bridegroom has come and you have made atonement for my sin and you have conquered sin and death and I can now look back at your work with trust and delight.  Let me look forward also to your promises and the glory of the resurrection to come.  Let me be mindful of my sin and not hide it or pretend it isn’t there.  Let me love others and be merciful rather than distance myself from people who may have different troubles than I have.

Soli Deo Gloria!

January 8

Genesis 8; Matthew 8

Genesis 8

Ready:
Yesterday was the beginning of the flood where the righteous remnant was brought out from under the judgement of God.  The cataclysmic event that rocked the earth and killed everything on it was about 150 days running at the point that this chapter opens. Lord let me hear and see what you want me to know and let me see your redemptive plan unfold.

Reading thoughts:
I see a slow recession of the waters and a waiting upon the Lord by Noah and family. Moses begins the account with a summary from God’s perspective and then moves into Noah’s perspective beginning 40 days after he perceived that they had settled on some ground (Mt. Ararat).  Noah sends a scout and eventually determines that the land has been sufficiently dried and then Noah uncovers the main canopy of the Ark to see what the world looks like now that it has been washed from evil and in a way re-created by God.  Here God speaks to him and directs him to go out with his wife and family and like he told Adam and Eve at the initial creation “be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” Next Noah builds and alter to honor God and thank him for deliverance and he offers a sacrifice after which God declares a covenant that he will never again strike down all living creatures in this way.  

Key Verses:  

“1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” (Genesis 8:1, ESV)

“15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”” (Genesis 8:15–17, ESV)

“21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21, ESV)

I see the theme as- God remembers his people and his promise and he brings deliverance.

Rumination thoughts:
        v1.  This first verse is big because it is similar to other places in the Bible where God “remembers his people”.  This is the beginning of a Biblical theme of “remember”. The concept of remembering is closely tied to covenant.  This is where an agreement is made between two people and the agreement rests on them remembering the agreement and acting appropriately in response from then forward and through many generations.  This strikes at Gen 6:18 where God first told Noah to prepare to build the ark and he said “I will establish my covenant with you…”.  God demonstrates this toward his people over and over and he asks his people also to remember him and his provision.  He wants his people to remember his commandments when we lay down and when we rise and to remember the mighty deliverance given from Egypt at the passover each year.  He wants us to remember what Jesus did on the cross when we eat the bread and take the cup.  The psalmist will often cry out that God would remember him when he feels lost or in trouble.  God takes serious the idea of history.  The Bible and all of Christianity is a historical religion.  All that we believe is grounded in history and events and specific people where God acted and moved and accomplished.  There are many times during Israel’s history when they did not remember and God’s judgment and discipline followed.
        v2-12.  So here is the slow receding of the waters and Noah’s testing of the situation to determine when to come out.  There is maybe a reference to a ceremonial period of purification of the earth where Noah waits seven more days after being convinced that the earth is dry.  This was the period of time that would be observed in waiting after cleansing for various reasons.  This could be highlighting the fact that God saw this flood as a cleansing of the earth from the wickedness that had so corrupted it.
        v13-19.  Here Noah and family come out of the ark and God speaks to Noah.  They are given a similar charge as God gave to Adam and Eve.  There is here a re-habitation of the earth again and a fresh beginning.  We have learned that God is just and righteous and holy and merciful.  There should arise in us an awareness already that mercy and justice do not mix.  Mercy is a setting aside of justice or a type of non-justice. Mercy is not injustice but it is certainly not justice.  The same problem occurred when Adam and Eve did not die spiritually and physically when they ate from the tree. God is choosing to deal with us not according to our sin and there is so far no just reason to base this upon.  Since our desire is for mercy we do not readily see this problem or notice that there is a problem with mercy.  Perhaps if it was my loved one who was killed by the drunk driver I would have a different view of mercy vs justice. Right here is how we read the Bible with a reference to the cross and the person and work of Jesus. He is the grounding for all mercy.  He is the reason that God can be both just and merciful.  Jesus received the justice due to us and so God can have mercy on whom he wills without damaging his justice in the slightest.  Nothing makes sense in the Bible without the cross of Christ.  Everything prior is looking forward to and everything afterwards is looking back to it.
        v20-22.  Noah has a proper response to what God has done in delivering his family here.  We see Noah worship God and make a sacrifice that is pleasing to the Lord.  It is only now that I went back and saw in verse 2 of chapter 7 that Noah brought seven pairs of clean animals and birds and only one pair of unclean.  He had prepared for this as God instructed.  He knew he would be making sacrifice to God.  Here Moses give a comment on something God does not really say but merely thinks…God thinks to himself that he is pleased with Noah’s thankfulness and reverence and he determines then to not again bring all creatures to an end like this.  I cannot take this to mean that he felt bad about doing it or that he wished he hadn’t or anything of the sort.  This would be misery if we had a God who was emotional and made rash decisions and was out of control.  The picture is not that, but God is always revealing himself to us and showing us more of how he wants to relate to us.  Throughout the Bible there are correlations between man trusting what God says and acting appropriately in response and how God either blesses or judges them in response to this.  Here God is blessing mankind on behalf of Noah.  It seems a proper response to mercy has begotten more mercy.

Response:
Lord thank you for being a God who remembers and a God who keeps covenant and who is truth.  Thank you for revealing to us your holiness and justice and even your mercy.  I look forward in this story to the revealing of your glory in the person of your Son where you unravel the mystery of your mercy that covers your people from the time of Adam’s sin until the curtain splits and your holy Son cries out “it is finished”.

Reaction:
Let me always remember your love and protection Lord.  Let me always remember how you have covered my sin and kept from me the wrath that is due to me.  Let me always remember what ends you have gone to in order to reveal yourself to me and to let me know you.  Let me remember you in the moments when the world or my flesh or the devil present me with non-truth.  Let me remember you and choose you O God.

Matthew 8

Ready:
I pick up after Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount where he is recognized to be teaching with complete authority that was unknown to the people before this.  Jesus demonstrated a knowledge and a way of speaking that was altogether different than they have ever known.  There indeed was no darkness or lack in him and he sees perfectly and completely and he is want of no wisdom or knowledge except for a very few secret things that in Jesus' humanity the Father has reserved (like the day and hour of his second coming).  Let me understand and apply your teaching here in Matthew Lord.

Reading thoughts:
I see Jesus demonstrating power and correcting misunderstanding.  He demonstrates his sovereign rule over people, the earth, and spiritual beings (demons).  He reveals the power he has to make us clean and to remove wickedness and to rule all our circumstances.  Looking over a text very broadly and putting occurrences into categories like this help me to get a better view of what is really happening in the big storyline.

Key Verses:

“2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:2–3, ESV)

“9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matthew 8:9–10, ESV)

“11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”” (Matthew 8:11–12, ESV)

“22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”” (Matthew 8:22, ESV)

“26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”” (Matthew 8:26–27, ESV)

“29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”” (Matthew 8:29, ESV)

I see the theme as this- Jesus confirms the authority they heard in his voice and establishes his identity and his reign over all of creation for those with eyes to see.

Rumination thoughts:
        v1-4.  Here Jesus heals a leper and makes it plain that he has the power to purify and to make someone holy.  He can cleanse me and he can completely change what was true of me just a moment ago.  He does this by his unstoppable will.
        v5-10.  This story of the Centurion is awesome.  Here is a Gentile who knows who Jesus is even though he was not raised to believe in a coming Messiah.  This Gentile knows what authority is and how it works.  He shows Jesus that he believes him to have such authority over the universe in that Jesus could say the word from anywhere and heal anyone whom he wills to heal and the sin and the sickness will obey the voice of the King of Kings immediately.  Like a soldier receiving command from his general the sickness marches or stops, stands or sits.  The soldier is at the service of the commander.  Jesus sees in the heart of this Gentile a trust in his identity and the absolute truth of his Word.  The idea of Jesus “marveling” here is breathtaking and I come to this with a belief that faith expressed by this man is granted to him by God as a gift that was not his own lest he can boast (Eph. 2:8-9) but this does not lesson the amazement I have for the marveling and for the teaching that Jesus gives through this moment.  There has been none among the Israelites with a faith like what has been granted to this Gentile.  See Rom 12:3 regarding God assigning our measure of faith.  John 17:6 also helps here as I see Jesus referring to the Father giving Jesus his people out of the world and Jesus glorifying God in declaring that indeed they have kept the Father’s word (obedience of faith- this concept will come up more and be explained more later).
        v11-13.  Here Jesus teaches about how salvation comes to the gentiles because of the Jews rejecting him and he declares that many of the Jews (sons of the kingdom) will not be saved while many Gentiles will recline at the table with the Jewish patriarchs in heaven.  This is dramatic and sad but we do see in Romans 11 the hope of Israel being “grafted back in” to the olive tree and all of Israel being saved in the future (all those still living).  For the one who walks in obedience to the faith granted him by God though…healed that very moment.
        v14-17.  Here Matthew wants us to know that the healing Jesus does is related to his taking of our sins and uncleanness upon himself on the cross.  The reference to Isaiah 53 is interesting.  This chapter of Isaiah speaks plainly about the death of Christ on our behalf and how he takes the punishment we deserve.  Just right on the surface is the idea that we are deserving of the illness and the disease but that he takes it from us upon himself like he does our sin.  The visible change helps us to know what he accomplishes in the unseen realm of taking our guilt before God away.  I also see Peter’s mother-in-law responding to the healing my becoming a servant of the Lord!
        v18-22.  Here Jesus corrects a couple of misunderstandings.  He makes is clear that following him is not easy and is not something you do when it is convenient.  He also reached something about man in that he refers to the dead burying their own dead. I take this as a clue to the spiritual state of man being like a dead man walking.  We are born under the reign of sin and death and we are in need of new life by the Spirit of God as Jesus will teach Nicodemus later.
        v23-27.  The author of life was in their boat.  The Son of the Living God was feet away from them and he was so calm he was sleeping.  The circumstances were overwhelming them and they truly did not understand who Jesus was.  Jesus therefore gives them a mild rebuke for not knowing that he rules over all and that he is always aware of our concerns whether we can plainly see it or not.  At least that is what I am taking from this.  Here there are some implications that seem logical and make sense but I always need to be ready to give us something implicit if something explicit elsewhere in scripture overrules it or makes is inconsistent.  Jesus displays for these men his sovereign rule over the earth.  This plainly helps us to know the true nature of the idea that Satan rules the earth and is the “prince of the power of the air”.  Well, kind of.  He rules as far as Jesus allows him to and now farther.  He rules over the moral condition of fallen man except for the mercy of God to restrain us (Gen 20:6).
        v28-34.  Satan was defeated in the desert so any hope of the enemy questioning the identity of Jesus is lost.  Here the demons recognize and acknowledge not only the divine identity of Jesus but also his sovereign authority.  They are looking out for their own skin (pun intended) here as they make a case for what they know to be their future destiny based upon knowing that Jesus already refused to take short cuts and would not skip the cross in his ascent back to the throne and in his suffering to achieve complete authority and reign that was partially given over to the enemy by Adam and Eve.  The time of their torment will come but this does not stop Jesus from demonstrating his ability to cast out wickedness according to his purpose.  He sees fit to oblige the demons and send them into the unclean pigs.  Animal are deemed clean or unclean by God and there is no way to be purified like there is for mankind.  This becomes a stumbling block for the gentiles in the areas because it would seem that these pigs in the area are probably their livelihood and their food and perhaps something they sacrifice to pagan idols.  Perhaps for these reasons they beg Jesus to leave.

Response:
Lord you reign on high and you are the creator of all and ruler of all.  There is nothing over which you do not have dominion and even the things which you have allowed the enemy to exercise some level of dominion over you come and pluck from his hands at your pleasure.  You have the power to heal me and to make me clean and to change everything about me.  You can turn my heart and my mind and my flesh.  But you do not call me to be a fair weather follower who comes and goes on my own clock and based upon my own perceptions.  You call me to follow when it is hard and there is no comfort.  You call me to follow when it costs me.  You call me to follow at great expense sometimes.  You are not a genie waiting for me to make requests but you are the God of all creation who has called me out from the world and unto yourself for holiness and for worship.  Your authority is uncontested O God and I glorify your name.

Reaction:
Let me not delay in following and let me not stumble over difficulty or trials but let me trust and obey.  Let me fight the fight Lord and let me trust your authority to rule over all the circumstances that threaten me.  Let me have faith that you can say come or go and the heavens and the earth will move for you.  Let me have the faith of the Centurion.  Let me have the response of Peter’s mother in law.  Let me be cleansed like the leper.  Let me not bock when your purposes do not lend to my financial gain or comfort like the Gentiles at the Gadarenes did.  Thank you that my faith is in a person who walked among us and not in a force or a thought or any other impersonal being. Thank you for marveling at the faith of the Centurion.  May I please you today and always when I trust you O God.

Soli Deo Gloria!