Feb 15 - Holiness - Leviticus 20-21

"You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine." (Leviticus 20:26)

The process of developing holiness. God said to Israel, “Be holy, because I am holy” (Lev. 11:44–45). Because God wants us to become like him, it is necessary that his people be a special kind of people, holy men and women. The basic idea in sanctification is “being set apart for God”; those thus set apart live in a way that is pleasing to God. They have no power of their own to do that, but God enables them (2 Cor. 3:17–18). Sanctification is not an option. God requires it of all his people (1 Thess. 4:3).

References:
The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook, Walter A. Elwell, Editor, (Harold Shaw Publ., Wheaton , IL; 1984), pp. 357-358

Feb 14 - Obedience - Leviticus 18-19

In chapters 18–20 we pass from the worship of the people to their behaviour. Chapter 18 prohibits unlawful marriage, unchastity, and Molech worship; but the last is dealt with more fully in 20:2–5.

The first reason Israel should not indulge in what God has prohibited was because they “shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. ” (18:3) A Christian should not live as a non Christian. He must remember that in Christ, he is a new creation, he has been given a new life.

The second reason for obedience is simply because of God’s authority. “I am the Lord your God...You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules;” (18:5) He has the right to reward obedience and punish disobedience. “if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” True life is given by obedience to the word of God, for there is no goodness apart from Him.

Disobedience brings about punishment. “For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” (18:29-30)

Some people ask why is God so cruel command extermination of the Canaanites. Here the reason is clear, not because God is evil, but because of the sinfulness of the Canaanites themselves. “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.” (18:24-25)

Thanks and praise be to Christ, who bore this punishment on himself that we would not be punished. And which upon the most important reason of gratitude why we obey God, because we love Him. For He is, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.” (19:36-37)

Feb 12 - Anew - Leviticus 14

What is the significance of the fact that the leper had to be healed before he was cleansed from the defilement of his leprosy?

The significance was that the leper now possessed a new life. The sick, old, decaying, disease, SIN laden body has been cleansed, put to death and a new healthy life been given.

"Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (John 3:3)

"For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation."
(Gal. 6:15)

Feb 10 - Strange Fire - Leviticus 10-12

The sad story of Nadab and Abihu presenting unauthorized fire to God shocks us to the spine every time we read it. We should never forget that we are to fear our Lord who is a consuming fire. In this age where God is pictured just a loving grandfather who will forgive you no matter how you live, we must return to scripture what our right knowledge of God is. A God of loving kindness, yet a just God whom we should be in awe.

What happened? Why did God act like this? How does the examples Nadab and Abihu remind us that we are to live before God?

Lastly, if you were Aaron, would you fall into despair and grip your fist in anger towards God? Note how this passage portrays the touching story of Aaron’s full acceptance of God’s verdict on his own sons.

Feb 9 - An Atonement on our Behalf - Leviticus 7-9

The directions for the ceremony of consecrating the tent of meeting, the altar and the priests were given in Exodus 28 and 29. “I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.” (Exod. 29:44) Leviticus 8 gives an account of it.

In the sacrifice of the ram of ordination (i.e., of dedication to special service), the blood of the ram was put on the lobe of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand and on the big toe on the right feet. It symbolize the atonement of our sin that the ram died on our behalf. With the death of the ram, we were brought from the punishment of death into a redeemed life. We are given a new life. Should we present this new life to the bondage of sin all over again?

“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Rom. 6:13.

Keeping a Close Watch

"Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." (1 Tim 4:16)

The balance of life and doctrine is the key to spiritual success. Doctrine has everything to do with life, because what we believe about God determines how we live. The more we know God and his workings, the more we will love him, and the better we will serve him. Do you love Him know? Will you love him less if you learn more of Him and His Word? The greed need of people today is to know more of God - to know more about doctrine. Doctrine is the most practical thing in life.

A godly lifestyle has everything to do with maintaining doctrine because if we do not live according to what we know of God and His word, we will either disbelieve or will attempt to change his word.

Are you keeping a close watch on your life? How is your speech? How is your love? Your faith, your purity? It is biblical or is it secularized? Do you really believe what you say you believe?

A true Christian life works out its own salvation (Philippians 2:12). They save themselves and then save their hearers. How is your life? How is your doctrine?

Feb 8 - The Sin and Guilt Offerings - Leviticus 4-6; Matt 24:29-51

In Lev 1-3, we are introduced to the burnt, meal and peace offerings. Now in Lev 4-6, we have the sin and guilt offerings. But distinguishes between them?

“If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord's commandments...If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally...When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt,” (4:2,13,22)

Unintentional sin is the distinguishing factor. Oh how often we sin unintentionally. But before we despair, God provides divinely a rescue, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” (Lev 17:11)

Reflect on what was done with the body and with the blood of the sacrifice in the sin offering (4:6, 7, 11, 12). They remind us of God’s intense hatred of sin and its fearful consequence on those whom pay the price of sin.

Lastly, the sin and guilt offerings have much in common, but the sin offering was an atonement for man’s guilt towards God, whereas the guilt offering was an atonement for man’s guilt especially to man, thus the restitution needed to the offended.

Lt. General William K. Harrison

"...train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

Lt. General William K. Harrison was the most decorated soldier in the 30th Infantry division, rated by General Eisenhower as the number one infantry division in WWII. He was the first American to enter Belgium during that war, which he did as the head of the Allied forces. He received every decoration for valor except the Medal of Honor, being honored with the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze star for Valor and the Purple Heart. In the Korean war, because of his character and calm self control, he was President Eisenhower's choice to head the long and tedious negotiations to end the war.

General Harrison led a busy and ultra-kinetic life. But he was also an amazing man of the Word. When he was a twenty year old West Point cadet, he began reading the Old Testament through once and the New Testament four times annually. He did this until the end of his life. Even in the thick of war, he maintained his commitment by catching up during the two and three day rests that followed battles so that when the war ended, he was right on schedule. When at the age of ninety, his failing eyesight no longer permitted this discipline, he had read the Old Testament seventy times and the New Testament 280 times! No wonder his godliness and wisdom were proverbial. It is no surprise that the Lord used him for eighteen fruitful years to lead the Officers Christian Fellowship (OCF).

His story reminds us that it is possible even for the busiest of us, to systematically train ourselves in God's Word. Every area of his life and each of the great problems he faced was informed by the Scriptures. People marveled at his godliness and his ability to bring the Word's light to every area of life.

The call to disciplines ourselves in the Word for godliness is not a call to legalism. Discipline sounds much like legalism. But such thinking is mistaken. Legalism is self-centered, but discipline is God centered. The legalistic heart says, "I will do this thing to gain merit with God." The disciplined heart says, "I will do this thing because I love God and want to please Him."

We must for the right reasons train ourselves in God's Word - train ourselves to listen to its preaching, take notes, check cross-references, read the bible regularly, exercise the discipline of reading Christian books, listening while commuting or exercise and so on. True godliness will make us better employees and employers, better spouses, and better members of Christ's body.

References:
R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell, 1-2 Timothy and Titus

Feb 7 - A Living Sacrifice - Leviticus 1-3; Matt 24

In Leviticus, God is now dwelling in the midst of his people, and gives them directions concerning their worship of him and their communion with him. Notice how throughout this book God is the speaker, through Moses.

We should note three outstanding features of the burnt offering mentioned here.

Firstly, the offerings are to be without blemish (1:3,10). We are to offer our best to God. He give His best to us, shouldn’t we give our best to Him? Our best youth, best time, best fruits, best wealth, best energy, to Him. Any other object that receives our best is our idol.

Secondly, the offerings are to be completely burned. All of it, burned. Christianity is not a religion tucked into one corner in our time schedules (most often Sundays). All our lives are lived for the glory and in the presence of our Lord.

Thirdly, the person making the burnt offering has his sins atoned for him (1:4) and as a result, he is accepted before God like a “pleasing aroma before the Lord” (1:9,13,17). Thank God for our atoning lamb, Jesus Christ, that we are accepted before the Lord. Now, in view of such grace, how should we live? Reflect on Romans 12:1-2.

Feb 6 - The Ultimate Tabernacle - Exodus 39-40; Matt 23:23-39

Picturing the tabernacle and its furniture as described in Exodus 39, we can only praise and thank God that all of these are fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

"8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." (Heb. 9:8–12.)

Note the phrase that occurs repeatedly in this passage concerning the making of the tabernacle “as the Lord had commanded Moses”. In today’s world where we have rock concert style worships, ‘fire-filled’ tongue blabbering, can we afford to continue worship and service to God according to our own rules and desires? Have we lost the fear and the love of our God in them?

Feb 5 - Types of the Tabernacle - Exodus 37-38; Matt 22

The tabernacle signified both God’s approach to man and also man’s way of drawing near to God. In view of this, what is the significance of the table of shewbread? “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.” (John 6:57)

The candlestick or lampstand? Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

And the altar of incense? “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Feb 4 - From One Degree to Another - Exodus 34-36; Matt 22:23-46

Moses had seen the glory of the Lord in the cloud. He had communed with God as he received His commandments. Yet, Moses yearned for a fuller knowledge of the Lord. God had said that He knew Moses by name; Moses likewise wanted to know God by name in a full and personal encounter.

In Exodus 34 God fully answered Moses’ request fulfilling the promise in 33:19. Though God could not permit Moses to see the full glory of His face, but He would allow him to see His back. God covered Moses in the crevice of a rock while His glory passed by. He proclaimed His name afresh to Moses: the "I AM" God, who would be gracious to whom He would be gracious and sovereignly merciful. He is eternally the God who is "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14)

The response of such a revelation of glory is strict obedience to God (34:11). “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; Do not make any idols. The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.” (34:14,15,17,19,20)

What was the consequence which God has warned? “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.” (34:12) Isn't this a reminder for us today,  not to go down the path of constant pain in daily living, marriage and all other areas of life?

As a result of his communion with God the skin of Moses’ face shone. In the case of us Christians now, we should be reminded that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor 3:18)

Feb 3 - Tragically - Exodus 31-33

When at last Moses began descending from Sinai, he held in his hands the tablets of stone on which God had returned the words of His law. Yet, the weight of God's law in his hands was less than a weight he carried on his heart. God had given Moses a final command: to go down to a people who had already turned away from the covenant they had so solemnly affirmed. They were not to make an idol (Ex 20:4). But they had already made a golden calf, worshiped it and sacrificed it.

When Moses saw the licentious orgy at the foot of the Mountain, it was too much for him. He flung down the tablets of God's law shattering them. When Moses called out for those who were for the Lord, only the Levites, Moses' own tribe rallied to him. Moses commissioned them to execute God's sentence on the rebels and about three thousand died as the Levites carried out their grim task.

What future remained for Israel? If the people completed violated God's covenant at the very foot of the mountain where God was speaking, what point was there in continuing the covenant relation? Moses pleaded with God not to blot Israel out of the book of life but to blot out his name instead. Centuries later, the apostle Paul reflected the same plea of Moses, that "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. " (Romans 9:3-4)

Many people today want of religion where they do not lose all contact with God, but prefer that their relations with HIm be handled by a professional. Left a clergyman do the praying. It is well to have God available at no great distance. We might need His help, in a counseling center perhaps. But to have God at the center of our lives - that is decidedly too close. His presence would be most inconvenient for some of our business deals, our entertainment, or our grabbing a little of the gusto that the TV commercials advertise. Is this true of us?

If it were us thousands of years ago at the foot Sinai, would we have fared even better? How are we faring now?

Feb 2 - The High Priest - Exodus 29-30

In the instruction concerning the consecration of the priests, we distinguish the various parts of the ceremony: the cleansing (1-4), the robing (5-6), the anointing (7-9), and for rest of the chapter, the sacrifices. Reflect on our High Priest who stands out in marked contrast to Aaron.

"For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever."
(Heb. 7:26–28)

In verses 38–46, note the significance of the daily burnt offering morning and evening. Shouldn't this remind us ourselves that we are to come into prayer, praising, confessing, giving thanks, supplicating, to our Lord in the morning and evenings?

Feb 1 - From Top to Toe - Exodus 27-28;

Each of the high priest's garments has its own significance. The coat of pure linen (28:39) indicates the high priest as a righteousness man; the blue robe (31-35) as a heavenly man; the mitre with its golden plate (36-38) as a holy man. Reflect how in all these the ways how the priestly garments reflected the ultimate high priest.

Secondly, what can we learn from this chapter concerning the way in which to draw near to God on behalf of others? We learn that the high priest bears the judgment of his people upon when he comes before the Lord. "Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly." (28:30)

Such a drawing near before a perfectly holy God is something intensely fearful.
"And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die." (28:35)

How must we be clad, and what ought we to be concerned to do? We must be clad in utter and complete holiness "lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him." (43)

As believers under the new covenant, how grateful are we that we are covered by the precious blood of Christ that we come before God in confident access!

Jan 31 - God Tabernacled With Man - Exod 25-26; Matt 23

At Sinai, God gave Israel not only their law of His covenant, but also the tent of His dwelling. God would be their God by His presence as well as by His word. In the cloud on Mt Sinai, Moses received detailed instructions for the building of the tabernacle, the tent that would be the house of God in the midst of the tents of Israel.

For forty days, Moses remained on top of the mountain, screen from Israel by the cloud of God's presence. Two reflections:

Firstly, what was the twofold purpose of the tabernacle? "that I may dwell in their midst.", "22 There I will meet with you and…I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel" (25:8,22)

Through the tabernacle, God meets with man and reveals His commands for us. We cannot just yearn to see God and live on life with our own agendas. Knowing God entails obedience to His commands as the center of our lives.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

Secondly, the mercy seat was a slab of pure gold with cherubim at either end. It acted as a lid on the ark covering the tables of testimony inside. On it, the high priest sprinkled blood to make atonement.

Only above the mercy seat is there atonement and where God and man can meet and commune together (8:20-22) because man's sin is propitiated for by the sprinkled blood. What ultimate blood was sprinkled for us? How should we live in response to this?

"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2)

Jan 30 - On the Mountain - Exod 22-24; Matt 22

We cannot understand the ten commandments apart from Jesus Christ. They are not only a list of 'dos' and 'don'ts'. We must not forget the Lord who spoke the words from Sinai and the context in which He spoke them. God's commands call His people to acknowledge Him as their Savior and Lord.

The law at Sinai expresses God's demand for perfect obedience. God is perfectly holy and can require nothing less. But God did not bring His people out of Egypt to consume them in the flame of Sinai. His purpose was to save them. Thus, God gave the law to enter into a covenant with His redeemed people. They promised to keep all the words that God spoke (Ex 24:3). Sacrifices were offered, and both the altar and the people were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice. From the very outset, it was clear that atonement must be made and that the atonement must come from God's altar.

Christ's coming is not a divine afterthought. The blood of the covenant sprinkled at Sinai witnesses to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God chosen from the foundation of the world. We may distinguish between the ten commandments and the ceremonial law. But we need to remember that they were given together. God did not speak words that could only condemn His people without providing the symbols of atonement.

When we hear God's law given from Sinai, therefore, we must not only tremble at its thunder and flee to Christ for His forgiveness and righteousness. We must also hear in it God's zeal for His own Son, and find in it witness to the redemptive purpose of the God who redeemed Israel from bondage.

Jesus kept the law for us. He learned obedience through the things He suffered. In His obedience, He was not only our representative, but our example. He transformed and deepened the law even as He fulfilled it. He enables us to understand the will of our heavenly Father as we understand the covenant made at Sinai. Above all, He renews us by His Spirit so that we may do what the law asks: love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and our neighbor as ourselves.

Refences:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery

Jan 29 - Loving God - Exod 19-21; Matt 21

God appeared in glory at Mount Sinai. The people were led by Moses to the very place where God had spoken from the flaming bush. But this time, not just a bush but the whole mountain was in flames! The earth shook; rocks broke open. But most dreadful of all was a sound more awesome than the crashing thunder: the sound of the voice of the living God.

The author of Hebrews describes the terror that scene: the mountain burning with fire, the darkness, gloom and storm (Heb 12:18-21). Then the heavenly trumpets sounded and God spoke. The people who heard those words begged that they might never again be exposed to such terror. They asked Moses to intervene for them. Let him ascend that fearful mountain and hear the voice of God!

In the great assembly at Sinai, God spoke to His people. He gave them His law in the context of His redemption. The Ten commandments begin with God's description of Himself as the Redeemer of Israel, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Ex 20:2)

The great mistake of legalism is to detach the law of God from the God who gave it. The ten commandments are not an abstract code of duty hung in the void. The first commandment governs the rest, "You shall have no other gods before me." Assembled before the very presence of God, we must acknowledge God as God alone. We are to love Him with all our hearts, soul, strength and mind.  We are to love Him with an exclusive love for our jealous God who seeks marital devotion. There are to be no rivals.

The demand of love has its source in God. the command for marital faithfulness, to not commit adultery points beyond itself to the faithful love of God for His people and His call for their jealous devotion in return. The love of God is where all true human love springs forth. Should this remind us that we can only truly love our neighbors when we first truly love God?

Refences:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery

Jan 27 - Redeemed By Him, For Him - Exod 13-15; Matt 19

In the last act of the drama, Pharaoh repeatedly went back on his promise to release the people. When they had actually begun their march, he changed his mind again and sent his chariots storming after them. The war chariots of ancient Egypt were the great mobile striking force of their day, feared by the armies of the ancient world. They saw the escaping slaves without arms and burdened with children, cattle and cartloads of household goods. Escape was impossible, for the Egyptians army hemmed them in against the shores of the Red Sea.

The people again attacked Moses bitterly, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Ex 14:11-12)

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (14:13-14)

God Himself drove by the Egyptians and held them at bay for the night in the pillar of fire. And we know the great redemption of the Red Sea, "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    "the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;" (15:1-2)

The theme of salvation is of the Lord is the great theme of the bible being repeated in the psalms and in Isaiah to describe the future salvation of the people of God (Isa 12:2). Nowhere is more portrayed graphically than in God's great act in rescuing Israel from Egypt.

We should bear in mind that God's purpose however was not simply to deliver Israel from Pharoah's yoke. It was to bring them under His yoke. God demanded that Pharaoh let the people go that they might serve Him. That they might be gathered at His feet, that He might claim them as His holy people, the treasure of His grace. The same for us.

Refences:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery

Jan 26 - The Passover - Exodus 11-12; Matt 19

The passover powerfully symbolized God's claim on Israel. Because Pharaoh would not free God's firstborn son, Israel, God in judgment claimed the firstborn son in the house of Pharaoh, and in evert other family of Egypt. We might think that Israel did not face such threat, but the angel of death was sent to bring judgment on every Israelite home as well. In the ceremonial law given to Israel later, the first fruit of the harvest and firstborn of the stock was viewed as representative of all the rest. God put His claim upon it to signify that all belonged to him. God could claim every creature as His own.

Secondly, we see that all sinful creatures stand under the judgment of God. The infliction of the judgment on the firstborn would present the penalty due to all. If God in His righteousness were to exact this penalty from the sinful Egyptians, Israel could not be spared as well for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Israel as well as Egypt.

God's justice upon the sin of man must be met. A lamb without blemish was to be killed and its blood put on the lintel and doorposts of a house; the angel of death seeing the blood would passover that household. The blood showed that death had taken place. The lamb had died in place of the oldest son and therefore also in the place of others represented by the oldest son. Israel was not freed just from the burden of bondage but also from the guilt of sin. Their eating of the lamb marked the restored fellowship with God that comes from the atonement God provides. They were to eat the passover in their traveling clothes because God's promise is sure.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate passover lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Through Him, God claimed us sinners as His precious possession. He is our passover, sacrificed for us. Our meal of fellowship with God is His communion feast. The whole story points to Christ.

Several thousand years later, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about the 'exodus' He had to accomplish at Jerusalem. He who was offered as the sacrificial lamb was also the Savior and Liberator. He came to proclaim liberty to the captive, and He broke the ultimate yoke of bondage to liberate all the people of God.

Refences:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery

Jan 25 - In Absolute Control - Exodus 9-10; Matt 18:1-21

Yahweh deals a crushing defeat to the most powerful totalitarian government of the day. Not only does He defeat Pharaoh and his army, but He invokes all the forces of nature to bring plagues on the Egyptians and to deliver his own people. He defeats Egypt and its gods (Ex 12:12), thus showing himself to be Lord of heaven and earth.

We see the sovereignty of God in showing his purposeful discrimination in natural events. In Exodus 9:13-26, he brings a terrible hailstorm upon the Egyptians, but leaves one area untouched, the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived. God gives rain to one and withholds it to another (Amos 4:7). He sends prosperity and he sends famine.

Thus, the natural world is intensely personalistic. Natural events come from God, the personal Lord. The idea that there is some impersonal mechanism called 'nature' or 'natural law' that governs the universe is absent from the bible. So is the notion of ultimate 'randomness'. Behind gravity, electricity, rain, hail, even apparent randomness of events, stands the personal God, who controls all things by his powerful word.

Needless to say, the hearts of man, even if he is a king, is still under God's control (Prov 21:1) as it is with Pharaoh (Ex 9:16).

Praise our Lord who controls the entire course of nature and history for His own glory and to accomplish His own purposes.

He controls the entire course of nature and history for his own glory and to accomplish his own purposes.

Jan 24 - A Liberation not of Man - Exodus 7-8; Matt 17

God's great deliverance of Israel was first of all a work of judgment. Joseph as the servant of the Lord had brought blessing to Egypt but Moses was given a sterner task. The miracles that God worked through Moses were plagues. Through the plagues, God punished the Egyptians until they were glad to see Israel and thus declaring His power over all the idols of Egypt.

Drama of Israel's deliverance played out between Moses, speaking for the Lord and Pharaoh being the adversary of the Israelites. The people of Israel did not revolt. In fact, they complained about Moses who seemed to cause their heavier oppression. Which goes to show that their liberation was not won by themselves; it was given by God.

The Exodus from Egypt points to an even greater ultimate victory over sin and death, through Yahweh in the flesh.

Jan 23 - The Call of Moses; Exod 4-6; Matt 16

But an even greater blessing was promised. Israel was called out of Egypt to meet with God and to worship Him on the very mountain where Moses stood. God called Israel His people, His firstborn son.

"Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”(Gen 4:22-23)

God would once again establish His covenant with Israel at Sinai as He had promised to the fathers. Moses did well to ask of God's name, since the promises of God were so great that God Himself had to come to keep His word. Jacob long ago asked for the name of the Angel of the Lord as the wrestling match ended. Moses wanted to know the Lord who called him. He would seek the privilege of addressing God by name.

The deliverance of Israel is God's work. Nevertheless, God chose to save them through Moses, His servant. The patriarchs were God's servants; they carried special roles as household heads and elders of the people. But God called Moses to be His servant in a new way. He held authority as a prophet, to bring God's word to the people; he was the ruler and judge of Israel; he led them through the wilderness, interceded with God for them when they sinned and instructed them in the way. The figure of Moses was made the model for the prophets who were to follow.

More than that, such a pattern pointed to the work of the Messiah, Deut 18:18 "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. "

But before we think we can accept such a call with ease, imagine that Moses could also hear the challenge from his own people forty years ago, "Who made you ruler and judge over us?" (Ex 2:14). And Moses realized his own limitations (3:11).

Moses knew the might of Pharaoh and the weakness of Israel; yet he did not know the power of the Lord. Yet he believed God and went to Egypt. When he stood again at Mount Sinai, it was with thousands upon thousands of the people of Israel.

References:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery

Jan 22 - Deliverance Begins - Exod 1-3; Matt 15:21-39

Moses had led not one but two lives in his years of court life in Egypt. He was an Egyptian prince raised in the palace of the Pharaoh, an adopted son of the royal family. Yet when servants attended him under the awning of a royal vessel on the Nile, he would remember again his mother's story of another vessel: a little basket made into a boat by a coating of tar. Moses was a Hebrew a baby, born when the Pharaoh had decreed genocide for the Hebrew population of Egypt. All male Hebrew babies were to the put to death. The Hebrew women could then be absorbed as servants and mistresses into the Egyptian nation.

However, the God of Israel had given a baby boom to the slaved Hebrews. Mothers found new ways to hide their newborn children. Few however had been as effective as Jochebed, mother of Moses. The strategy was wise, but Moses well knew why it was effective. The God of his fathers had touched the heart of the princess. Under the sentence of death, like Joseph before him, he was raised up to be a prince of Egypt.

But the situation of Israel in Egypt had changed drastically. Israel growed rapidly and were viewed as threats by the Pharaoh.

What calling did Moses have as a prince? The Egyptians were exploiting the people in slavery with whips, torture, abuse. Must Moses be their deliverer? Yes, he must choose. Choose between Egypt and Israel, rule and slavery, luxury and agony.

There was no plan about beginning. No counsel from elders. He stood by just watching with growing anger as an Egyptian taskmaster lashed the bloody back of a helpless Hebrew slave. To stop him, he would have to kill him. He looked around, no one…

The next day, he knew his deed was known (Ex 2:13-14). Israel did not recognize Moses as a deliverer. Rather, Egypt recognized him as a betrayer. Immediately, he escaped to the wilderness of Sinai, 'retiring' as a shepherd.

Forty years later, Moses who enjoyed his quiet life in the warm blue skies of the Sinai peninsula noticed a bush that was burning.

We know that the Lord began a new era in His plan of salvation. God revealed himself to Jacob and Joseph by dreams and visions; but he would reveal himself to Moses as directly a man speaks with a friend. But yet, there remained a gulf to be bridged. It was a holy place where Moses had to his shoes off. The slopes of Mt Sinai had become the holiest spot on earth for the Lord Himself appeared in glory.

It is God who took the initiative. Who called Moses from the bush, hearing the groans of Israel in captivity, and remembering the promise He had made to the fathers. The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, had come down to deliver their descendants, to be their God and Savior. The same God who delivered the Israelites then, today delivers us.

References:
Edmund Clowney - The Unfolding Mystery

Jan 21 - His Promise - Gen 49-50; Matt 15:1-20

God did, indeed keep His covenant with Israel in the life of Joseph. The psalmist reminds us that through Joseph, God provided for the family of Israel in time of famine. (Ps. 105:16-19)

Joseph was kept safe by God: (Gen 49:24-25) "because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty,who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers."

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Gen 50:20)

Jacob as he blessed Joseph, was blessing the Lord, not only for delivering his son but for showing His faithfulness to the great promise that was the center of Jacob's life. God other than making his descendants a nation, God had raised up a son of him to be a blessing to the nations, to rule in wisdom for the preservation of life.

What God did and the way he did it was astonishing. Israel's sons did not gain control in Egypt by military or political power. They in fact tried to kill one of their own, precisely because of his prophetic gift. The way God did it was through Joseph's suffering. He suffered because of his faithfulness to God. And this path of suffering led to a throne and to the fulfillment of God's word, given by the revelation of his dreams. God had made the life of Joseph a sign of the way in which His blessing would come.
It seems surprising that Jacob blesses his blessing of the ruler's scepter and the obedience of the nations to Judah, not Joseph. It is Judah, not Joseph that Jacob sees his sons bowing (Gen 49:8). The dream that was fulfilled for Joseph, old Israel not puts in prospect for Judah. He likens Judah to a crouching lion, and continues: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him;" (49:10)

Yes, Jacob knew that Judah was the leader. Judah had faithfully met the test Joseph had given to the brothers (Gen 44). Yet Jacob's blessing goes far beyond anything the aged patriarch could control or understand. He spoke by inspiration: it was the purpose of God that the Messiah would come of the tribe of Judah.

Was it difficult for old Jacob to confess again the promises of God? Jacob was again in exile, in Egypt. Yet, the blessing of Jacob looked forward to what God would do. The Ruler of God's choosing would eventually come and the scepter would be His.

The ancient prophecy is recalled again in the last book of the bible. John weeps because there is no one who can open the book of God's decrees. One of the elders in the throne room of heaven responds, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Rev 5:5)

Jesus, the Lion of Judah, is also the Lamb that was slain. He who is the Lord came as the Servant. Like the sign of Joseph and the fulfillment in Jesus, God's power is made perfect in weakness. Not by human might, but by the power of God's Spirit, the promises of His word are fulfilled. God's chosen ruler is His suffering servant, betrayed by His brethren, but raised up to fulfill God's promise.

References:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery

Jan 19 - A Transformation - Gen 44-45; Matt 16

When the famine forced the brothers to return to Egypt, Judah guaranteed his father that he would bring Benjamin safely back. That guarantee was severely tested. Joseph had his silver cup planted in Benjamin's sack of grain. He then had him pursued and arrested as a thief. The brothers did not abandon Benjamin but returned to Egypt with their arrested brother. It was Judah who offered himself as hostage in the place of Benjamin so that the young man could be returned to his father.

This evidence of Judah's repentance overwhelmed Joseph. In tears, he revealed his true identity. Judah's intercession for Benjamin demonstrated as words never could the genuineness of his sorrow for the betrayal of Joseph. From a sexual hypocritical pervert, he became one willing to sacrifice for others. Aren’t we reminded, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Today, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit for regeneration unto sanctification. Do we express such transformation in our own lives?

Jan 17 - The King in Control - Gen 41; Matt 14

God controls all the events of nature including all apparently random events including our existence that starts from the combination of one sperm and one egg. Not only does He control all nature, He also controls the course of our own life. Acts 17:26 says "And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,"

God is King over all nations, over all the earth and He governs the events of human history for his purposes. Consider the ways in which God governs great events of history in the life of Joseph. Betrayed, sold into slavery into Egypt by his brothers but later elevated to a position of prominence and preserves his family in Egypt where they later become a great nation. The Genesis narrative ascribes all these events to the Lord.

Joseph interprets Pharoah's two dreams as indicating seven prosperous years followed by seven years of famine. Joseph denies that he has any of his own ability to interpret dreams, Gen 41:16 "Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
41:28 "God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do."
41:32 "And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about."

It is God who will bring prosperity and then famine. Ahead in Gen 45:5-8 and 50:20, we see that even the betrayal by his brothers is the Lord's work. Again and again, it is God who brings about each event, good or evil for his good purposes. He does not merely allow Joseph to be sent to Egypt; He himself sends him, though certainly the treacherous brothers are responsible. Throughout the scriptures, God stands behind each great historical event.

Through the centuries of redemptive history, everything has come from God. He rules the whole course of human history. His might control and deeds prove him to be no less than King over all the earth.

References:
John Frame, Doctrine of God

Jan 16 - The Contrast of Two Brothers: Gen 38-40; Matt 13

We see the contrast between Judah and Joseph in Genesis 38 and 39. Judah is a free and prosperous man, but when he is bereaved of his wife, he ends up sleeping with his daughter in law. He deploys a double standard and shames his family. Outwardly, he wants Tamar to be executed for sin. But inwardly, he forgot that he himself has committed the same sin. What better definition for a hypocrite than the incompatibility of the inward and outward self?

Joseph in contrast is a slave, yet under the blessing of God retains his sexual purity and integrity. Which one is happier in the eyes of the world? Which one is happier in the light of eternity?

A second lesson we learn is that Genesis 39 is part of the march toward Joseph's elevation to leadership in Egypt. By the wretched means in Gen 37, 39-40, Joseph eventually becomes prime minister of Egypt and saves many from starvation - including his own extended family and therefore the messianic line. But Joseph could not know how all that would work out as he was going through his misery. But Joseph walks by faith in God's providence and not by sight.

Jan 15 - Hated, Betrayed, Sold, Glorified: Gen 36-37; Matt 12:1-21

From the beginning of his days in Haran, Jacob had loved Rachel; Joseph was Rachel's son, born to her after many years of barrenness. Jacob's love for the mother drew him to her son. His favoritism shown in the well-known 'coat of many colors' that he gave Joseph (Gen 37:3).

Jacob's preference for Joseph aroused the jealousy of his brothers in the divided family, sons from his father's concubines; he made them furious by reporting their evil deeds to his father. What brought their hatred to the boiling point, however, was God's favor towards Joseph (Genesis 37:6-7,9). Even Jacob felt to reprimand Joseph. But yet, Jacob himself had reason to remember that God could give improbable dreams.

But if Jacob though it possible that the Almighty had great purposes for Joseph, his hopes were shattered when one day, the torn and bloody cloak of Joseph was brought to him by the brothers. Jacob had sent him to seek out his brother only to be apparently attacked and devoured. Where was the defense that God had given to Jacob?

Doesn't God care?

When we are prompted to ask the same question, we must read on and grow in knowledge of our Lord who ordains all things in His good purposes; in whom we can absolutely trust, depend and hope upon for the day of full glory.

Jan 14 - Seeing the face of the Lord: Genesis 33-35; Matt 11

Jacob looked upon the face of His Maker and was spared (Gen 32:30). Later that morning, he faced Esau who did not seek to eliminate him but to embrace him. In return, Jacob urged him to accept the presents (Gen 33:10). The favor Jacob saw on Esau's face was favor given by God. Having seen the face of God, he need not fear the face of Esau or of any other man. He had been delivered, not just from the hand of Esau, but from the hand of God.

That the Lord appeared as a man to wrestle with Jacob anticpates the Incarnation. Such a theophany appears later when the Angel who represented the presence of God, distinct from the Lord yet identified with Him brings them into the Promised Land (Ex 23:21). Reflect on similar situations in Genesis 18-19, Joshua 5-6.

The Lord suffers an apparent defeat to Jacob but yet, He gains the true victory. The Lord of glory humbles Himself so that helpless sinners may receive His blessing.

The name of the Lord is too wonderful, too glorious for Jacob. Yet, He Himself comes to Jacob that he may know Him. Jacob saw the face of the Lord but dimly. Yet, it anticipates we seeing the full light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Jacob asked for God's own name; we are baptized into the name of the triune God.

What about Jacob's wrestling in the darkness of Peniel and Christ's agony in the darkness of Gethsemane? The agony that came upon Jacob, being struck by the Angel on the thigh points to a greater agony that came about because a greater Jacob was smitten, struck down, afflicted by God.

As God's servant and the heir of God's promise, Jacob points us to the true Israel, who prevailed in the agony of His death to bring us to God, that we may see His face.

References:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery - Discovering Christ in the Old Testament

Jan 13 - Wrestlemania: Genesis 31-32; Matt 10:24-42

Jacob knew that he was the heir of God's blessings. For twenty years, he went through turbulent times of struggling and blessedness. Jacob the deceiver had been deceived by his crafty uncle Laban. Yet, God's blessing overwhelmed Laban's spite. Jacob prospered and as he journeyed back, his wealth followed him in streams of sheep, goats and cattle.

High drama surrounded Jacob's return to the land. He returned in obedience to God's command. But his departure from Haran was an unceremonious flight of being pursued. The two concluded an uneasy truce with an appeal to the Lord to oversee their separate mistrust. “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight. If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.” (Genesis 31:49-50)

But the escape from the confrontation was only a small part of Jacob's concern. Worse up was facing the hatred and sworn revenge of Esau. His apprehension grew as he neared his brother, but then encamped angels who guarded the land of the promise challenged Jacob that his return was not just encountering his brother, but with the Lord of Hosts (Gen 32:1-2). Yet, Jacob would have been reassured that the God of promise kept the land of the promise. The one who knows and fears the Lord of Hosts need fear no other.

To make peace with Esau, Jacob sent a delegation with magnificent gifts ahead. But they had alarming news that Esau was on his way to meet with four hundred men! In panic, Jacob divided his people into two companies (that at least one half could flee) and fled to the Lord in a prayer of full dependence of deliverance (Gen 32:10-11). How could Jacob's descendants become as countless as the sand of the seashore (32:12) if they were to be obliterated now?

Jacob was in conflict and struggle all his life started from the wrestling with Esau in his mother's womb. This struggle was potential to be reignited now. But another deeper struggle brought this crisis in his life. Jacob's struggle was with God. Earnestly, fiercely, he would prevail at seeking God's blessing of promise at any cost by any means! He twisted, gripped, fought against his opponent. At issue was the whole meaning of his life! The very blessing that he had deceived to receive. Yet the one who struggled with him was the very angel of the Lord. God himself as a man. No wonder Jacob's adversary was too strong for him.

His thighs trembled. His fear brought desperation. And at the moment when his opponent touched his hip, the strength of his leg was gone. He had lost. But yet, Jacob clung fiercely to his awesome adversary. However weak he is, however teary he is, he will cling on to His blessings.

Centuries later, the prophet Hosea reminded Jacob's descendants of their forefather's strange victory (Hosea 12:2-6). Though the tribes were guilty like Jacob was, God dealt with him amid his deceptions but he prevailed with God as he wept and sought His grace.

Jacob did not win the wrestle. But he won in faith. When all is lost, cling to God alone.

References:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery - Discovering Christ in the Old Testament

Jan 12 - Lust. Desire. What's the difference? Gen 29-30; Matt 10

Gen 29:17 records that Jacob recognized Rachel as beautiful. Certainly there was a aesthetic attraction that sparked their relationship. But didn't Jesus say in Matt 5:27-28 not to lust? Was Jacob lusting then?

1. Lust is not sexual desire as such. Sexual desire is a God given incentive to marriage (but certainly not the primary motivation to marriage!), to intimacy in marriage, and to reproduction. 1 Corinthians 7:9 does not condemn the desire itself, but only a desire that CANNOT BE CONTROLLED.

2. Lust is not a general recognition of another person’s attractiveness (Gen 29:17). The human form is one of the beauties of God’s creation.

3. We should not confuse lust with temptation. One can be tempted to sin without sinning as Jesus was. This does not mean that we should seek out opportunities to be tempted. Quite the opposite (Matthew 6:13)

So then what is lust? It is the DESIRE, not just act, to engage in sexual acts that are contrary to God’s laws. So when a man thinks about the sexual attractiveness of a woman who is forbidden to him, he often slips across a line in which it becomes lustful intent (Matt 5:28).

Be very watchful about activities that lead us into a desire for sexual intercourse contrary to God’s will for us. But sexual sins, like others are not unforgivable (1 Cor 6:11).

Lastly, in this age of rampant abortion and complains about having children, we are reminded that conceiving is a gift of God (Gen 29:31).

References:

John Frame, Doctrine of the Christian Life

Jan 11 - A Heavenly Stairway, Immanuel: Gen 27-28; Matt 9:18-38

Both Rebekah and Jacob remembered that Issac had announced that he was about to give Esau his blessing and inheritance. The time of reckoning had come. Rebekah took immediate action. She was determined that Esau's bargain would be kept. Jacob must have the birthright.

Rebekah was the mastermind. She cooked the goats that Jacob had bought to her husband's taste - spices could cover any lack of gamey flavor. Then Jacob impersonated Esau before his blind father.

The deception was successful. Issac pronounced on Jacob the blessing of the firstborn son, the blessing God had given to Abraham and to the line of God's promise, the right of Jacob to rule over Esau (Genesis 27:37).

Jacob had the blessing. But now it seemed that he was closing all claim to the land. He was leaving it. How could the blessing of Abraham (Gen 28:3-4) be upon one who dared not reenter the land to which Abraham had been called?

Under the stars, Jacob rested. Then he dreamed not an ordinary dream. A great stone stairway, stretching up to heaven above. Angels climbed it; others descended. In the midst of the angels was the Lord Himself. He descended the ladder and then came and stood over Jacob.

The builders of Babel planned a tower that would reach heaven (Gen 11:4). The same phrase describes the stairway of Jacob's dream (Gen 28:12). Man's tower could not reach heaven. But the stairway-tower of Jacob's dream did reach heaven for God was the builder, not man. God alone establishes communication between heaven and earth. True religion does not come from man's quest, but from God's intervention. God himself takes the initiative just as God called to Adam and Even as they hid in the garden, who instructed Noah to build the ark, who called Abraham to leave his father's house, this same God took the initiative with Jacob. Paul reminds us that God chose Jacob, and not Esau, even before they were born (Rom 9:10-13). Jacob had nothing to boast of. All glory to God forever.

The God who repeated the blessing of Abraham, who repeated the terms of the promise (Gen 28:13-14), above all pledged His own presence with Jacob (28:15). God had not come down His stairway in vain. And in response, Jacob did not right away survey the land, of think of the bride in Haran, but rather, that God Himself dwelt with him (Gen 28:16-17). He learnt what Abraham also learnt, that there is a better country, the heavenly one (Heb 11:14-16).

We should not be too ready to blame Jacob for bargaining with God. What he claimed was what God had promised; what he pledged was the thankful worship always due to the Lord who delivers. Jacob did not lose the awe and devotion his dream had inspired.

Reflect on the revelation from the greater Jacob that would far surpass Jacob's dream (John 1:51). The true Bethel, the true Temple of God, the true stairway, Immanuel.

References
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery - Discovering Christ in the Old Testament

Jan 10 - A Pot of Stew: Gen 25-26; Matt 9:1-17

Rivalry existed between the twins. They were enemies. Esau had been born first and was therefore his father's primary heir. But Jacob could never agree to that. Even in birth, his mother told him that Jacob had caught his brother by the heel. His mother's favorite later used his skill as a cook to set up an outrageous deal with Esau. Jacob cooked a pot of lentil stew just as Esau came in hungry from the hunt one day. And incredibly it seems with Esau, he agreed and so sold his place as the firstborn son for a plate of stew (Genesis 25:29-34).  What Jacob desired above everything else was not worth one lunch to Esau.

One thing led to another. Esau's fury was waiting only for the death of his father, Isaac, to avenge himself with Jacob's blood. Jacob became an exile as a result of this. True, Jacob had gone with his father's blessing to find bride among his mother's people in Haran (Genesis 28:2). But he was never to see his mother again. O, how destructive are the consequences of sin - a reminder that we cannot afford to be weary of.

References:
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery - Discovering Christ in the Old Testament

Jan 9 - Respecting Property: Gen 23-24; Matt 8

The eighth commandment assumes that God has given to human beings ownership of property. Of course, ultimately all property belongs to God. But He does call human beings to take dominion over the earth in His name (Gen 1:28-30). Which means we have a responsibility to care for God’s creation and also enjoy that creation. We are to steward this inheritance to God’s glory as well as to our own benefit.

When Abraham bought a burial plot for his wife, he respected the property rights of the Hittite people and insisted that he paid fairly for it. We should not take advantage of people no matter what reasonings we give ourselves. We should not steal.

Some have no problem not stealing physical property. Yet, when it comes to digital property, we excuse ourselves. The illegal downloads of movies, software, songs, books. How would it affect movie producers, programmers, artists and authors?

Be content and thankful with the property we have. Man can own private property but are to remember that God is the ultimate owner of creation and the one who has ultimate authority over it.

Lastly, we reflect on the faith that Abraham demonstrated in the covenant promises by buying his first property in the Promised Land even though he was just a sojourner. Do we have such a faith in the inheritance of the new heavens and new earth?

References:
John Frame, Doctrine of the Christian Life

Jan 8 - The Promise of Blessing: Genesis 20-22; Matthew 7

Our understanding of blessing has faded with our awareness of the presence of God. Blessing is the pronouncing of God's favor. It includes the gifts that God gives as evidence of His love and favor. But blessing is more than gifts. It is the bond of favor that joins God's people with Him.

This bond of favor is reflected in Abram's relationship with God. He could call on the name of the Lord who revealed to him (Genesis 12:7-8), he could pray for others: for Sodom and here for Abimelech (Genesis 20). Abram's being blessed became a blessing to others. In other words, Abram was a friend of God. His name was made great and he witnessed to the great name of God.

In Genesis 21, God's promise to Abraham was kept. Sarah bore a son whose name was given by God: Issac - Laughter. At the circumcision of Issac, Sarah laughed again - not in unbelief but in incredulous joy (Genesis 21:6-7). God promises the impossible and performs His promise. "In Issac, shall they seed be called" (Gen 21:12) Issac was the heir of the promise.

In the fullness of time, God's promised Son was born. When the angel announced the birth to Mary, she whispered in amazement (Luke 1:34). But the answer she received was the same one God had given to Sarah, "No word is impossible with God!" (Luke 1:37, Gen 18:14). Need we wonder that Jesus should say, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it and was glad?" (John 8:56)

Abraham's strengthened faith clung to the promise, and his joy welcomed the birth of Laughter. So too, he could look ahead to the day when all of God's promise would be fulfilled in his Seed.

References
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery - Discovering Christ in the Old Testament

Jan 7 - God as Man: Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6

Genesis 18:20-21 speaks of God coming down to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah saying, "I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

Is God ignorant that He needed to visit to Sodom to gain information that he did not already possess?

But as in Genesis 3:9, God is visiting sinful men in preparation for judgment. When God draws near to men in scripture, it is for blessing or for judgment. The emphasis is not on God gaining information to complete his own understanding of the situation, but rather on God as prosecutor gathering evidence to present an indictment. Genesis 19 vindicates God's judgment, for the two angels not only know about the wickedness of Sodom but actually experience it. The evidence is specific and concerete. The visit was to add knowledge relevant to judgment.

Also, the context of this text is theophanic, that God appears as a man and describes his knowledge in human terms, that is, anthropomorphically. God did not gain knowledge by His visit to Sodom, but only appears to gain it.

We ought to remember that the sheer number of omniscience texts is vastly greater than the number of apparent ignorant texts. God's omniscience is our confidence in the Lord's power and promises.

In the theophany of Genesis 18, there is a greater anticipated theophany of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus was fully divine, was omniscient during his days on earth (John 16:30). But he also gained knowledge by asking people questions, by having new experiences. At times, he was amazed at what took place (Luke 7:9). The theophanic incarnation of Genesis 18 also presents us with a being who is divine in some ways and human in others that we can reflect some analogies between this theophany and Christ.

References:
John Frame, The Doctrine of God

Jan 6 - The Promise of the Covenant: Genesis 15-17; Matthew 5:27-48

God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:21-21, 17:7) includes the promises of seed, land and redemption. The same three elements are present in the other covenants with Adam, Noah, Moses, David and our high priest Jesus.

Abraham's descendants are to inherit the land of Canaan, and those descendants are to be like the sand of the sea and the stars of the sky. Abraham must receive these promises by faith, for during his life, he owns not one square inch of land in Canaan, and for many years, he awaits the promise of a son. And the redemption carries us far beyond Abraham's family where we have read previously in Genesis 12:3.

As with Adam and Noah, the covenant also contains obligations, laws. In Genesis 17:1, God commands Abraham to "walk before me and be blameless." God commands Abraham in 17:9 that Abraham is to keep his covenant through all generations which includes the covenantal sign of circumcision. Unless Abraham obeys, the covenant blessing will not come (Gen 18:19). God's covenant with Abraham, like all the covenants are conditional. They contain both promises and commands.

But there is a new covenant in Christ that goes beyond any of the others. A covenant where the eternal King sheds His blood for us so that no other blood will ever need to be shed. A covenant where Jesus affirms that He is the seed of the promise. That He sends his people not only to the land of Canaan but to the whole earth. And he accomplishes our final redemption from sin. Therein lies, the promise to bless all nations in Abraham being fulfilled in the new covenant.

References:
John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord

Jan 5 - In Whom All Shall Be Blessed: Genesis 12-14; Matthew 5:1-27

The flood did not do away with sin. Man is still sinful from his youth (Genesis 8:21). And even the descendants of righteous Noah rebel against God and set up a tower in Babel to make a name for themselves rather than for God. God stops their project by confusing their languages and spreading them across the earth, contrary to their will but in line with God's.

God then calls a man named Abram, later called Abraham. God calls Abraham to wander through a land he did not know, and He delivers him from potential disasters.

Abraham is a model of Christian faith, the faith that justifies, because he trusted in God's promise without reservation. Abraham trusted God's word rather than empirical evidence. Such trust characterized his life. He left his home in Ur to go to a country quite unknown to him. Later on, he held the same conviction that God will give him a son in spite of his and his wife's old age and was even willing to sacrifice his son, the son of the promise on the authority of God's word.

His faith lapsed, to be sure, in Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20), he was not sinless. But scripture commends the remarkable instances in his life when he believed God despite temptations to doubt (Hebrews 11:19). And as the fall of man still lingers on our minds, God promised redemption and blessings to all nations through Abraham's family, that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)

Jan 4: God's Covenant with Noah - Genesis 9-11; Matthew 4

We see from Genesis 6-8 that Noah obeys God, building an ark to save his family from the waters. Afterward in Genesis 9, God makes a covenant with Noah. Like all covenants, this one comes after a great deliverance. God's grace comes first, then the covenant with its obligations. It is always grace first followed by law. The great promise of the Noachic covenant is that God will never again destroy the earth with a flood. God seals that promise with the sign of a rainbow.

The law of the covenant renews the mandate for man to have dominion over the earth. Noah's family is to rule over all lower forms of life: the beasts, birds and fish. Now God is explicit in giving human beings meat as well as plants for their food. Man's diet will require the shedding of animal blood. But anybody who sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image (Genesis 9:5).

Genesis 9:6 reminds us that each human being is wonderfully precious in God's sight. We are not to divide the human race into some who bear God's image and some who don't, be it in races, nationalities, whether rich or poor, male or female, bond or free, even those so disabled that they cannot care for themselves, the unborn, those near death. The bible never excludes anyone from the dignity that goes with being in the image of God. It has enormous implications for the way we treat other people.

Nevertheless, after the fall, our image is not the same as its original. Ethically, we have marred and distorted the image. We try to be God, putting ourselves on the throne and even that image reflects God in an ironic way. Only a very special kind of creature can sin. But even as fallen creatures, we continue to bear God's image.

Who can saves us from our sin and remake us back into this image? Reflect on Romans 8:29-30 and give praise to God for the image of Christ that we are constantly being remade and renewed in, who Himself is the very image of God (Colossians 1:15), replacing Adam as the head of the human race (Romans 5:12-21).

And in that, we see that God desires to reconcile with us deeply, completely, that He desires to share meals with us. So after the great flood, God provided food for Noah and his family, inviting them to eat the flesh of animals as well as the fruits of the garden. The ultimate anticipation, the great meal in heaven, the messianic banquet, the wedding supper of the Lamb, in which celebrate the consummation of redemption and joy.

References:
John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord

Jan 3: Genesis 6-8; Matthew 3

In Genesis 4, though Cain has murdered his brother, God displays His mercy by placing a mark on Cain to preserve his life. Grace and mercy had been displayed beforehand when God allowed Adam and Eve to continue living even though they deserved death. Even more wonderfully, God intends to redeem His people through a promised deliverer (3:15)

The story carries on with Cain's descendants abusing God's preservation and falling more deeply into sin, rejoicing in their disobedience without even showing the degree of remorse that Cain displayed (4:23-24). Yet God's patience continues particularly shown in Genesis 5 which records a genealogy of patriarchs with very long lives. But in Genesis 6:3, God in response to very serious sin, significantly reduces the life span of human beings. His patience is drawing to an end.

Man does not heed this warning. They reach a peak of sinful rebellion (6:5) and God destroys all but one family through a great flood.

In Genesis 7:11-12, we read that "all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights."

In the first three days of creation, God divided the heaven, the earth, the sea (Gen 1:3-13) and the water 'under the expanse' from the water above it (1:7). What God divided in Genesis 1, He now brings back together. At His word, creation collapses in upon itself. The waters above and the waters below again meet and God's judgment falls on all except Noah's who "found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (6:8).

It is not that man's sin has been washed away in the Flood but rather that every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood (8:21). The flood alone cannot deal with sin. Sinfulness is nothing less than human nature. It is in Noah's family as much as in the familes that were destroyed (9:20-24). Noah's family is saved by grace, not by their goodness.

Thousands of years later, Peter carries the comparions of the flood to an even greater destruction, one of fire rather than by water (2 Peter 3:5-7). We realize that we as well are in a period of God's patience. A period where God is preserving the world to give people time to repent of their sins and believe in Christ (2 Peter 3:9). Shouldn't this motivate us to repentance and evangelism? God's patience will again come to an end. There will again be a time like the days of Noah and God will come in judgment when men least expect it.

References:
John Frame, The Doctrine of God

Jan 2: Genesis 3-5; Matthew 2

The fall of man was disobedience to a specific word of God (Genesis 2:16-17). God told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. The test was simple. Would they obey the word of God or not?

Some have trouble believing that God should take one act of disobedience so seriously. But James 2:10 says, if you disobey one statue, you disobey the whole law. Because, the root of it is that sin is of the heart. If you have the kind of heart to disobey one word of God, you have the kind of heart to disobey any other word of God. Either you are wholly devoted to serve God or you aren't. And God wants only wholehearted servants. The issue is the word of God. Eve hears two words. the word of God and the word of the talking snake. The word of Satan begins by questioning whether God has spoken (Gen 3:1). He then directly contradicts God and says, "You will not surely die." (3:4) A decision has to be made between two sources of authority. A choice of obedience to whom must be made. It is a question of loyalty, a question of who is her Lord.

Satan seeks to overturn the chain of authority of God, man, woman, animals. Satan comes as an animal and appeals to the woman to reject her husband's authority. The man then puts himself above God, blaming God for the whole situation. Satan wants Eve to think she can transcend her finite position, that she can be like God (3:5).

Eve chose Satan's word above God's. Ultimately, she followed her own judgment, her own reason, autonomously, without a higher authority. Adam then, was also face with two choices, the word of God and the word of his wife. As head of the race, it is his sin, not Eve's, that the bible says infects us all. Adam was our representative. When he sinned, we all sinned (Rom 5:12).

Reflect on the one who was tempted in a far stronger way, yet remained faithful to His Father, and seeks one day to restore all things back to perfection.

References:
John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord

Jan 1: Genesis 1-2; Matthew 1

Several reflections on Genesis 1.

1. God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, ex nihilo. A human artist must have material to work with, such as clay, paint or a canvas. But God used no material. It is as if a human artist made not only a statue but the clay and all the raw materials that make up the clay. God made everything in the heavens, the earth and the sea. There is nothing that God didn't create. And just as with creation, where everything is of God, so is with our redemption, everything is of God. Salvation belongs to the Lord.

2. God's word is language as well as power. The word God spoke in creation was meaningful and authoritative. God not only spoke all things into being, but he also named them. He called the light 'day', and the darkness 'night'. Five times in Genesis 1 God calls created things by giving them names. This shows His thought, His meaningful purpose, and His authority over all creatures. Because He is the creator and we the creation, we are obligated to believe and obey Him. The creation displays God's lordship from the beginning of time. Will we hear, understand and obey?

3. God sets forth man's basic task to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28. God calls man to bring his influence and dominion over the whole earth. a) Adam and Eve were to have children. b) The children were to spread out over the whole earth. c) They were to bring out the potential of the earth (be it science, the arts, agriculture, politics) to meet their own needs more so, glorify God (1 Cor 10:31). The earth was to be subdued to God's glory and worship. God doesn't want the earth to be filled and subdued by people who hate him. Thus lies the significance of Matthew 28:19-20.

4. Thousands of years later, the bible's authors once again penned down the words "in the beginning". And it gave us a deeper knowledge of our triune God in His work of creation, that "All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:3)

References:
John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord