I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 8:11-12
God has no grandchildren. Each person must come to Christ personally. One cannot rely on one's parents' faith.
Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’ Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
Genesis 20:11-12
Abraham repeated the same sin he committed with Pharaoh of Egypt, this time with Abimelech, king of Gerar.
He again assumed the worst, but Abimelech turned out to be a God-fearing man.
Again, Abraham used a half-truth that basically was a lie.
May I not assume the worst of people, and may I be truly truthful, and not use lawyer buruk "truthful" lies.
See now, I have two virgin daughters. Please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them what seems good to you. Only don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the shadow of my roof.”
Genesis 19:8
As a father of two daughters myself, I can't imagine sacrificing my daughters to be raped like that. How Sodom had corrupted Lot! But even so, God saw Lot as redeemable, for even Lot's horrible suggestion was borne out of his desire to do something good.
But he lingered; and the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and his two daughters’ hands, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city.
Genesis 19:16
Lot had a lot of wealth and property in Sodom, so he was reluctant to leave it, and the angels had to drag him and his family out to save them.
Is there anything I might be holding on to that God wants me to leave behind in order to save me from harm?
Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
Matthew 7:20-23
"for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)
But works are proof that our faith is real. If we really have faith in God, we *will* produce good fruit. If we're not producing good fruit yet we claim to know Christ, we need to examine our lives and see what's wrong, repent, and return to Him.
One of the bad fruits is self-righteous judgementalism:
“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5
This is different from discernment. "But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one." (1 Corinthians 2:15)
We humans, whether Christian or not, have a tendency towards judgementalism. We tend to think of ourselves as better than others morally, then condemn others.
God wants us to discern what is right in order to do it, not to be judgmental on others to make ourselves feel better than them and condemn them.
This is a struggle for me as well.
O Lord, help me to be discerning but not judgemental. Help me to show good fruit and be a channel of Your grace to others. In Jesus' name, amen.
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant.
Genesis 18:2-3
It appears that Abraham recognized who the three men were from the start.
Yahweh said, “Will I hide from Abraham what I do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”
Genesis 18:17-19
God foreknew that Abraham would keep the ways of YHWH and teach his descendants that as well, and predestined to bless him.
Here in Genesis we see what God tells us much later, "For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified." Romans 8:29-30
He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Genesis 17:13
People not biologically born of Abraham could also be part of the covenant.
We're not born of Abraham. We're gentiles. But because of God adopting us, we're also part of His covenant people.
We were not just bought with Abraham's money. We were bought with Jesus' blood on the cross.
All 3 psalms remind me that God is our protection, and He hears our prayers.
Even in difficult circumstances, we can rest in trust in Him and have peace.
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Genesis 16:1
Many think that Sarai obtained Hagar as her slave maid during the time in Egypt. Pharoah didn't take back the slaves he gave Sarai when she was in his harem.
If so, this was one of the unintended consequences of Abram's sin, though it might be possible that another slave girl would have been used for the same purpose had he not sinned in that way.
Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction.She called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?” Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Genesis 16:11, 13-14
"Ishmael" means "God hears" and "Beer Lahai Roi" means "The well of the Living One who sees me".
Hagar discovered God cares. He saw her, He heard her cry, and He took care of her, when her earthly master did not protect her.
Indeed, YHWH is our God who sees, our God who hears, our God who cares.
English translation of the lyrics:
There are many things that I do not understand
Why certain things have to happen in this life
One thing that I keep in my heart
Nothing will happen
Without God knowing it
God understands
God knows
All the problems we face
He will not let me struggle alone
Because He understands
Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Genesis 15:2
It is believed that this Eliezer of Damascus is the same person as the "servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had" in Genesis 24:2 whom Abraham sent to find a wife for Isaac.
If that interpretation is correct, what a testimony of faithfulness is he!
Because of Isaac, Eliezer will not inherit Abraham's wealth. Yet he loyally is advancing Abraham and Isaac's cause, because he has higher loyalties and mammon is not his lord. Genesis 24 shows that Eliezer was also a man of faith, so that may be why he could see the bigger picture.
May we show that kind of faithfulness to our Saviour.
“Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.“When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
“Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
Matthew 6:1, 5, 16
When we have people around us who think highly of spiritual disciplines, there is a big danger that performing our spiritual disciplines become a source of pride, which then pushes us away from God, instead of what God intends -- for the spiritual discipline to draw us closer to Him.
I like it when people think highly of me. That has its own place, but when I start doing stuff to show off, rather than for their original intention, the good becomes twisted to bad.
Therefore I must be careful, or my efforts will be wasted in the eternal sense, and even have a negative spiritual impact.
Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.
Genesis 14:18-20 WEB
There were people other than Abram who knew God.
Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem) knew God, unlike the Jebusites who had it centuries later when David conquered it.
The name "Melchizedek" means "King of Righteousness", and he was the king of Salem (peace) so people have pointed out that he is "King of Righteousnes and Peace".
Hebrews 5-7 says Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, because Jesus, like Melchizidek, is both king and priest. The kings of Israel and the priests of Israel were always different people, while Melchizidek, like Jesus, was both king of peace and priest of God Most High (El Elyon in Hebrew.)
There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land at that time. Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are relatives. Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted. Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its width; for I will give it to you.”
Genesis 13:7-11, 14-17
Abram generously let Lot have first pick and so "settled" with the "lower grade" choice, but God blessed his generosity and he actually ended up with the better end of the bargain.
In my natural self, I'm very kiasu and kedekut but God doesn't want me to stay like that. I've had to fight my ungenerous instincts for years. He calls us to be generous, so I can't just say "I'm like that, leave me be."
I still struggle with this all the time.
There Abram called on Yahweh’s name.
Genesis 13:4b
We often think of the name YHWH only being revealed to Moses at three burning bush, but Abram knew the name.
So why does it say in Exodus he didn't?
It could be that it's referring to different levels of knowing. For more info, see this web page.
“Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
Matthew 5:33-37
Because of these verses, there are some Christians who refuse to "swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" in court. As a result, in USA, the courts ask people to "swear or affirm" instead of just to swear.
But that actually is missing the point. It's not the word "swear" that is the problem here. When you "affirm" instead, it's still the same thing - you're promising to tell the truth.
I think Jesus' point is that we should always be telling the truth, so that it is unnecessary for us to "swear" to tell the truth when we really really want to be believed. This is as opposed to some people's practice of not feeling like they have to tell the truth unless they are swearing to it.
"My word is my bond" should be the way the people of God live.
We Chinese-Malaysians have a culture of telling "white lies" to children to get them to do what is right. "If you don't eat all the rice off your plate, you will marry a pock-marked spouse" for example. And other, more specific, "white lies."
My wife and I have done our best to never lie to our kids, so that our kids know that when we tell them something, we believe it to be true.
Of course, they also know that we make mistakes and are wrong sometimes, and that we sometimes say we intend to do something and then changing circumstances cause us to be unable to fulfil what we said.
But they know that we never intentionally mislead them.
I also strive to do this with other people than my children. I don't do it perfectly. My sin nature is still there, and the self-presevation instinct, so sometimes I find that I lie on the spur of the moment. Then I have to repent. But I think I have not deliberately lied in years when I have had the chance to think through what to say before I say it.
So: "My word is my bond." Follow the Father of Truth and and not the Father of Lies.
Let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no.
When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. It will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
Genesis 12:11-13
Again, we see a hero of the faith isn't perfect. Abram sinned and lied about Sarai's status. Perhaps he justified the lie to himself because she was his half-sister. But the intent was still a lie.
Some may argue that he was't actually sinning because this lie is like saying to Nazi soldiers at your door, "No, there are no Jews here" to protect the hidden Jews. But I don't think so. In the Nazi case, you know they're going to imprison or kill the Jews. Abram didn't know that the Egyptians would murder him for his wife. He just *feared* it instead of trusting God and doing the right thing.
As it turned out, they didn't even kill himwhen they discovered the truth of his deception. Who knows, he may have done even better had he kept to God's principles and told the truth.
So, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". We each need to repent and come to Jesus for His grace and forgiveness.
O Lord, help me remember to trust You when I am tempted to do the "expedient" thing instead of the Godly thing.
Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.
Genesis 11:31-32
It's unclear if God told Terah to go to Canaan, or if it was his own idea. But this passage made me wonder: Did God actualy choose Terah originally? But then he lost steam and stopped at Haran?
So then God had to renew his call to Terah's son Abraham instead? And so the people of God are now known as the Children of Abraham, but if Terah had followed through, we might have been known as the Children of Terah?
If this speculation is accurate, then this is another illustration of how God's plans prevail even when we humans fail Him. But then Terah lost the opportunity God gave him.
If the above theory is wrong, and it was Terah's own idea to go to Canaan, then God is still using the plans and actions of humans to further His Kingdom plan.
Terah's going part-way to Canaan, ending up at Haran (which he appears to have named after his first son who died in Ur) was still part of God's bringing Abraham to Canaan years later.
So no matter which theory is correct, let us be faithful to God's calling on our lives!
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”
Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
Satan tried to deceive Jesus by taking scripture out of context. Jesus, however, was not fooled and knew the true teaching of the scriptures and could counter him with scripture.
People we encounter in life may do that as well.
Therefore, it's important to study the Bible and know the full counsel of scripture. Then, when people tell us the wrong thing using scripture, we will know the correct biblical response and not be deceived.
Cush became the father of Nimrod. He began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. Therefore it is said, “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh”. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land he went into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and the great city Calah.
Genesis 10:8-12
This is all that Genesis says about Nimrod, but some people think he was the ringleader of the Tower of Babel rebellion.
Other than Genesis, 1 Chronicles 1:10 also mentions that Cush was the father of Nimrod, and Micah 5:6 mentions that Assyria is the land of Nimrod.
So there's not much to go on in the Bible, so why do people think he was the ringleader of the Tower of Babel rebellion? From what I can tell, this idea comes from the Jewish Talmud. The Talmud is rabbinic Jewish commentary on the Bible.
Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
Genesis 9:20-22
Noah had been held up as an exemplary man up till this point, but this incident shows that even Noah had flaws.
"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
So all of us need Christ's salvation.
Various Christians and Jews have had many theories about why Noah cursed Canaan. The surface reading of this passage doesn't make sense to us in our cultural context, but it must have made sense to them in their cultural context.
The explanation that makes the most sense to me is that "uncovering the nakedness" is a metaphor for sexual intercourse - that either Ham had incest with his father or his mother while Noah was drunk. Possibly his mother, and Canaan was the resultant offspring, and the curse was pronounced much later, after Canaan had been born. Another theory that makes some sense to me is that Ham may have casrated Noah while he was drunk, and so he stopped Noah from having any more children, so Noah cursed Ham's offspring Canaan as a result.
However, these are all just human theories -- the narrative doesn't give us a lot of clues as to what's going onn behind those few words. I guess it's one of those things we might not be able to understand this side of heaven.
Here are two web pages that discuss the various theories:
7 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;We need to listen to God's wisdom before we go astray. Sometimes we think, “Well, God is gracious and merciful. If I sin now, I can still repent and ask for forgiveness later.” This is foolish thinking. While God is gracious and merciful, we will still bear the consequences of our sins. How much better to not have sinned in the first place!
but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street.
She utters her voice in the public squares.
22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery,
and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn at my reproof.
Behold,I will pour out my spirit on you.
I will make known my words to you.
24 Because I have called, and you have refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;
25 but you have ignored all my counsel,
and wanted none of my reproof;
26 I also will laugh at your disaster.
I will mock when calamity overtakes you;
28 Then will they call on me, but I will not answer.
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;
29 because they hated knowledge,
and didn’t choose the fear of Yahweh.
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell securely,
and will be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Psalm 1 talks about how following God's ways prospers us, while Psalm 2 acknowledges that there can be powerful people opposed to God's ways, but ultimately God still prevails.
As the Prophet Habakkuk saw, in this life we often see the wicked prospering. But, ultimately, God's standards shall prevail. So we can take heart and keep following Jesus.
Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
Matthew 3:9, 11, 13-15
Why did Jesus get baptised? After all, John had pointed out that his baptism was for repentance, and Jesus had never sinned, so he didn't need to repent.
But Jesus said, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
What does that mean?
I think this might be part of it:
John was making clear that being part of the _physical_ people of God (Israel)was not the same as being saved as part of the spiritual people of God, and that God could raise up people who were not descended physically from Abraham to be part of His saved people (verse 9).
Jesus gave the reason "this is the fitting way to fulfil all righteousness." Thus He could be doing this to show everyone that this was the way to go about being part of this salvation community.
Here is a more detailed explanation from John Piper.
Here's is another explanation from Jonathan Pennington.
He created them male and female, and blessed them. On the day they were created, he named them “Adam”.
Genesis 5:2
“Adam” is written in exactly the same way as “man” in ancient Hebrew.
Here is a more in-depth look at this matter: An In-Depth Look at the Translation of the Hebrew Word Adam
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Matthew 2:22-23
It appears that Joseph had originally planned to return to Bethlehelm, his ancestral village, after coming back from Egypt, but because of this, he went back to Nazareth, where they had lived before the birth of Jesus, instead.
Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7
Sometimes anger wells up within me and I do foolish things. James 1:20 warns us, “the anger of man doesn't produce the righteousness of God” and Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother will be in danger of the judgment.”
God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Genesis 3:11-12
When I sin, I also tend to make excuses and blame others or circumstances
Oh God, forgive me and may I quickly confess my sin and repent and return to Your loving grace.
Since Matthew was writing to a patriarchal society, the geology he wrote down was mostly men. But a few notable women were mentioned:
👉Tamar, who showed out Judah's hypocrisy.
👉Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute who found YHWH
👉Ruth, the Moabite whose faithfulness put Israel to shame
👉 Bathsheba, the wife of the Hittite convert Uriah, whom David murdered
👉Mary, the virgin God chose to bear His Son.
5 women were mentioned, all were “unsavoury” in some way by the eyes of the world, (Mary was seemingly unsavoury though she hadn't done anything wrong. Bathsheba really had no choice, she couldn't defy the king, but the sexist society would view her negatively.)
But God took their faith and did extraordinary things.
Verse 19: Joseph could have felt very betrayed. The girl he was going to marry seemingly went and slept with another man. He had the right to expose her to public shame, but he determined not to, but just to annul the engagement quietly.
“Vengeance is mine, says the Lord” - it's so hard to restrain our own desire for revenge when we've been hurt. But it's what God calls us to.
Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
Genesis 2:15
Work existed before the fall. That's why even now after the fall, work isn't all toil, there's also pleasure and fulfillment.
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
Genesis 2:23-24
A man who finds a wife finds a good thing!
Not created from Adam's head, to lord it over him, nor his feet, to be trampled on by him, but from his side, to be his companion. ❤
God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 WEBIn the mythology of the ancient Middle East, the creation of humans was accidental or incidental, a byproduct of what the gods were doing.
But in the Bible, it makes it clear that God specifically and intentionally created humans, and not only that, in His own image.
So we're not an accident. God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives.
