Year 2 Day 199
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 5 Message - Scott Woodburn Every well intentioned Bible reading plan goes perfectly well until Genesis 5. We follow the story perfectly well until we are hit with a list of names and numbers in the fifth chapter of Genesis. It may be the first list like this in the Bible but it certainly isn’t the last - what are we to do with such passages that are incredibly difficult to read? I think the simple answer is that we are to read these passages. Genesis 5 may not be in anyone’s list of favourite passages but it is the Word of God. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said about the Word? “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3v16-17) So Genesis 5 is for our good and to skim over it is to suggest that parts of the Bible are irrelevant. Perish the thought! So let’s look at this passage which is both incredibly tragic yet incredibly hopeful. Adam was made in the image of God and he was supposed to be God’s representative on earth (v1). If Adam had kept the terms of the Covenant of Works then he and those after him would have enjoyed eternal life. Instead Adam exchanged the truth of God for a lie, he fell into sin and through sin death entered the world. The truth of this teaching couldn’t be made clearer by verse five “thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.” Adam lived a long life but eventually Adam died. We have no idea where Adam was buried but his grave is unimportant. Sin’s reality is seen by the fact that the first man died and tragically the story would continue throughout the list of Adam’s descendants as recorded for us by Moses. Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel and Jared…the story is the same…they live their lives and then one by one each of them died. In chapter five we see the tragedy of the human condition. We are born in sin and life will eventually come to an end with death. But this chapter isn’t all doom and gloom. Eventually we meet Enoch who didn’t die. Enoch was a man who we are told walked with God (v24) and one day he was no more for God took him. God spared Enoch from the hand of death and so too He will spare us. The reason? Once more we write it in big letters…FAITH (Hebrews 11v5) Death had no claim on Enoch for he was a man of faith. You and I will surely die but those in Christ are born twice and therefore die only once. As the chapter closes we hear of Lamech’s son Noah. Lamech hopes that perhaps his son will bring some relief from the impact of the curse. He declares “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (v29) The name Noah sounds like the Hebrew word for rest and so Lamech wondered if perhaps his son would bring some relief from the toil and trouble of human life. Noah would certainly play his part in the unfolding of God’s story of redemption but it would be the Lord Jesus Christ who would provide rest for the people of God. Christ doesn’t free us from the labours and work and trouble of human life but He has defeated death on our behalf. He does give us hope in the bleakness of this world (John 16v33) and He does make our labour significant upon the earth (1 Corinthians 15v58). Your current existence may seem a bit bleak like Genesis 5 but look again for the glimpses of Jesus. The walk ahead may be tough but continue walking with God regardless - for where He is leading us is surely worth the toil (John 14v1-4) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q80 What is required in the tenth commandment? The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his.
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Year 2 Day 198
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 3:1 Message - Alan Burke I hope you’ve noticed as we work our way through the book of Samuel the repeated emphasis on Samuel. How in chapter 1:28 ‘Samuel worshiped the Lord there’, in chapter 2:11 ‘the boy minister before the Lord under Eli the priest’, then verse 18 ‘But Samuel was ministering before the Lord’, then verse 21 ‘Meanwhile the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord’, then verse 26 ‘the boy Samuel continue to grow in statue and in favour with the Lord and with men’ and now after the judgement upon the house of Eli comes we are told in chapter 3:1 ‘The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli’. Samuel, Samuel, Samuel! Everything in the book so far has been preparing us for what would now happen as the Lord calls Samuel. But just so we the reader don’t miss how bad things were, we are also told here, how ‘In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions’ (1). The scarcity of the word of God is compared to a famine in Amos (8:12), this is a famine far worse than of bread or water things that we perceive as the necessities of life. To not have the word of the Lord is worse than physical starvation and dehydration. In Eli’s days the word of the Lord was rare. Here’s the thing, in the book of Samuel we have seen lots of religious activity, people came to worship the Lord at Shiloh, there were sacrifices made. Samuel makes clear that the worship of the Lord continued although the worship of the Lord was treated with scorn (2:29). What existed in Shiloh was the institute of religion, the business of religion, the vestiges of religion, these things remained, they continued on unabated, pomp and ceremony remained but there was nothing of depth or of worth and the Lord’s word as a result was rare. Looking in from the outside, everything seemed like it was hunky dory, they were still the people of God, the were doing the religious stuff, the were active in what they were ‘supposed’ to be doing but it was contemptible to God, because they had rejected God and his word. There is one thing that you can’t say about Northern Ireland and that is there aren’t enough churches. Yet the word of the Lord can still be rare. There are many places across this land that have the institute of religion, the business of religion, the vestiges of religion, these things remain, they continued on unabated, pomp and ceremony are there but what is missing is the Gospel. It can also be rare in places where the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Crucified Risen and Ascended is preached because we are not wanting to hear it and we try to exclude our children from it. Our hearts want less Bible, less singing God’s word, less praying the word, less reading God’s word, and instead of God’s word preached we can want sermonette’s but preferably more special services. But we should want more more Bible not less, more singing God’s word, more praying God’s word, more reading of God’s word, more of God’s word preached, and we should want our children to hear it. When the word of God is welcomed, it is God’s grace to his people, when his word has free course among his people, when the preaching of the word of God stands at the heart of the church’s life where the pulpit ministry is where the word of the Lord is clearly accurately and helpfully preached then we are rich in the grace of God. In Samuels day the Lord was breaking through the famine of his word, it is God’s word that they as well as we are dependant on for by it he will work. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q79 Which is the tenth commandment? The tenth commandment is, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’ s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’ s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’ s. (Exod. 20:17) Year 2 Day 197
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 4 Message - Scott Woodburn Adam and Eve were blessed with a son called Cain and in response Eve cried out “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” (v1) Eve knew all too well what had happened in the garden and yet here was evidence that the Lord was going to keep His promise to destroy the works of the devil. The seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. Unfortunately Cain would prove to be of his father the devil (John 8v44). Cain and his brother Abel came one day to the Lord with offerings. Cain was a worker of the ground and so he brought an offering of the fruit of the ground (v3). Abel on the other hand was a keeper of sheep and so he brought to the Lord the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions (v4). The Lord only had regard for Abel’s offering and not that of his brother Cain. At first glance this seems incredibly unfair. Both brothers come to worship the Lord with their respective bounty. Both have worked hard. Both have taken the time to come. Why would the Lord accept only one offering? Scripture interprets Scripture and in this instance Scripture tells us the problem was faith. Here’s what the Apostle writes in Hebrews “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11v4) The Lord accepted Abel’s offering because Abel was a man of faith. Indeed the Lord Jesus Christ describes Abel as “righteous” (Matthew 23v35). Even in the early days of human history the ancient battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the devil was showing itself. Cain was exceedingly angry at God’s rejection and despite the Lord’s warning about his sin (v7), Cain ended up taking his brother’s life (v8). Amazingly even in the midst of Cain’s rebellion the Lord still extended a hand of grace. Cain believed that he would also end up murdered but the Lord says “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” (v15) To confirm this promise the Lord marked Cain so that no one would attack him. God meets sinners with grace! Later Adam and Eve are blessed with another son called Seth (v25). The promises of God would not be thwarted by sinful man and as humanity increased upon the earth, some would remain in sinful rebellion while others began to call upon the name of the Lord (v26). Abel’s sacrifice was made with saving faith. He was looking forward to the day that the Lamb of God would come to atone for the sin of many. In this way Abel’s sacrifice pointed forward to Christ. The blood of Abel’s lamb was a shadow of the sacrifice to come for “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9v22) Christ’s blood has been shed and through faith in Him your sins have been forgiven! Today the Lord still extends His hand of grace. You cannot please Him by your works, instead the work of the Lord is to believe on the One whom He has sent (John 6v29). Call upon Jesus, trust in Him for without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11v6). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q78 What is forbidden in the ninth commandment? The ninth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever is prejudicial to truth, or injurious to our own or our neighbor’s good name. Year 2 Day 196
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 3 and 2 Peter 1:19-21 Message - Alan Burke The call of Samuel is a passage that we are all familiar with, mainly because of all those Sunday school lessons we sat through, with such delights as flannelgraph (if you don’t know what flannelgraph is just be thankful and think of it no more). There were many varied applications that were given to us in Sunday school, and the question to end with was ‘if the Lord speaks to you, how will you respond?’. I want to start by saying, and I hope it’s not news to you but we are not Samuel, these are not the days of the Judges, we are not in the temple with the Lord standing at our side, nor is he speaking to us directly in the way he did with Samuel. There may have been times that wanted an audible voice or a big neon sign in the sky but remember God speaking in these ways was not the normal every day experience of his people and these former ways have ceased, for as God through the author of Hebrews reminds us; “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb 1:1-2a). Before we start thinking of the call of Samuel on Wednesday we are going to think of what the Lord God teaches us through the epistle of 2 Peter 1. Peter explains how he was an eyewitness of the majesty of Christ (16), he was there at the Mount of Transfiguration and heard the very voice of God say… “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” (17). There Peter had seen and heard, he was an eyewitness to what happened. But look to what Peter then says immediately after in verse 19-21. First v19 “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed”. Yes Peter had seen, he had heard, he had been there on the Mount of Transfiguration, but he is making the point that we have something better, now we have the scriptures, the word more fully confirmed. He goes on to say that we would do well to pay attention (v19) to this word because it’s not from someones own interpretation or imagination but “from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (v21)” What we have before us in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament is the word of God, the complete revelation of God to us, it is everything we need, we do not need anything more, no new revelation, there is no need for an audible voice or a neon sign in the sky. We don’t need a Samuel experience for the Lord has given us everything we need. The bible before you is the very word of God, and when the Scriptures are faithfully proclaimed, God’s voice is truly heard (Lk 10:16, 2 Cor 5:19-20, 1 Thes 2:13, Heb 13:7, 1 Pet 4:10-11). God has designated preaching as the means for his voice to be heard in this world (Rom 10:14-17, 1 Cor 1:18-25). As you come to worship this coming Lord’s day, what are your expectations, are you ready to hear the voice of God as the Lord speaks to you though his word, do you have ears to hear his truth? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q77 What is required in the ninth commandment? The ninth commandment requireth the maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man, (Zech. 8:16) and of our own and our neighbour’ s good name, (3 John 12) especially in witness-bearing. (Prov. 14:5,25) Year 2 Day 194
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 3 Message - Scott Woodburn If you want to know why Covid 19 currently stalks the globe you can find the answer in Genesis 3. Our God made all things out of nothing and He made it very good. He even made humanity to whom He gave a soul and appointed as His image bearers on the earth. The Lord willingly lowered Himself and entered into the Covenant of Works with the first man. This man called Adam was promised everlasting life on the condition of his personal and perfect obedience. Yet as Genesis 3 begins, Satan enters the picture. The origins of Satan are mysterious and Scripture does not spend too much time on the finer details of his rebellion. Nevertheless we can say that Satan was an angel created by God who at some stage rebelled against the Lord. In today’s passage he comes with lies upon his lips and leads the first woman to sin against God. Soon Adam follows the lead of his wife and the most tragic moment in history takes place. Sin enters the world and death follows sin. The relationship between God and man is ripped asunder and the impact of Adam’s rebellion is still seen everywhere today. Every pandemic, every war, every death, every illness, every broken relationship, every alcoholic, every bomb, every gossiper…all of it can be traced back to the garden where our distant ancestors decided that they knew better than God. Thankfully the Lord in a wonderful yet mysterious way was not overtaken by the events in the garden. Even as the Covenant of Works lay in ruins, the Lord spoke of another covenant…the Covenant of Grace. To Satan the Lord declared “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (v15) In the moments after the fall of humanity, the Lord preached the Gospel to Satan. Throughout the rest of human history there would be conflict between those with Satan and those with the woman. We could speak here about the Kingdom of God against the Kingdom of Man. Or we could speak of the City of God against the City of Man. Or we could speak of Jerusalem against Babylon. However we describe this conflict it has raged throughout human history and will only end at the return of Christ. The offspring of the woman will battle against the offspring of the devil and, praise be to God, the outcome of the battle has never been in doubt. Christ would come in the flesh and at Calvary His heel would be struck. This certainly does not downplay the horror of the cross, but just as a wounded heel would not be considered a fatal wound, so Christ is not defeated upon the cross. Satan however would be categorically defeated by Christ. His wound would be to the head - a fatal wound and so today we can say that Satan may bark but he has been utterly defeated and his time is short. Genesis 3 should cause us to pause and consider the gravity of sin. Our rebellion has unleashed a tidal wave of agony and depravity that has swept through human history. Walk through any graveyard and you are reminded of the fall. Visit any hospital and you are reminded of the fall. Watch the news from Afghanistan and you are reminded of the fall. Yet even as this chapter fills the sky with dark clouds, the light of the Gospel shines. Adam and Eve are banished from the garden but before they go, in an act of extraordinary grace, the Lord clothes them in animal skins. The imagery shouldn’t be missed. They stand guilty before Almighty God. They are both naked and ashamed but God clothes them in garments that are not their own. Once more a little signpost points us to Christ. He is the Saviour and friend of sinners and if we have received Him by faith then we are clothed in His righteousness. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.” (Revelation 22v14) Thank God for the Gospel! Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q76 Which is the ninth commandment? The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Year 2 Day 193
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 2:34-36 Message - Alan Burke Remember Matt Hancock, the one who broke the covid restrictions that marked the end to his role as health secretary. Maybe you watched that unfold and were left scratching your heads wondering ‘really?’, ‘does nobody see the damage that has been done here to two families by their selfish actions?’. In truth our society doesn’t see adultery or divorce as a big deal. If you look back to verse 22 you will see how Eli heard about what his sons were up to with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and Eli says “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. Then in this prophecy against the house of Eli we learn that the Lord is brining judgement upon Eli for honouring his sons more that Him. To many in our society the Lord telling Eli that his sons Hophni and Phinehas will both die, that the Lord was putting them to death would seem extreme, what’s the big deal after all. I hope you perceive the issue with their moral failures, but it wasn’t their moral failures that were the issue it was their treatment of the worship of the Lord. Ultimately in doing what they did they treated God with scorn (29), with contempt, distain, their sin was great because they led the people of God, and the Lord God will hold all of us responsible for our sin, whether that is in this life or the next. Yet the Lord has shown us his amazing grace, in and though the Lord Jesus, that even though we deserve the same fate as Eli’s sons we are redeemed from our sin and rescued from its eternal consequences. The judgment that comes to Eli was not one of hopelessness, for in this judgment there is also the promise of what God was going to do. Every man did what was right in his own eyes but the Lord was raising up a faithful priest (35). By bringing judgment upon the house of Eli, in removing them from office, the Lord was in fact protecting his people. In judgement God was bringing salvation to his people. No longer will Eli be enjoying the best of the sacrifices of the Lord, instead he will be begging for bread, Eli’s position allowed him comfort and ease but he had abused his position of privilege and trust, and he was removed from it for the protection of the people of God. Here we learn an incredibly important lesson that we must not loose sight of, God was still at work, he still had his godly remnant and Samuel was ministering before the Lord. God was preparing to tear down, but God was also preparing to raise up, he was going to provide a faithful priest. He was doing something better for his people, he was providing them with a leader who was indeed a faithful priest as the Lord was at work bringing things back to himself. The Lord was using ordinary people, who weren’t doing the amazing but were faithfully living for God worshiping him, what we need is not the amazing, but the faithful every day in every way service to the Lord. For all of us, this passage gives us the opportunity to ask are we being faithful, are we honouring the Lord God, are we living in such a way that we are giving Christ the Glory or are we just happy with the hour on a Sunday, and what we long for is not his word that we want but really a bit of entertainment. Do we want to have our cake and eat it, we want the benefits of Christ but none of the cost. The Lord has not left us without guidance in how we are to worship him, in how we are to glorify him, are we looking to do that even when their is a cost? Paraphrasing Paul in Galatians… ‘Are we seeking the approval of man, or of God? Are we trying to please man? If we are trying to please man, we would not be a servant of Christ’ (1:10). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q75 What is forbidden in the eighth commandment? The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour’ s wealth or outward estate. (Prov. 21:17, Prov. 23:20–21, Prov. 28:19, Eph. 4:28) |
Alan
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