Year 2 Day 241
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 23 Message - Scott Woodburn The message of modern living is that you can be whatever you want. If you work hard enough then nothing and no one can stand in your way. Do you remember being told that as a child? Perhaps you still believe it? But what happens if your dreams don’t come true? What happens if you never seem to find the pot of gold at the rainbow’s end? We have grown fond of Abraham and his family. We’ve journeyed with them through highs and lows but as a new chapter begins, death visits the home of Abraham. His dear wife Sarah had reached 127 years and died. Even the heroes of the faith in Scripture one day died. No one was or is exempt. Sarah had died in faith but she had not seen the fulfilment of all God’s promises. Certainly she had laughed at the birth of her son but the descendants of Abraham were not yet as numerous as the stars in the sky nor had they yet taken possession of the promised land. Abraham knows this too well. He is a wanderer in the land and has no right to buy property (v4). Perhaps this seems like an inconsequential point but for Abraham it is huge. Where will he bury his wife? God has promised the land to the descendants of Abraham and so he wishes to bury his family on the land that one day his greater family will possess. Therefore the purchase of a family grave in the promised land was a matter of faith. It was a sure sign that Abraham believed one day God's promise would be fulfilled. Abraham treats the Hittites with grace. He bows before them and eventually offers 400 shekels of silver as the price he wishes to pay for the cave of the field of Machpelah. The deal is done and Abraham buries his beloved wife in the family tomb. As always Scripture interprets Scripture. Here’s what we read in Hebrews 11 “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." (Hebrews 11v13) Abraham and Sarah had received promises that were not fulfilled in their lifetime. Not every dream came true before death. Not every promise was fulfilled before the Lord’s upward call. It is this way for every single Christian. We know the promises of God and we believe them, but sometimes life feels so incredibly hard. What do we do? Do we give up? Perish the thought. We have received the Gospel promises by faith and although death will surely visit us, we will die in faith. We know that there is more than this present life and world. We know that God is true. We know that our faith is not in vain. Today we still wait for the completion of God’s work. We wait for the return of Christ. We may not see the pot of gold at the end of life's rainbow but regardless, our desire is for a better country, this is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called our God, for he has prepared for us a city. (Hebrews 11v16) Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus! Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q9 What is the work of creation? The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
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Year 2 Day 240
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 7:5-6 Message - Alan Burke For the first time in a long time the people had seen that living how they wanted wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It took them twenty years before the penny finally dropped, a whole generation had come and gone before they finally turned back to the Lord. They had finally realised the error of their way and now by their actions they were showing that they were repentant as they put their ornaments away (that’s their false God’s if you missed Monday’s devotion). Samuel then tells them in response to their repentance, to assemble at Mizpah. This was all Israel, this was all of them, everyone, young and old, men and women, nursing infants, children, the alien among them, no one was to be left behind. This was a big undertaking, this was the people as a whole turning from their sin, coming before the Lord as Samuel interceded for them, he represented them before God, he brought the people together. When they reached Mizpah, there they poured water out, they were showing again their repentant hearts. The pouring of water may not seem that significant to us but we generally have it in plenty and this time of the year it seems like far too much. But to them water was scarce, it was extremely valuable, you defended your water supply with your life for you couldn’t live without it. To pour water out in this way especially while traveling across the vast desert, was to pour out one’s life, added to that they fasted from the food that sustained them, they were showing their repentance. Then having done this they confessed their sin. Look what were are told, how communally, the said “we have sinned against the Lord” (6). In every way, at every stage they were showing that they were genuinely repentant, they weren’t just saying sorry, they were showing they were sorry, their actions were speaking as well as their words professing. These people weren’t going though the motions, they clearly understood that they had sinned. Notice the confession, “we have sinned against the Lord”, does this mean that for how ever many years they were following the moral law from ‘Honour your father and mother’ to ‘coveting’ but they just didn’t follow those that related to the Lord God himself (Ex 20:1-17)? Of course it doesn’t, they had sinned against their neighbour in thought, in word and in deed but in this confession we are reminded that our sin is primarily God orientated, it is rebellion against God! Before the Lord God they are sinners, before God we are all sinners, that is why this confession isn’t “I’ve sinned against my neighbour” for sin is God orientated, it’s against the Lord. So often do is think how our sin impacts others, how we hurt others, how our sin impacts our relationships with our friends, children, spouse, collogues, because when we think primarily of sin in this way, we lose the significance of what sin is. Yes there are times, that it is right that we go and confess our sin against those whom we have sinned against, to our spouse, children, neighbour and ask for forgiveness, it doesn’t feel good going with your tail between your legs, saying forgive me, but we need to remember it is the Lord that we have offended by our sin and damaged our relationship with him. What we must do is repent, daily, turning from sin, putting the Lord God at the very centre of everything, knowing that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ receives forgiveness of sins through his name (Mk 1:15, Acts 10:43). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q8 How doth God execute his decrees? God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence. Year 2 Day 239
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 22 Message - Scott Woodburn It has been said about Genesis 22 “So long as men live in this world, they will turn to this story with unwaning interest. There is only one scene in history by which it is surpassed; that where the Great Father gave His Isaac to a death from which there was no deliverance.” This is a famous chapter and one that captures our interest. This is the chapter where we hear the Lord’s command for Abraham to take his only son Isaac and sacrifice him upon a mountain in the land of Moriah (v2) and it is a chapter where we see the extraordinary faith of Abraham. He had waited years for the birth of his son Isaac. You can imagine how he would have loved and cherished and adored his child and yet at the command of God Abraham rose and began his journey to the mountain where he would take his son’s life. What on earth was going on? Scripture interprets Scripture and later in Hebrews the Apostle shines Gospel light on Abraham’s dark day. We read in Hebrews 11v17-19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, 'Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” Faith is a receiving and resting in Christ as He is offered in the Gospel. The Gospel had been preached to Abraham (Galatians 3v8), he believed it and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham had received and rested in Christ and therefore he knew whatever God commanded was right. If it was the Lord’s will for Abraham to kill his only son, then it must be for good. If it was the Lord’s will for Isaac to die, then Abraham believed that God could raise him from the dead. We have seen that Abraham was no perfect man but on that day long ago, by faith, he raised a knife to kill his son at the Lord’s command. Now of course the Lord does not require human sacrifice, indeed to God such an action is an abomination. So what we see here is the refining of Abraham’s faith and it was proved to be pure gold. As he lifted his eyes he saw that the Lord provided a ram as a substitute for the sacrifice (v13). The Gospel is everywhere in this chapter. If Abraham was anguished at the death of his son, we can only imagine the anguish of the Father as Christ was nailed to the cross. If Abraham rejoiced to hear Christ (THE angel of the Lord) telling him to stop, we can only imagine the horror of Calvary when no voice stopped the cross. If Abraham journeyed to the mountain to sacrifice his only son, we marvel as Christ willingly makes his way to Golgotha where He would be the sacrificed substitute. In type and in shadow we see the glory of the Gospel in Genesis 22. Abraham believed that all the promises of God would come to pass and not even death could stop the Lord. We believe this too. The Lord does not require you to kill your child but from all people everywhere he requires repentance and faith. The one who has trusted in Christ will not be put to shame and by faith in Jesus not even death can rob us of our inheritance. Jesus is the greater Isaac. He is the true sacrifice. He is the substitute for His sinful people. Hear Him today “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11v25-26) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q7 What are the decrees of God? The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. Year 2 Day 238
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 7:1-4 Message - Alan Burke Repentance is one of those words that we hear, we know it, we kinda understand it or at least we pretend we do. It’s the first command that Jesus gives in the gospel of Mark to ‘repent’ (Mk 1:15). Literally, repentance means to turn from, to change ones mind set, to change our fundamental attitudes and outlooks on life. This is an about turn, a 180 degree change that is a total transformation in our orientation and it is seen, because repentance really does mean that you turn from your sin, shocking I know! When one repents, it is evident in their lives, in how they live, in how they renounce the sin that they once held, say that it’s no longer theirs, as they turn from it to God though His Son. Today we see what repentance looks like in 1 Samuel 7. Twenty years have now passed form chapter 6, that’s a whole generation who have come and a generation who have gone, what we learn is that change happens slowly. After all these years the penny finally drops and Israel realises that they need to sort themselves out. Look what they are told, they mourned, before they sought after the Lord (v2). They are not just thinking to themselves “ahh, I made a mistake there” and simply getting on with their life like nothing had happened, or expressing a bit of disappointment that things didn’t work out the way that they wanted them to, like… “but sure there’s no point of dwelling over spilt milk”. Nor are the Israelites simply dealing with a bit of regret and disappoint that many of us have for our past actions. Nor is this the feeling of regret when you get caught doing something that you shouldn’t, because more often than not we are not sorry for what we have done, we are sorry that we got caught. No this is something completely different, this mourning, this is deep sorrow. They are coming seeking the Lord, they are mourning, like that of when we mourn for the loss of a loved one, when we feel pain and grief, when we know the heartache of living in this fallen world. They are mourning, feeling the pain as a result of their sin, they have an awakened sense of that sin within them and they are seeking the Lord as a result. As they repent of their sin, of what they have done it is to be seen as they put the false gods away (v5). I love that expression, they put away. It’s like boxing everything up and sticking it in the attic, for their idols were northing more than ornaments that were but wood and stone that could not speak. They had tried and failed to put the Lord God away, that’s what this world around us tries to do, so they don’t have to see him and be confronted with his Moral Law. Yet creation reveals that there is a God, since what may be known about God is plain for all, because since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen so that all are without excuse (Rom 1:19-20). This worlds greatest need is to repent of their sin, it is each individuals greatest need. For Israel it meant that they turned from their idols, that they put them away. What we see here is true repentance, it is more than remorse or sorrow, it is turning from something, it is a radical 180 degree about turn. As we turn from our sin to the Lord, it must be more than sorrow for our actions, but it must be evident in our lives as we repent. As we do this the good news is that there is forgiveness for us through the atoning blood of Christ, forgiveness for all our sin, remembered and forgotten, it is the blood of Jesus (God’s) son that cleanses from all sin (1 Jn 1:7), we have redemption through his blood (Eph 1:7) alone. As Jesus calls us, one and all, Repent and Believe the gospel (Mk 1:15). Finally, repentance is on going, it doesn’t stop, are there things you need to repent of, put away, turn from, sin that you still hold on to!? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q6 How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. (1 John 5:7, Matt. 28:19) Year 2 Day 236
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 21 Message - Scott Woodburn God is faithful to all that He promises. We often doubt Him and we sometimes wonder if He has forgotten us, but with certainty I say that God is faithful to all that He promises. In Genesis 21 we finally see the fulfilment of His promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son. This was an extraordinary promise. Abraham and his wife were nearing the end of their lives. How could such a couple ever have a child? With God all things are possible. The time came for the Lord to visit Sarah as He had promised and He blessed her with a son called Isaac which means “he laughs”. Sarah had once laughed at God’s promise but now she understood that her new born and circumcised son (v4) would cause many to laugh at Sarah’s story (v6-7). This wouldn’t be mocking laughter but laughter filled with joy and praise as future generations considered the extraordinary promises of God. If many would laugh with joy, unfortunately Abraham’s other son Ishmael laughed with scorn. One day Sarah saw Ishmael laughing at his little brother. We can’t be sure what Ishmael was doing but the connotation is that it wasn’t good. Perhaps he was mocking his brother? Perhaps there was a laugh with an underlying threat? We don’t know but Paul certainly suggests that the older brother persecuted the young brother (Galatians 4v29). With God’s permission (v12) Hagar and Ishmael were sent away and after their water ran out they found themselves in a hopeless position. Hagar put her son under a bush to die (v15) and she left him for she did not wish to see his death (v16). But do you remember what we said at the beginning of this devotion? God is faithful to all that He promises. Ishmael was not the promised child but the Lord had made it clear that he would have a future. The angel of the Lord (we believe THE angel of the Lord is Christ in the Old Testament) repeated the promise of God. Ishmael would not die under the bush but instead God would make him into a great nation (v18). Then the Lord provided a well of water for Hagar and her son (v19). God is faithful to all that He promises even to those who feel like hopeless outcasts. As the chapter closes Abraham and Abimelech enter into a covenant relationship that would see any tension between the two men disappear. Abraham had dug a well that had been seized by Abimelech’s men. At that place Abraham gave Abimelech seven lambs to show that he had in fact built the well. The place was called Beersheba which means the “well of seven” or the “well of the oath”. If this covenant required both men to be faithful to their promises then it reminds us of a greater covenant in which God promises to be our God and we His people. My brothers and sisters, we are instant people living in an instant age. We no longer want to wait for anything but instead prefer immediate gratification. Should we wait until tomorrow? No thanks we much prefer right now. Yet sometimes we are called to wait on the Lord. We may think Him to be slow and perhaps forgetful but He is neither of those things. I know and believe that our God is faithful to all that He promises. If He has said it, then He will do it. How can I be so confident? Because Christ’s tomb remains empty and He stands at the right hand of the Father. In Jesus all the promises of God are yes and amen. Friends, look to Jesus today in your waiting. Trust in Christ in your doubts. Nothing is too hard for Him. God is faithful to all that He promises. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q5 Are there more Gods than one? There is but one only, the living and true God. Year 2 Day 235
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 6:13-7:1 Message - Alan Burke As the ark returns to Beth Shemesh, the people are there gathering in the harvest, the fields would have been filled with men, women with nursing infants and children all helping and they look up and see the ark and they rejoice. What a sight for sore eyes this would have been, seven months had passed since the ark was taken, since the battle at Ebenezer, where the Philistines killed thirty four thousand Israelites on the battle field, with their priest all dead. There was likely chaos in the land in those months, yes the glory of the Lord had departed, but now the Lord had returned. And there couldn’t have been a more appropriate place for the ark to come to, the people of Beth Shemesh were Levites, the were descendants of Aaron, the priestly tribe to take over that role which Eli had failed (Josh 21:16). There the cart stop beside a large rock, they break the cart apart, chop the wood, sacrifice the cows as a burnt offering, they took down the ark, and the chest containing the gold objects and offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices. Oh what a day that would have been, what excitement there would have been among the people there. Meanwhile the five rulers of the Philistines who had been watching on then left. On the face of it, everything had changed, imagine the new hope that here would have been in the people once more, the ark was back, the covenant family, young and old were worshiping the Lord in this field by the rock, surely things would be different, surely this was the time to build back better! But things weren’t different, nothing had changed. Their excitement, their sacrifices were no different than what took place in Shiloh at the hands of Eli and his sons. The Lord had prescribed how his people were to worship, for sacrifices they were to use a bull, a year old, a male without any blemish, they were worshiping God in their own way, rather than worshiping him in his way. They were worshiping God in their terms rather than God’s. Even if we missed the issue we see how things were not really any different as God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, seventy of them were put to death. Look to the question of the men of Beth Shemesh in verse 20, “who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?” The tragedy is of course that the Lord had made a way that they his people could come before him their holy God, the whole of the ceremonial law was to teach the people how they come before a holy God, it was to teach them that God is holy and they are not. That’s why there are so many laws about sacrifices, details about washings, the priests clothings, food, utensils, special days. All of it was to make it clear that God is holy and they are not, they should have understood it. How can we come before a holy God? Well the story of redemption has been pointing us to the need for someone to stand before the Lord on our behalf, this holy God. The book of Hebrews tell us that Jesus came as a merciful high priest in the service of God to make a propitiation for the sins of the people (Heb 2:17), how can we stand, we can stand though Jesus, we can draw near though him, it is through Jesus Chest alone that we can come, that we are saved. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q4 What is God? God is a Spirit, (John 4:24) infinite, (Job 11:7–9) eternal, (Ps. 90:2) and unchangeable, (James 1:17) in his being, (Exod. 3:14)wisdom, (Ps. 147:5) power, (Rev. 4:8) holiness, (Rev. 15:4) justice, goodness, and truth. (Exod. 34:6–7) Year 2 Day 234
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 20 Message - Scott Woodburn How long does it take for you to learn your lesson? For most of us, the mistakes we once made are the mistakes we continue to make. Abraham was no exception. In Genesis 12 he had lied about his relationship with his wife Sarai. The Egyptian Pharaoh saw her beauty and claimed her for himself. This act caused the Lord’s judgement to fall upon the Egyptians. Surely Abraham wouldn’t make such a mistake again? As a new chapter begins Abraham wanders in Gerar where he said that his wife Sarah was actually his sister (v2). It wasn’t exactly a lie. Abraham would explain later that Sarah was his half-sister (v12) Yet he failed to mention that she was also his wife. Abraham saw that there was no fear of God in Gerar and so he feared for his life (v11). Essentially he lacked faith that God would protect him. Abraham’s actions once again caused trouble for Sarah. She was taken into the royal house of king Abimelech of Gerar. Sarah was an elderly woman and so some have wondered if Abimelech took Sarah to forge a partnership with Abraham. Equally Sarah would soon have a baby so perhaps she maintained a youthful appearance that caught the eye of Abimelech? Whatever the reason behind Abimelech’s actions, God spoke and warned him that because he had taken another man’s wife he would die (v3). Abimelech called upon the Lord and protested his innocence. He had taken Sarah believing her to be Abraham’s sister. He had acted with integrity (v4-5). The Lord knows the hearts of humanity and so He agreed with Abimelech’s assessment. God knew the lie of Abraham and equally the integrity of Abimelech. If Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham then no judgement would fall upon him but if he refused he would surely die (v7). Abimelech reported all of this to his household and great fear fell upon them all (v8). Later Abraham explained his foolishness to Abimelech (v11-13) and was met with an entirely gracious response. He gave Abraham sheep and oxen and servants (v14). He returned Sarah to Abraham (v14b). He offered Abraham freedom in the land of Gerar (v15) and as a sign of Sarah’s innocence, Abimelech gave her one thousand silver pieces (v16). In response to the generosity of Abimelech, Abraham prayed for the man he once feared (v17). It was by the means of answering the prayer of Abraham that the Lord opened the wombs of the women in Abimelech’s house for they had previously been closed as God’s judgement fell upon Abimelech. As I read Genesis 20 I’m reminded of the words of Christ when He said “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5v37) Jesus was teaching about false, empty and frivolous oaths. Instead of boasting and lies we are to be men and women of integrity. Abraham would have done well if he had trusted himself to the Lord’s protection and declared Sarah to be his wife. He didn’t and on two occasions his wife and the house of Pharaoh and Abimelech paid the price. Brothers and sisters, let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. Brothers and sisters, pray that lies would not escape your lips. Brothers and sisters, walk in your homes, towns, jobs and churches with integrity. Brothers and sisters, flee from gossip and slander. Brothers and sisters, be quick to apologise and quicker to forgive. The days are running out and so it is time to walk in a manner that displays the glory of the Gospel. As Christ once said “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3v8) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q3 What do the Scriptures principally teach? The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Year 2 Day 233
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 6:7-12 Message - Alan Burke I know a little about farming, and I emphasis a little. On reading this I just wanted to make sure so I lifted the phone and phoned a farmer. Here’s the what I was told about what the priests and diviner’s and what they had told their leaders to do “that’s daft”. I thought that but believe me it’s better to check these things with people that know than spout some nonsense. Here’s the thing, no cow is going to want to leave its calf, you don’t want to get between a cow and its calf either even if they don’t have horns and these cows would have had horns, they have very hard heads. The cow is going to want to go to its calf because the cow is going to want to give it’s milk to the calf, the cow needs milked, it’s painful if they aren’t milked. Neither do you yoke two animals who have never been yoked before, it’s just a bad idea, they are going to be pulling in different directions, they are going to want out of the yoke, all of this is just stupid. Nonetheless they do it, they make a new cart so that it wouldn’t contaminate the ark with what ever it had been used for before, attached to the yoked cows who’ve just had their calfs taken from them, put in the gold tumours and the rats, and send it off. They knew that the cows wouldn’t have wanted to leave, that they wouldn’t have left, that this wasn’t going to work, that is unless the Lord himself did it, the Lord himself directed them to leave, and to go towards Beth Shemesh. And the cows went towards Beth Shemesh, they didn’t veer of course, they didn’t need to be led, they just continued on, it did the trick, they had went straight to Beth Shemesh, the rulers of the Philistines had a clear sign that the Lord God had done this, their desolation and affliction was his doing and now hopefully in the past. What we learn though is that the Philistines understanding of God was so limited. For if they knew the Lord they wouldn’t be sending him golden tumours and rats, it wouldn’t have taken them seven months to get themselves in gear, they would have seen with the slaying of Dagon that the Lord the God of the Israelites was indeed the living and true God and their gods were worthless. They knew some stuff though, they knew what happened in Egypt, but to say the least they are confused about who God. The culture around us is the same, many people think they knew about God but their understand is limited and to say the least they are confused about even the most basic things of God. Today biblical literacy is falling, people think they know everything they need to, they have gleaned enough to know that they don’t really want God and that Christians are just weirdo’s, but they are in the main ignorant, they know about Jesus, the name, that he’s something to do with Christianity but that’s it. And this culture just like Philistines want to moving further from God. Before you become totally deflated, notice how God was able to return the ark all by himself. God can achieve his purposes without our help, in a world that doesn’t want him, God still reigns, he has set His King to rule over all and the One enthroned in heaven laughs as the people plot in vain (Ps 2:1-4) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q2 What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, (2 Tim. 3:16, Eph. 2:20) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. (1 John 1:3–4) Year 2 Day 232
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 19 Message - Scott Woodburn Every generation believes that they live in the absolute worst of times and the darkest of days. The reality doesn’t quite match our perception. There is no doubt that we live in a wicked age but humanity has been well versed in wickedness from the start. The Lord is not apathetic about humanity’s evil. He judges it daily and will judge it completely at the last day. The Lord told Abraham that He was going to bring judgement upon the wicked cities of Sodom and Gommoarh whilst preserving any righteous individuals He found in the cities. He sent two angels to bring about the judgement and they quickly found themselves in the crosshairs of those who lived in Sodom. Abraham’s nephew Lot met the angels and begged them not to stay in the city square but to spend the night at his home (v2-3). After supper and before the angels lay down to rest, the men of the city came to Lot’s house enquiring about the visitors. Perhaps they wanted to welcome the angels? Perhaps the angels would be taken to meet the officials of the city and a big banquet would be thrown in their honour? Not at all. It was for the purpose of wickedness and great evil that the men of the city came to Lot’s door. The men of Sodom ask Lot “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” (v5) This isn’t “knowing” in the sense of conversation - the men of Sodom didn’t want to discuss the likes and dislikes of the angels. Instead they wanted the two angels to be brought outside where they would be raped. Lot courageously urges the Sodomites to reject wickedness (v7) while at the same time offering his virgin daughters to the sexual appetite of the crowd (v8). Some argue that Lot is here trying to use the legal standards of Sodom to diffuse the situation, knowing that if his engaged daughters were to be raped the Sodomites would be held accountable under Sodom’s justice system. I’m not so sure. I suspect we see Lot acting in a righteous manner in one moment and then making rash and foolish decisions the next. Thankfully the angels intervene and they strike those outside Lot’s house with blindness before urging Lot and his family to flee the city. Despite the warning of impending judgement Lot and his family don’t exactly take off running or act righteously. Lot lingers in the city (v16). His son-in-laws think its all a joke (v14). Lot’s wife rejects angelic wisdom and looks back upon the city. She immediately turned into a pillar of salt (v26). His daughters worry that they will not get husbands and so they get their father drunk and have sex with him, both falling pregnant (v30-38). This is a horrendous chapter that reminds me of Psalm 14. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalm 14 applies to everyone mentioned in Genesis 19 and everyone alive today in this present evil age. Most look at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and see it as a tale of fire and brimstone from a bygone era. “God doesn’t act like this anymore” they reason “and even if He did, He certainly won’t act like this with me”. My friends, our God has not changed. If we think the evil of Genesis 19 was great and the judgement of fire was awful then we have no clue what the last day will be like. When Christ returns the judgement delivered upon Sodom will be made to look minuscule by the scale of Christ’s universal judgement. What should we do? Do not put down roots in this world which will not last, instead repent of your sin and put your faith in Christ. Do not look back for He is coming and coming soon. Flee the wrath to come. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q1 What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Year 2 Day 231
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 6:1-6 Message - Alan Burke Coincidence, you know when a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection happens, it was all just a ‘coincidence’. Scripture teaches something else, that God is actively at work in the midst of all that is going on, there is no such thing as a coincidence but there are ‘God Incidences’, as God works by his providence. Here it took seven months for the Philistines to figure out that there was something more than a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection, it took them seven months for the penny to drop and for them to figure out that all they were facing was the LORD God at work and these were all God Incidences, God was at work by his providence. They had been afflicted with tumours, young and old alike, there was great panic among the peoples in their affliction, there was fear, death filled the cities with panic, and the ark was moved from one place to another. Now they finally wise up and know it’s because the Lord had done this. Look what we are told v2 that they got their priests and diviners together. Now these would have been the priests of the slain Dagon, you remember the one who was in pieces and probably off at the repair shop, and the diviners are something like fortune tellers. Well they get them together and ask what they are to do with the ark of the Lord, how should we send it back to its place? Notice here how they speak, in chapter five they had always referred to the ark of the god of Israel, in verse seven, eight, twice in verse ten and again in verse eleven, it was the ark of the god of Israel (5:7,8, twice in v10, 11). Finally they understand that is the ark of the Lord. But at the same time, although they understand they don’t understand, because they are not looking to this Lord and God, the only living and true God who had slain their god, instead they want rid. So their question is in effect how can we get rid of this God, they want their problem fixed by moving the Lord God further away, they think that what they need to do is get rid of this all powerful God and that will fix all their problems. There is a sense of real sadness in this, seven months of the Ark of the Lord in their minds, they had seven months and every opportunity to take good hard look at themselves and what they were doing. They had seven months to respond rightly to the Lord but they want their gods and they want is to get rid of the Lord God. They want him gone, they were choosing to deal with God on their own terms. The ark represented the presence of God among them, and they didn’t want it. Today the presence of God dwells not in the ark, but in the believer, and there is a sense in which we see the same thing happening, as the light of the gospel Jesus Christ though his people reveal and confront sin. We do it in how we love, in speaking the truth of the word of God even when it goes against the narrative of the age. Calling people to repent and believe and people want to get rid of that light. For we know “Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (Jn 3:20). This land, this world does not want the light, they want us to conform to the darkness, or to silence the gospel. Sinners want God gone, the Philistines wanted the ark gone and the people around us want either the gospel or us gone. And one day, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:10-11). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q107 What doth the conclusion of the Lord’ s prayer teach us? The conclusion of the Lord’ s prayer, (which is, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen. (Matt. 6:13)) teacheth us, to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, (Dan. 9:4,7–9,16–19) and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to him. (1 Chron. 29:10–13) And, in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen. (1 Cor. 14:16, Rev. 22:20–21) |
Alan
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