Daily Bible Reading: John 11:32-57 Jesus Raises Lazarus and the Response of the Priests

In my last two posts from the gospel of John chapter 11, the first was concerning the death of Lazarus, the second was concerning Jesus teaching Martha about the resurrection, specifically that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  In this post, Mary comes to Jesus, and with power, Jesus raises Lazarus from the grave in the witness of many people.

As the section starts, Martha has gone home and told secretly told Mary that Jesus "calleth for thee" (V28)

V32-36 When Mary came to Jesus and saw him, she fell down at his feet saying "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died"  Mary had faith the Jesus could have healed her brother.  She did not know the wonder and mercy she was about to witness. When Jesus saw her weeping, and that those who came with her were also weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled.   Jesus asked "where have ye laid him?" and they said to Jesus "Lord, come and see."  Then we have the shortest verse in the bible, powerful in its meaning, "Jesus wept"  These two words show the compassionate heart of Jesus.  Some of the people said "behold how he loved him" but others said "could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind have caused that even this man should not have died?" Referring to Jesus as "this man" reveals that they did not believe on Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.

Daily Bible Reading: John 11: 1-16 -The Death of Lazarus

John chapter 11 is full of teaching:  Firstly is the raising of Lazarus.  This is not the first time that Jesus has raised the dead; previously he raised the dead son of a widow while on his way to burial, also the daughter of Jairus, a child of 12.  But Lazarus is different.  He was raised to show forth the glory of God.  Lazarus, unlike the previous two, was already in the tomb, and had been for several days.  He was a person well known to Jesus and loved by him.  Many people witnessed the raising of Lazarus.  Jesus did it in a very public manner while the first two were in a more quiet way.

The raising of Lazarus takes place after the teaching of Jesus that he is The Good Shepherd.  That his sheep hear his voice, that they follow him,  Lazarus heard the voice of Jesus calling him and he came forth.

Also in this chapter is Lazarus' sister Martha.  Jesus gives Martha the assurance of resurrection.  Also here is the shortest verse in the bible "Jesus wept." 


V1-3 A certain man named Lazarus was sick.  He was of the town of Bethany, as were his sisters Martha and Mary.   They sent word to Jesus saying "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." 

From this we know that Martha and Mary were well acquainted with Jesus as they did not hesitate to send word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick.  It is likely that they believed that Jesus would come and heal Lazarus as he had done to so many others.

V4-7  Jesus said to his disciples "this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus."  This verse is confirmation of the close relationship that they had.  But Jesus did not immediately go to Lazarus, he stayed  two more days in the same place because the death of Lazarus was to be very significant.

V7-16 After the two days were up, Jesus told his disciples "let us go to Judea again."  His disciples were surprised at that  because the Jews had wanted to stone Jesus there.  But Jesus said to them "our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep."  His disciples did not understand that Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, they just thought that Lazarus was sleeping as restful sleep so Jesus told them "Lazarus is dead."  Then Jesus told them that he was glad that he was not there when Lazarus died because it was because of this that they would believe.  Jesus said "nevertheless let us go to him." 

My next post will be about Martha, and her assurance of the resurrection of Lazarus.

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Jairus' Daughter: a story of faith and trust

Mark 5:21-43   (25-34 is the woman with the issue of blood)

When the Lord was here on earth and did wonderful miracles, he did things that are beyond the powers of men.  The Lord Jesus did these miracles to point to His divinity.  These were things that only God could do.  Jesus' miracles are not recorded in the bible to make us think that we can do the same because we can't do the same, but Christs' power is revealed to encourage us to see that Jesus is God and he can do anything, his power is unlimited.  

Nothing is too hard for Jesus.  As Christians, when we see what an almighty and wonderful Jesus we have it is going to strengthen our faith to really believe and trust in him even when it is hard, and even when the world scorns and laughs and there is opposition.  If we see that Jesus is God and he can do anything, then all the scorn of the world will not make any difference whatsoever to us because we really believe in the omnipotent Saviour.  Spurgeon said:  "I believe what I believe and I will believe it even if I believe it alone."  Not dependent upon what other people think, not dependent upon current opinions or what the crowd thinks, not religious fashion, Spurgeon says that faith that is not dependent upon anybody else, but on Christ alone because  he is such a marvelous wonderful Saviour.  This faith only comes through a personal study of the bible.  We really believe what the bible says because we have pondered the scriptures and God has convinced us that this is true and logical and makes complete sense.  When we really believe that, it is not somebody else's faith that has convinced us, but it's our faith,  what we have come to believe and it doesn't matter if the whole world is against us, it makes no difference whatsoever because we are not relying on other people's opinions or feelings, or relying on other people for support. You can really say with Spurgeon, "I believe what I believe and I will believe it even if I believe it alone."  My faith is in Christ.  And that is the purpose of the recording of the miracles in the bible, because Jesus is God and he can do anything and there is no room for doubt at all.  If the almighty God humbled himself and became confined to a human body, then what is there that God cannot do?  Nothing.

The Significance of the Insignificant

This is a wonderful sermon of encouragement for the Christian, and hope for the lost.

2 Kings 5:1-19

This chapter starts by saying that Syria had been delivered by God through Naaman. V1 "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper."  the word delivered means a great victory.  Quite profound..  God the LORD, Yahweh, Jehovah is in control of international politics.  It is God who grants success.  Yahweh or Jehovah is the God of the whole earth, not just Israel.  Yahweh draws near to his people but the whole earth is under God. God controls the nations.  God is involved in national events.  God is also involved in people's lives, even in little circumstances.  In this passage are several things regarding bigness, smallness and cleanness before God.

The great man with a big problem:  V1  "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper."    The verse tells us of the greatness of Naaman, he was more than a captain, he is the top man in the army of Syria.. a "great man" a man of renown, he is honourable, exalted and lifted up.  He is a powerful warrior, mighty, and by him Syria had been given victories.  A national hero. But he was a leper.  Naaman was a great man but he had a big problem.  The teaching is that fame and bigness does not mean that all is well with you, that all is right and happy in your life.  

The little maid with the big answer:  V2-3  "And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord (Naaman) were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy."  The verse emphasizes her littleness, she is the complete opposite of the greatness of Naaman.  A little girl  captive from her home, a servant girl but the rest of this chapter hinges upon her.  She is not even named.  

Avoid Temptation: The Snares of Satan

Genesis 39:4-12

2 Corinthians 2:11

What are Satan's devices?  Satan can get an advantage over believers if we are not aware of his devices (snares, subtle schemes or traps).  Satan is also called the Tempter.  When he attacks the people of God it is usually not obvious.  If he went around like a roaring lion all the time no one would be deceived by him.  The bible tells us that he is the Tempter.  The church of Christ should not be ignorant of his devices because he wants to lure Christians into sin.  Many Christians are deceived into wrong thinking and actions.  Subtlety is his method, and traps are not easy to get out of.   Some evangelical leaders are so lacking discernment of Satan's devices that they take everything at face value, and anyone that says they are evangelical, they believe it.  There are so many men and women who are not aware of Satan's devices.  They are naive, living in the past, thinking that evangelical means the same thing now as it did in the 60s. But sadly, it does not.  Now, its not the biblical gospel, its the bible plus other things.  "make a decision"  "raise your hand". 

Sometimes Satan presents the bait and hides the hook.  Just do this thing and you will enjoy it but there are consequences which are hidden.   Sometimes Satan makes sin look small, he belittles sin, he presents God as all love and no justice.  Sometimes he says go and sin you can repent after.  That shows how Satan has snared Christians with his subtle schemes and many don't even know it.  Many Christians do not really want to know what the bible says.  Someone can prove from the bible that a church is disobeying God and it won't make any difference at all because people will just ignore it and pretend that it was never said.  They won't put it right because most professed Christians are determined not to obey the word of God and yet they still cling to the myth that they are saved, saved in their sin, clinging to a little profession.  Wanting, hoping to believe but Jesus said that it was only those who DO the will of my Father who will get to heaven.  Its a sad, sad situation when a professed Christian is content in their disobedience to the word of God.  

Satan's tactic will be that he will make a Christian confident to venture into the very place where they are going to be tempted.  He fills them with the notion that they can go to a place of temptation but they will be strong and not sin, they will be able to resist the temptation.   Satan says that you can resist temptation that is put in your path.  When you get tempted to think in that way, remember that Christians are to avoid temptation and all appearance of evil "lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory."   Don't think that you can put your finger in the fire but not get burned.  Enter not into the path of the wicked.  You are not going to get victory over sin if you don't avoid the temptation.  

Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar

Genesis 39

The wife of Potiphar was a woman of very poor moral character, yet her part in the story of Joseph, shows forth the power of a godly man to resist temptation, and ultimately find that the hand of God was there all along, working together all things for good.

Joseph was the much-loved son of Jacob.  But he was hated by his brother's because of a dream that Joseph had which involved them.  Eventually the brothers sold Joseph to merchantmen for 20 pieces of silver, and Joseph was brought to Egypt. (Genesis 37:27-28) After Joseph was taken to Egypt, he was bought by a man named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, "and the LORD was with Joseph...."(Gen 39:2)  And Joseph became overseer of the house of Potiphar, and over all that he had.  "And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.  And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had put into his hand." (Gen 39:3-4)

But it was in the ultimate plan of God that Joseph would rise to an even more important position, one that would ultimately reunite him with his brothers and his father, but first Joseph would face temptation, and his faithfulness would be sorely tested.  That temptation came in the form of Potiphar's wife.

As Potiphar was an important man, it is likely that his wife also enjoyed a position of importance, and was no doubt used to having her commands obeyed under threat of imprisonment or worse.  As did Eve before her, and King David after her, she was tempted with that which pleased the eye, in this case Joseph, who was "a goodly person and well favoured" (Gen 39:6)  It is at this point that Potiphar's wife desires to commit adultery with Joseph, "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said 'Lie with me' (Gen. 39:7)  We do not know if this was a regular habit with her, but this is given for our instruction as it is in James 1:13-15 "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every mam is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."   Surely this was a test allowed by God,  but a temptation of the devil.  Proverbs 6:29, 32 "So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.  ..But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul." 

Job's Faith: Why So Strong?

This is a continuation of yesterday's post regarding Job, and why bad things happen to the child of God.

Job's Faith, Why So Strong

Job 2, Job 13:15, Job 19:21-26

Job was a spiritual man, a family man, a burdened man for his family, but the book of Job teaches us that there is another  unseen world, a spirit world.  A prime plane of God and angels which Satan has access to.  What happens in that spirit world affects what happens in the physical world, the two are not separate but intertwined and they affect one another.  In this spiritual world Satan gets permission from God to unleash misery and trouble upon Job's life and Job suffered terribly.  Job reacted in sadness but he worshipped God even in this terrible tragedy. Job 1:20-22 "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."   He confesses that the LORD has a right to take away that which he has given, and he was going to love God anyway, even if God did not bless him.   The teaching is this, Job's faith overcame the troubles and woes that he was going through in his life because Job's faith was in God himself.  It was not dependant upon material blessings so therefore the material blessings could all be removed but Job's faith in God remained untouched.  Job did very well.  He lost his wealth, he lost all his children but he still kept his faith, but it wasn't over yet.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to the World and to the Child of God?

This post is further to yesterday's post entitled "Downhearted but why, and then an answer.  Lately I have read quite a few posts at Wordpress asking the question If God is a God of love, why does he allow bad things to happen?  I believe that these notes from the sermon by Paul Dowling provide the answer, why bad things happen to those in the world, and to the child of God.

Why do Bad Things Happen?

Job 1:1-12 

At some time in their life everyone has wondered,  "why do bad things happen to good people?"  Why was the missionary Amy Carmichael, who was doing her best to obey God, who did so much good work for the Lord, why was she confined to her bed in agony for the last 20 years of her life?  Why do bad things happen to good people.   Why is there so much suffering?

Some people in this world take the question further and they say "if God is the God of love why all the human misery".  Why..  For anyone who would ask that question, it is quite easy to answer although most people who ask that question do not want to know the answer.   If God is a God of love, the word if,  that is a sign of doubt and unbelief.  There is no doubt about it, the bible says that God is love, there is no "if" about it.  If there is doubt, there is no belief in the first place.  We need to remember that God is not a God of love only, love is not his only attribute. There is more to God than 1 John 4.

If you know your bibles you do know that God did not create the world the way it is now. Genesis 1:31 "And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good...."  The world is the way it is now with all its suffering and misery because of human free will.  In the garden of Eden, when there was free will that was not under bondage to sin,  Eve first, and then her husband Adam, used that free will to believe the serpent's lie and be disobedient to God's command and that is how sin entered into this world..  That caused the fall,  but God did not create the world the way it is now.  

Why are there starving people in the world?  Is it God's fault? No it's not, there are starving people in the world because of human greed.  There is more than enough food in this world to feed everybody but the problem is not in the amount of food.  Some countries are hoarding food and won't give it to those who are starving.  The problem is human greed.  It's not God's problem, it is human caused problem.

Why all the wars? That is easily answered because humans fight.  Why so much murder and killing? It's because of human aggression, this goes back to Cain murdering his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8 "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.").   It's human's fault, not Gods.  Why do so many humans die from simply cured illnesses in the poorer countries of this world. Why do thousands of poor people die? It's because they can't have operations because there are no surgeons but we can have cosmetic surgery to improve our looks. That is how arrogant many people are in the western world, so don't blame God.

Why do triple heart by-pass patients have to wait such a long time for their operation which is life-threatening, but if you pay some money you can have the surgery in a matter of weeks? Because money talks louder than human need.  You can blame God but most of the human suffering in this world is caused by human greed.  So put the blame where it belongs.

If you don't believe in God how can you blame God?   A far more important and honest question is in the bible, in the book of Job.  That is, why do God's people sometimes suffer for no apparent reason.  

The Days of Noah Part 7: What Does the Flood Teach Us?

1 Peter 3:18-20 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

Matthew 24:36-39 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood  came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

This is the last in the series of the Days of Noah.  The most important thing is, what is the lesson?  What does the flood teach us.
 
God judges and punishes sin always:  In the book of Genesis 6 it says 6:5-7 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."  It was all because of the wickedness of man, sin.  Both in mind, imagination, the thoughts of the heart, and the violence.  It all happened because of sin in thought and in deed.  God sees all sin, and all sin brings judgment and punishment. 

The Days of Noah Part 6: The Aftermath of the Flood

Genesis 7:24 - 8:1-5

In the previous posts, we looked at the historicity of the flood, it was a real event, Noah was a real person, a man of God.  We have looked at Noah's world, a sinful, pleasure-seeking world.  We have looked at the ark and the heart of God that provided a way of salvation from judgment and we have looked at the world-wide catastrophic terrible reality of the flood.  Today we look at the aftermath.  

The Long Long Time.  7:12 "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."  V24 "And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days."  8:3 "And the waters returned from off the earth continually and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated."  It was a very long time, 40 days of rain, a further 110 days of the water deepening, and then 150 days as the water receded.  It was over a year before Noah and his family got off the ark.  It was a long time.  During that whole year there was no further word from God.  God had not spoken to Noah since he closed the door (of the ark)  A year of silence from God.  Noah's family must have asked him every day "Is there any word from God? Is it nearly over?" and Noah didn't know because he had no word from God.  It was a long time.  

Many of the great men in scripture ask the question "has God forgotten me" and perhaps Noah asked the same thing, "has God forgotten me?"   And you don't know the answer.  But in Genesis 8:1 "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged" God remembered Noah.  Remembered means Noah was in the mind of God, God hadn't forgotten Noah, and Noah was a man of faith and in that long time and those long dark days of judgment when there was no apparent communication from God, Noah had only one thing to cling to, the sheer faithfulness of God.  The integrity of God.  God had been faithful in instructing him thus far.  Trust in that.

The Days of Noah: The Ark and the Heart of God

Genesis 6:3,5-7,13-22

Noah and the flood were both historic, Noah was a real person, a man of faith, a preacher of righteousness, a family man.  His world was a real world, a sinful world that was characterized by certain things: an evil mind-set, the thoughts and imaginations were only evil continually.  It was a foul society, a violent society.  It was also characterized by perverted religion that had corrupted the true religion.  This society was characterized by materialism and pleasure.  Those are the conditions for calamity.  That is the type of lifestyle that brought the flood.  In the light of those things, it all led to something.

What did it lead to?
Gen 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."    grieved means to suffer pain in one's own heart.  It grieved God at his heart, that is what it led to, grief.  God is not sitting up there in heaven uncaring about the people he created, he is grieved at their behaviour and their lifestyle like you are when your little children grow up and they scorn and mock and throw off the standards that you have tried to teach them..  Don't think less of God, it grieved him at his heart.  It also led to judgment pronounced and carried out.  Gen 6:7,13 "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth."  There are consequences for sin and rebellion and the consequences taught in this passage teach a very important lesson, a lesson that is largely forgotten today even in churches where they have a view of a God that has just one attribute and that is love.  That is a heresy.  Sin leads to consequences.  This passage teaches us the consequences.  God is warning mankind of the limitation of his mercy and grace.  

This passage teaches that human beings through their willful sin and willful neglect of salvation can put themselves beyond grace.  Beyond God's mercy.  By gross willful rebellion you can put yourself in the place where God says, "it is now over for you, there is no possibility of recall.  Beyond grace, mercy and redemption forever.  Where the only thing is judgment.  Noah's world was in precisely that position.  120 years and that is it, God says "enough"  There is a limit to God's mercy and grace.  And how much grace has been poured on you week by week, unbeliever.  How many times has God spoken to you in grace and mercy.  But you have scorned his love, rejected his forgiveness.  The lesson this passage is teaching is very simple, you need to be aware that the grace of God is not everlasting.  If God's grace was everlasting the flood would not have come.  If you are not a Christian, one day, if you continue rejecting the gospel, one day you will be one day too late.

The Days of Noah Part 4: The Flood

This is the 4th in a series of the series called The days of Noah, this being The Flood.  This is one of the most powerful sermons I have ever heard, and it moved me to tears.  I know that it will be a blessing to you, and I beseech you to either read the whole of the notes (which are long) or take the time to listen to the sermon at Sermon Audio which is linked below. 

As a background, prior to Noah building the ark, God spoke to Noah, who "found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Gen 6:8) and instructed Noah to build the ark to the LORD's specifications (Gen 6:13-16) and told Noah that he, the LORD would bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, and every living thing that is in the earth would die, but with Noah he would establish his covenant. In Gen 6:3 the LORD said "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."  Noah with his wife, his sons, and his son's wives, would be safe on the ark.  This is the background, and following are the notes from the sermon:

The Days of Noah - the Flood

Genesis 7:1-24

Between the end of Gen 6 and Gen 7:1 almost 120 years had passed during which Noah continued working and building the ark.  And when the ark was finished, God speaks to Noah Gen 7:1-4 "And the LORD said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.  Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.  For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth."    God speaks after 120 years and tells Noah to bring his family and the animals and the birds into the ark for the time of judgment had come.  120 years had passed since the first warning, since the preacher of righteousness was instructed by God to begin building the ark.  Now God says there are seven days left, the time has come.

Seven more days of grace V4. The door of grace, of salvation on the side of the ark would be open for another seven days.   Didn't God give the people in the world of Noah's day every opportunity.  He gave them the preacher, he gave them 120 years, and now a further 7 days of grace.  The bible tells us that Noah gathers his family into the ark.  His wife, his sons and his son's wives.  But note that Noah's sons had not been born when God had last spoken to Noah.  When God told Noah that the flood was coming 120 years ago, Noah's sons were not born, because it tells us that Noah's sons were born when Noah was 500 years old (Gen 5:32) and the flood came when Noah was 600 (Gen 7:6) but God had told Noah 120 years previous that the flood would come, 20 years before Noah's sons were born.  So Noah's sons had grown up when their father was building the ark and preaching righteousness.  God had not directly spoken since, Noah's sons had never heard the message direct from God, just from their father the preacher.  But when they were 100 years old, they and their wives went into the ark.  They believed the preacher, they believed the flood was coming, but the ungodly did not and yet both groups had heard the same message from the same preacher.  It saved some and condemned others.  Because some people, when they hear the gospel, the gospel saves them.  But some people, the gospel hardens.

The Days of Noah Part 3: Noah's World

This is the third in a series of 7 posts regarding Noah and the flood from Genesis 6 to 9 in the bible.

The Days of Noah Part 3:  Noah's World




In the previous two messages we have studied the proofs from the bible and from geology and geography that Noah and the global flood were historic events.  Noah was a real person and the flood was a real event.  Noah was a man of faith who walked with God, and because of that God told Noah that because the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, (Gen 6:5) that God would destroy every living thing that he had created, from the face of the earth and Noah, in the light of that, became a preacher of righteousness, and he warned the generation in which he lived of the judgment which was coming.  The fact that the generation of his day didn't listen is irrelevant because they were warned.  Because of that there are no excuses in the day of judgment.  

What kind of world did Noah live in?   
Noah's world was a real world, not  a world of fun added things of children's stories. It had a culture, it had a philosophy of life, a way of thinking.  A way not very different from our society.  Indeed we may discover that the same philosophy that prevails today in Western society is very similar to the way of thinking in Noah's day because humans don't change.  They are the same today as they were in the whole of history since the fall.  Technology advances, but humans do not change.

Gen 6:5 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."   They had an evil mind.  God saw that man's wickedness, man's morality or ethics was evil.  The wickedness of man was great, abounding, overflowing.   Man's wickedness had reached a new low.  Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  Every imagination, every concept, every purpose or device of the thoughts of his plans of his heart.  All day, all month or all year, continually.  Genesis 6 teaches that man coming up to the flood had come to such a stage of moral evil just before the flood, that everything was utterly evil all the time.  They did not do evil through carelessness not heeding what they do, they did evil deliberately, contriving how to do mischief.  There was no good to be found among them and God saw it. In other words, an evil mind-set had come down.  A depraved mind-set.

The Days of Noah Part 2: Noah the Person

This is the second in a 7 part series on Noah and the Flood from Genesis 6.

The Days of Noah:  Part 2, Noah the Person

Noah lived 4,600 years ago.  He was a real, historical person and has a very detailed family tree.  The flood is also a real, historical event.  Genesis and the Lord Jesus say so, there are many references to Noah and the flood in the bible.  In almost every continent, there are flood stories. 

What type of a man was Noah?  he has a reputation as the man who built the ark, and sinned after the flood was over in drunkenness.  But let us truly look at Noah as the person he was.

Noah was descended from Seth.  Why is this important?  Noah was brought up in a godly home.  Who is Seth?  Adam's third son.  First Cain, then Abel but Cain murdered Abel and was sent away.  From Cain came the godless line.  After this another son was born to Adam called Seth and the godly line continued through that line. Genesis 4:25-26 "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth.  For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD."  Noah was from this line.  Noah's great-grandfather was so much a man of God that he was taken straight from  earth to heaven, that being Enoch. Genesis 5:24 "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him".

Noah's father, Lamech, called his son Noah because Noah means "rest" or "comfort".  Lamech knew that toil and hardship was in this world and it was a result of human sin and God's curse..  Gen 5:28-29  "And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: and he called his name Noah saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed." So Lamech named his son Noah because he knew that the reason why things were hard and life was troubled was because of human sin.  Lamech knew far more than most modern people.  Lamech knew far more than many Christians in the western world today.  People wonder why bad things happen to Christians.  Lamech knew why bad things happen to good people and this was 4,600 years ago.  Today Christians ask "why did this happen to me?"  Because we live in a cursed, fallen world and these bad thing happen because of human sin.  Lamech lived in a world in which he needed comfort and rest, so he named his son Noah.  God's name would have been mentioned in Noah's home and this influenced the boy Noah.

Who are Abraham's Descendants? What are the Covenants of Scripture?

Genesis 12:1-3

Genesis 15:1-21

Abram obeyed God, he left his father's house and his father's land when he was 75.  In Genesis 12 God is voicing a covenant with Abram;  an agreement, a promise between two parties.  There are certain things that Abram has to do, and in light of this there are certain promises that God makes to Abram.  I will give you the land, I will make of you a great nation, I will make you a blessing to all nations, in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.  People have called this covenant that God made with Abram the Covenant of Promise.  In Genesis 15 we see the covenant ratified or made legal in a powerful way.

An explanation of the covenants of scripture.  God always deals with people by way of covenant in the bible.  The Adamic covenant made with Adam: The covenant of works, certain duties imposed by God and then a warning..  "do not eat of the fruit....."  there were consequences for breaking covenants.  This was a contract of relationship between two parties, God and man.  Adam and Eve disobeyed God and broke the covenant and now man is under the sentence of death.  Humans cannot approach God by our works.  It was finished at the fall.

Then the Noahic covenant, the covenant of preservation.  The rainbow is the sign of that covenant.  God promised to do certain things, not to flood the world with water again.  Then there is the Mosaic covenant, the covenant of law and sacrifices.  The law was never meant to save.  If the law was meant to save why did they have a sacrificial system? The law was to show sin, failure to keep the law.  All these covenants can be summed up under three broad sections:

The Mothers Who Came to King Solomon: His Wise Decision

1 Kings 3:5-28

Some background is necessary regarding how king Solomon came to have such great wisdom.  After the death of King David, when Solomon was made King, God appeared to him in a dream one night, and said "Ask what I shall give thee." (1 Kings 3:5) We know that our God is omniscient, and knows the hearts of men, and knew what Solomon's answer would be, still  Solomon's answer was a true blessing.  "..O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in....give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people." (V7-9)

So much here, Solomon refers to the LORD MY God, this is a personal relationship Solomon has with the LORD.  He is humble, referring to himself as "A little child" in need of guidance and wisdom.  He asks not for silver or gold or great riches, but "an understanding heart" to judge "thy people" not his (Solomon's) people.  Truly Solomon is devoted to the LORD.  And so  the LORD is pleased and answers "I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart: so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee......" (V12)  What a wonderful gift that would be, I wonder how many of us would ask for wisdom rather than riches?

And so this is the background to the two mothers that soon come to Solomon. The bible calls them harlots, but they are not denied an audience with the king whom they stand before and begin to tell him the reason for their appearing before him.

They both live in the same house, and they both bore children, indeed three days apart they had their children, and there was no one with them, they were alone in the house.  (V17-18) And then a very sad occurrence, one mother speaks "this woman's child died in the night because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.  And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. "(V19-21)

Bible Men: Nehemiah - Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem

According to the book of Ezra 2:2, Nehemiah, whose name means "consolation", was one who came out of captivity in Babylon to return to Jerusalem.. but how he did that is told in the wonderful book that bears his name.

The book of Nehemiah is written in the first person.  We learn that Nehemiah was the cup-bearer to the king Artaxerxes,  (Chp 2:1 "And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king....." where he was placed by the Lord in order to accomplish His purposes for Jerusalem, and Nehemiah was in the palace of Shushan, the same palace we read about in the books of  Esther and Daniel.

And one day Nehemiah was able to inquire of certain men of Judah about Jerusalem.  He was told that the wall of that great city was broken down, and the gates burned with fire.  Upon hearing this news, Nehemiah wept and mourned, fasted and prayed before the God of heaven (chp1:4-11) confessing his sins and the sins of the children of Israel, and beseeching the LORD to remember his words to Moses and to hear the prayer of Nehemiah and those who desired to fear the name of the LORD.  He also prayed for mercy in the sight of the king.  Because Nehemiah, as stated before, was the king's cup-bearer, and as such was able to approach the king directly.

Nehemiah's actions are very convicting.  when he heard of the devastation of Jerusalem, he was overcome with grief, and immediately went before the Lord in prayer.  So my question is, what do we do when we hear of problems within our church?  do we go before the Lord in prayer?  do we get involved?  or do we go on with our lives with no heart for reviving that which has fallen.   In this case, the LORD gave Nehemiah a heart for Jerusalem.  Has He given you a heart for a place that has fallen into hard times? 

The Temptation to go Ahead of God.

This past summer my husband and I decided that we no longer want to take part in what I now call “Commercialmas”  and what the local news called the “Christmas Creep”, the stores already carrying all Christmas things decorative.  This past summer we gave away our tree and all the decorations as well as an extensive village..  and we decided that in late September we would tell our family that we no longer want to celebrate the day.  We were invited to a family member’s house for dinner this past Sunday and it seemed a perfect time to tell them of our plans, and the next day my husband would have emailed another family member, also telling them of our plans.  But something happened to change these plans and so this is the reason for this post.

This past Sunday the sermon was on Genesis 24, when Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac after the death of Isaac’s mother Sarah.  The speaker went through the chapter, and how Abraham told the servant (V3-4) “I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the god of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites…but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac”..

But the servant thought that perhaps the maiden would not want to follow him, he wanted to do things his way instead of waiting on the LORD, and so he said (V5) “if the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?”  This is speculation on the servant’s part that the woman would not want to follow.  But Abraham trusted that (V7) “the LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me…he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.”  The servant must not consider what might happen, he must be obedient to his master, and trust that the LORD God is in control.

So the servant swore to do as Abraham said, and departed and he also prayed  (V12) “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.”  and then he made specific request regarding the woman who would come to a well, and give water to the servant and to his camels, “let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shown kindness unto my master.”

Elisha Part 2: Crossing the Jordan, Healing the waters and the Children that mocked

 2 Kings 2:1-24

 In the first study of Elisha, we learned that he was promised a double portion of the spirit be upon him if he saw Elijah translated.  And so it was, that when Elisha saw that "there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." (2:12)  and Elisha "took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces" (2 Kings 2:12)  but he must carry on in the place of Elijah, as the anointed man of God.

And so Elisha took up Elijah's mantle and now we see the first miracle given that Elisha is God's own .  "he went back and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and he went back and smote the waters, and said Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over." (V13-14)  This is the first miracle that Elisha did by the spirit of the LORD. There were others watching, the sons of the prophets from Jericho, and they are witnesses that "the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha..and they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him." (V15) And this is the reason that the sons of the prophets knew that Elijah would be taken, so that they could see that Elisha was the anointed successor to Elijah.

The sons of the prophets thought that perhaps God had cast Elijah down again onto a mountain or into a valley and wanted to go look for them, and wanted to send fifty strong men to look for him, but Elisha said "Ye shall not send" (V16)  So Elisha went to Jericho while the men searched for Elijah but they did not find him. When they returned Elisha said to them "Did I not say unto you, Go not? (V18) And so because Elisha knew that Elijah would not be found, the men of the city tell Elisha the situation in the city, "the water is naught, and the ground barren." (V19)

Elisha requests a new container with salt inside.(V20)  This must be a new container, not an old that has been used for other things..  healing requires the new, the old is put away.  The salt is cast into the water,  and Elijah gives glory to the Lord "Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land." (V21)  The man of God makes it clear that this healing is by God's will, not his own. "so the waters were healed unto this day,according to the saying of Elisha which he spake." (V22)  

Bible Men: Elisha Part 1, Anointed by Elijah

Elisha Part 1:  Anointed by Elijah and Witness of his translation into heaven

1 Kings 19:16-21, 2 Kings 2:1-17

Elisha is one of the more colorful people in the bible.  He was a prophet, a man of God, anointed  by Elijah in obedience to the word of the Lord God "...and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room." (1 Kings 19:16).  This shows us that prophets were chosen of God, not men that lifted themselves up.  And so it should be today.   God has given various gifts as it pleases him, and moves believers to use those gifts each in their particular way, and then the gift/gifts bear fruit to the glory of God.  Some men (and women) lift themselves up, and strive to do works they desire to do themselves, without the leading of the Lord.  By their fruits we shall know those whom God has chosen..

And so Elijah departed the place where the LORD God spoke to him and found Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth (V19).  Elisha was found not sitting at leisure, but passing the time in a meaningful way.   And so when God wants us for a certain task, how will He find us?  Will we be idle? or will we be passing the time by the leading of the Lord?  Ephesians 5:15-17 "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." 
At any rate, it is now that Elijah came to Elisha and cast his mantle (cloak) upon Elisha, thus showing Elisha that he was chosen for the special purpose of being Elijah's servant and successor.  Elisha was taken from plowing a field  to sow the seed of the word (of God), in the same way that some of the apostles were taken from their lives as fishermen, to be made "fishers of men".

After anointing Elisha by casting his mantle upon him,  Elijah was continuing on his way, because Elisha had to run after him (V20) with this request:  "Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee." The Lord Jesus, in a similar instance, when someone desired to go and bid farewell to his family before following Jesus, told them "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  (Luke 9:61-62)  But in this instance, Elijah graciously gives him permission to go back again, saying "Go back again, for what have I done to thee?" (V20) And so, after slaying a yoke of oxen and feeding the people, Elisha "rose and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him"  (V21) Important here that Elisha did not see himself as an equal, but a servant to Elijah, the man of God.