Origins

Tests After Triumphs

(Genesis 12:10-20)

 

INTRODUCTION

Text messages from Pastor X to Jennie Allen concerning Afghanistan.

 

“Jennie, as you know we reach and raise up locals that carry the work in the countries we serve.

 

Things drastically shifted for our teams in Afghanistan overnight.

 

Believers are scattered and literally running for the hills. ​​ Hiding in the mountains and caves with just the clothes on their back. ​​ Winter will be approaching and we are working on getting aid and relief to these teams ASAP.

 

Taliban is taking girls 15 years and younger from their families and raping then trafficking them. ​​ Also killing husbands with young wives and doing the same. ​​ Taliban has a ‘list’ of Christians and churches. ​​ Believers are being hunted.

 

Most of our leaders there are indigenous so they are Afghan. ​​ Which means they can’t leave unless they flee as refugees but unfortunately the surrounding countries are closing the borders.”

 

[www.facebook.com/JennieAllen]

 

The Afghan Christians’ faith is being tested like never before. ​​ There is real fear of death for young husbands and fear of being violated by young wives and girls.

BODY

  • ME

    • Doubts and fears

        • You’ve been learning a lot over the past several weeks about our faith journey in to full-time pastoral ministry

        • You’ve heard that we moved a lot during our 30 years of marriage

        • I’ve shared that we had to take steps of faith during some of those moves

        • Obviously we had fears and doubts and our faith was weak sometimes

        • Our dog, socks

          • When we were getting ready to move from OH to MO, we had to decide what to do with our dog, Socks

          • We were certain that we were going to have to rent either an apartment or house when we got to MO and we didn’t want to have to figure that out with a dog

          • We were trying to find a new home for him, because we didn’t want to take him to the pound

          • During the time that we were trying to figure this all out, Socks didn’t listen to Judy’s verbal command to stop and he was hit by a minivan and killed

          • While this was not the hoped for outcome for our dog, the decision about what to do with him had been made

          • That obstacle to our move had been removed

        • When I look back on that situation now, I can see that our faith was weak

    • God’s plan

        • When we got to MO, we realized that there were very few apartment complexes where we were going to live and there weren’t many houses for rent

        • We were able to buy a home

        • We could have kept Socks, since we purchased our own home, but we didn’t realize that at the time

        • Had we trusted God by faith, things may have been different

        • Ultimately, God is in control and will accomplish His plan, even if that plan may bring us or others heartache

 

  • WE

    • Every one of us can probably recall a time when we knew that God was faithful to us, through a difficult time

    • Our faith may have wavered during that time, because we couldn’t see how God was going to pull us through – how God was going to provide

    • We’re not alone in our doubts, fears, and weakened faith

 

Abram was about the face some difficult situations in his life. ​​ Would he trust God by faith to take care of him and his family or would he try to work it out in his own strength? ​​ Abram was going to learn a very important lesson about God’s faithfulness. ​​ It’s a lesson we have to learn as well. ​​ That lesson is . . .

 

BIG IDEA – ​​ When we’re faithless, God is faithful.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Genesis 12:10-20)

    • Deception (vv. 10-13)

        • Famine

          • There was a famine in Canaan while Abram was traveling through the land

            • We’re told that is was severe

              • It was a heavy, grievous, burdensome famine

              • It wasn’t a minor famine that would pass quickly

            • It would not have been uncommon for famines to hit Canaan, because the climate depended on rainfall to sustain any kind of productivity [Walton, The NIV Application Commentary, Genesis, 395]

            • Egypt was different, because it depended on the Nile River to sustain its productivity, and the Nile River flooded every year [Walton, 395]

          • Abram decides that he will travel down to Egypt to live there for a while since the famine was so heavy

        • Sister-wife

          • Fear

            • When I first read the update from Afghanistan about how the Taliban is killing husbands with young wives, it made me think of what Abram was feeling and experiencing

            • He knew how beautiful Sarai was and he told her

              • Guys, make sure to tell your wives how beautiful they are – trust me they will be encouraged to hear it

              • Sarai was 65 years old at this point, which would have been midlife for her since she lived to be 127 years’ old

              • In our culture we think about 65 year olds (men and women) as being grandparents and retirement age

              • The old adage, “beauty is more than skin deep,” probably applies here

              • There were other aspects, including her physical beauty, that would have been attractive, such as her dignity, bearing, countenance, the way she carried herself, etc. [Walton, 397]

              • One commentary states, “The phrase used here is also used to describe a fine specimen of cow (Gen. 41:2).” ​​ [Walton, 397]

                • I know that livestock were an indicator of wealth in the Ancient Near East

                • I’m not sure if comparing a beautiful woman to a fine cow was a compliment during that time or not

                • I’m warning husbands today that comparing your wife to a fine cow is not considered a compliment in our day and age

              • Abram is fearing for his life – he’s afraid that as Sarai’s husband he will be killed and she will be taken as some Egyptian’s wife

            • “Abraham’s fear demonstrates a lack of trust in God’s recent promises.” ​​ [Waltke, Genesis, A Commentary, 213]

            • Has Abram forgotten the Lord’s promises?

              • The Lord promised to make him into a great nation

              • The Lord promised to make his name great

              • The Lord promised to treat others the same way they treated Abram

            • Fear can cause us to not think clearly

          • Self-preservation

            • Abram was only thinking about himself at this point

            • Tell them you are my sister, so that . . .

              • They will treat me well

              • My life will be spared

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – Human wisdom is flawed.

              • Human wisdom

                • Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

                • Proverbs 21:2, All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.

                • Read Proverbs 16:2-25

              • God’s wisdom

                • Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. ​​ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

                • James 1:5-8, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ​​ But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ​​ That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

              • Application

                • If we’re truly honest with ourselves, we would admit that we often try to use our own wisdom and strength to resolve the difficulties we’re facing

                • Calling on the Lord seems to be our final step instead of our first step

                • Most of the time it’s true that with age and life circumstances come wisdom

                • The older we get, the more we turn to the Lord first instead of last

                • The Lord’s wisdom is far greater than ours

                • He is all-knowing and all-powerful, so He knows what’s best for us

                • When we seek His face and His wisdom, He promises to guide our steps

                • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Seek the Lord’s wisdom first in every difficulty I face.

                  • Perhaps you’re in the middle of a difficult situation right now and you haven’t sought the Lord’s wisdom yet

                  • It’s not too late, do it right now!

            • Abram’s wisdom was flawed – he was only thinking about himself

          • He was allowing fear to guide him, instead of faith

        • Focusing only on himself, meant that he was not thinking about Sarai and how his human wisdom and plan would affect her

        • That’s where the complication comes in

    • Complication (vv. 14-16)

        • Pharaoh’s wife

          • Abram knew how blessed he was to have Sarai as his wife

          • What he didn’t count on was who would be taken with Sarai’s beauty

          • The Egyptians saw how beautiful she was and the officials praised her when they told Pharaoh

          • Pharaoh obviously agreed with their assessment and took her into his palace, meaning she became part of his harem – she was another one of his wives

            • Powerful leaders in the Ancient Near East, like Pharaoh, would have had multiple wives as a status symbol [Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament, Pentateuch, Genesis, 219-20]

            • “Rulers did not see marriage as a means of fulfilling their lust for woman (though that may occasionally be the case), but often as a means of fulfilling their lust for power. ​​ Their harems were filled with those whom they had married to cement political alliances.” ​​ [Walton, 397]

            • Marriage between ruling families of various nations was a common practice, to solidify peace and treaties

          • A bride price was always paid to the father or in this case, “brother”

        • Pharaoh’s price

          • Pharaoh treated Abram well as the “brother/guardian” of Sarai

          • “Wealth in the ancient Middle East was not measured in gold but in animals, slaves, and land.” ​​ [Gangel & Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Genesis, 122]

          • Abram received animals and slaves

            • He received flocks (sheep and goats), herds (oxen, bulls, and cows), donkeys (both male and female), and camels [Goldingay, 220]

              • Male donkeys were used to carry things

              • Female donkeys were used to carry people

              • Camels were used to carry both things and people

              • Camels were also a sign of wealth, because they were rare during this time

            • He received servants

              • Both male and female

              • Keep this in mind as we continue the narrative on Abram, especially as it pertains to Hagar and Ishmael

          • Even though Abram doesn’t plan for the complication of Sarai becoming a part of Pharaoh’s harem, he benefits greatly from this half-truth about her

        • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is faithful even when we’re faithless.

          • Abram wasn’t trusting the Lord to provide for him in Canaan and to protect him in Egypt

            • Yet, God still blessed Abram in spite of his faithlessness

            • God kept His promise to Abram to bless him

            • This narrative is more about God’s faithfulness than Abram’s failures

            • It highlights God’s attribute of faithfulness

          • It’s so reassuring to know that God’s faithfulness to us is not based on our faithfulness to him

            • He is still faithful when we fail Him, when we doubt Him, when we allow fear to control our thoughts and actions

            • He still blesses us in spite of our failures

            • This is something we can and should worship and praise the Lord for

            • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Thank the Lord for His faithfulness and blessing even when I fail Him.

            • We should never neglect to confess to the Lord that we have failed Him and allowed our doubts and fears to control our thoughts and actions

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Confess to the Lord my failures, doubts, and fears.

        • While Abram’s faithlessness created a complication, God was in control and had a resolution ready

    • Resolution (vv. 17-20)

        • God’s protection (v. 17)

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is in control!

            • Even when Abram was driven by survival to make decisions on his own (going to Egypt and telling a half-truth), God’s plan for he and Sarai would not be thwarted

            • God would keep His promise of providing a great nation through Abram and Sarai, not Pharaoh and Sarai

            • The Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household

              • We’re not told what the serious diseases were

              • “‘Diseases’ translates the Hebrew for ‘plagues,’ which is the same word describing the ten plagues against Pharaoh (Exod 11:1). ​​ The term refers to skin disease in Mosaic legislation (Lev 13), and the verbal form describes the leprous judgement by the Lord against Uzziah (2 Kings 15:5).” ​​ [Mathews, The New American Commentary, Volume 1B, Genesis 11:27-50:26, 129]

              • Perhaps the diseases were sexual in nature, which enabled Sarai to be preserved from dishonor and for God’s plan to remain intact

            • Application

              • God is in control of your circumstances

              • Even if you have been driven by survival to make decisions on your own, God’s plan for you cannot be thwarted

              • He has a resolution ready

              • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize that God is in control and trust Him to accomplish His plan for my life.

          • God protected Abram and Sarai even in their failures

          • “Abram’s sin brought God’s judgment on Pharaoh’s house. ​​ But in a true demonstration of biblical grace, God overcame Abram’s sin, forgave his lie, and sent him back to the land.” ​​ [Gangel & Bramer, 122]

        • Pharaoh’s rebuke (vv. 18-20)

          • Abram’s fear caused him to doubt and question the ethics of the Egyptian people

          • He thought he knew and understood their ethics, but in reality he was not aware of their ethic of absolute truthfulness

          • He learned two pivotal spiritual lessons – truth and trust

            • He learned that he could trust the Lord to take care of him, no matter what

            • He also learned that truthfulness is important, but, as we’ll see later, he struggled with truthfulness one other time in the future

          • When Pharaoh learned the cause of the serious diseases that he and his household were experiencing, he confronted Abram

            • We’re not told how Pharaoh found out

            • Perhaps the Lord spoke to him

            • Maybe Sarai came clean and explained that she and Abram were actually husband and wife

            • However it happened, he immediately summoned Abram

          • Two questions

            • What have you done to me?

            • Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ​​ Why did you say, “She is my sister,” so that I took her to be my wife?

          • Here’s your wife, leave, and take your stuff with you!

            • Pharaoh restores Sarai to Abram

            • He then tells Abram to take her and go

            • Pharaoh didn’t take any chances that Abram would remain in Egypt

            • Instead he instructed his men to make sure that Abram left the country (Abram’s own personal escort)

            • Notice that Pharaoh did not demand that Abram return the flocks, herds, donkeys, camels, and servants

              • God was blessing Abram even through his failures

              • When we’re faithless, God is faithful.

        • We can trust that God has a resolution to our problem and that He will protect us and provide for us

  • YOU

    • Seek the Lord’s wisdom first when confronted with any difficulty.

    • Thank the Lord for His faithfulness even when I fail Him.

    • Confess to the Lord my failures, doubts, and fears.

    • Recognize that God is in control and trust Him to accomplish His plan for my life.

 

  • WE

    • We need to encourage one another to seek the Lord’s wisdom, to express our gratitude for His faithfulness, to confess our failures, and to trust God to sovereignly control our lives.

 

CONCLUSION

The Count of Monte Cristo tells the story of Dantes (James Caviezel) who is unjustly accused and sentenced to life in France's most dreaded prison. After 13 years he escapes, becomes wealthy, and then seeks revenge on those who ruined his life. Throughout the movie Dantes struggles deeply with his belief in God, moving from a simple faith to a loss of faith, and finally to a mature faith.

 

During his years in prison, Dantes' makes friends with a wonderful priest, whose godly influence has a huge impact on Dantes' spiritual understanding. Together they dig a tunnel to escape, but just before it's completed, a cave-in injures the priest. As he lies dying on the stone floor of his cell, the priest gives Dantes a treasure map that he'd hidden all his years in prison, which ends up making Dantes wealthy. But it's the priest's final words that stick with Dantes forever.

 

‘When they asked me about the treasure of Sparta, I lied,’ the priest confesses.

 

‘You lied?’ Dantes asks.

 

‘I'm a priest, not a saint.’ [Then he tells Dantes how to use the map to find the treasure.]

 

‘When you escape,’ the priest continues, ‘use the treasure for good. Only for good.’

 

‘No,’ Dantes says angrily. ‘I will surely use it for my revenge.’

 

‘This is your final lesson. Do not commit the crime—[the priest struggles for a breath] Do not commit the crime for which you now serve the sentence. God said, ‘Vengeance is mine.’’

 

Dantes says, ‘But I don't believe in God.’

 

‘It doesn't matter,’ the priest responds with a smile. ‘He believes in you.’

 

Moments later the priest dies, and Dantes escapes. Not only do the priest's words help Dantes discover the treasure—by the end of the movie they help Dantes rediscover the God who is faithful even when we are faithless. God believes in the worth of fallen humanity. As Romans 8:31 says, ‘God is for us.’”

 

Content: Rated PG-13 for some violence and sensuality

 

Elapsed time: 00:52:56 to 00:54:07 (DVD scene 13)

 

Source: The Count of Monte Cristo (Touchstone Pictures, 2002); story by Alexandre Dumas, screenplay by Jay Wolpert, directed by Kevin Reynolds

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2004/november/15610.html]

11

 

Origins

Faithful Follower

(Genesis 12:1-9)

 

INTRODUCTION

“In his 1999 novel, Testament, John Grisham tells the story of a billionaire’s inheritance that is left to an illegitimate daughter, Rachel Lane, whom he has never really known. ​​ When the law firm tries to find her, they discover that she has become a missionary in the remote jungle villages of Brazil. ​​ Rachel has left everything in pursuit of her missionary commitment. ​​ One of the suspense lines running through the novel is the question of how firmly her resolve will hold when matchless wealth seeks to draw her back. ​​ Her calm resistance leaves the lawyer, Nate O’Riley, baffled. ​​ He cannot imagine someone being that unaffected when so much wealth is within her grasp.

 

This positive picture of a faith resolve finds its polar opposite in the 1998 novel, The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver. ​​ Nathan Price is an evangelical Baptist missionary to the Belgian Congo, with his wife and four daughters. ​​ Seen through the eyes of the women, Price is a jumble of contradictions. ​​ He has pursued his ‘call’ without the endorsement of the mission board of his denomination and without raising any financial or spiritual support. ​​ This is his idea of faith. ​​ His ‘faith resolve’ is so colored by selfishness, personal foibles, theological shallowness, and cultural superiority and imperialism that he has lost any right to claim God’s leading and has left his family and all those around him confused about his motives. ​​ As Nathan Price illustrates, leaving all to serve God can easily be a self-serving delusion. ​​ When it is not, as Rachel Lane illustrates, that which is left behind has a way of catching up to us and pressing its claims anew.”

 

[Walton, The NIV Application Commentary, Genesis, 405]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Sacrifices

        • I mentioned last week that Judy and I moved around a lot throughout our 30 years of marriage

        • Some of those moves required that we sacrifice living around family (FL, MO, & CA)

        • It even required that we sacrifice what was familiar and secure

    • Steps of faith

        • Some of those moves required steps of faith on our part

        • The greatest step of faith that we took was being obedient to God’s calling on my life to be a Pastor

        • I had resisted that call for 13 years before telling the Lord that I would pursue pastoring

        • The blessings that have resulted have been far beyond what I could have imagined

        • There are times when I wish I would have been obedient sooner, but the life lessons I learned have been invaluable as I pastor

 

  • WE

    • Every one of us can probably share stories of what we have had to sacrifice in order to be obedient to the Lord

    • Take time to think about the things that were sacrificed and how the Lord blessed as a result of being obedient

 

I really connect with Genesis 12:1-9, because it is very close to what I’ve experienced in my own life. ​​ Abram had to make some sacrifices, but God promised him some pretty incredible blessings. ​​ The author of Genesis wants us to understand from this passage that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – ​​ Embracing the claims of God requires leaving some things behind.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Genesis 12:1-9)

    • Call (v. 1a)

        • When did the Lord call Abram?

          • If we follow what was just said in Genesis 11:27-32, it would seem like the Lord called Abram after Terah’s death in Haran

          • Looking at the original Hebrew the past perfect tense is used for “had said” [Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary, 204]

          • So, this leads us to believe that it happened at an earlier time, but when?

          • Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin, found in the book of Acts is extremely helpful here

          • Acts 7:2-4, To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! ​​ The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. ​​ ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ ​​ “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. ​​ After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.”

          • So, we see that Abraham was still in Ur of the Chaldeans when the Lord called him

          • Abram would have been 50 years old when he received this call from the Lord

          • We see in verse 4 that Abraham was 75 years old when he was finally able to leave and complete the calling on his life

        • The Lord commanded Abram to do two things, but He also gave Abram a three-fold promise with the commands

    • Covenant (vv. 1b-3)

        • Two commands (v. 1b)

          • Leave

            • Abram was commanded to leave three specific things, which encompassed who he was – from the broad to narrow/specific

              • His country

                • He was to leave his country, Ur of the Chaldeans

                • This was no simple task

                • “Babylonian civilization at a time when it was at one of its peaks of cultural and political splendor. . . . Abraham came out of an area which for a long period of time—for four, five, or six hundred years—had had a high level of civilization with writing, with fine cities, with highly developed arts, beautiful gems and carvings and very well-established law codes and legal systems; all of these things were his, plus a highly developed religious system (LaSor, 16-17).” [Gangel & Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Genesis, 119]

                • This helps us understand that Abram was making an incredible sacrifice in order to follow the Lord’s command

                • He was giving up everything that he knew

              • His people

                • This was his kinsmen

                • People he grew up with

                • For us it would represent extended family, friends, and coworkers

                • Many people are born, raised, and live their entire lives in the same area

                • If that’s you, then you understand the significance of what the Lord was asking Abram to leave, to sacrifice

              • His father’s household

                • This was his closest family unit, which included his parents, siblings, and their families

                • Perhaps this would be the most difficult separation of all

                • How many of us would be willing to leave the familiarity of our “land,” friend-base, and family to be obedient to God’s calling?

              • Embracing the claims of God requires leaving some things behind.

                • “He [Abram] must decide whether to abandon his land in favor of the land Yahweh offers. ​​ He must decide whether to abandon what family he still has in favor of the family Yahweh promises (against all logic, given Sarai’s infertility). ​​ He must decide whether to set aside his blessing, his inheritance, for the inheritance Yahweh describes. ​​ The initiative offers much, but its cost is significant. ​​ Abram must trust Yahweh to deliver what he has offered in order to give up so much that Abram already has to gain.” ​​ [Walton, 392]

                • We’ll see Abram’s choice when we get to verse 4

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – To become disciples we must be willing to leave anything we are asked to leave.

              • Each person/family may be asked to leave different things, because we’re all individuals, we’re all different, we don’t all value the same things

              • Too often we can become complacent where we are and ineffective as God’s ambassadors of the Gospel

                • The Lord may require us to leave our “creature comforts” in order to bring us to a place where we can be effective again, where He can use us for His glory

                • Matthew 10:37-39, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ​​ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

                  • I’m reminded of a missionary who struggled with the reality that the place God was calling he and his family to serve, was hostile towards Christians and there was real danger that his family could be persecuted and harmed. ​​ This father had to spend time alone with God in the woods surrendering his children to the Lord. ​​ He had to be willing to sacrifice his own family in order to be a disciple of Jesus.

                • Mark 10:29-30, “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them persecutions) and in the age to come eternal life.”

                  • This is what my parents did 34 years ago when they left everything they knew in PA and moved to AL to begin church planting (both of my parents were born and raised in south central PA and most of their siblings and their families live here)

                  • Judy and I have experienced the same thing and I’m certain that we were willing to follow the Lord’s leading because of the example of my parents

                • Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, these words: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

              • Application

                • What has God called you to?

                • Have you been obedient to that calling, or are you still waiting?

                  • Abram waited 25 years

                  • I waited 13 years

                  • “‘Lord, why aren’t You directing me?’ we cry. ​​ ‘I already did,’ He answers. ​​ ‘Twenty-five years ago, I told you what to do. ​​ And I won’t give you more to do until you do what I’ve already told you.’” ​​ [Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Volume 1: Genesis-Job, 59]

                  • It’s never too late to be obedient

                  • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Be obedient to the call God has placed on my life and not wait any longer.

                  • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Be willing to leave anything that God is asking me to leave in order to be obedient to His calling.

            • God’s first command to Abram was to leave and His second command was to go

          • Go

            • It had been 25 years since God called Abram to leave Ur, but he hadn’t completed the journey yet, because he’d gotten sidetracked in Haran

            • God had told Abram, while he was in Ur, to go to the land He would show him

            • Abram hadn’t forgotten this command

              • Perhaps he was honoring his father by remaining in Haran until he died

              • The patriarchal system in the Ancient Near East was very strong

            • We’re not told if Abram is given any specifics about where to go while he was living in Ur

              • My guess is that the Lord told him to head west

              • The Lord would have had to give him some kind of direction, even if He didn’t give him the specific name of the region or land

              • That information is shared in verse 5

          • The Lord was not asking Abram to give up anything He was not going to replace in the future [Walton, 399]

          • As we’ll see in verses 2-3, God promises to take Abram to a new land, provide a family that will become a great nation, and provide care, protection, and an inheritance for him

        • Three-fold promise and blessing (vv. 2-3)

          • I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you

            • Promise

              • “A nation is generally characterized as a political unit with common land, language, and government.” ​​ [Mathews, The New American Commentary, Volume 1B, Genesis 11:27-50:26, 112]

              • The promise then, is to provide a land that Abram will be able to call his country, since he was asked to leave his country

              • The promise also includes replacing his people – Abram’s offspring will become a great nation

            • Blessing

              • The Lord tells Abram that He will bless him

              • What will the blessing look like – what will it encompass?

              • Mathews tells us that it includes two things: descendants and material possessions [Mathews, 113]

              • In a broad sense, Abram will be cared for and protected by the Lord [Walton, 399]

              • Since, the Lord had already promised Abram numerous offspring (great nation), it is probable that the blessing mentioned here is material wealth

              • “Wealth was measured by numerous and robust livestock, precious metals, such as gold and silver, and human labor, slave and alien.” ​​ [Mathews 113]

              • This holds true when we see what Abram takes with him when he leaves Haran (that’s coming in verse 5)

              • Keil & Delitzsch include spiritual prosperity in this blessing also [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 123], which will be evident throughout the rest of the Abrahamic narrative in Genesis

            • The Lord not only promises Abram land and family, but also a great name

          • I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing

            • Promise

              • The Lord was promising to elevate Abram to a position of honor and glory [Keil & Delitzsch, 123]

              • He was also promising to show the nations the incredible character that Abram had [Waltke, 205]

              • As a result of Abram’s character and faith, he would be a blessing to others – he would have great influence for many generations

              • Just think about how he is referenced throughout the rest of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments – the God of Abraham – that phrase is repeated continually

            • Blessing

              • This second blessing means that Abram would protect and care for those connected to him, who were in good standing with him

              • God didn’t bless Abram so he would hold on to that blessing for himself

              • God blessed Abram so he could be a blessing bearer that would bless others

            • There is one final part to the Lord’s three-fold promise and blessing

          • I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you

            • Promise

              • How individuals treated Abram would be how the Lord would treat them

              • If they blessed Abram, the Lord would bless them

              • If they cursed Abram, the Lord would curse them

              • I wonder if this promise is not upheld by the Lord today as it pertains to Israel as a nation

            • Blessing

              • Abram and his descendants would be a conduit through which the Lord would bless all the people of the earth

              • We have experienced this blessing, because Jesus came through the line of Abraham and as followers of Jesus Christ we have received a blessing from Abraham and his faith

              • God is revealed through Abram’s family (Law, Prophets, Scriptures, Jesus) [Walton, 402]

          • Application

            • How has the Lord blessed you with family and material wealth?

              • Take a moment to think about the blessings the Lord has given you (family and possessions)

              • When is the last time you’ve thanked Him for those blessings?

              • Prayer Prompt: “Lord, thank You for blessing me with . . .”

            • Have you used the Lord’s blessing in your life to be a blessing to others?

              • Who have you protected and cared for as a result of being blessed by the Lord?

              • When is the last time you’ve protected or cared for someone?

              • Prayer Prompt: “Father, please forgive me for not using Your blessing to protect and care for . . .”

            • Are you grateful for the blessing of salvation through Jesus Christ as a result of Abraham’s faithfulness?

              • Have you thanked the Lord for that blessing?

              • Prayer Prompt: “Savior, thank You for saving me from . . .”

              • Have you shared that blessing with others?

              • Prayer Prompt: “God, help me to share the blessing of Your salvation with . . .”

        • We’ve looked at Abram’s call and the covenant that the Lord promised him, but what was his response?

    • Commitment (vv. 4-9)

        • Abram’s travelers and treasures (vv. 4-5)

          • Abram’s obedience

            • He left, as the Lord told him

            • [show map, Haran to Canaan]

            • Abram obeyed when he did not know: [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Old Testament, Genesis-Deuteronomy, 68]

              • WhereBy faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

              • HowBy faith Abraham, even though he was past age – and Sarah herself was barren – was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. ​​ And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. (Hebrews 11:11-12)

              • When – Hebrews 11:13-16

              • Why – Hebrews 11:17-19

              • PRINCIPLE #2 – Obey God even when I don’t understand why He asks what He does

            • Faith

              • What incredible faith Abram had, as he left Haran

              • “Faith is not believing in spite of evidence; it is obeying in spite of consequence.” ​​ [G.A. Studdert Kennedy cited by Wiersbe, 71]

              • What step of faith do you need to take in order to be obedient to God’s calling in your life?

              • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Take the step of faith, to be obedient to God’s calling on my life, in spite of the consequences.

            • There were others who followed Abram in his step of faith

          • Travelers

            • His wife, Sarai

            • His nephew Lot and probably his family

            • The people he and Lot had acquired in Haran (slaves and aliens)

          • Treasures

            • All the possessions they had accumulated

            • This would probably had included livestock and precious metals (gold and silver)

          • We’re told that they arrived in Canaan (that was the name of the land that God had promised to give to Abram)

        • Abram’s trek (vv. 6-9)

          • We see that Abram is traveling throughout the land

            • He doesn’t set up permanent dwellings at this point, because the Canaanites were still living there

            • He does stop at two locations for a period of time

          • Locations

            • [show map of Canaan]

            • Shechem (shek-em’)

              • He visits the great tree of Moreh in Shechem

              • It would have been a place where teachers would have taught their students

              • It was a familiar and recognizable place

              • It may have also been used for idol worship

            • Hills between Bethel (bayth-ale’) and Ai (ah-ee’/eye/a-yah’)

          • Loyalty

            • Do you remember what the astronauts did when they landed on the moon? ​​ (they placed an American Flag there – they marked the moon)

            • Abram was leaving the mark of the Lord on the land promised to him

              • While staying at Shechem, he was visited by the Lord

                • If you remember in verse 1, the Lord spoke to Abram while he was in Ur

                • Now He appears to Abram in Canaan and reaffirms his covenant with him concerning the land (Abram’s offspring will live there)

                • Abram builds an altar at Shechem to remember his encounter with and covenant reminder from the Lord

              • While staying in the hills between Bethel and Ai, Abram again builds an altar and calls on the name of the Lord

            • Abram is expressing his loyalty and commitment to the Lord who has called him and made a covenant with him

          • Finally, we see Abram leaving the hill country and heading toward the Negev (neh’-gheb/neh’-ghev)

        • Abram arrived in the land that the Lord had promised him, over 25 years ago, but he doesn’t remain in the land, but that narrative is for next week

 

  • YOU

    • Are you ready to be obedient to the call God has placed on your life?

    • Are you ready to leave anything that God calls you to leave in order to be obedient?

    • Are you ready to take the step of faith to be obedient to God’s call on your life?

 

  • WE

    • As a body of believers, we can support one another, through prayer, wisdom, and giving, as individuals obediently follow God’s calling for their lives.

CONCLUSION

“The movie Pearl Harbor tells of the events leading up to and immediately following the Japanese attack on the U.S. on December 7, 1941. The film follows the fictional lives of two fighter pilots, Raph and Danny, who have been inseparable friends since childhood and are stationed at the same base in Hawaii.

 

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Raph (Ben Affleck) and Danny (Josh Hartnett) are called into Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's office. They have succeeded in downing seven Japanese planes.

 

Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) stands behind his desk and addresses the cocky pilots somberly.

 

‘You've both been awarded the silver star. You're just about the only pilots with combat experience. I need you for a mission I've been ordered to put together.’

 

Raph and Danny look nervously pleased. Doolittle looks them over carefully.

 

‘Do you know what 'top secret' is?’ he asks.

 

Raph responds with a wry smile. ‘Yes, sir! It's the kind of mission when you get medals, but they send them to your relatives.’

 

Ignoring the remark, Doolittle continues, ‘Top secret means you train for something never done before in aviation history—and you go without knowing where you're going. You do it on that basis or not at all.’

 

Honored to be asked, yet unsure of what they are committing to, both men agree to go.

 

In many ways, God recruits us to follow him in the same way that Doolittle recruited these pilots for this mission. God trains us in ways unique to us to fulfill unique purposes, and we know little or nothing about where we are going. We go on that basis, or we don't go at all.”

[The mission, called Doolittle's Raid, was to attack Japan by air. It was successful and affected the course of the war. In the movie, the two pilots live through the attack, but both are forced to crash-land their planes in China. At this point, Danny is ambushed and killed by Japanese soldiers who have invaded that part of China. Raph survives.]

 

Elapsed time: Measured from the beginning of the opening credit, this scene begins at 2:19:35 and last approximately 45 seconds.

 

Content: Pearl Harbor is rated PG-13 for profanity, violence, and sexuality.

 

Source: Pearl Harbor (Touchstone, 2001), rated PG-13, written by Randall Wallace, directed by Michael Bay.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/february/14172.html]

12

 

Origins

On The Move

(Genesis 11:27-32)

 

INTRODUCTION

“If miracles are impossible, then the resurrection of Jesus could not have occurred, and we must look for some natural explanation of the events. But if miracles are at least possible, then we can be open to following the evidence without bias.

 

In other words, whenever we hear of an event that seems contrary to the laws of nature, we naturally raise our guard. But we also shouldn't prejudge the evidence by ruling out the possibility of miracles just because they don't fit our categories. It’s unscientific to decide the outcome of an investigation before examining the facts.

 

Consider the following true story. Near the end of the eighteenth century the Western world first encountered the duck-billed platypus. The platypus, which is indigenous to Australia, has fur over its entire body, is the size of a rabbit, and has webbed feet. Yet since it lays eggs, it reproduces like a reptile! When the skin of a platypus was first brought to Europe, it was greeted with complete amazement. Was it a mammal or a reptile? The platypus seemed so bizarre that—despite the physical evidence of the skin and the testimony of the witnesses—many Londoners dismissed it as a sham.

 

Not until a pregnant platypus was shot and brought to London for observers to see with their own eyes did people begin to believe. Until this happened, some of the greatest thinkers refused to accept the existence of the platypus. The initial problem was that it did not fit some people's view of how the world operated. So they rejected it and then reached a verdict even though the weight of the evidence said otherwise.”

 

Adapted from Josh and Sean McDowell, The Resurrection and You, (Baker Books, 2017) pgs. 24-25.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2019/april/miracles-evidence-and-duck-billed-platypus.html]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Moving around

        • Most of you know that Judy and I met in college, married after our Junior year, and move to south Florida after we graduated

        • After living in FL for 3 years, we moved back to OH to the town where Judy grew up and live there for 6 years

        • We then moved to MO and lived there for 4 years before moving to southern CA where we spent about 3 years

        • We moved to PA from CA have lived here for almost 12 years

        • You could say that we were on the move, but we’re so grateful to have settled down here

    • Deep friendships

        • With moving around so much, it would seem like it would be impossible to establish any lasting relationships

        • Through God’s grace, we were able to establish some pretty incredible relationships that have stood the test of time

        • While we may not talk with those individuals on a regular basis, when we do talk with them or get together, it’s like we have never been apart

        • That’s the incredible grace of God at work

        • His grace is able to accomplish what seems humanly impossible

 

  • WE

    • How have we all experienced the incredible grace of God doing the impossible?

    • Perhaps it has been through relationships or the physical world. ​​ Maybe it has been spiritual or emotional

 

In Genesis 11:27-32 we see the introduction to a long section that will highlight the origins or account of Abraham. ​​ We’ll see that Abraham’s family, including his father and brothers, were on the move. ​​ We’ll also see that what seemed humanly impossible, God was able to accomplish through His grace. ​​ My prayer is that when you all leave here today you will understand that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – ​​ God’s grace accomplishes what seems humanly impossible.

 

Let’s pray

  • GOD (Genesis 11:27-32)

    • Toledot (v. 27a)

        • As I mentioned last week, this toledot (the history of/the generations of/the account of/the origins of . . .) is the sixth of ten found in Genesis

        • This account of Abraham will continue through Genesis 25:11

        • What we see is the account of Abraham’s father, Terah (teh’-rakh/teh’-rack)

    • Genealogy (vv. 27b, 29-30)

        • Terah’s sons

          • We were already introduced to Terah’s sons in v. 26

          • They are mentioned again here, (ab-rawm’/ab-raw-hawm’), Nahor (naw-khore’), and Haran (haw-rawn’)

        • Haran’s children

          • Haran is the father of Lot (lote)

          • He is also the father of Milcah (mil-kaw’) and Iscah (yis-kaw’) as we see in the second half of verse 29

          • Milcah’s name means “queen”

          • Iscah’s name means “one who looks forth or looks out”

        • Abram and Nahor both married

          • Endogamy

            • We need to address one thing before we talk about Abram and Nahor’s wives

            • Endogamy is “marriage within a family group” [Mathews, The New American Commentary Volume 1B, Genesis 11:27-50:26, 101]

            • Waltke points out that there were no laws against this kind incest in patriarchal times [Waltke, Genesis, A Commentary, 200]

            • This is important as we look at who the wives of Abram and Nahor are

          • Abram’s wife

            • Abram married Sarai (saw-rah’-ee/saw-rye’) which means “princess”

            • Her father was Terah, Abram’s father, but her mother was not the same woman as Abram’s mother

            • Genesis 20:11-13, Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ ​​ Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. ​​ And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: ​​ Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

            • One other thing we learn about Abram’s wife Sarai is that she is barren

              • We’ve talked all along, through the various genealogies, that God is fulfilling His plan of redemption by choosing certain men and their lines to accomplish His purpose of sending a Savior

              • Yet, here we read that Sarai, the wife of God’s chosen man, is barren

              • How will God’s plan, of sending a Savior, be fulfilled through a couple who can’t have children?

              • God’s grace accomplishes what seems humanly impossible!

                • We’re obviously getting ahead of the narrative

                • Because we have the Bible, we know that eventually Abraham and Sarah are able to conceive and have Isaac, through whom the chosen line will continue

                • Two examples

                  • A young couple that attended church at Prince Street while my father was the pastor and a couple that Judy and I went to college with, experienced the same scenario

                  • Both couples tried for many years to conceive a child, but were unsuccessful

                  • After wrestling with their grief and disappoint, and leaving it all in the Lord’s hands, both couples embraced adoption and invited a child into their lives

                  • It was a short time after the adoption that both couples conceived and were able to have a biological child, as well

                  • I don’t understand God’s timing or His purposes, but I do know that God’s grace accomplishes what seems humanly impossible

                  • Perhaps every one of us has an example of how we have experienced God’s grace, accomplishing the impossible – take a moment to reflect on a time when you experienced that (physical, emotional, relational, spiritual)

                  • I’m reminded of how God’s grace accomplished what seemed humanly impossible when I was working on my Master’s degree – God supernaturally gave me enough time to spend with my family, prepare messages, minister to individuals, and get some sleep – I was always amazed at how I was able to get everything done on time

                  • #1 - My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Glorify the Lord for accomplishing what seems humanly impossible, by His grace.

                • Perhaps there are those of us here today who are still waiting to experience God’s grace, accomplishing what seems humanly impossible

                  • As I mentioned last week, some of us may be waiting for God to accomplish the supernatural transformation of a loved one (we’ve been praying for their salvation and continuing to wait)

                  • Perhaps there is a couple here or listening online who has been trying to conceive a child without success (don’t lose heart, don’t doubt God’s grace and His timing for you, don’t marginalize or discount other options that God may be guiding you towards)

                  • There may be some here today who are struggling with anxiety and depression and have lost hope, but be encouraged and don’t doubt that God can and will accomplish what seems humanly impossible (He is there for you and with you in the deepest, darkest valleys)

                  • Maybe some of us are struggling spiritually, financially, educationally, occupationally, etc. (don’t lose heart, hold on, God can and will accomplish what is humanly impossible by His grace and power)

                  • #2 - My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Claim the promise and truth that God’s grace can accomplish what seems humanly impossible.

                  • He is all-powerful, He is all-knowing, He is never late, and He is never early, He is right on time

            • We’ve learned about Abram’s wife, but we’re also given information about Nahor’s wife

          • Nahor’s wife

            • His wife’s name is Milcah, which means “queen”

            • Nahor married his niece, since she was the daughter of Haran

            • We’re not given any more information about Milcah in this passage, but in Genesis 22 we learn more about her and Nahor’s children

            • Genesis 22:20-23, Some time later Abraham was told, “Milcah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: ​​ Uz (oots) the firstborn, Buz (booz) his brother, Kemuel (kem-oo-ale’) (the father of Aram), Kesed (keh’-sed), Hazo (khaz-o’), Pildash (pil-dawsh’), Jidlaph (yid-lawf’) and Bethuel (beth-oo-ale’).” ​​ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. ​​ Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.

        • This completes the genealogical part of this passage, but now we see that some of them are on the move

    • Going (v. 31)

        • Those on the journey

          • Terah

          • Abram and Sarai

          • Lot (lote)

        • Locations on the journey

          • Ur of the Chaldeans

            • Scholars are split on the location of Ur of the Chaldeans

            • Some believe it is in northern Mesopotamia, close to Haran

            • Others believe it was in southern Mesopotamia along the Euphrates River

            • Take a moment and look at the maps in the back of your Bible today (perhaps the first map is The World of the Patriarchs and they usually have Ur in southern Mesopotamia as the potential starting place of Abraham’s journey to the Promised Land)

            • [show map]

            • It would be 220 miles southeast of Baghdad in the southern part of modern Iraq

          • Canaan

            • They were on their way to Canaan

            • We don’t know why Terah was going there, but next week we’ll see the call of Abraham to leave Haran and continue to Canaan

          • Haran (kaw-rawn’)

            • It would be “located on the bank of the Balikh River, 550 miles northwest of Ur and close to the present-day Syrian-Turkish border.” [Waltke, 201]

            • It would have taken them about two months to make the trip from Ur to Haran if they traveled ten miles per day [Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Pentateuch, Genesis, 205]

            • The place Haran should not be confused with Terah’s son’s name Haran

              • They are two different Hebrew words

                • Personal name – Haran (haw-rawn’) [הָרָן]

                • Place name – Haran (kaw-rawn’) [חָרָן]

              • They never made it to Canaan, because they settled in Haran

            • There is one important note about two of these locations that we need to look at

          • Important notes

            • Both Ur and Haran were centers of pagan idolatry

              • The people of those cities worshiped the moon god

              • We know that Abraham’s family participated in this kind of idol worship

              • Joshua 24:2-3a, Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods. ​​ But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants.”

            • In the Ancient Near East and even into the 1st Century it was commonplace for the family members in a household to follow the religious beliefs and practices of the father

              • So, it would have been tradition for Abram to continue to worship the moon god even after traveling to Canaan, but something incredible happened

              • God’s grace accomplishes what seems humanly impossible.

                • When God calls Abram, as we’ll see next week, He calls him out of idolatry and pagan worship

                • He sets him apart and chooses him to be the line through which the Savior of the world will come

                • God is all-powerful and is able to accomplish what seems humanly impossible

                • He transforms Abram from a pagan to a patriarch, whose faith is highlighted by the writer of Hebrews

                • God is still transforming pagans to patriarchs today – we may think that a certain family member, friend, or coworker is too far gone, but nothing is impossible for God

                • Gospel

                  • Born sinners (Romans 3:23) [Ten Commandments]

                  • Loved by God (John 3:16)

                  • Saved by Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

                  • Heading to the “Promised Land” (Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.)

                  • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Claim God’s gift of salvation by grace through faith.

              • God’s grace is amazing and transforms anyone who turns to Him with their whole heart

              • We also know that God is sovereign

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – God’s sovereignty brings hope.

              • This introduction to the narrative about Abraham can appear pretty grim

                • Terah is caught up in pagan worship

                • As we’ll see in a moment, Terah loses a son

                • His other son is married to a woman who is infertile

                • All of this seems pretty hopeless, but God is sovereign and His sovereignty brings hope

              • Perhaps our current situation seems just as hopeless, but be encouraged, God is sovereign and in control

              • We can claim the hope that comes from God, for ourselves

              • I encourage anyone who is feeling hopeless to turn to God and find hope

        • In verses 28 and 32 we see that two of the characters of this narrative are gone

    • Gone (vv. 28, 32)

        • Haran

          • He dies in the place of his birth, Ur of the Chaldeans

          • He dies before his father, Terah

        • Terah

          • He lives to 205 years’ old

          • He died in Haran

 

  • YOU

    • Do you need to glorify God for accomplishing the impossible?

    • Do you need to claim the promise and truth that God can and will accomplish what is humanly impossible in your situation?

    • Are you ready to claim God’s gift of salvation by grace through faith?

    • Do you need to find hope in God through your hopeless situation?

 

  • WE

    • We can model glorifying God and claiming His promises so that others will see our faith in a God who accomplishes what seems humanly impossible.

 

CONCLUSION

How many of us would consider planting a garden during the winter months? ​​ I’m not talking about starting plants in a greenhouse. ​​ I’m talking about planting plants in the frozen ground. ​​ Most of us wouldn’t do that, because we would say it is impossible. ​​ Tim Meyers didn’t allow the impossible to stop him.

 

“Tim Meyers is a farmer in Alaska, where the soil is rich, but frozen. Conventional wisdom says that farming where the ground never fully thaws is impossible—or at least impractical. But through savvy practices and hard work, Tim has become a permafrost farmer, growing organic food on his 17 acres of land, proving that even the most barren frozen land can be fruitful.”

 

Source: Euganie Freichs, “Permafrost Farming: It’s Possible!” Modern Farmer (1-7-14)

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2014/january/even-alaskan-permafrost-can-be-fruitful.html]

9

 

Origins

Unstoppable

(Genesis 11:10-26)

 

INTRODUCTION

“In his book An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus shares the story of how prayers resulted in what can only be called a miraculous re-creation.

 

While ministering in South Dallas, McManus's small congregation began to grow. Looking for a place to build a larger church building, the leadership spotted an acre of land for sale. Given its location near downtown Dallas, it seemed strange that the property was available. Excited at their good fortune, this small group of people—many on welfare—began to pray that the site would soon be theirs. Eventually, they were able to purchase the property after receiving financial help from an association of churches.

 

As the congregation began the process of obtaining building permits, they discovered the property had been declared "unbuildable." The acre of land in a prime location was nothing more than a worthless landfill. McManus grieved over this waste of precious time and money. He writes:

 

We had bought an acre of garbage. Several core samples were taken. From what I understood, they went at least twenty-five feet deep and found nothing but trash…All I could do was ask our congregation to pray with me and believe that God was with us and that he would even use the worst of human mistakes to perform the greatest of miracles.

 

After months of prayer, a woman from the congregation told McManus that since they had asked God to turn the land into something useful, surely it had been taken care of. Feeling God's confirmation of her words, McManus asked for more core samples to be taken. This time the researchers found soil. McManus writes:

 

How did this happen? Was it because the core sample was in a different part of the land? Or could it be that God had actually performed a miracle and changed the landfill to good land? What I do know is that the same realtor who sold the property to me came back and offered me three times the amount he had sold it for once he heard the clearance to build had actually come through. What I do know is that the previous owners could not build on the property, but we could. What I do know is that we were told the property was worthless and unusable. What I cannot tell you is what happened beneath the ground at 2815 South Ervay Street. All I can tell you is what I know—and that is that God took my failure and performed a miracle. Today Cornerstone worships on that acre of land in a sanctuary built by our own hands.”

 

Source: Erwin McManus, An Unstoppable Force (Group, 2001), pp.151-153

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2007/december/1121707.html]

BODY

  • ME

    • Hurricane Andrew

        • Judy and I had just moved to Florida and gotten our apartment all set up

        • Judy was ready to start her first day of teaching Kindergarten when the news came that Hurricane Andrew was going to make landfall in southern Florida the night before her first day

        • We prepared our apartment for the impending hurricane and then left with some friends to go to her parents’ house an hour further north and inland

        • Hurricane Andrew did make landfall in the middle of the night and I remember looking outside and seeing the palm tree in the front yard almost horizontal with the ground (we were two hours north of the eye)

        • We had no idea what we would find when we got back to our apartment, but everything was fine

        • I can’t think of a better example of an unstoppable force that I have experienced personally

    • Our new dog, Red

        • We recently got a new dog (he is a Redbone Coonhound and is super strong and powerful)

        • I’ve been walking him in the orchard every morning (rather he’s been walking me in the orchard)

        • The entire time we’re walking, he has his nose to the ground and is picking up different scents

        • There are times when I get pulled along and have to start running to keep up with him as he pulls on the lease

        • We’re learning together

        • The other morning, I slipped on the wet grass as we were coming down the steep grade out of the orchard

        • He basically pulled me down the hill

        • This winter should be fun, especially if we get snow, because I have a sled that I would like to ride while he pulls me through the orchard

        • Red is a powerful dog and his hunting and tracking instinct is almost unstoppable

 

  • WE

    • What unstoppable forces have you all experienced?

 

Pastor Marc mentioned last week that the narrative about the Tower of Babel actually occurred prior to the genealogy found in Genesis 10:1-32. ​​ The question that arises is why have the genealogy in chapter 10, then the narrative about the Tower of Babel, and then another genealogy. ​​ Why not have the Tower of Babel and then the complete genealogy? ​​ I’m glad you asked. ​​ Shem’s line through Joktan and then the narrative of the Tower of Babel show the sinfulness of humanity and the need for revelation/redemption. ​​ Shem’s line through Peleg to Abram shows that “human sin . . . cannot undermine the determined progress of God’s salvation for His people.” [Mathews, The New American Commentary, Volume 1A, Genesis 1-11:26, 489]. ​​ What we learn through this second genealogy of Shem is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – ​​ God’s plan of salvation is unstoppable.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Genesis 11:10-26)

    • Toledot (v. 10a)

        • This is the fifth of the ten toledot statements (the history of/the generations of/the account of/the origins of . . .)

        • Review

          • The account of the line of the heavens and the earth (2:4-4:26) – transition (4:25-26)

          • The account of Adam’s line (5:1-6:8) – transition (6:1-8)

          • The account of Noah’s line (6:9-9:29) – transition (9:18-29)

          • The account of the line of Noah’s sons (10:1-11:9) – transition (11:1-9)

          • The account of Shem’s line (11:10-26) – transition (11:26)

        • Next week we will begin a much larger account that will extend from Genesis 11:27-25:11 [The account of Terah’s line (11:27-25:11) – transition (23:1-25:11)]

    • Shem’s Line (vv. 10b-26)

        • Background information

          • We’re given the timeframe of when Arphaxad (ar-pak-shad’/air-pak-shad’) is born – two years after the flood

          • When we look back at Genesis 10:22 we see that Arphaxad is third in line, so perhaps Elam (ay-lawm’) and Asshur (ash-shoor’) were born within the two years prior to Arphaxad’s birth

          • One other important note is the formula used in announcing each father and son

            • The father’s name is mentioned and his age when the son was born

            • Next, we’re told how long the father lived after the birth of the son

            • Finally, it’s mentioned that the father had other sons and daughters

            • This formula is very similar to the one used in Genesis 5:1-32 where we saw the genealogy from Adam to Noah (both genealogies end with three sons mentioned)

            • The only differences are that the genealogy in Genesis 5 lists the total number of years that each father lived and it mentions that they died

          • This sets the stage for the account of Shem

        • Genealogy

          • Shem, 100 years old, lived another 500 years, other sons and daughters

          • Arphaxad, 35 years old, lived another 403 years, other sons and daughter

          • Shelah (sheh’-lakh), 30 years old, lived another 403 years, other sons and daughters

          • Eber (ay’-ber/a’-ver), 34 years old, lived another 430 years, other sons and daughters

          • Peleg (peh’-leg), 30 years old, lived another 209 years, other sons and daughters

          • Reu (reh-oo’), 32 years old, lived another 207 years, other sons and daughters

          • Serug (ser-oog’/say-roog’), 30 years old, lived another 200 years, other sons and daughters

          • Nahor (naw-khore’), 29 years old, lived another 119 years, other sons and daughters

          • Terah (teh’-rakh/teh’-rack), 70 years old

            • Three sons are listed under Terah, just like three sons were listed under Noah in Genesis 5:32

            • Terah’s three sons were Abram (ab-rawm’/ab-raw-hawm’), Nahor (naw-khore’), and Haran (haw-rawn’)

              • All three of these men will have prominent roles in the continuing story of God’s salvation

              • Abram will be the father of the chosen family [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 114]

              • Nahor is the ancestor of Rebekah, which will be Isaac’s wife, and mother of Jacob and Esau (Isaac is the chosen line from Abraham) [Keil & Delitzsch, 114]

              • Haran is the father of Lot [Keil & Delitzsch, 114]

            • We’re not told how long Terah lived after having his three sons

            • It is also not mentioned that he had other sons and daughters, but it’s probable that he did

    • Application

        • PRINCIPLE #1 – God is sovereign and keeps His promises!

          • One of the striking differences between the genealogy found in Genesis 5 and this one in Genesis 11:10-26 is the shortened lifespans of the patriarchs

            • In the line from Adam to Noah we see most of the patriarchs living well over 500 years’ old

            • In the line from Noah to Abram, Shem is the only patriarch that lives over 500 years’ old

            • Nahor and Terah live almost to 150 years’ old

            • What we see happening is the Lord keeping His promise about numbering humanity’s days

              • Genesis 6:3, Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

              • Genesis 6:5, The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

              • God had not forgotten His promise to limit humanity’s lifespan to 120 years

              • He was allowing it to happen naturally over many generations

            • Factors in the shortening of humanity’s lifespan

              • Sin – “This the author implies is the consequence of encroaching human sin. ​​ Granted, sin has not altogether derailed creation’s promise of procreation, but it has altered the power of life so as to diminish its longevity.” ​​ [Mathews, 493]

              • Environmental conditions – the flood altered the climate of the earth [Keil & Delitzsch, 113]

              • Human behavior – the separation of the human race into nations changed the habits of men [Keil & Delitzsch, 113]

            • God certainly kept His promise about shortening humanity’s lifespan, but He has also made a promise about giving individuals a long life

          • God’s promise of long life

            • Old Testament – The Ten Commandments

              • Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

              • Deuteronomy 5:16, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

              • Ephesians 6:1-3, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ​​ “Honor your father and mother” – which is the first commandment with a promise – “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

            • Honoring our parents

              • To honor our parents means to respect and love them

              • It’s different than obeying them, which means that we do what we’re told

              • Honoring our parents continues into adulthood and even after they pass away – it is a lifetime commitment and command from the Lord

              • How do we honor our parents?

                • Speaking well of them

                • Speaking politely to them

                • Acting in a way that shows them courtesy and respect

                • Working hard

                • Providing for them in times of financial need

                • Providing for them when they are ill or unable to care for themselves

                • Passing on their godly values to our children, grandchildren, other family members, and individuals

          • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Claim God’s promise of a long life, by honoring my parents.

          • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship the Lord for being sovereign and keeping His promises.

        • PRINCIPLE #2 – Human sin cannot stop God’s plan of salvation.

          • “The important thing about this genealogy is that it records the faithfulness of God in watching over His people and fulfilling His promises. ​​ What to us is only a list of names was to God a ‘bridge’ from the appointment of Shem to the call of Abraham.” ​​ [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 63]

          • “Hence, while the threats of the flood and Babel are alarming, the return to the predictable pattern of genealogical descent after each (9:29; 11:10-26) shows that God’s purposes for humanity are back on course. ​​ Human sin, despite its damaging severity, cannot undermine the determined progress of God’s salvation for his people.” ​​ [Mathews, 489]

          • God’s plan of salvation is unstoppable.

          • Struggling with sin

            • Perhaps there is someone here today who is struggling to embrace and believe that God’s plan of salvation is unstoppable

            • We all probably have individuals we are praying for about salvation, but those individuals continue to pursue sin and the things of this world

            • When we think about those individuals and the many prayers we have offered up on their behalf, we wonder if God is listening or even cares

            • I’m here to remind us that God does care and He is listening

              • He is all-knowing and all-powerful

              • 2 Peter 3:8-9, But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: ​​ With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ​​ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. ​​ He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

              • Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. ​​ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

            • The sins that our loved ones are pursuing right now will not stop God’s plan of salvation, because His plan is unstoppable

            • Keep praying, keep sharing, keep loving

          • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Embrace the truth that God’s plan of salvation is unstoppable, by continuing to pray for, talk with, and love those I live, learn, work, and play with.

 

  • YOU

    • You and I serve a sovereign God who keeps His promises and that should cause us to rejoice!

    • You and I worship a Savior whose plan of salvation is unstoppable and that should encourage us to press on!

 

  • WE

    • God has commanded every believer to help Him share the plan of salvation where we live, learn, work, and play

    • Who, in your sphere of influence, needs to hear the good news of salvation?

 

CONCLUSION

“During the troubled years of the Second World War, the Italian forces were driven out of Eritrea in North Africa. In an effort to make the harbor unusable to the Allies, the Italians took great barges, filled them with concrete, and caused them to be sunk across the entrance to the harbor. When the Allies entered, their problem was to remove those barges in order that the harbor might become usable.

 

They did so in a very ingenious way. They took great gas tanks—not the kinds of tanks we have on our cars or in our homes, but those huge tanks that hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel in great oil refineries. They sealed those tanks so they would float, and they caused them to be floated over the place where the barges were below. When the tide was out, they chained the tanks to the barges. When the tide came in, the barges were lifted by the tanks floating with the tide. The barges were pulled from the sucking sand at the bottom of the bay. It was then a relatively easy matter to remove them and make the harbor usable again.

 

Think of the power in that! The barges were chained to the tanks. The tanks were dependent upon the tides. The tides were pulled by the gravitational attraction of the moon, and the moon was moving in accord with the whole cosmos, the great sidereal system. Tremendous, unimaginable, dynamic power belongs to the tides.”

 

Bruce Thielemann, Tide Riding, sermon on Matthew 26:36-46.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2010/july/tideriding.html]

8

 

What’s In a Name?

As most of you know I love genealogy and because of that I am fascinated with where names come from, both family names and place names. For instance, I was named Marc for the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius. My first middle name is Joseph and was named after my grandfather on my mother’s side. My second middle name is Jerome and was named after my father’s boss at the time of my birth. My mother’s first name is Elizabeth and she was named after her mother whose middle name was Elizabeth. I am not totally positive where my dad got his first name, Phillip, but his great-grandfather on his mother’s side was also named Phillip. I am also fascinated with where names of places come from. I grew up in and went to school in Temple Hills, MD which is named for a 19th century doctor named Edward Temple. When I met Judy, I was living in Fort Washington, MD which was named after a fort named for George Washington that was on the Potomac River. It was the only fort protecting Washington, DC in that area during the war of 1812.

Do you know where we get the name America? It is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer who set forth the then revolutionary concept that the lands that Christopher Columbus sailed to in 1492 were part of a separate continent and wasn’t the West Indies. I looked up where we get some of the names for the states. Oregon comes from the Portuguese word for “cascades.” Texas comes from the Caddo Indian word for “friends” or “allies.” Virginia is named for England’s Queen Elizabeth I who was called the virgin queen. One of the more fascinating ones I came across was Idaho. In the mid 1800’s, mining lobbyist George M. Willing presented the name "Idaho" to congress for a new territory around Pike's Peak, claiming it was a Native American Shoshone phrase, supposedly meaning "Gem of the Mountains." But in reality he made the name up and by the time the deception was discovered, the name "Idaho" was already in common use.

Do you know where the name Pennsylvania came from? ​​ In 1681, King Charles II granted a land charter to William Penn to repay a debt owed to William's father, Admiral William Penn. William Penn, the son, wanted to name it New Wales but there were objections. He then tried to named it Sylvania which is Latin for “forest” or “woods” but the King named it Pennsylvania (literally "Penn's Woods") in honor of Admiral Penn. William Penn was embarrassed at the name fearing that people would think he had named it after himself, but King Charles would not rename the grant.

Adams County that our church is situated in was named after President John Adams. Gettysburg was name after James Getty. York Springs was once called Petersburg for the man who first built a cabin there, Peter Fleck or Thick. Bendersville was named for Henry Bender and Biglerville, was named for William Bigler, a governor of Pennsylvania. I found the origin of Mt. Holly Springs interesting. Holly was the name given to the gap through the mountains going towards Carlisle because there was a large holly bush or tree there. Arendtsville, or “John’s Pursuit” was named for John Arendt. Heidlersburg was named for John Heidler but at one time it was also called Starrytown named for Michael Starry who built the first house there. I also tried to look up where the name Idaville came from and found out it was once called Whitestown but there was no mention where the names originated. So I called Doris Hoffman thinking if anyone knew she would. Doris told me the reason our area was called Whitestown is because at the time all the houses were white. And the reason it is called Idaville is at that time there were a number of women named Ida including Doris’ grandmother. To me where names come from is fascinating.

In our passage this morning, which is the story of the Tower of Babel, we will see that names play an important part of the story in a couple of different ways. We learned a couple of weeks ago that Babel was part of the kingdom that Nimroad founded. Scholars believe that the city of Babel is where the later city of Babylon was also located. Babylon means, “the gate of the gods” and you may already know that Babel means “confusion.” We will also see that there is conflict between God giving the people their name and the people making a name for themselves. And finally we will notice that the name of God is not being held to the highest standard for which it should be and that brings us to our big idea that Moses, the author of Genesis, wants us to understand this morning which is “we must let God be God.”

Let’s pray and ask God for understanding as we study this passage. Dear Heavenly Father, open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to what you want to say to us through your word this morning. Give us supernatural insight from your Holy Spirit. May we learn more about you and allow you to be God in every aspect of our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point is “construction” and is found in Genesis 11:1-5. Follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says: “Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

The first thing we can notice is that the story of the Tower of Babel happens chronologically before the Table of Nations in chapter 10 that Pastor Stuart taught two weeks ago. We see the proof of this in 10:5, 20 and 31. Verse 5 is talking about Japheth’s descendants, “From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.” Verse 20 is talking about Ham’s descendants, “These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.” And verse 31 is talking about Shem’s descendants, “These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, according to their nations.” In chapter 11 the first thing we read is that the whole world still had one language and one common speech and when we read chapter 10 we see that has already changed.

God wants us to understand some important things from the way these chapters are ordered. First, he wants us to see the themes of mercy and judgment that are all through the first eleven chapters of Genesis. After Adam and Eve sinned he clothed them before banishing them from the garden. After Cain killed Abel, God put his mark on him so he would not be killed before he went out from the presence of God. God saves Noah and his family from the flood that was sent to judge the wickedness on the earth. God blesses Ham and his descendants to be “fruitful and multiply” even after he sins against his father Noah. This morning we again see these themes played out as God scatters the people across the face of the earth instead of destroying them. God is giving them an opportunity to repent and turn back to him. God continues to show mercy amidst judgment because his blessing to be “fruitful and multiply” is paramount.

Second, God is making a critical point to the first hearers of Genesis and to us today. If the Table of Nations had come after the Tower of Babel it would have been seen as a negative continuation of the Tower of Babel story. By putting the Tower of Babel story directly before the genealogy of Peleg and the call of his descendant Abraham it shows us two things. One, it reminds us that humanity after the flood is as sinful as before the flood. Two, it shows us that God’s solution is going to be in his covenant made with Abraham and his chosen people, Israel. God’s solution to humanity’s sinfulness is the person of Jesus Christ. This point would not have been made as clearly if the Table of Nations had come after the Tower of Babel and before the call of Abraham.

In verse 1, we see that the whole world had one language and a common speech meaning that everyone had the same vocabulary. This unified the people making communication and cooperation easier for them. In verse 2, we notice that the people journeyed east. There are two things to consider here. What does it mean to journey east? It reminds us of Adam and Eve and Cain and where they went after they sinned. Genesis 3:24, “So He (meaning God) drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” And Genesis 4:16 says, “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” Both Adam and Eve and Cain after their sin leave the presence of God and go east. Moving eastward seems to imply that it is away from the presence of the Lord. Our sin, especially unconfessed and unrepentant sin, takes us farther and farther away from God’s presence. ​​ 

Second, who is journeying east? Is it everyone on earth or a smaller group of people? Commentators are split but I really don’t think it matters because the story is not necessarily about the people as much as it’s about the people’s hearts. But we can know of one person, specifically, who goes there. Again, two weeks ago, Pastor Stuart showed us that Nimrod, the son of Cush who was one of the sons of Ham, established eight cities, four in the land of Shinar and four in the land of Assyria. One of those cities in the land of Shinar was Babel, so we can know that at least Nimrod went east and we know he didn’t go alone. ​​ 

This group of people come to the plain of Shinar, settled there and start to build a city and a tower. We are given insight into the building materials they used, which were bricks baked thoroughly and tar for mortar. It also states that they didn’t use stone. I find it interesting that we are specifically told about a certain type of material they did not use? I feel we need to go back to what the original hearers, the Israelites, would have thought. By the time Moses would have been recounting the book of Genesis to them they had already built some of the Egyptian pyramids while in slavery or heard stories from their parents about building them. We know that the pyramids were huge stone edifices not made of brick and tar. It kind of makes me wonder if Moses and the Israelites are sharing “an inside joke” here. Everyone knows that stone is better than baked bricks, right.

It also reminds me of the story Jesus told in the NT about building your house on the rock as opposed to the sand. From the beginning of time, Babel or Babylon as it probably became, was not built on a firm foundation. It was built with brick and mortar not with stone. And we will see that it was built by people who were not following after God. It was built by people who wanted to follow their own will and not God’s will. It was built by people whose foundation was Ham’s character and not the character of God. It was built by people who wanted to make a name for themselves and not let God give them their name. It was built by people who did not want to let God be God but instead wanted to be their own god. (BIG IDEA)

Their plan was to build a city with a tower that would “reach into heaven.” And the reason for building the city and tower was to make a name for themselves. They felt that by doing this they would not be scattered over the face of the earth. Commentators are split on what exactly the tower was. It was either a tall skyscraper-like tower or a ziggurat, which was a pyramid-like structure. Again, I think about the context. They are not in Israel, but in Shinar, which was in the area known as Mesopotamia. In Israel there were watchtowers which were to provide an early warning system for invasions from their enemies. In Mesopotamian literature when they described a building whose top will “reach into heaven” almost every time it refers to a ziggurat. Ziggurats were solid terraced pyramids made up of successive receding stories or levels. Their main feature was a stairway or ramp that led to its top. (picture of ziggurat)

In Mesopotamia, towers had a religious function. At the top was a room for the patron god of the city that included a bed for the god to sleep in and a table filled with food for the god to eat. There would have been a temple next to the ziggurat where the people would have worshipped. The ziggurat was the place where the god would stay and then could come down the ramp to interact with the people if their worship pleased the god. Two interpretations are that they were building the tower for themselves to reach heaven and be like God or they were trying to humanize God by saying he had needs that man could meet thus making God in their own image. In either case, they were not letting God be God. (BIG IDEA)

Now if it was just a massive skyscraper the effect is the same. Once this huge structure was finished they would get the glory and the accolades for their awesome achievement. They would make a name for themselves among the peoples of the earth. Their reputation would be great but the motivation for doing so would be to honor and glorify themselves not God. They also seem concerned with being scattered over the face of the earth. This may have had something to do with wanting to be safe and secure but are not willing to rely on God for that. Such a massive, imposing structure would give others the impression that they shouldn’t be messed with or dominated. No matter what the tower was, their motivation for building it and the city was to make a name for themselves. Their motivation was not God-centered but self-centered.

Have you ever tried to make a name for yourself or tried to ensure your own safety and security apart from God? Have you ever done something that was all for your own glory and honor? Have you ever tried to ensure your safety and security leaving God totally out of the picture? In Genesis 12:2, the Lord says to Abraham: “I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.” If Abraham obeyed God’s will for his life, God would make Abraham’s name great. Abraham did not have to make a name for himself because God would do it for him. That brings us to our first next step, which is to “let God make a name for me through obedience to his will for my life and rely on him for my safety and security.”

Next we see that God comes down to see the tower and the city that the people had built. Again, I feel that Moses is sharing an “inside joke” with the first hearers. The plan was to build a city and a tower to “reach into heaven” but God has to come down to even be able to see it. Of course we know that God didn’t need to come down to see it but again I think Moses is making a point. The builders are called “sons of men '' which Hamilton says, “reduces these pretentious human beings to their real size. They are but mere earthlings.” For all of Nimrod's and his people's mighty deeds in building what was probably a magnificent city and massive tower, God was not impressed.

But even though God doesn’t seem to be impressed, he is not taking the implications of what they are doing lightly and we see that in our second point this morning, which is “confusion”, found in verses 6-9. This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

God comes down to take a look at what the people have built and then he goes back to heaven and we see a conversation taking place. Some commentators think that God is talking to the angels here, but in the NASB the “us” is capitalized which seems to refer to the Trinity. We see the same language in Genesis 1:26. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Also in the scriptures when God comes down out of heaven it seems to be a prelude to judgment like we will see with Sodom and Gomorrah, but he doesn’t enter into judgment rashly.

God declares that because they are one people and have the same language they can be unified as a community and would be able to accomplish any purposes they put their minds to. Those purposes could be for good or for bad as we see here with the people of Babel. We notice the same conversation happening after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. Genesis 3:22 says, “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” The idea is “if they can do these things who knows where their actions will lead?” Job 42:2 says, “Then Job answered the Lord and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” Job recognizes that God’s purposes are the only ones that should always be fulfilled not man’s. If all of man’s purposes are fulfilled then he becomes like God.

Here, at Idaville Church, we want to and need to be unified. And in that unity we need to purpose to do what is right, by living holy lives, by keeping and following God’s decrees found in his Word and by doing his will and not our own. If we want our church to be relevant in this community, if we want to be able to make disciples who make disciples, we must all covenant together to allow God to give us our name and not try to make a name for ourselves. We must let God be God. (BIG IDEA)

God’s judgment plan is decided. He confuses their language so that they can’t communicate with each other and he scatters them over all the earth. Both these things kept the people from completing the city. We see the irony in that by scattering the people, the very thing they wanted to make sure didn’t happen, is the very thing that God did to them. By confusing their language the people would not be able to further cooperate in their selfish plans. Their sin was the same sin as in the garden. Their desires became more important than God’s desires for themselves and their will took precedence over doing the will of God. But we see the grace of God as he spares their lives giving them an opportunity to repent and return to him.

Finally, we see the name of the city and how it got its name. The name of the city is Babel which sounds like the Hebrew word meaning “confusion.” This same word also sounds like the Hebrew word for Babylon. I mentioned earlier that Babylon means “gate of the gods.” I like what Weirsbe says, “Because of God’s judgment the “gate of the gods” became the “door to confusion.” God is not the author of confusion (as it says in 1 Cor. 14:33) but in the world God sometimes uses confusion to humble people and keep them from uniting against his will.” The place was called Babel because it was where God confused the language of the whole earth causing the people to be scattered across the face of the earth. They were no longer unified and of one purpose going against God’s will and pursuing their own way.

It is telling that the two post-Flood stories involve sin and disgrace and that Ham is directly or indirectly involved in both. God wants the Israelites, to remember that they need to be on guard to not follow the ways of their ungodly neighbors. In the Promised Land they would be influenced by the Canaanite culture around them. And then in exile in Babylon and Assyria they would be influenced by those cultures as well. ​​ I don’t think it a coincidence that all three of those peoples are connected to Ham and his descendants. God wanted them to remember who they are: they are a chosen and holy people, a royal priesthood, and children of God. This should also remind us that as Christians we are all those things and that we are to be in the world but not of it. We are to resist the devil and flee from him. This reminds me of the verse we memorized together back in January, Leviticus 20:26, “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.”

My conclusion comes from Walton’s commentary. The people of Babel had a distorted view of God and what their relationship to him was to look like. Our story this morning represents a constant movement away from God in all areas of human conduct. Walton asserts that humanity is already morally and socially destitute and now are on a path to becoming theologically destitute as well. The people of Babel were either trying to be like God or diluting God by believing he had needs and those needs can be met by man. The definition of paganism is the degradation of deity and the view that God is limited and we can make him do what we want when we want him to do it. We do this when we forget or discount the character, the transcendence and the sovereignty of God. We do this when we make God in our own image. The gods that the people of Babel and the Babylonians worshipped were capricious, immoral, unethical, unfair and dishonest because they were all those things. What follows is that we don’t know what God expects from us because those expectations change with the wind just like man does.

But we follow a God that does tell us exactly what he expects and desires from us and what his will is for us and those things have never changed and will never change. I mentioned that Chapters 9-11 show us the continuity of grace, mercy, judgment and covenant. The first eleven chapters of Genesis has shown us the need for covenant. The covenant that God gave to Noah and will give to Abraham was his revelation to his people of how they were to live just like God’s word is for us today. God’s revelation to his people was the first step to his redemption plan for mankind.

What does this mean for us today? We can see that the corruption of the deity God is prevalent in our culture today? I don’t think we can miss it unless we have our heads in the sand. God is not treated with the awe, holy fear and respect that he deserves. God’s Word is not considered absolute truth in our culture today. We want to set ourselves up as god in our own eyes or we want a god that we can manage. We don’t want to let God be God.

There are three ways that we dilute the deity of God today individually and corporately. One is by redistributing his power. That is when we rely on other things besides God. People rely on what they think has power. That might be money, or people, or possessions, or the government, technology or ourselves, etc. In church history, God’s power has been redistributed to Mary, the mother of Jesus and to saints. In New Age his power is redistributed to crystals or angels. We also see a pluralistic view of religion where Allah and Buddha share power with Christ, which reminds me of this bumper sticker, Coexist (show picture). We may use horoscopes or transcendental meditation and not think they are harmful. We can all fall into this trap of draining God’s omnipotence from him and giving it to something or someone else. ​​ 

Fully relying on God and his power asks us to take risks by letting God be God. We need to step out in faith and allow God to make us uncomfortable for his honor and his glory. This might mean serving in the mission field or serving in the church where our skills and gifts are needed. It might mean raising the level of our giving to where we are totally relying on God for everything we need. It may mean taking a stand for godliness in a difficult situation at home or at work.

The second way we dilute the deity of God today is by restricting his autonomy. This is the belief that God is obligated to us and that we owes us something. The people of Babel felt that by meeting the needs of the gods such as providing a bed, food, etc. the gods would be happy and bless them and bring protection and prosperity to them. In what ways do we feel, today, that God is obligated to us? It speaks to our motivation. What is our motivation for giving our time, our talents, our prayers, our praise to God? We love God because he first loved us and we need him to have an abundant life and for our salvation. We must not make the mistake that God loves and needs us for the same reasons.

The third way we dilute the deity of God is by regulating his power. God’s power is an awesome thing and we dilute it when we try to tap into his power and redirect it for our own purposes and benefits. All power comes from God and through the Holy Spirit his power will work wonders in our lives. But sometimes we just want to see the physical end results of his power and are reluctant to allow his power to cleanse and purify us spiritually. This is seen in wanting God to give us something without wanting to change our habits. In wanting God to work his changes for us not in us.

So what is the solution for us today if we have a diluted view of God individually or in our church? We need a renewed vision of his character, his sovereignty, his transcendence and his power. This renewed vision comes from his self-revelation to us in his Word, the Bible. The Bible will show us the proper view of exactly who God is what he is like. Our spiritual growth is dependent on developing an increasingly informed understanding of who God truly is and bringing our whole lives in orbit around him instead of trying to bring God into orbit around us. We must allow God to impact our attitudes, choices and lifestyles and be sincere in wanting him to work in us and through us. It’s all about God and nothing about us. It’s about letting God be God. That brings us to our second and third next steps this morning. My next step is to increase my understanding of who God truly is by daily being in His Word. And my next step is to allow God to impact my attitudes, choices and lifestyles and to be sincere in wanting Him to work in me and through me.

As the praise team comes to lead us in our final song, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, help us to have a proper view of who you are. Help us to purpose to be in your Word daily and we pray for insight and understanding of your character, sovereignty, transcendence and your power. Help us to surrender our attitudes, choices and lifestyles to your will. And give us sincere hearts in wanting you to work in and through us. Help us to rely on you for our safety and security and let us be like Abraham and allow you to give us our name in this world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Origins

God of the Nations

(Genesis 10:1-32)

 

INTRODUCTION

The Guinness World Records provides information about the most prolific mother ever.

 

“The greatest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the wife of Feodor Vassilyev (b. 1707–c.1782), a peasant from Shuya, Russia. In 27 confinements she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets.

 

Numerous contemporaneous sources exist, which suggest that this seemingly improbable and statistically unlikely story is true and she is the woman with most children.

 

The case was reported to Moscow by the Monastery of Nikolsk on 27 Feb 1782, which had recorded every birth. It is noted that, by this time, only two of the children who were born in the period c. 1725–65 failed to survive their infancy.”

 

[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-prolific-mother-ever]

 

That was a long time ago! ​​ Most of us think about the Duggars when we think of a family that has a lot of children. ​​ They have 19 children between Jim Bob & Michelle. ​​ Most of us can’t fathom having that many children, but God has truly blessed them.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Our parent’s families

        • Stuart

          • Dad – four sisters

          • Mom – nine sisters and one brother

        • Judy

          • Dad – four brothers and six sisters

          • Mom – one sister

    • Children

        • The Lord has blessed Judy and I with three boys, whom we’re really proud of

        • We’ve been blessed with two wonderful daughter-in-laws, one granddaughter and another granddaughter on the way and a grandson on the way

        • We had one miscarriage between our second and third sons

        • Our second son had a bump removed from his belly when he was really young, that had cartilage, hair, and other items in it (we believe that this was perhaps his twin that never developed)

    • More children

        • We would probably have had more children if the last two pregnancies would not have been so difficult on Judy’s body

        • We were privileged to have two sisters stay with us, for a period of time, under a private guardianship

 

  • WE

    • Take a moment to think about your own family

    • How many siblings do you have?

    • How many siblings did your parents have?

    • Give me some feedback this morning

        • Whose immediate family had the most children?

        • Whose parents had the most siblings?

 

As Moses continues to write about Noah’s family, we see in Genesis 10 what many scholars call The Table of Nations. ​​ It’s from Noah’s three sons that the earth is repopulated. ​​ What we see in The Table of Nations is 70 descendants of Noah that span four generations. ​​ Compare that to Mrs. Vassilyev who had 69 children by herself. ​​ We realize that The Table of Nations does not reflect all of the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, but certain ones have been selected that will help us as we continue to study Genesis and the rest of the Pentateuch. ​​ Many of the names listed played a significant role in the life of the Israelites. ​​ What we’ll learn from this passage of Scripture is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – ​​ God is concerned about all people.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Genesis 10:1-32)

    • Introductory statement (v. 1)

        • This begins the fourth toledot (the account/origins of . . .) statement

        • Here we see the account of the line of Noah’s sons, which will carry through the tower of Babel narrative in chapter 11, verse 9

        • Shem, Ham, and Japheth had sons after the flood, which fulfilled the command from the Lord, found in Genesis 9:7, “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

        • The increasing in number and multiplying is what we see in The Table of Nations

        • In most lists of Noah’s sons, it is in the order Shem, Ham, and Japheth and we see that in verse 1

          • There is significance to listing Shem first, even though he is the middle child

          • As we’ll see in Genesis 11:10-32, Abram (Abraham) comes through the line of Shem, which means that David and Jesus descended from Shem

        • When Moses begins to list the descendants of Noah, he begins with Japheth and ends with Shem

          • This is important, because after the narrative about the tower of Babel, Shem’s line continues

          • Then chapters 12-25 recount the story of Abraham

        • So, we begin with Japheth’s line

    • Japheth’s Line (vv. 2-5)

        • Sons of Japheth (yeh’-feth) [show flow chart of Japheth]

          • Gomer (go’-mer), Magog (maw-gogue’), Madai (maw-dah’-ee/maw-die’), Javan (yaw-vawn’), Tubal (too-bal’/too-val), Meshech (meh’-shek) and Tiras (tee-rawce’)

          • Moses only highlights the next generation of Gomer and Javan

          • Japheth’s grandsons [continue flow chart of Japheth]

            • Gomer’s sons – Ashkenaz (ash-ken-az’), Riphath (ree-fath’) and Togarmah (to-gar-maw’/toe-gar-maw’)

            • Javan’s sons – Elishah (el-ee-shaw’), Tarshish (tar-sheesh’/tear-sheesh’), the Kittim (kit-tee’/kit-teem’) and the Rodanim/Dodanim (row-daw-neem’/do-daw-neem’)

          • All three genealogies contain a combination of three kinds of information [Mathews, The New American Commentary, Volume 1A, Genesis 1-11:26, 434]

            • Individuals’ names (e.g., Nimrod, Peleg, Eber)

            • People groups, including tribal names and nations (they are easy to spot because they either have the plural suffix – ‘îm at the end (e.g., Kittim) or the gentilic suffix – ‘î within the name (e.g., Jebusites)

            • Place names (e.g., Babylon, Ninevah)

        • “It is clear that the descendants of Japheth are primarily, if not exclusively, ethnic groups that represent maritime nations, peoples who practiced the profession of seafaring and whose interchange was largely by sea.” ​​ [Hamilton, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17, 334]

        • They were located to north, northeast, and northwest of Israel (Canaan) [show map, point out red area at the top]

    • Ham’s Line (vv. 6-20)

        • Sons of Ham (khawm) [show the flow chart for Ham]

          • Cush (koosh), Mizraim (mits-rah’-yim), Put (poot) and Canaan (ken-ah’-an)

          • Again, Moses only highlights certain sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons

          • Ham’s grandsons and great grandsons [continue flow chart of Ham]

            • Cush’s sons – Seba (seb-aw’/sev-aw’), Havilah (khav-ee-law’), Sabtah (sab-taw’/sav-taw’), Raamah (rah-maw’), Sabteca (sab-tek-aw’) and Nimrod (nim-rode’)

              • Ham’s great-grandsons

              • Raamah’s sons – Sheba (sheb-aw’/shev-aw’) and Dedan (ded-awn’)

            • Mizraim’s sons – Ludim (loo-dee’), Anamim (an-aw-meem’), Lehabim (leh-haw-beem’/leh-haw-veem’), Naphtuhim (naf-too-kheem/naft-kaw-heem), Pathrusim (path-roo-see’), Casluhim (kas-loo-kheem) and Caphtorim (kaf-to-ree’/kaf-tore’)

            • Canaan’s sons – Sidon (tsee-done’), Hittites/Heth (khayth), Jebusites (yeb-oo-see’), Amorites (em-o-ree’), Girgashites (ghir-gaw-shee’), Hivites (khiv-vee’), Arkites (ar-kee’/air-kee’), Sinites (see-nee’), Arvadites (ar-vaw-dee’/air-vad’), Zemarites (tsem-aw-ree’) and Hamathites (kham-aw-thee’/ham-moth’)

        • Nimrod’s history (vv. 8-12)

          • Nimrod was perhaps the founder of the first imperial kingdom [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 104]

          • His kingdom included all of Mesopotamia, which included Babylonia in the south (10:10) and Assyria in the north (10:10-12) [Waltke, Genesis A Commentary, 169]

            • Moses lists four cities that were part of Shinar (Babylonia)

            • Next he lists four cities in the region of Assyria

          • Nimrod made a name for himself by doing bold and daring deeds

          • His name means “rebel” or “we shall rebel,” which is important since he built the city where the tower of Babel would be erected

          • The parenthetical note about Nimrod is significant, because the two regions he founded played an important part in Israel’s history – they would be taken into captivity by the Babylonian and Assyrian empires

        • Filling the earth

          • In verses 18b-20 that descendants of Ham were fulfilling the command from Genesis 9:1 to be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth [show map, point out green area]

          • The Canaanite clans scattered and expanded their borders [show map of Canaan]

        • That completes the genealogy of Ham, which leads us to Shem’s line

    • Shem’s Line (vv. 21-31)

        • Important information about Shem

          • His older brother was Japheth

          • He was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber (his great-grandson)

        • Sons of Shem (shame) [show flow chart of Shem]

          • Elam (ay-lawm’), Asshur (ash-shoor’), Arphaxad (ar-pak-shad’/air-pak-shad’), Lud (lood) and Aram (arawm’)

          • Moses again only highlights the genealogies of two of the five sons

          • Shem’s grandsons, great-grandsons, great great-grandsons, and great great great-grandsons [continue flow chart of Shem]

            • Aram’s sons – Uz (oots), Hul (khool), Gether (gheh’-ther/geth’-air) and Meshech/Mash (mash)

            • Arphaxad’s son – Shelah (sheh’-lakh)

              • Shelah’s son – Eber (ay’-ber/a’-ver)

                • Eber’s sons – Peleg (peh’-leg) and Joktan (yok-tawn’/yoke-tawn’)

                  • Peleg means division (perhaps he was born during the time of the tower of Babel when division came as a result of confusion of their languages)

                  • Joktan’s sons – Almodad (al-mo-dawd’), Sheleph (sheh’-lef), Hazarmaveth (khats-ar-maw’-veth/hets-air-maw’-veth), Jerah (yeh’-rakh), Hadoram (had-o-rawm’), Uzal (oo-zawl’), Diklah (dik-law’), Obal (o-bawl’/o-val’), Abimael (ab-ee-maw-ale’/avee-maw-el’), Sheba (sheb-aw’/sh-va’), Ophir (o-feer’), Havilah (khav-ee-law’) and Jobab (yo-bawb’/yo-vawv’)

        • Shem’s descendants were located east and southeast of Canaan [show map, point out yellow area]

          • Moses identifies the region where they lived

          • It stretched from Mesha (may-shaw’) toward Sephar (sef-awr’) in the eastern hill country

        • We have the finishing statement that has been a part of all three genealogies concerning each son – we’re made aware of the fact that these were the clans and languages, in their territories and nations

    • Closing statement (v. 32)

        • This closing statement reminds us again that what we’ve just read is the account of Noah’s sons

        • The purpose of this section in Scripture is highlighted in verse 1 and 32

        • It was to repopulate the earth and fill it

    • Application

        • What can we take away from this genealogical account found in Genesis 10?

        • Warren Wiersbe does an excellent job of highlighting four main principles [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 60]

          • PRINCIPLE #1 – Jehovah God is the Lord of the nations.

            • God is in control and keeps His promises

              • All throughout Genesis so far, we have seen how God is in control

                • After Adam and Eve sinned, God brought restoration through animal sacrifice and started the process of redemption for mankind through the line of Seth

                • After God destroyed the earth by flood, He brought restoration through Noah and his family

                • As we’ll see over the next few weeks, with the tower of Babel and the continuation of Shem’s genealogy, God confused their language, but continued His promise of redemption through the line of Shem to Abraham

                • Noah’s prophecy about his sons came true

              • Biblical support

                • Deuteronomy 32:8, When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.

                • Acts 17:26-28, From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ​​ God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ​​ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ ​​ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

            • God is still in control and Lord of the nations

              • It’s all over the news, right now, about Russian hackers infiltrating certain companies in the United States

                • It has happened multiple times this year

                • That can make us feel uncertain and fearful about the security of our identity and finances

                • But I want to encourage you that God is in control, even of Russian hackers

              • This past week we learned about the assassination of the President of Haiti, yet God is still in control

              • We may be concerned about the political climate in our own nation, but be encouraged – God is in control

              • Some people may be concerned about China’s influence and control within the global community, but God is still greater than China

              • He is the Lord of the nations!

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Put my trust and faith in the God of the nations, when I feel afraid or insecure.

          • PRINCIPLES #2 – All nations belong to the same human family.

            • Biblical support

              • Acts 17:26a, From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;

              • Proverbs 22:2, Rich and poor have this in common: ​​ The LORD is the Maker of them all.

            • “All human people, even of different national and cultural identities . . . are of the same origin, have the same dignity, and belong in the same world. ​​ This undercuts all human divisiveness based on nationality, culture and race. ​​ However good, however rich national and cultural diversity can be, it should never be allowed to cloud the more fundamental fact that all human people share the same nature, breathe the same air, live on the same earth, and owe their life to the same God.” ​​ [Atkinson, The Bible Speaks Today, The Message of Genesis 1-11, The Dawn of Creation, 174]

              • We have to embrace this principle and truth as followers of Jesus Christ

              • The old saying is, “blood is thicker than water,” which supposedly means that family is more important than friendships or family bonds are closer than friendships is important for this principle/truth

              • Since we have all come from one man, we are all family – that includes every nationality and race

            • Divisiveness in our nation

              • When we listen to the news and political leaders in our country, it doesn’t take long to realize that, as a nation, we don’t believe this Biblical truth

              • The news highlights our differences

                • We hear of the white police officer that shoots and kills a black man/woman

                • We hear about violence against different ethnic groups or races

                • Politicians are making ridiculous claims about the Declaration of Independence being racist

                • Our educational system is trying to teach our children that simply the color of their skin determines whether they are racist or not

              • Our holidays highlight our differences

                • There are holidays and months that are dedicated to different races and cultures

                • While it’s wonderful to celebrate our heritage, it should never overshadow that we’ve all come from one man

              • As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be careful that we don’t focus on our differences, but rather on our familial bond with all people

              • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize that we all belong to the same human family and celebrate that truth.

            • Within the body of Christ

              • The same is true within the body of Christ

              • We need recognize that we all belong to the same Savior and celebrate that truth instead of denominational distinctives

              • Paul writes about this truth to the Galatian believers

              • Galatians 3:26-29, You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ​​ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ​​ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

            • While we covenant with the United Brethren in Christ denomination, we should be willing to cooperate with and partner with other evangelical churches that preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ (we did that this summer with the Revival on the Farm)

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God has a purpose for the nations to fulfill.

            • As we continue to study Genesis we’ll see how God chose one nation to fulfill His promise to send a Savior to redeem all mankind – He chose Abraham and his line to bring about the birth of Jesus

            • “. . . God also used Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Media-Persia, and Rome to accomplish His purposes with reference to the Jewish people. ​​ God can use pagan rulers like Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Darius, and even Augustus Caesar.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 60]

              • We know that the Israelites experienced war and exile at the hands of other nations

              • This is the repeated cycle throughout the Old Testament when they turned away from the Lord and worshiped idols

              • God would punish their rebellion by sending them into exile, until they recognized Him and repented, and then he would restore them to the Promised Land

              • We also know from the New Testament that God used the Roman empire to bring about the death of Jesus, by crucifixion (to fulfill prophecy), so that we might be saved

            • God still punishes our rebellion against Him

              • Hebrews 12:5b-6, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

              • The writer of Hebrews is quoting the wisdom of King Solomon from Proverbs 3:11-12

              • Solomon had been visited by the Lord after he completed the temple of the Lord

                • The Lord then reminds Solomon that when He stops the rain and sends locust to destroy the crops, and when He sends a plague among the people, that it is to discipline them for their rebellion

                • He tells Solomon what the people must do in order to restore their relationship with Him

                • 2 Chronicles 7:14, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

                • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Do my part by humbling myself, praying, seeking God’s face, and turning from my wicked ways, so that God will heal our land.

            • We may not understand what is happening nationally or globally, but we can trust in the fact that God has a purpose for the nations to fulfill

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – God is concerned for all the nations.

            • God’s desire is that all nations come to know & serve Him

              • Read Psalm 66:1-8 & Psalm 67:1-7

              • Read Matthew 28:18-20

            • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask the Lord how and where He wants me to accomplish His Great Commission.

 

  • YOU

    • Do you need to remember today that God is in control?

    • Are you celebrating the truth that every human being is family?

    • Are you doing your part to bring God’s healing to our land?

 

  • WE

    • What part should we be playing to accomplish the Great Commission?

 

CONCLUSION

“Noah’s three sons left a mixed legacy to the world, but the Lord of the nations was still in charge, and history is still His story.” [Wiersbe, 60]

10

 

Humanity Exposed

Have you ever thought that the stories of the Bible would make for good headlines? The first chapters of Genesis show humanity on such a rollercoaster ride that I truly wonder what the first hearers would have thought. Imagine with me the following headlines ripped from the pages of the Bible: in Genesis 1, we see of highs, “The Creation of the World” and “Man Created in the Image of God.” And in Genesis 2, “Man and Woman = One Flesh” and “The First Marriage.” Then in Genesis 3 we see the lows of, “The Fruit of the Forbidden Tree is Eaten” and “Kicked Out of Paradise.” Then we see highs again as “God Gives Them Clothes” and in Genesis 4, “The Blessing Continues, Part 1” as Eve gives birth to Cain and Abel. But the lows come quickly as “Brother Kills Brother” and “Sin Abounds.” And those are quickly followed by the highs of “Seth Is Born” and “People Call on the Name of the Lord.” In Genesis 5, we see the ominous “And Then He Died” but we also see “The Righteous Ones”, Enoch, Methusaleh and Noah, who will bring comfort, rest and relief. In Genesis 6, we again see the lows in “God is Starting Over” and “The Lord Regrets He Ever Made Us.” And later in Genesis 6, we see that God will save a remnant as “Noah’s Building a What?” and in Genesis 7 and 8, there’s the “Storm of the Century.” At the end of Genesis 8 and the beginning of Genesis 9 we see highs of “On Dry Land”, “Pleasing Worship”, and “The Blessing Continues, Part 2.” The first hearers might now be thinking that the hard times are behind Noah and his family and things can only go up from here. But as we come to this morning’s headlines, “Fallen Hero” and “Humanity Exposed” we will see that man’s sinful nature rears its ugly head again. The blessing that God pronounced on Adam and Eve and on Noah is still intact but so also is man’s sinfulness that started in the Garden. But again the rollercoaster ride that is humanity’s history continues and by the end of our passage this morning we will see a curse and we will see a blessing. Two of Noah’s sons will show that their father’s righteousness and holiness has been passed down to them. And because they have emulated their father they will be blessed which brings us to our big idea that “God blesses those who are living holy lives.” We will see what blessings Noah’s sons receive and also what blessings the Bible promises to us today when we live a daily holy life in obedience to God and his son, Jesus.

Before we dive into our scripture this morning let’s begin by dedicating to God this time and this opportunity to study His Word. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word, the Bible. Thank you that we can read and study it. Thank you that it tells us how to live holy lives set apart to do your will. I pray that you would open our hearts and minds to what you want to say to each of us this morning. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There are two points this morning. The first point is, “Family Tragedy” and it is found in Genesis 9:18-23. Follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth. Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father’s nakedness.

This is the final section of the Flood toledot. The flood story is set in between references to Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The sons are first mentioned in Genesis 5:32, again in Genesis 6:10, in Genesis 7:13 and finally here in Genesis 9. This links them back to the genealogy of Adam and to before, during and after the Flood. The focus is shifting from Noah to his three sons.

We are given two new pieces of information that were not mentioned before. First, Ham is the father of Canaan. This is evidence that the blessing of procreation God reintroduced after the flood is already at work. The mention of Canaan is also important as it introduces the first hearers to a major character in the lives of the Israelites later in the OT. Second, the three sons of Noah will be the ones whom all peoples will come from that are scattered over all the earth. One of the reasons God saved Noah and his sons from the flood was so that the blessing would be passed down to all future generations.  ​​ ​​​​ 

Next we are introduced to a family’s tragedy. Noah is called a “man of the soil” or “ground.” The ground has been significant in the early chapters of Genesis. Man is created from the ground and the ground is cursed because of man’s sin. The ground endures the punishment of the flood and has survived. Noah and his sons have also survived the flood and are given a second chance along with the ground. Noah’s livelihood is linked to the ground from which the blessing of food and drink has come from. ​​ Noah has come from a long line of farmers including Adam, Cain and his father Lamech. Noah, as a second Adam, seems to be fulfilling the original purpose of humanity in the garden. As a farmer Noah proceeds to plant a vineyard. Commentators are split about if Noah was the first person to ever plant a vineyard and make wine. If so, they would contend that Noah probably didn’t know what effects wine would have on his body. But there is evidence that vineyards and the making of wine came before the flood. We can surmise that Noah knew exactly what he was doing when he grew and picked the grapes, pressed them and waited for the juice to ferment.

After drinking the wine that he made Noah became drunk and laid uncovered inside his tent. Noah’s drunkenness is not excused or condemned here but it would have been disgraceful to be in that condition. This is the first of two incidents in Genesis that include drunkenness and both result in sin. I can’t imagine that Noah being drunk would have made God happy and just because he doesn’t address it doesn’t mean it's ok. We are reminded of what God said before blessing Noah and his sons: that man is evil from childhood. Wenham says, “The humanity that begins with Noah fully parallels the humanity that preceded the flood.” Noah is still human and humanity is still sinful. The flood has not wiped sin out. I think it is interesting that this story comes on the heels of blessing and covenant. We always need to be careful of Satan’s attacks especially right after a God moment in our lives. He will try to steal our joy every chance he gets.

We also see that Noah is lying uncovered which would have increased his disgrace in the eyes of the first hearers. The Bible talks in various places about drinking to excess and the problems that could arise. Here alcohol has caused Noah to become drunk and he has exposed himself and that is a disgrace not only to himself, but also to his family. Lastly, we see that Noah was inside his tent. This is important because it would have been something else entirely if he was drunk and naked outside in public. We see a parallel here in that when Adam and Eve sinned they knew they were naked and Noah in his sin and disgraceful condition became naked. ​​ 

Next we see what Ham does when confronted with his father’s nakedness. Ham somehow sees his father lying uncovered inside his tent meaning he may have gone into his father’s tent without permission. This act would have shown a clear disrespect for his father. The word for saw implies “he gazed or he took a long look. It seems he had a certain satisfaction at seeing his father in his shameful condition. Once he had noticed his father uncovered, the proper thing for Ham to do should have been to quietly cover him up. But there was something in the character of Ham that caused him to not do that and instead go outside and tell his brothers about what he saw. Literally, the text means that he told his brothers with “delight.” He seemed to have enjoyed his father’s shame and the embarrassment it would cause. He may have relished the opportunity to gossip about “righteous” Noah. Ham shows blatant disrespect for his father again and again. We are again reminded that Ham is the father of Canaan and it would have alerted the first hearers to pay special attention. Ham shows his true character as he finds his brothers and gossips about his father’s indiscretion. He was probably making fun of his father and was trying to get his brothers to join in the fun of looking at his father’s nakedness as well. We notice a couple principles here. One, God’s desire is for us to show respect to our parents. Two, God’s desire is that we do not gossip about the sins of others. We need to be careful not to revel in the other’s sin because we are all sinful creatures.

What Ham does reminds us of Eve in the garden. She saw that the fruit of the forbidden tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye. Eve ate of the fruit and then gave some to Adam who sinned as well by eating it. Ham saw his father’s nakedness, made fun of it, and tried to entice his brothers to sin as well but his brothers refused to be tempted and even did something about their father’s condition. We need to be careful of what we allow our eyes to see. We can easily be tempted to sin by what we allow ourselves to look at. With our eyes we are tempted to lust, covet, etc. In Job 31, we see these words from Job. “I have made a covenant with mine eyes to not look lustfully upon a young woman” and “my heart has been led by my eyes.” Job understood that what he allowed his eyes to see could cause him to sin. He covenanted with his eyes to not let them look upon another with lust and, in doing so, keep his sinful desires at bay. We live holy lives by controlling what our eyes look at and not allowing those temptations to become sin “lived out” in our actions. That brings us to our first next step on the back of your communication card which is to live a life of holiness by controlling what my eyes are allowed to see. ​​ 

After being confronted with Ham’s disrespect we see the decency that his brothers, Shem and Japheth have for their father’s condition. They did not fall into the same temptation that Ham did. Scripture says they took a garment and laid it across their shoulders and walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness. They showed decency in covering their father but they also went above and beyond to not even look at him in his disgraceful condition and be tempted by what they saw. They made sure that their faces were turned the other way. Shem and Japheth countered the sin of Noah by covering the “uncovered” and countered the sin of Ham by not seeing what Ham “saw.” This reminds us of God covering Adam and Eve in the Garden after they sinned and found that they were naked. We need to remember we are all sinful people and the shame of our sin requires a covering just as Noah’s did and Jesus Christ is the only one that can cover our sin and shame.

We notice that more is said about what Shem and Japheth did than what Ham did. That is because we are to focus on the actions of Shem and Japheth more. They covered their father’s shame, honoring him by not looking at his nakedness and by not gossiping about it to others. These are the actions of people who knew what was right and did what was right. When we are loving people the way Jesus loves, we do not go around exposing their sin and encouraging others to make fun of them. That is not the way of holiness. Shem and Japheth had seen their father’s faith in the Lord as he built an ark not knowing what rain probably even was. They had watched their father’s obedience as he did everything God commanded him. They learned about the worship of the Lord as they saw Noah build an altar and sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord on it. They had learned from their father how to live a holy life and now have exhibited the kind of behavior necessary to do the same. This brings us to the second next step on the back of your communication card which is to live a life of holiness by knowing what is right (found in God’s Word) and by doing what is right.

Our second point this morning is called “Family Prophecy” and is found in Genesis 9:24-29. Follow along as I read those verses. “When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.” After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

When Noah wakes up from being drunk he discovers what his youngest son has done to him. Noah may have heard the rumblings of family members outside or maybe he went to his oldest son, Japheth, and asked how he had been covered up. The result is, that when Noah, who has not spoken in the entire narrative of his life in the Bible, finally speaks, his first words are a curse on his grandson, Canaan. The word “curse” is only used here once, so this is probably more a prophecy by Noah about his grandson. It took the form of request to God asking him to fulfill what Noah had said. This would have been different from a prophecy spoken by God but still would have carried weight. Wenham says, “Though it is not stated Noah’s words evidently have divine authority and affect the future.”

Why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham? We need to go back to Ham’s sin. Ham showed a blatant disrespect for his father. This would have been a very serious matter in Noah’s time and later in Israel as well. The punishment for insulting or disrespecting your parents could have been death. Disrespecting parents was not just a crime against them but against God in showing contempt for those he put in authority over you. One of the Ten Commandments is “Honor your father and mother.” Respect for parents was paramount. When we disrespect our parents we start to see the downfall of the family itself. Satan has been attacking the family already. Adam and Eve’s relationship would have been strained because of their sin. Cain kills his brother Abel and we’ve seen the ungodliness passed down from Cain through his family to Lamech, who had multiple wives and boasted of killing someone. Satan again attacks the family as Ham is infected with contempt and disrespect for his father. And it brings a curse on his family, his son and the generations to follow. Our families are being destroyed by sin which is why it is so important that we live holy lives so our families will see it, can emulate it and pass it onto the next generation who will be blessed by God. BIG IDEA

Cursing a person’s son would have had the same effect as cursing the father because it would be cursing his future line. Noah has seen something in the character of his son that disturbed him. Ham’s character was not formed in that instant but had been forming his entire life. Noah notices this and realizes that those character traits will be passed down to Ham’s son, Canaan. In fact, Canaan would become the father of the Canaanite people who were wicked and sexually immoral. Their wickedness and immorality was the reason why God gave their lands over to the Israelites. The Israelite hearers would have understood why Noah cursed Canaan. They would have seen firsthand the evil and wickedness of the people who lived in the Promised Land before they did. Noah’s curse/prophecy represented God’s punishment of the sins of the Canaanite people which Ham exemplified.

The curse on Canaan was enslavement. He would be the lowest of slaves to his brothers. The enslavement to his brothers is mentioned a total of three times by Noah. Wenham says, “This threefold repetition of the curse makes it unusually emphatic: there can be no doubt about its fulfillment.” Most commentators believe that this curse was fulfilled as the Israelites displaced the Canaanites from the Promised Land and eventually enslaved them during King David’s reign. The enslavement to Japheth is harder to historically explain. Through this incident, God is warning the Jewish people not to compromise with the Canaanite way of life. They would need to destroy anything and everything that would tempt them to sin as the Canaanites did. Lastly, the curse Noah speaks on Canaan did not have anything to do with race. The Canaanites were not racially different from the Israelites or the other people they lived among.

Next, we see Noah turn from cursing to blessing. Notice that Noah doesn’t bless Shem or Japheth. He blesses the Lord, the God of Shem. This the first time that God is referred to as the God of an individual in the Bible. Noah’s reference to the Lord means he was not a vengeful individual who was out of fellowship with God. Noah recognizes that any blessing that Shem receives will come from the Lord. It reminds us that just as we’ve seen all throughout the narrative of Noah, that it is God who is the main character of the story. It is all about God and not about man at all. Noah blesses God and asks that God bless Shem and Japheth for their actions in showing dignity to him.

What are these blessings Noah is asking for on their behalf? Shem receives the blessing of the firstborn as Noah asks for God to enrich him. We notice that Shem’s name is always mentioned first when the three sons are listed. This is another instance of God’s grace given to the second born as we have seen with Abel over Cain and will see with Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. By calling the Lord, “the God of Shem”, Shem is identified in terms of his relationship to God. It also means that Shem’s line will be the elected line just as Seth’s line was and just as Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s will be. This is the line that Jesus Christ, the Messiah will come from. Noah is prophesying about Shem’s descendants just as he has about Ham’s.

Noah also asks for God to bless Japheth by enlarging his territory and allowing him to live in the tents of Shem. This blessing on Japheth to be enlarged has seemed to be fulfilled as his descendants were those who settled west and north of Israel which includes the Greek peoples and the Philistines. His descendants also reached as far as Asia Minor, Europe and finally to the Americas. In essence the descendants of Japheth are us, today. If you look at present-day maps, we see that descendants of Japheth have settled more land than Ham’s descendants who went to Africa and Shem’s descendants who settled in the Promised Land which is by far the smallest land area of the three.

Most commentators struggle to explain the blessing of Japheth “living in the tents of Shem.” It may mean that their descendants will live peacefully with each other. More likely it means that the God of Shem will be the God of Japheth as well. Japheth will benefit from the spiritual blessing of being united with Shem’s God. God was said to dwell or “pitch his tent” with his people the Israelites. God’s presence was in the Holy of Holies in the Tent of Meeting while they were in the wilderness and in the Tabernacle in Jerusalem. In John 1:14a it says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Literally, Jesus (the Word) became a man and dwelled or “tented” among us. And now the Holy Spirit dwells within each person who is a Christ follower. This happened because it was Shem’s descendants, the Jewish people, that Jesus came from. And his Word was spread by his disciples to the Gentiles. Shem means “name.” The blessing of Shem is seen in the fact that God would reveal his saving Name to the world through him. God would use Shem’s descendants to bring Divine revelation and salvation through Jesus Christ to the world.

Lastly, we are again reminded of the genealogy of Adam found in Genesis 5 as we finish the Flood toledot. The ten generations that started with Adam are now finished and we will now embark on the next ten generations which will take us from Shem to Abraham and the covenant that God will make with him. Noah lived another 350 years after the flood and he lived a total of 950 years. We notice that the phrase “he fathered other sons and daughters” is missing. This makes it clear that all mankind after the flood has descended from Shem, Ham and Japheth. We also notice that just like all his ancestors before him except for Enoch, it says, “and then he died.” This phrase again reminds us of our humanity and our sin. Our humanity has been exposed time and time again and it will continue to be exposed but God’s blessing is also still alive and nothing will stop his blessing from being passed down until the end of time as we know it.

We’ve seen the blessings that Shem and Japheth received from living holy lives and we have seen those blessings being passed down to their descendants as well. As Christians we can receive blessings from God as well. In living a holy life, God wants to and does lavish more blessings on us than we can even imagine. Here are just a few of the blessings we receive when we are living a holy life. Psalm 15:1-2a says, “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous.” Holiness brings us intimacy with God and helps us to grow spiritually. 2 Peter 3:14 says, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this (Jesus’ return), make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” Holiness brings us peace with God. 2 Timothy 2:21 says, “Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” Holiness makes us useful and effective for God’s purposes. It is a blessing to be used by God for his purposes. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us of the fruit that we can have when we are living holy lives and listening to the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” These fruits are evident when we are living holy lives. In fact we cannot do these things very well if we are not living holy lives.

Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” The spiritual blessings we receive when we are living a holy life are sanctification, forgiveness, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which gives us insight and power to do God’s will and eternal life with Jesus. There are so many more blessings we receive when we are living holy lives and we do not want to miss out on these blessings. Which brings us to our last next step on the back of your communication card which is to Live a life of holiness and receive the blessings that God has for me.

As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final song, let’s close in prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that we would strive to live holy lives set apart for your special purposes for each one of us. I pray that we would covenant with our eyes that we would keep them from seeing those things that would cause us to be tempted to sin. I pray that we would study your Word so that we would know the right way to live and then proceed to live the right way. I pray that as we live holy lives you would lavish your blessings upon us for your honor and your glory. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tied Up With A Bow

When I think of the word “bow” I think of presents. Birthday presents, Christmas presents, etc. I don’t know how it’s done in your family but in mine Judy does almost all the Christmas shopping. She shops for her family, my family, and for me. The only shopping I usually do is for her. I must admit that I do not like wrapping presents and I usually find myself wrapping her presents on Christmas Eve or if I am lucky on December 23. A lot of it’s because I am just not very good at it. I also don’t see the point of wrapping the presents and putting ribbons and bows on them just to have it all ripped off and thrown away. Almost every year I ask Judy if it’s ok to skip the ribbons and the bows on her presents and her reply is always the same: NO. So I put the ribbons and the bows on all her presents, why? I do it for her because she likes them and because I love and care for her.

One of the most extraordinary and beautiful natural wonders is the rainbow. Rainbows have fascinated people throughout the ages. The rainbow is a bent or curved line in the sky composed of or consisting of seven colors...red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Since only one color of light is observed from each raindrop because the sun hits each different raindrop at a different angle, an incredible number of raindrops is required to produce the magnificent spectrum of color that is characteristic of a rainbow. Usually a rainbow is seen when part of the sky is dark and it is raining and the sun is shining in another part of the sky. For the rainbow to be visible, the sun has to be behind the observer who is, in effect, facing the rainbow. God chose the rainbow to be his sign to humanity that he would never destroy the earth by flood again. Honestly, he did not have to give us this sign to seal the covenant that he made with Noah. He made a promise and we can either believe it or not. Instead God blessed Noah and covenanted with him and his sons to never destroy the earth by flood again and he tied it up with a bow, the rainbow. And he did this because of his love and care for us which brings us to our big idea this morning that “God loves and cares for his creation.” Everything that we will see in our passage this morning God does because he loves and cares for us and every time we see a rainbow after a storm it should remind us of that love and care.

As we think about how much God loves and cares for us, let’s pray and dedicate this time of worship and of the study of the Word to Him. Loving Father, we thank you for your love and care for us. We thank you for sending your son to die on a cross as the ultimate act of love for us. Help us to appreciate your love and care for us and to show your love and care to others. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon each one of us and guide us in the study of your Word this morning. May it speak truth and life to us and may we speak its truth and life to others as we share it with them. In Jesus’ name, Amen. ​​ 

There are two points this morning, Commands and Covenant. The first point is Commands and is found in Genesis 9:1-7. This is what God’s Word says, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth, and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

In this section God addresses three areas about life. The first is multiplying life. God is speaking to Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. This is the first time during the entire story of Noah that God has spoken to his sons. So far it has been about the righteousness and blamelessness of Noah that has saved not only him but his family from the flood. Now Noah’s sons will start to take center stage. We will see in chapter 10 that they will be the ones who repopulate the earth. Shem’s descendant, Abraham, will be the next major player in the Bible as he becomes the father of the chosen people, which will birth the promised Messiah, who will save the world from their sins.

God repeats the blessing command, “to be fruitful and multiply,” to Noah and his sons, that he first gave Adam and Eve in the garden. This would have taken the first hearers back to Genesis 1 and would have reminded them of their special place in God’s creation. God is jump starting the blessing that has been stalled by the flood and infected by sin. Despite sin and the resulting flood judgment man would still be able to reproduce and fill the earth with his kind. They have been given a second chance and even though man will continue to sin God still blesses them. This would have instilled hope for the future in the hearer. Human beings are still made in the image of God and are still supremely important to him and he loves and cares for them.

The second area about life that God addresses is sustaining life. We notice that God does not repeat the command “to subdue and rule over the earth” as he did in the garden. There is no longer harmony between man and the animal kingdom because of sin. Now all the beasts of the earth, all the birds of the air, every creature that moves along the ground and all the fish of the sea will have a “fear and dread” or “terror” of human beings. Before the flood “subdue and rule” meant that man was able to easily domesticate and have use of the animals in a mutual respect. They came to Noah but now will be terrified of man and the tendency will be to flee from him. Man will still rule over the animals but it will be a forced and subservient rule. This new response of “fear and dread” will be a means of survival for the animals since they are given into humanity’s hands and are now food for them. This will be the natural response of the animals to being hunted prey. God’s command allowing humans to kill animals for food is further evidence of his grace toward them for a couple of reasons. One, with the extreme temperatures of hot and cold and summer and winter, meat would now be needed to sustain the human metabolism. Two, because animals reproduce at a quicker rate than human beings, they would soon overrun humanity on the earth. This was seemingly not a problem before the flood because of the special relationship and mutual respect between human beings and the animal kingdom. We have seen that Cain was a farmer, Abel was a shepherd and now Noah and his sons are hunters.

Just as God gave all the trees in the garden as food for Adam and Eve, with one exception, here he gives everything that moves as food for Noah and his sons, with one exception. This exception would also test humanity’s obedience. He commands them not to eat meat that has the lifeblood still in it. The way that the Hebrew language states this exception means that it is permanently binding. This put a limit on humanity’s rights over God’s creation reminding them that everything belonged to him. The blood is considered to be where life comes from and therefore is sacred and should be respected because all life is given by God. This is why those who hunt deer or rabbit, etc. skin and drain the blood before preparing it to be eaten. Walton says, “Ritually speaking, draining the blood before eating the meat was a way of returning the life force of the animal to God who gave it life. This offers recognition that they have taken the life with permission and are partaking of God’s bounty as his guests. Its function is like saying a blessing before a meal.”

Later in the OT, the blood of animals was important in the sacrifices that the Israelites were to make to God and was to be treated with reverence. In the sacrificial law handed down by God the substitution of the animal’s life, represented by its blood, in place of the offerer’s life, was the atonement for human sin and averted divine judgment. Even though animals would now be part of the human diet they are still valuable in the eyes of God and are to be cared for and not abused. This is seen in the fact that the animal sacrifices were to be the firstfruits of the flock and unblemished. The sacrifice was to be costly to the person offering it, testifying to the enormity of their sin.

The third area about life that God addresses is protecting life. The life blood of human beings is supremely precious to God and he will demand an accounting for it. God will even demand an accounting from an animal that takes the life of a human being. Exodus 21:28 says, “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.” In Israel the punishment for an animal that took a human life was the death of the animal.

God will also hold human beings accountable for the taking of the life of another human being. God establishes capital punishment or the death penalty here as he says “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.” Any person who willfully murders another human being should be held accountable for their actions. God is establishing the idea of a human government here to be the entity to carry out the punishment. God would no longer punish human beings universally. He would deal with our sin on an individual basis and the protection of human life would now reside in humanity’s hands.

God demands this accounting because a human being who murders another human being is killing their fellow man or brother. This is the first time the word for “brother” is used since Genesis 4 when Cain kills his brother Abel. In that story the word brother is used multiple times to show how serious the killing of a family member was. God is reminding us that we are all family and the killing of another family member is not ok with him.

There may be two reasons why God is now establishing capital punishment in order to signify the value he puts on a human life. First, to help limit the violence that existed before the Flood. Second, since he is now allowing human beings to kill animals for food, the stigma against taking life would fade and the weapons used to kill animals would be readily available. But the bigger reason is because man is created in the image of God and even though that image is diseased by sin human life is still regarded as sacred. To take the life of another human being is to extinguish a revelation of God and display contempt for him. Wiersbe says, “To attack another human being is to attack God and God’s judgment will come down on that person. All life is a gift of God and to take away life means to take the place of God. The Lord gives life and he is the only one who has the right to take it away.” This section finishes with God again repeating the command to be fruitful and multiply and increase in number on the earth. Mankind was to be “makers” of life not “takers” of life.

Our second point this morning is Covenant and is found in Genesis 9:8-17. This is what God’s Word says, “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Again God speaks to Noah and his three sons. They are now partners with Noah in the second chance that God has given to humanity, the animals and the earth. He has commanded them about what to do, which is to procreate, and he has commanded them about what not to do, which is to not eat meat with blood in it and to not murder other human beings. Now God testifies about what he will do, which is establish a covenant, and what he will not do, which is never again destroy the earth by flood. This is the first time we see a covenant being made in the Bible and God promises three times (twice in verse 11 and once in verse 15) that he will never again send a flood to destroy all life on earth. He also starts his covenant with Noah and his sons with an emphatic “I now” meaning the covenant obligation rests with the Lord alone. This covenant is unconditional meaning God is the doer and humanity did not have to do anything to see it come to pass. This testifies to God’s resolve to never destroy all living things by flood again and shows his great love and care for his creation.

God addresses his covenant in three ways. The first way is with Noah and his sons and their descendants. This covenant looks beyond the present generation even to all generations to come including us. It points to his commitment to be involved with people and families forever. The second way is with every living creature that came out of the ark with Noah and every living creature on the earth. Again this was for all animals for all time. God mentions “every” or “all” living creatures at least four times in this section reminding us that the animal kingdom is special to him. In Revelation 4:6-7 we see these words, “Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. These are the four living creatures that are before the throne of God in heaven. They have the faces of a lion, a calf, a man and an eagle. These faces parallel the four kinds of creatures with whom God made his covenant: wild beasts, cattle, humans and birds. These four living creatures are eternally worshipping God before his throne because he loves and cares for them. God now spells out exactly what he is covenanting to do. He promises to never cut off all life by the waters of a flood and to never destroy the earth by flood again. This was a promise of permanent security for all living beings on the earth. God loves and cares for his creation.

The third way that God addresses the covenant with Noah and his sons is by instituting a sign. A sign signified that it was more than just a promise. It was the way to know that the covenant was being fulfilled and its conditions were being met. It would remind people of God’s presence and his obligations and seal the covenant giving them reassurance. The sign God gives is the rainbow and it was well-suited to fulfill the function of a covenant sign. Man was not going to be able to produce a rainbow, God was the only one who could make it happen. So every time that God set the rainbow in the clouds it would be a reminder to us that he promised to never destroy all living creatures and the earth by flood again. It would be a sign seen by man but it would also remind God himself of his promise. The sign of the rainbow was like the blood that the Israelites were to put on their doorposts during the first Passover. It was a sign for the people but it was also for God to “see” and pass over the house. God certainly doesn’t need external signs to remind him of his promises but signs like the blood and the rainbow moves him to a certain course of action. The sign proves that God’s promises are entirely believable and trustworthy. He backs up his word with a sign that eliminates the possibility of forgetfulness by man or himself.

This brings us to our first next step this morning which is to claim and believe that the promises of God are entirely believable and trustworthy.

This covenant that God made with humanity is remarkable in its extent, it included “every living creature”, in its permanence, it was “perpetual and everlasting”, and in its generosity, it was “unconditional and undeserved.” It also included a sign which emphasized that it originated with God and was totally out of the reach of human beings to initiate. This covenant could only have come from God and could only have been kept by God. Hamilton says, “Whenever the rainbow appears it serves as a reminder that despite the fact that the world deserves judgment God will show restraint and mercy.” It is an indication of the unique relationship which we have, even in our fallenness, not only with our creator but a covenant God. Lastly we see that God repeats that he has established this covenant between himself and all life on the earth. In Genesis 8:22, God stated that he would not interfere with the functioning of the cosmos. Now he states that he would not interfere with the functioning of the blessing. With the flood, those functions were stalled but now God is covenanting with all living creatures that he will never interfere with those functions again. ​​ In this way the covenant is connected to the blessing showing how much God loves and cares for his creation.

There is a now iconic American elm tree that has stood vigil in downtown Oklahoma City for a century. Foresters agree it was likely planted sometime around 1920. In historical photos, the already mature tree is visible in the backyard of a family home. In time, that home gave way to commercial development. Serendipitously, it is the only tree to survive when the parking lot called for the removal of all other trees. Through the decades, the tree bore witness to the changing skyline, the growth of the city and the day-to-day lives of generations of people. It was largely ignored – just another tree dotting downtown – until April 19, 1995. On that fateful day, it became much more than just another downtown tree. It endured one of the worst terrorist attacks ever to occur on American soil. The tree was situated directly across the street from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, completely exposed to the full force of the 4,000-pound bomb that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more. It easily could have fallen victim to the attack. And it nearly did – the tree was slated to be destroyed so shrapnel and evidence embedded in its trunk and branches could be recovered. But like the city’s resolve and unity – it survived. Ever since, it has been known as the Survivor Tree – an ever-present symbol of resilience. As a tribute to renewal and rebirth, the inscription around the tree reads, ’The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.’"

In Genesis, we have one of the greatest survivor stories ever told, Noah. He is the unlikely hero. He is an all too human survivor. Not only does he carry the entire future of God’s crown of creation but also the seed of sin which infects all of us, even today. Through the entire story of the flood Noah has been faithful and obedient to God. He has been righteous and blameless in his generation and God because of his perfect mercy and grace saves Noah and his family from destruction. He saves Noah and the rest of humanity because he created us to be in relationship with himself and he loves and cares for us. The story of Noah and the Flood and every time we see God’s rainbow in the sky should remind us of his love and care for us. It should remind us that God wants to be in relationship with us and it should cause us to turn to him, to repent of our sins and be put back in a right relationship with him. The Creator of the Universe wants to be in relationship with you, because he loves you and he cares for you, will you accept his invitation today? This brings us to our second next step which is to embrace God’s love and care for me and strive to be in a right relationship with Him.

As the worship team comes to lead us in a final song of praise let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you that your promises are entirely believable and trustworthy. Open our eyes so we can daily see how much you do love and care for us. Help us to strive to be in a right relationship with you as we pursue holiness daily. Thank you for your Word. Help it to be nourishment for our soul. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Father’s Day

A Father’s Love

(Luke 15:11-24)

 

INTRODUCTION

VIDEO – The Prodigal Son, A Father’s Love.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Wrecked car

        • When I was in high school and working at Chick-fil-A we were always the last group to leave the mall

        • The security guards would close the upper parking lot before we were finished, so one person would go up and bring everyone else’s car down and park it in the regular parking lot

        • One evening I gave my Dad’s car keys to the one employee who was bringing everyone’s car down

        • I asked if she knew how to drive a stick shift and she said, “Yes!”

        • Within the half hour I got the news that she had driven my Dad’s Ford Bronco II into the cement base of the light that I had parked under

        • I was so afraid to call my Dad, but I did anyhow

        • I remember crying as I told him what happened

        • His response was love, care, and concern for me and not the car

        • He wanted to make sure that I was alright

    • My brother

        • If you were here on May 23, 2021 you heard my Father begin the message by telling you how proud he was of his children

        • They are all serving the Lord in some capacity

        • He told you about how my brother had been an alcoholic for 16 years

        • My Dad and Mom never stopped loving him and praying for him

        • The love and prayers are what sustained my brother through a very difficult time in his life

        • He returned to the Lord and has an active, intimate relationship with Jesus

 

  • WE

    • Loving father

        • I know that some of us here, this morning, could tell similar stories about our father’s

        • We would be able to share how our fathers were loving, caring, and concerned about us, instead of a car or some other material possession that was ruined on our watch

    • Unloving fathers

        • I’m also aware that there are those of us, here today, that don’t have any good memories of our fathers

        • Our fathers were harsh, unkind, and unloving

        • Perhaps they were verbally, mentally and/or physically abusive

        • We don’t want anything to do with our fathers

 

Jesus told three parables in Luke 15 about lost things (lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son). ​​ We’re going to focus on the lost son this morning, because it talks about human beings and relationships. ​​ Jesus used the parable to illustrate God the Father’s love, card, and concern for us as human beings. ​​ Since God the Father is holy (perfect) we can look to Him, especially when our earthly fathers have failed us, or after our earthly fathers have passed on. ​​ Luke wants us to understand that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – ​​ God never stops loving us.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Luke 15:11-24)

    • Rebellion (vv. 11-16)

        • Financial windfall (vv. 11-13a)

          • Most of us would probably say that we expect some kind of inheritance from our parents

            • Proverbs 13:22, A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

            • 1 Timothy 5:8, If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

          • We would probably agree that we don’t really talk about our inheritance, though

            • The Lord has blessed Judy and I

            • My parents have talked to my brother, sister, and I about various furniture pieces in their house, so they know what we would like to have when they’re gone

            • I’ve told my parents that there isn’t anything I have to have

            • I’m content to have whatever is leftover – the sentimental value is more important to me than the item itself

            • I’ve heard stories of that not being the case in some families – there are fights and hard feelings after the individual passes away, because more than one person wants a particular item

          • Unusual request

            • In this parable, the younger son makes an uncharacteristic request

            • In the Ancient Near East it was not common practice to divide the inheritance prior to death

            • That normally happened after the patriarch was gone

            • The younger son wanted his share of the estate while his father was still living

          • Request granted

            • We begin to see the character and love of the father at the very beginning of this parable

            • He grants the younger son’s request

            • The father divided his property between the older and younger son

              • The older son received double the inheritance – two-thirds

              • Deuteronomy 22:17, He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. ​​ That is the first sign of his father’s strength. ​​ The right of the firstborn belongs to him.

              • The younger son would only receive one-third

              • That was enough for him

            • I can only imagine what the younger son was saying prior to receiving his portion of the estate

              • Perhaps it’s the same things we hear today from our own children

              • “I can’t wait to leave this house and be out on my own!”

              • “I can’t stand being a part of this family, I want to move out!”

            • While it was certainly not the desire or wish of the father, he lovingly grants the younger sons request

          • Liquidating his portion of the estate

            • Not long after that . . .

              • The younger son had to have time to liquid his portion of the estate

              • He didn’t waste any time

              • Certainly part of his inheritance included property and land

              • He had to sell that, so he could have the money he desired

            • Once he had the money in hand, he was ready to move out and move on

          • “Schrenk (TDNT 5:983-84) perceptively suggests that this image pictures the heavenly Father letting the sinner go his own way.” ​​ [Bock, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Luke 9:51-24:53, 1310]

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – God allows us to pursue our free will.

            • God never forces human beings to be in a relationship with Him

            • His desire is that we will want to be in a relationship with Him, since He created us

              • Jeremiah 31:3, The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

              • Acts 17:27-28, God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ​​ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ ​​ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

              • John 1:12, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

            • Most of us know of someone who is currently pursuing their own free will

              • As followers of Jesus Christ, we know what God’s desire is and that’s what makes it so difficult to watch a loved one pursue the things of this world instead the Lord

              • We can certainly give them sound advice

              • We can also pray for them

              • Never stop loving them and letting them know that you love them

              • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Pray for the person I know who is pursuing their free will and let them know I love them.

            • We’ll see that the father, in this parable, never stopped loving his son

          • The younger son has sold all of his inheritance and has the money in hand – now it’s time to leave

        • Freedom (v. 13b)

          • The younger son left for a distant country and wasted his wealth on wild living

          • Out on our own

            • Most of us didn’t move to a distant country – although most mothers would say that having their child move out of state is like them moving to a distant country

            • Do you remember what you did when you were finally out on your own?

            • Whether it was renting your first apartment or going off to college, do you remember what you decided to do or not do, since you were independent?

            • I remember deciding to stay up as late as I wanted, although my parents pretty much let me do that the last two years of high school (I just remember not feeling guilty about)

            • I know that other young people decided that they were no longer going to go to church

            • Others made decisions about what they would eat or drink, who they would hang out with, what they would watch or listen to, and perhaps how they spoke

            • Maybe they were already doing those things, but were guarded around their parents – now they pursued those things without being guarded or feeling guilty

          • I’m sure life was grand, for the younger son, until the money ran out

        • Famine (vv. 14-16)

          • To make things worse, the country where he was currently living experienced a severe famine

          • The young man had no money and now there was no food

          • He did want he needed to do to survive

            • He hired himself out

            • We have to remember the setting in which Jesus is telling this parable

              • Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. ​​ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1-2)

              • The Pharisees and teachers of the law were concerned with who Jesus was welcoming and who He was eating with

              • Jesus was trying to help them understand that they needed to be reaching the lost, which required welcoming them and eating with them

              • The Jewish religious leaders would have struggled with one of their sons feeding pigs

              • Pigs were considered unclean animals, which had to be avoided

            • Although the young man had a job, no one gave him anything

              • He probably had some meager wages, but was still having trouble finding food to buy

              • The famine was so severe that he was still going hungry

          • Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom, before we realize what we had when we lived at home

        • That’s exactly what happened with this young man

    • Repentance (vv. 17-20a)

        • Wisdom (v. 17)

          • This young man knew that the men his father hired were not starving like him

          • In fact, they had food to spare

          • These hired men were not even family, yet they were well taken care

          • Wisdom is “the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments.” [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/wisdom]

          • This young man used his knowledge of his father’s household and his current experience, of starving to death, to make a good decision to humble himself and return home

        • Humility (vv. 18-19)

          • We see humility in the rehearsed statement he is planning to share with his father

          • Recognizing that his desire to pursue his own free will, by requesting his portion of the estate and then wasting it on wild living, was sin, and that showed great humility on his part

            • Humility is not an easy characteristic to achieve, because it requires the acknowledgment of wrong

            • It requires that we repent and own our faults

            • The young man realized that he had not only sinned against his father, but also against God

          • We also see his humility in the fact that he was willing to be considered a hired hand instead of family

            • He had disgraced his family’s name, through his wild living

            • Even though he had done these things in a distant country, word had gotten back to his family

            • We see that in the older son’s response to his father

            • “But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” (Luke 15:30)

          • When this young man comes to his senses, he doesn’t hesitate

        • Action (v. 20a)

          • He got up and went to his father

          • He left his job of feeding pigs

          • He left the distant country where he had pursued his own free will to return to his father’s house

        • PRINCIPLE #2 – With wisdom and humility comes repentance and restoration.

          • The young man was ready to repent, which showed great wisdom and humility on his part

          • Perhaps that’s where some of us are at today

            • We have been pursuing our own free will

            • We have turned away from our family and from God

            • We have sinned against heaven and our families

            • We have separated ourselves from those who love us and support us (family and God)

          • It’s not too late to pursue wisdom and humility and to repent and return

          • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize my sin, repent of it, and return to the Lord and my family.

        • We see the humility of the son in returning home, but we also see the humility of the father in his response

    • Restoration (vv. 20b-24)

        • Compassion (v. 20b)

          • The son hasn’t even gotten to his father’s estate yet, but the father sees him

            • This tells us that the father was looking for the son every day

            • His desire was that his son would return home

            • PRINCIPLE #3 – No matter how sinful you are, God waits patiently and lovingly for you to return to him.

          • The father was filled with compassion

            • He never stopped loving his son

            • The same is true of God – He never stops loving us

            • God’s desire is that we return to Him

          • Humility expressed

            • In the culture of the day, a father would never have run

            • He definitely wouldn’t have run to embrace a son who had humiliated and brought disgrace on the family name

            • And yet, that’s exactly what this father did

            • He expressed his love for his son by hugging and kissing him

            • Too often men are stoic when it comes to expressing their love, even for their children

              • How many times have we heard adult children say that their father never told them that he loved them?

              • Father’s will tell us that their children knew they loved them, even if they didn’t say it

              • Guess what, guys? ​​ Our children need to hear us say that we love them

              • It’s not too late to tell them that, even if they are grown

              • My challenge for father’s today is to take time this week to reach out to your children and tell them that you love them

              • Their response may be, “Dad, have you been diagnosed with a terminal illness?” ​​ “Are you going to die?”

              • It may come as a shock to them, but I encourage you to do it anyway, and continue to do it!

          • Perhaps there are those here today who didn’t have a loving father

            • Our fathers may have passed away, so we’ll never hear them say that they love us

            • I want to encourage those of us, who are experiencing that, with these words from Scripture

              • Psalm 103:13-18, As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. ​​ As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. ​​ But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

              • John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

              • Jeremiah 31:3, The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

            • God never stops loving us.

          • The son repents and receives forgiveness and restoration

        • Forgiveness (vv. 21-24)

          • The son only gets to share the first half of his rehearsed statement

            • It’s the most important part – repentance!

            • He tells his father that he has sinned against heaven and against him

            • He is no longer worthy to be called his son

            • He never gets to express his willingness to forfeit his status as a son and be considered a hired hand

          • Restoration

            • What we see next is the restoration of this young man to the family unit

            • The father won’t consider his son anything but family

            • The items requested by the father were for family only (best robe, ring, sandals)

            • Hired hands didn’t receive these items – most hired hands didn’t wear any shoes

            • PRINCIPLE #4 – God restores us when we repent.

              • Sin separates us from God (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 6:23)

              • Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection enables us to have that relationship restored (2 Cor. 5:18-21, All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ​​ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. ​​ And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ​​ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. ​​ We implore you on Christ’s behalf: ​​ Be reconciled to God. ​​ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God)

              • Children of God (John 1:12, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.)

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Repent of my sins and become a child of God.

          • Celebration

            • The father instructs the servants to bring the fattened calf and kill it

            • A celebration is about to begin

            • The father is celebrating the fact that the son, he thought he had lost through death, is alive and has returned!

            • There is a celebration every time someone repents and returns to the Lord

              • Luke 15:7, I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

              • Luke 15:10, In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

            • God is poised and ready to start the celebration when you repent and turn to Him

            • Today is that day!

 

  • YOU

    • Who do you know that is pursuing their own free will? ​​ (are you praying for them and have you told them you love them?)

    • Are you ready to pursue wisdom and humility and repent and return to the Lord? ​​ (God is waiting patiently and lovingly for you to return to Him.)

    • God is ready to restore you, are you ready to repent?

 

  • WE

    • As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to love those who are pursuing the things of this world.

    • Who do we need to love today?

 

CONCLUSION

“I will never forget the man’s face that June afternoon as he sat there on those hard bleacher seats in the high school football stadium. The hot sun was constantly pulling sweat from his body and turning his face a nice shade of pink. He was oblivious. His eyes focused on one young man on the football field. ‘What’s up?’ I whispered. ‘I am waiting for my son. Soon he will cross the stage and get his honors diploma. Then it is off to college on a full academic scholarship. We are so proud of him.’

 

Two years later I met the same man. He called me to go with him. We rode in silence up the interstate to the university town. We met a lawyer and walked across the street to the county jail ‘What’s up?’ I finally asked. ‘I am waiting for my son,’ he sniffed, trying to hold back the tears. ‘Police picked him up for shoplifting. Afraid he is on drugs, too.’

 

Just a few months ago, I met my friend yet again. This time I was seated in a beautiful little church. The man stood by his son at the front looking up the aisle. If I could have whispered again, ‘What’s up?’ he would have whispered back, ‘I am waiting for my son to get married. His beautiful, vivacious bride will be walking down the aisle toward us in just a minute. I am so proud of him. This time I have been waiting ten years, but finally the wait is over. Drugs, alcohol, and jail are all behind him. He is back in church and thinking about going into the ministry. I am so excited.’

 

This father can read Luke 15 with special understanding. He knows what it means to wait for a prodigal son. He can identify with all the emotions that run through the father after he watched his son disappear down the long road to oblivion. Now he knows the joy of seeing the son come back, penitent and sad, seeking another chance at life. He knows the joy of running to the returning son with outstretched arms, ready to plant a big kiss on him. He truly understands party time. Now each day is a celebration as he experiences the joy of finding a lost sinner, reconciling with a lost son.

 

Our Father in heaven still stands at the corner looking for another lost child to come home . . . You have a heavenly Father who loves you that much. His open arms wait for you to see that you are a lost sinner needing to come home to Abba, your daddy in heaven. The party can be ready in a flash if you will come. Having come home and enjoyed the party, then you can join the Father at the corner watching for more lost children to come home . . . You can sit beside the elder brother and show him how much the Father has always loved him even if he never got around to party time. You can let the joy flow as you seek the lost and watch as the Father saves them.

 

[Butler, Holman New Testament Commentary, Luke, 253-54].

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