Idolatry Forbidden (Leviticus 19: 3-4)

Respect your father and your mother, honor the Sabbath, and don't make idols or images. I am the LORD your God.

It is interesting that in this text, God repeats his commandment about honoring father and mother just before he commands no other gods except for him. Honoring father and mother is the only commandment with a promise. If you honor father and mother, things will go well with you.
An idol is something that draws worship or priority over the LORD. In ancient times this took the form of molten images or cast objects that received worship in Yahweh's place. The golden calf is a good example of that kind of worship. In our days, however, not very many people worship molten images. A contemporary example of idolatry is games in the NFL or the Superbowl. If the Superbowl takes priority over going to church and confessing your sins on a Sunday, the Superbowl is indeed a modern day idol. It seems that Americans don't even feel guilty about this important commandment. They even fashion hit shows such as American Idol where people go all out to be seen as important and the crowd, you and I, encourage them by giving hotty approval to them. This is seen ad deplorable to a holy god. God cares about our motivations even more than the actions we take.

Daily Prayer: Father I do find myself in these compramising positions. Even though I know better, I don't call it idolary even though it is. Father forgive me. Father, in addition to forgiving me and setting me back on the path, change my heart so that with you as my all-in-all will find no worldly competition. In your holy name I pray Amen.

Blood is required for atonement (Leviticus 17: 11)

Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own.

Chapter 17 of Leviticus has concentration on the holiness of God. The reason forgiveness of sins is necessary is because God desires to dwell with those who are holy. God makes a special point of insisting that life is in the blood. Previously we learned that the scape goat was a sin bearer for the transgressions of Israel corporately. Now we learn on a individual level the shedding of blood of the sacrifices is the atonement for the individual's trespasses. Hence book has atonement value: the blood shed by the offer, who thereby was cleansed of his sin.
From the New Testament we learn that the Jews kept up this practice - even Jews who has become Christians. Some Jews, indded, were scandalized by the fact that Christians of Gentile background did eat blood, so the Counsil at Jerusalem (Acts 15) laid down a prohibitation against it.

Daily Prayer: Lord, in my day I realize that we are no longer under the Law as in earlier days. Our only law now is to love you with all our strength and our mind and to love our neighbor as ourself against which there is no law. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16: 3, 5, 7- 8)

Before entering the most holy place, you must offer a bull as a sacrifice for your sins and a ram as a sacrifice to please me. Then the community of Israel will bring you a ram and two goats, both of them males. The goats are to be used as sacrifices for sin, and the ram is to be used as a sacrifice to please me. Then you will lead the two goats into my presence from of the sacred tent, where I will show you which goat will be sacrifeced to me and which one will be sent into the desert of the demon Azazel.

This is the origin of the term we still use today called "scapegoat." A scapegoat is one which bears the iniquity of another. This practice began with the Jewish time of atonement called by them to be the festival of Yom Kippur. This is another prefigure of times to come. In later times, God will send his Son to be the sin bearer for all people who come to him by faith. Atonement is the practice of making right all the wrongs so that people can be restored to God.

Daily Prayer: Father, certainly I am sinful and deserve you wrath and your punishment. Thank you Father, for sending Your Son to take away my sins and the sins of the world. No greater love is there than this as one who lays down his life for his friends. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu (Exodus 10: 1-2)

Nadab and Abihu were two of Aaron's sons, but they disobeyed the LORD by burning incense to him on a fire pay, when they were not supposed to. Suddenly the LORD sent fiery flames and burned them to death.

Prior to their sin, the sons of Aaron had witnessed their father Aaron bringing a sin sacrifice for the people where God consumed it by fire. They knew the power of God and the holiness of God, yet on their own with only their own authority decided to offer incense with no permission and treated God's sacred things as common. God will never be treated as common and he will make a vivid point to those who are an affront to his holiness. He didn't even give them a chance to say sorry or repent. It didn't matter that they were sons of the high priest Aaron. In God's view, even Aaron was guilty of not disciplining his sons so God handled the matter and made it a public lesson to his people.

Daily Prayer: Father, you are holy and we your people need to treat you as holy. Forgive me and teach me how I may honor you in my life and in my worship. In your holy name I pray Amen.

Do Not Take Thoughtless Oaths (Leviticus 5: 4 - 6)

If anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt - when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned. As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the LORD a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for them for their sin.

The taking of rash oaths was something that Jesus also criticized (cf. Mt 5:36); he, for his part, exhorted people to sincerity - to tell the truth at all times, avoiding any need to back up one's words by oath; "Let what you say be simply, 'Yes' or 'No"; anthing more than this comes from evil."
In order to atone for sins one first needed to declare oneself guilty of them. This practice of humble acknowledgment of personal faults seems to have applied to all sin offerings (cf. Num 5:7). It was said down that that form of acknowledgment of guilt should take place on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.

Daily Prayer: Father I do confess that I am a sinner and fall short of the holiness required from you. I am thankful that you sent your son Jesus Christ to become righteousness for me by my faith and belief in him. Now, I can come to you as a son as I do today bringing all my cares to you because you care for me. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

The Tent of Meeting is erected (Exodus 40: 1-2; 12-14)

The LORD said to Moses:
Set up my tent on the first day of the year and put the chest with the Ten Commandments behind the inside curtain of the tent. Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the the tent and have them wash themselves. Dress Aaron in the priestly clothes, then use the sacred olive oil to ordain him and dedicate him to me as my priest. Put the priestly robes on Aaron's sons and ordain them in the same way, so they and their descendants will always be my priests.

In these verses, we have the beginning of worship as it was understood in the Old Testament. In the beginning, there were no temples, but a tent where the Israelites met and held worship and offered sacrifices to cover their sins. We also have the beginning of the priesthood beginning with Moses' brother Aaron. The sons that proceeded from Aaron who himself was from the Tribe of Levi were the priestly line. Everything in the tent of meeting was consecrated which means it was set apart os holy to God. The Aaronic priesthood will now continue until the coming of Jesus Christ the Savior who will replace this priesthood because he will be the high priest in those days.

Daily Prayer: Lord, it is good to remember how worship began in those days, because it shows your heart for the worship we offer. Consecration is good because it helps us to understand holiness and we your people are to be holy. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

The Lord Changed His Mind...(Exodus 32: 13 - 14)

Rememer the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land. So though the LORD had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live.

The setting is that Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God. After Moses had been away from his camp and his people for an extended time, they made a calf of gold to worship because they were like sheep without a shepherd. In God's anger, he threatens to extinguish these chosen people and give their rights to another. Then Moses gives Old Testament instruction on how to pray. He brings to the mind of God the word of God. He doesn't come to God with human persuasiveness, but with God's very words. After he spoke them to God, he relented and let his people live. I and you also need to bring to bear God's word in our prayers.
To seek the power of God, we must bring the word of God so that our prayers are his will and will be accomplished.

Daily Prayer: Father your words are true and must be repeated. Jesus also teaches us to pray and effective prayer brings you and your words to bear. I know you hear all prayers, but it is indeed good to repeat and remember your words, because this is what you have promised to me. In your holy name I pray Amen.

God Proclaims Sabbath Rest For His Creation (Exodus 23: 10-12)

The Code of the Covenant which began with a set of laws dealing with religious matters now ends with laws dealing with worship on the sabbath and on pilgrimage feasts. The word sabbath is from the Hebrew word Shabat which means cessation. God's creation is to imitate God who did his creation in six days, but rested on the sabbath. As God creates a people for his own, the Israelites will be found guilty of not giving the land its rest. It is a matter of trusting in God. If you do not trust in God's faithfulness to supply your needs, you will work the land the seventh year, over and over again. So it was with the Jews in Judah. Because they would not rest the land, God removed them from it and sent them into captivity in Babylon so that the land could rest for the sabbaths missed.

Daily Prayer: Lord, I too am guilty of this same lack of trust. Although you have shown that every moment of my life you are faithful, I am faithless in my conviction in your faithful hand. Forgive me Father, by the blood of Jesus. Arouse your Spirit who dwells within me to teach me and guide me into your truth so that I may be an imitator of my Father who is my all in all. In your holy name I pray Amen.

Moses Seeks Governing Support (Exodus 18: 19-22)

Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the prople - men who fear God, trustworthy to men who hate dishonest gain and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.

During the journey to the Promised Land, Moses had all authority, both religious and political given to him. In times to come, future kings felt the same tension when they tried to handle the cares of both the king and the priesthood. The kings could not handle it and delegated the religious affairs to the prophets. In the same way, Moses was the Man of God and could not handle the political affairs of a people who had grown to greater than two million persons. From this arises the need for and appointment of judges. These are trustworthy men who assume the duty of governing the people politically. It times to come, God himself will raise up judges to settle disputes and govern people and show them how they must live before God.

Daily Prayer: Father, it is indeed necessary that we be able to trust each other. The affairs of your kingdom are far too weighty for any one of us to handle. It is so important that we differentiate between duty and being prideful. So often men when given authority seek personal recognition for their labor. Let this never be. Instead, let us walk humbly before the LORD so that our father will reward us secretly. Amen.

Give us this day our daily bread (Exodus 16: 4)

The LORD said to Moses, "I will send bread down from heaven like rain. Each day the people can go out and gather only enough for that day. That's how I will see if they obey me.

Tha manna which is a form of sweet bread not only alleviates the people's hunger; they are, above all, a sign of the triple presence of God: the Lord who brought them out of Egypt is not going to abondom them; he manifests his glory by dominating nature; he has not brought them out to die, but to make sure that they survive in spite of difficulties. The Israelites complaining shows the people's lack of faith and hope, and by contrast, God is faithful to them to meet their need. This situation of the manna from heaven was used in the New Testament when Jesus taught the disciples to pray for their daily bread. God doesn't want to give more than our needs because it creates greed among God's people instead of trust in their Lord.

Daily Prayer: Lord you are faithful as you meet our every need even when we fail to ask from you. Your faithfulness is more than bread, but it is shelter, clothing, health and family.
Let us learn to observe all that you do so that we can come to you with thankful hearts. Amen.

God brings savlation to his people (Exodus 14: 13, 16, 31)

But Moses answered, "Don't be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the LORD save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again." Moses held his walking stick over the sea. The water will opened and made a road where they can walk on dry ground. Because of the mighty power he had used against the Egyptians, the Israelites worshiped (feared) him and trusted him and his servant Moses.

The Exodus is still God's greatest act of faithfulness to his elect. In times to come, there will be other times when he performs an exodus to bring his people out of captivity. Nothing is impossible for God. Throughout the scriptures, one can see that nature obeys God their Creator. God commands the waters to part and they obey. Later, in the New Testament, Jesus will command the seas to be still and they obey. God's only creation that fails to obey is man. In the garden, he ate from the Forbidden Tree bringing sin and death to humanity. In the fullness of times, Jesus Christ comes to pay the penalty for our sin, but part of our deliverance from our sin is a re-creation for our inner-man. This is called being born again or have been regenerated by the Spirit of God. In today's reading, the first verse God tells his people don't be afraid. The reading concludes that the were afraid when they saw the great power of the LORD.

Daily Prayer: Father God, I admit that it is impossible for me to save myself. I too, as one of your people need the kind of deliverance that only you can give. I ask not only for the forgiveness of my sins, but to re-create me in the likeness of your son. Let me also not reat in the sense of being afraid. Instead let me revere you and let you do your work in my life. In your name I pray Amen.

Passover as a prelude to the Cross (Exodus 11:4-6)

Moses went to the the king and said: I have come to let you know what the LORD is going to do. About midnight he will go through the land of Egypt, and wherever he goes, the first-born son in every family will die. Your own son will die, and so will the son of the lowest slave woman. Even the first-born males of cattle will die. Everywhere in Egypt there will be loud crying. Nothing like this has ever happended before or will ever happen again.

As we already noticed, certain people and events prefigure a later similar happening. So it is with the final judgment that God directs against Egypt so that he can usher his people out of Egypt and send them to the land of promise. We learn that all first born will die at the hands of the angel of death. This breaks the will of the king to where he wants and releases the Israeli forced laborers. While all first born in Egypt were put to death, the Jews placed blood on their door post and the angel of death passed over these families. Remember God directed Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but because of Abraham's obedience, God withheld his hand. In the fullness of times, God will present his only son Jesus Christ and not withhold his hand so that he dies as a sacrifice for many.

Daily Prayer: Father, you have given the greatest sacrifice in your giving up your son so that I may live. Because of this, you make his name greater than any other name and put all things under his authority. Your only request is that I yield to him in the decisions of my life. While I agree with him about all things, I still do stumble and fail on my part. I ask your forgiveness in his name and ask that you continue to transform my personality to not only agree with him, but obey him. In his holy name I pray Amen.

God stretches out his hand (Exodus 7: 1, 3-4)

The LORD said:

I am going to let your brother Aaron speak for you. He will tell your message to the king, just as the prophet speaks my message to the people. But I willl make the king so stubborn that he won't listen to you. He won't listen even when I do many terrible things to him and his nation. Then I will bring a final punishment on Egypt, and the king will let the Israel's familes and tribes go.

In this message, God is speaking in first person so as to express his will. Here, God is speaking directly to Moses who in turn gives the message to his brother Aaron to speak to the Pharaoh. The message is one of divine judgment. God is pronouncing a series of signs and wonders against Egypt intended to release the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. It goes on to say that God will harden the Pharoah's heart. This is because God wants Israel, Egypt, and all of the surrounding nations to see the might and glory of God Almighty. It is sending a message all the way to Canaan, the Land of Promise, which God is with his people the Israelites and he will fight for them.

Daily Prayer: Father, you are an awesome and wondrous God. Nobody can deliver out of your hand. You build up and also tear down. You make alive and you kill. Woe is he who doesn't honor you. Yet, you want my honor to come forth from love and it does. Help me to trust in you to both go before me and be my rear guard in life's battles. In your holy name I pray Amen.

The call of Moses (Exodus 3:14)

God said to Moses: I am the eternal God. So tell them that the LORD, whose name is "I Am," has sent you. This is my name forever, and it is the name thata people must use from now on.

In this chapter, God has called Moses to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. Moses, after confessing that he is not a fluent man asks the LORD his name. God replies that his name is I Am, and to call him by that name. As we shall later learn, God does not like anything including a name to fashion him by. Tradition has it that Enosh, a grandson of Adam called God I Am (also rendered in Hebrew "Yahweh"). God is reluctant to provide a name by which men or diviners may use to try to invoke his name and capture his power. The ancient Hebrews out of fear to Yahweh use "YHWH" when writing his name for fear of misusing it by writing it. God's transcendence is demonstrated when YHWH implies that I Am the one you cannot know or that I Am unnamable. He is also explaining that I Am is his essence. His essence is God. From the Hebrew verb "hwh" (to be) God is revealing himself as the one who causes things to come into existence as creator. In the Christian Bible, whenever the text uses Yahweh, our Bible records it as LORD.

Daily Prayer: In my day, I have been more intimate with you because of your revealing your son Jesus Christ to me. This bridges the gap between heaven and earth and now because I am accepted as a child of God, I can rightfully call you father. This is good and acceptable. I revere you as father, creator, and my all in all. Belief comes by opening my eyes and seeing the great and wondrous things you have done.No longer does one need to pursue you, because Jesus came in your stead and revealed his glory, the only begotton of the father, full of grace and truth.
Amen.

God makes plans to bring his people out of Egypt (Exodus 1:8)

Many years later a new king came to power. He did not know what Joseph had done for Egypt.

While the sons of Jacob were in Egypt, they multiplied in number by the hand of God. Until now, Joseph could handle the affairs of Jacob, but now a new leader arises in Egypt who doesn't honor Joseph. In this passage this is the first time that God refers to the families of Jacob as "his people." Politically they were powerless as one can see, but these are those who God is entrusting the promises of Abraham and the ultimate mission of producing the Savior of the world. This people of God now numbers greater than two million and will be brought back to Canaan, the land of promise.

Daily Prayer: Father, I am also a son of the Most High. Not because I am a son of Jacob, but because Jesus Christ chose me for the sake of salvation. This now makes me a joint heir or son with Jesus as I wait with the blessed hope of Christ's return. Amen.

The Deliverance Of Israel (Genesis 50:20)

You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing.

The context of this verse is that Joseph as a youth was envied by his brothers. They plotted and sold their brother into slavery. During his servitude, Joseph spends time in an Egyptian prison where it is learned that he has the ability through his LORD to interpret dreams. The Pharaoh benefits from this gifting and promotes Joseph to second in command in all of Egypt during a severe famine. It is because of this that Joseph was able to give provisions to the clan of Jacob to insure their survival. Now Joseph meets the brothers who had harmed him and because Joseph is an obedient man of God, he explained to his brothers that they mean harm for him, but God used their evil intentions for the good of all of Israel.

Christians often ask the question, "Why does God allow evil if he is good?" We are a short sided people. God is never evil, but indeed does use evil including Satan for his own purposes.
The question we should be asking is what should I learn from this? Or we may ask that I not be led into temptation and deliver me from evil. To ask what benefit will come is a question of a son to his father.

Daily Prayer: Father, I don't and cannot understand all that is evil in the world. Oft times it seems together we should bottle up evil and cast in into the depts of the sea. Instead, I will say like the prophet Habakkuk said which is that I need to learn to live by faith. Amen.

Jacob transfers the Covenant of Abraham (Genesis 48: 12-15, 19)

Joseph bowed down in front of Jacob with his face to the ground. After Joseph got up, he brought his two sons over to Jacob again. He led his younger son Ephraim to the left side of Jacob and his older son Manasseh to the right. But before Jacob gave them his blessing, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the head of Ephriam and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. Then he gave Joseph his blessing. Joseph did not like it when he saw his father place his right hand on the head of the younger son. So he tried to move his father's right hand from Ephriam's head and place it on Manasseh. Joseph said, "Father, you have made a mistake. This is the older boy. Put your right hand on him." But his father said, "Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will someday become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will be come many great nations."

This is the account on how the Covenant made with Abraham and was transferred to Isaac and then to Jacob, who now transfers to the youngest son Ephraim. Ephraim now possesses the promise to be the father of this great nation and in later times the nation of Israel is even referred to as Ephraim. In is not uncommon for God's election to fall on the second son. This was true with Jacob as he was younger than his brother Esau. This is also an explanation that the sons of Joseph were adopted by Jacob and given the same rights of land inheritance as the first son's of Jacob.

Daily Prayer: Father, even now I await the inheritance you have in store for me. While I am not an Israelite, have like Manasseh and Ephriam have been adopted as a son by you through the work of your Greater Son Jesus Christ. Let me be obedient, not to earn sonship, but to show my gratitude. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28: 12-15)

In a dream he (Jacob) saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, and God's angels were going up and down on it. The LORD was standing beside the ladder and said: I am the LORD God who was worshiped by Abraham & Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people. Wherever you go, I will wathch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won't leave you--I will do all I have promised.

One of the ways God uses to protect the people of God is through angels. Every believer has myriads of angels protecting them. God's activity involves both assent and descent from heavenly places. In Job 1:7 God says to Satan: "From where have you come? Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." Again in John 1:51 Jesus says "I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man." Clearly, the ministry of God involves the heavenly and divine beings ministering to humans on earth. Now God announces that Jacob is the heir of the promises and protection given Abraham.

Daily Prayer: Father, thank you for the ministry of angels and their protection in my life.
Let me be aware that all things are from your hand and that no harm can come to me because you care for me. Amen.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25: 19-20, 22-23)

Isaac was the son of Abraham, and he was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. Almost twenty years later, Rebekah still had no children. Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting and he told her: "Your two sons will become two separate nations. The younger of the two will be stronger, and the older son will be his servant."

Through Abraham, Isaac was the heir to the covenant God made with his father. Just as with Abraham, the wife of Isaac is barren. God intervenes and she becomes pregnant. Humanly speaking, one normally expects privileges of birthright to fall on the older son. From a divine standpoint, God reserves the right of election. He chooses the younger son Jacob to the heir to Abraham's promises and later changes his name to Israel which means "God strives." This will be the nation by which God will mediate his blessings to the nations (Genesis 12: 1-3). The nation will be the result of twelve sons being born from Jacob's body. These sons will be fruitful and multiply and give rise to the twelve tribes which make of the nation of God's choice. The older son Esau will be blessed with different land and the father of the nation of Edom.

Daily Prayer: Father, it is clear that your ways are different than man's ways. I am thankful that despite our human frailty, you intervene by grace and bring children to barren women and by your grace, give privilege to those who love you. In your holy name I pray Amen.

The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22: 2, 9-12)

The LORD said, "Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love. Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar." When they reached the place that God had told him about; Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. But the LORD's angel shouted from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am!" he answered. "Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!" the angel said. "Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son."

This is one of many events which prefigure another. What God asked from Abraham is that as his father, give him up for me. This is the very thing that God did when Jesus Christ, his only begotton son. It is a test of faith, one that Abraham passed. It was by faith that this promised son was born of a barren womb. It is by faith that he gave it all back to God who has taken him this far. Now, God again renews his oaths to Abraham. The place for this holy testing is Mount Moriah which in years to come will be the place for the First Temple which is the most holy place in Zion.

Daily Prayer: Father, I come to you as I am. You knew me before I was in my mother's womb with all my potentials and weaknesses. Use them as you see fit for your glory. Amen.

The announcement of the Covenant Son (Genesis 18: 2-4, 10-14)

Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He quickly ran to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground, and said, "Please come to my come where I can serve you. I'll have some water brought, so you can wash your feet, and then you can rest under the tree. Let me get you some food to give you strength before you leave. I would be honored to serve you." One of the guests was the LORD, and he said "I'll come back about this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will already have a son." Sarah was well past the age for having children. So she laughed and said to herself, "Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?" The LORD asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age? I am the LORD! There is nothing too difficult for me. I'll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son."

Previously we learned that God made a covenant with Abraham where he will be the father of a great nation. That promise could not come to pass unless Abraham has male off-spring from his own marriage with Sarah. Since Abraham and Sarah were advanced in years, God himself pays a visit to them to make the announcement and has a fellowship meal with them. God puts to rest that there is nothing too hard for him and that it should not seem extraordinary that God can bring forth life from death. In terms of his prophetic covenant with Abraham, if God failed on one of his promises, all of them would be void. God establishes that indeed Sarah will bear him a son, and that the son will be forthcoming in the same season of the following year. The son to be born will be named Isaas and all of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant concerning the great nation to follow now rest in his life to fulfill.

Daily Prayer: Father, my faith is only as good as the object of my faith. You have established that nothing is impossible for you who is the creator of the heavens and the earth.
Let you be large to me also, so that when I pray I can ask anything from you knowing that it can be don if it be your will. Amen.

God makes a covenant with Abram (Genesis 12: 1-3)

The LORD said to Abram:

Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.

Up until now, God already established that man would rule over earth for him, but Adam and Noah were not the ones who will be the Savior promised in Genesis 3:15. This does not void God's promise of individual rule by man for God, but it postpones it to be ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Now God turns to a Chosen People, a nation who he will call his own. They will in turn mediate God's blessings to all nations and all nations will be blessed by them. God appoints Abram, later renamed by God Abraham to be the father of this great nation who is to be the nation of Israel. This agreement with Abraham is called a covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant is a unilateral promise by God which means it only depends on God to fulfill. This agreement will pass generationally until the coming of Messiah. Did you notice what God did in order to prepare Abraham for his calling by God? God took him away from everything that is familiar to him. He took him from his father and family and his land. God took him to a place that he would show him and there he will fulfill his great promises to Abraham. I'm sure the reason for this is Abraham's family is a hindrance to God. By bringing him to Canaan, he was able to test his faith which would be interfered with if he was influenced by his family.

Daily Prayer: Father, I realize that you have made great promises to Abraham who is the father of Israel. In my time too, you have made great promises. In the fullness of time you sent your son who is Jesus Christ. Through him and his redeeming work on the cross, the nations are heir to the spiritual blessings given to Abraham. It is not the physical promises given them, but the spiritual ones that we are blessed by today. Let me now go and tell others so that they can, like Abraham, come and seize these promises of redemption by faith in Jesus Christ who is your representative and my Savior. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Sin contaminates the world and God seeks a remnant (Genesis 6: 5-7)

The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. He was very sorry that he had made them, and he said, "I'll destroy every living creature on earth! I'll wipe out people, animals, birds, and reptiles. I'm sorry I ever made them."

When it comes to sin, it is one thing to miss the mark and it another when people continually plan evil and don't even seek God. That is the scene in the days of Noah. From God's standpoint, only Noah was living to please him. The work of humankind only grieved the LORD. God decides to start over again, just as he did with Adam, but this time through Noah. He will command Noah and his family to build an ark and God will through a great flood relocate them to a new land where God's charge to multiply and fill the earth will start over again. God is testing Noah to see whether he can keep God's charge given to Adam which is to rule in his stead on earth in righteousness. The taking of Noah and his family and discharging the rest in a great flood is God's first instance of working through the remnant to accomplish his glory.

In our day too, God works through the remnant. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it will be easy to see how the world today has the same traits as in the day of Noah. The work of the natural man's hand is constantly self-centered and he does not seek God or his favor. Universities teach students to be self-reliant and teach no dependence on God. The remnant in our day is the Church of Jesus Christ. The presence of the church acts with the Holy Spirit of God to restrain evil so that things are not as vile as they could be. The church's charge is to hod steadfast until the return of Jesus Christ when He will judge evil and make all things new.

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, by Your Spirit strengthen the church. Unlike the world, we are not our own, but belong to You. Instill in me the spirit of faithfulness so that I do not falter when trouble comes. In Your holy name I pray Amen.

God promises a Savior for the world (Genesis 3:15)

"You and this woman will hate each other; your descentants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel."

This is poetic language stating that the Savior promised will be a Suffering Servant. His enemy will be the Serpent of Old who is Satan and the serpent will injure or kill the Promised One, but the Savior will deliver a fatal wound to the serpent which is a strike to the head. Jesus is the Suffering Servant of God who endured the cross to be our substitutionaly atonement to receive forgiveness of sins. Not only that, but because the Savior did not sin and perfectly obeyed the Father, even death on the cross, he was raised from the dead, dying to both sin and to death so that those who believe in his name will never die, but receive eternal life. Also, because of his rightousness, we inherit Christ's righteousness so that we may be acceptable to God, swinging open the doors to be received as Children of God. This gives the believer direct access to God Almighty because our new life is lived "in Christ" which means it is hidden in Christ according to his righteousness.

God insures that the Promised Savior will not come from the seed of Adam, but from the seed of woman. This is accomplished by placing hatred or emnity between the woman and the serpent. The woman is renamed Eve which means life. It is through her off-spring that the Messiah will be born insuring that this one will be both the Son of Man and the Son of God.

Daily Prayer: Thank you Father for sending the Son and redeeming me not only from my sins, but to give access to the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Nor greater love is shown than your loyal love. Empower me Father to be used to tell of salvation which can only be found in Jesus Christ my Lord. In his precious name I pray Amen.

The Fall of Humanity into Sin (Genesis 3: 5,6,10)

January 2, 2011

"God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does." She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. The LORD called out to the man and asked "Where are you?" The man answered, "I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was freighted and hid!"

The serpent did not lie to the woman. He said that she will be like God knowing right from wrong. Even though the serpent did not lie, he tempted her and encouraged her to listen to God's creation in the garden and not her Creator. God commanded them not to eat from this tree or they will perish. By their disobedience they called into question the goodness of God in knowing what is best for them. Their disobedience has it's consequences. Humankind can no longer procreate offspring which are by nature obedient to God. They like their parents will inherit the shame and the fear that their parents know.

Daily Prayer: Father, in my generation people are far from you. They like mankind's first couple make decisions which are apart from you. Forgive us Father. Thank you for your wisdom in sending your son so that whoever believes in him my have eternal life. Your love, mercy and grace are far greater than your judgment. Open my heart to receive the savior. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

I must come to God by faith and not sight. (Genesis 1, 1; 31)

January 1, 2011

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! (Genesis 1, 1; 31)

It is appropriate that we begin the New Year "in the beginning."These are the opening words of the author of Genesis, presumed to be Moses. They are also the first words written in the Gospel of John in the New Testament when he recounts the Creation. It goes on to identify God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth and that the work of his hand is good. The word used for good in the Hebrew text is "tobe" which means excellent, rich, and valuable. Until a person is convinced that God is the Creator it will be difficult to receive God as being good. David becomes a witness to Creator God when he pens the following in Psalm 19: "The heavens keep telling the wonders of God, and the skies declare what he has done." A tension develops in our Post Modern Age when today's audience takes the Creation account and tries to develop an argument of how things came into being. The Bible states that God spoke the world into existence. The Latin phrase for this is ex nihilo or it was created from nothing. In God's economy, his word is everything. Even Jesus is identifed as the "word who became flesh to dwell among us." As one can see, it is necessary to come to God by faith in order to know him.

Daily Prayer: Father, teach me to trust you so that I may know you. The world does not know you because they cannot see you. By your spirit, guilde me into all truth so that I may understand. Amen.