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I'd like to welcome the new subscribers to my newsletter and also welcome back those who have decided to read through the Bible with me a second time! I will be sending out a copy of the newsletter on a weekly basis and provide some commentary to try and make it all come together for us. I have never had any formal biblical schooling, but I did have a biblical upbringing and do read books that are about biblical matters as well. The lessons I learn in church will also be thrown in here as I find good places for them.
Much of the commentary will be my own, but it doesn't have to be that way. You may know more than I about the Bible and I've already had my chance to write about each day's reading in 2003, so if you would like to contribute to this newsletter, just let me know! All that I ask is that you be sincere and that your writing takes the Bible literally. The Word of God is the ultimate test of any lesson we learn in this newsletter, as it should be the test for how we live our lives. I will try to concentrate heavily on faith in my writing this year, so that is one example of a theme for writing if you would like to contribute.
Josh sent me a nice prayer that I'd like to share with you:
The Reason
by Josh DollinsI'm not a perfect person. There are many things I wish I didn't do but I continue learning. I never meant to do those things to you and so I have to say before I go, that I just want you to know.
I've found a reason for me to change who I used to be; a reason to start over new and the reason is you.
I'm sorry I hurt you. It's something I must live with everyday. All the pain I put you through! I wish that I could take it all away and be the one who catches your tears that's why I need you to hear.
I'm not a perfect person, I never meant to do those things to you and so I have to say before I go that I just want you to know.
I've found a reason for me to change who I used to be a reason to start over new and the reason is you. I've found a reason to show a side of me I didn't know; a reason for all that I do, and the reason is you.
That was great, Josh! Jesus is the reason for everything we should be doing. There are times we will stumble in our path, but He will nudge us in the right direction again and our return to His fold will be a true cause for celebration. He will let us begin anew in Him, so nothing that ever was done before that change will matter any longer. Likewise, He has the power to take any pain you've been holding for years to be lifted. All we need to do is give our cares to God and continue on His walk.
Amen.
One perception that I have of the creation is that each day, something more wonderful than before was created. The last thing created in this reading was a woman. Men, please take time to recognize the incredible woman in your life, for Eve was created after everything else was here. Women are a masterpiece of God's creation!
Another one for the men: If you don't honor your wife, you don't honor yourself. The first woman was taken out of a man, and the two are united as one. That wasn't a one-time deal, either. You should hold your wife in high regards and any insult to her is an insult to you. And don't get the idea that Biblically, women were to be slaves to men. The word 'helper' in its original text is the same word used to define how God helps us. We are to lead our homes, but do so in such a way that we honor our wives.
We were created to be holy and to have mastery over the earth and all that is in it. We were patterned after a perfect God and everything we needed was provided. We were meant to have a solid connection with God as we rely on Him for our every need. And then we broke that covenant.
God used animal skins to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness? From the very beginning, it is clear that only blood is used to cover our shame of sin. That will come up throughout this year, and may not always be expressed, so keep this thought in the back of your mind!
You'll recall from yesterday that only blood can be used to cover our sins. Cain toiled in his fields all summer long and presented God some of his produce. Since it doesn't say here if this was the best of his crops, and because Abel did bring choice lambs from the best of the flock, I'm prone to think that this was not the best Cain had to offer. So really, this was two slights on Cain's part. The wrong type of offering and the second-fruits, if you will.
God knew he was angry about this, and cautioned him to respond to Him correctly, lest he be destroyed. This didn't help Abel any, though, did it? And when God asked Cain where Abel was, Cain gave God a third slight in the form of a lie. Cain is often thought of as a terrible person for his murder of Abel, but let's put this into perspective. Here we have 4 slights (including the murder) that are documented about him. Have you ever given God your second-best effort? Have you done that at least 4 times in your life? I have, so I won't fault Cain for his four documented sins.
Just a few generations from the creation, God saw a populous that was so corrupt that it was worthy only for destruction. And yet one man, Noah, was without blame and that was enough to save the planet from utter extinction. Once again, God expressed compassion. Today's theme must be compassion. And so I ask, who have you shown compassion to today?
Not including the creation of all we have today, I consider the flood and all that transpired in the event to be the earliest miracles. They are definitely the first miracles that were shared in their "action" with a person. If you watch, you'll see this throughout the Bible. God tells Noah to build the ark, rather than causing the earth to just swallow everyone else. Later this year, we'll see that Jesus didn't cause wine to appear at the wedding feast. He told the servants to collect water first. Watch for other examples this year. Seldom, if ever, will we see a miracle that God does without someone expressing their faith first. That follows into today as well.
Here is also a covenant that God made with us all. I say that because Noah is the last person that everyone on earth can say they are direct descendents of. God is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. He makes promises to us throughout the Bible and he keeps those promises in spite of our actions. With the track record we humans have, that is a great point of praise!
I've heard talk of uniting the world with a common language, political system and currency. I know that these efforts will have, at best, only a very limited result. Why? Because God himself caused the peoples of the world to seperate for these very political and language barriers. People, in their pride, chose to build a tower to symbolize their own greatness and God saw the necessity to cause the people to understand each other no more, stalling this project. You could go so far as to say that He caused the people to babble. :-)
Abram (later to be named Abraham) was then called upon by God to be the father of a great nation, but first he was told to leave his home. A fine showing of faith, he did this without question. Now part of this covenant involved countless descendents. Abram left without question, even though his wife was unable to bear children. He had nothing more than a promise that went beyond medical realities that he understood. Abram wasn't perfect, but he did show quite a bit of faith. He even refused the spoils of war to keep others from saying that his wealth came from his own actions. This is a man that relied heavily on his God.
It's kinda funny in a way. Abram is speaking with the maker of the heavens and earth and he whines that he has no heir to carry out the covenant with God? What's wrong with this guy? And then to add insult to injury, he takes a servant to produce the heir rather than his own wife? Granted, she hadn't produced any offspring for him, but when God himself tells you to do something, he's not going to ask an impossible task of you. If it's something that you can't do yourself, that's His time to shine! Needless to say, I'm not impressed with Abram in this. What does this lack of faith cost Abram and his descendents, the Jewish population? What do we call the offspring of Ishmael? Ever heard of Palestinians? Trust and Obey.
Editor's note: I don't mean to declare that all Palestinians are a trouble to Israel or that they are inherently bad people. They, as a group, have been very outspoken against the Jews for thousands of years, and none of this would have been a problem had Abram relied on a promised miracle and bore all of his children with Sarai. Of course, then I would be short at least one friend as well...
What's the big deal about renaming Abram and Sarai you ask? When you name something, you claim ownership of it. I named my son and he is mine. My wife took my last name and she is mine to care for. Adam named the animals and was placed over them. This ownership is more of a caretaker role than master. God was saying to Abraham and Sarah that he would look over them for the end of their days. If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is!
Now Sarah showed a lack of faith and even laughed off God's promise in his presence, then lied about it. But God is patient and wiser than I. I would be tempted to just step on the both of them and make a covenant with someone else. But I'm not God, am I? Besides, God is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. If He says it is to be, that's enough for it to happen.
Anyway, God announced his intention to destroy the city of Sodom and all of the inhabitants for their wickedness. Abraham pleaded with Him not to do this. He actually bargained with God to spare the city if just ten righteous people could be found. So two angels went to the city into Lot's house and the men of the city called them out for sodomy (hence the term). Lot tried to protect them from the riot and they escaped. The angels then gave instructions to run for their lives without stopping or looking back. Lot's wife did look back and was turned to a pillar of salt. Why did she look back? Did she want to see the carnage? Did she miss her home? We may never know the answer to that question. We can learn from this, though. If God tells you that you are not where you need to be (figuratively or literally) then you need to run from there without looking back. Keep your eyes on Him at all times!
Am I the only one confused here? Abraham said he wanted Sarah to introduce him as her brother, rather than her husband because she was attractive and he didn't want to be killed (lack of faith here). So the king of Gerar found favor in Sarah, but God kept him from taking it any farther. And out of this, Abraham needed to pray for the King's sin to clear up a curse? In my opinion, Abraham started this fiasco. Or am I missing something?
My Sister volunteered to write about this day for us last year and I like what she wrote, so without further ado, here's what Dacia shared:
Just as God promised, Sarah had the long-awaited son. Once again, God is faithful. This theme starts in the beginning of the Bible and continues to the end of Revelation. Do you think God is trying to tell us something about His nature? He is faithful! God cared for Hagar and Ishmael, but He still let Sarah dismiss them. The inheritance would now go to Isaac, but God still provided for and blessed Ishmael. Although Abraham was distressed, he still obeyed God.
Chapter 22 brings Abraham to yet another crossroad in his life. He chooses to trust and obey the Lord. He didn't delay but got up early to start the three-day journey. As you look back on Abraham's life, what do you think he clung to as he went to sacrifice his only son? When you look at your own life, what are your anchor points that you reflect upon to reassure you of God's faithfulness and provision for you? Verse 13 is the first place in the Bible where the idea of substitutionary atonement or sacrifice is mentioned. This is a foreshadowing of God's plan of salvation in the New Testament.
Abraham's wife, Sarah, dies in this chapter. In his conviction to bury her in the land God promised to his descendents, Abraham paid a huge amount to purchase the land for her burial. 400 Shekels of silver is an excessive price for the land (see Jeremiah 32:9), but Abraham, in his grief and haste, purchased the land anyway.
Abraham realizes that Isaac needs a wife, but he doesn't want a Canaanite. He sends a servant to his relatives to bring back a wife for his son. Before the servant finishes his prayer, God is already answering it. Enter Rebekah. She takes the servant back to her parents' home, and he explains his mission. They see that this is of the Lord and agree to send Rebekah back with the servant. She agrees to go, and marries Isaac.
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I hope you enjoyed this e-zine. If you know anyone else who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward this e-mail to them or direct them to http://www.coffeeswirls.com/weeklybible/
Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!