January 7th One Year Bible Readings

Genesis 16:1-18:15 ~ Matthew 6:1-24 ~ Psalm 7:1-17 ~ Proverbs 2:1-5
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on OneYearAudioBible.org or DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) ~

Old Testament - Today in Genesis chapter 16 we get another potential Jesus sighting in the OT!  :)  (Similar to our "potential" with Melchizedek yesterday.)   I'll keep you posted on all our "potential" Jesus sightings in the Old Testament - as seen by some commentaries.  Some believe that the angel that appears to Hagar in the desert could be Christ pre-incarnate.  Why?  Because the angel seems to be speaking in the first person, as if the angel is God - (and Jesus is God) - but yet the angel is not described as God the Father.   Check out verse 10 on this point - "I will give you more descendants than you can count.""  Next point is that later in this chapter Hagar seems to be giving the angel a bit more credit of the angel "just being an angel", as you'll see here in verse 13: "Thereafter, Hagar referred to the LORD, who had spoken to her, as "the God who sees me," for she said, "I have seen the One who sees me!"" I guess I can see how some commentators go down this path...  Whaddya think?   Below is French painter James Tissot's watercolor "Hagar and the Angel in the Desert" from the year 1896:

In Genesis chapter 17 we read about the second Abrahamic Covenant!  This covenant was is a conditional divine pledge from God to be Abraham's God and the God of his descendents.  The condition?  Obedience and consecration to God as symbolized by circumcision.  In verse 23 I think we see another example of Abraham's prompt obedience to God's will for his life: "On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and every other male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, exactly as God had told him."  Abraham does not hesitate - does not wait one more day - he and every other male in his household get circumcised that very day!  Are we prompt with our obedience to God's will in our lives?  Or do we wait a day to move forward on what God is calling us to do?  Or do we even wait a week?  Or a year?  Or a lifetime?  What is God calling you to do?  Will you be promptly obedient?  Below is a stained glass image from England made in the year 1435 showing God giving this covenant to Abraham:

In Genesis 18 we see some amazing hospitality from Abraham to God and two angels that appear along with God.  Hospitality for strangers was important back in Abraham's day.  How are we with our hospitality toward strangers today?  Do we react as Abraham did toward these three?  Remember that Jesus says to us in the New Testament, "whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me."  So, yes, maybe Abraham realized he was being hospitable toward God.  But - Jesus seems to infer we should be hospitable to everyone - particularly "the least of these" - for in doing so, we will be providing hospitality to Jesus.   Who in our world today are the "least of these"?  Are you being hospitable to strangers and to the least of these in your life today?  How?  Below is an oil painting by Spanish Baroque Era Painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo from the year 1667 titled "Abraham and the Three Angels":

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Genesis titled "Grasping the Great Truth of God" is at this link, and "Marks of Maturity" is at this link.

New Testament - Our readings in Matthew chapter 6 today seem to be focusing quite a bit on the interior motives of why we do things - and to do things sometimes in secret, where only God will know what we are doing.  And by giving, praying, and fasting with pure interior motives and in secret, God will reward us!  I think there is so much truth in this...  I think when we give anonymously or pray for others quietly or fast privately, we are really worshipping God.  We are in essence saying, "God I am doing these things because of who You are, how great You are, and to let you know how much I love You.  I don't need to let anyone know about this act of worship between me and You.   You knowing is more than enough."    Now, I do think there are times for communal giving, praying and fasting - but I love that Jesus challenges us to make sure we find private ways to worship God and God only - and not to bring glory to ourselves by desiring public praise for our "religiosity"...

What a blessing to read the Lord's Prayer in today's readings!  I have to confess, I don't say this prayer very often... and Jesus seems to indicate pretty clearly that this is a good way to pray.  :)  I do pray often throughout the day - but usually it's pretty immediate stuff - bless this meal, thank you for this day, bless my time at work, etc. etc.  What a great thing it would be if I could remember to actually pray the Lord's Prayer a bit more...   I do think it is good to pray things beyond the Lord's Prayer - in fact, just take a look at the Psalms for some ranges of prayer. You might infer from verse 7 that we should stick only to the Lord's Prayer when praying: "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again."  However - I read a commentary that this verse was admonishing against the polytheistic religions where people prayed to every single god's name they could think of, and would continue to repeat all of the gods names over and over, in hopes that this "babbling" would work to where one of the gods would respond to their pleading.   So - I think God loves and enjoys hearing us pray to Him in whatever way we do so - but we should not neglect the fact that when Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer He said (in verse 9):  "Pray like this."

Verse 24 has always always been a verse that's convicted me and still does today: "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."  There is so much truth here in these 3 little sentences...  Who are we serving in our lives today?  I once read that one good indicator is to take a look at your monthly budget.  Where does the money go each month?  Interesting way to look at this.  Maybe another way to look at this is how you spend your time each week.  How much time is spent at work, volunteering, being with God, being with family/friends, taking a Sabbath, etc.  Maybe looking at how we spend our time and money is a good way to see who or what we are worshipping?  Do you believe that it is true that we cannot serve two masters?  Who are you serving these days?

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Matthew titled "Jesus on Prayer" is at this link, and "Where Is Your Treasure?" is at this link.

Psalms - Today in Psalm 7 verse 10 we read: "God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right." What stood out to me here is that it does not say that God saves those who "do" what is true and right.  It says that God saves those whose "hearts are" true and right.  As discussed in yesterday's Matthew 5 post, below, this is getting toward our interior motives and thoughts and hearts - the important thing is not what we do on the "exterior", but who we are on the "interior".  And then certainly if our hearts are true and right, a natural outflow of this is doing good things on the exterior.  But, it's the interior - our hearts - that matter most.  How is your heart these days?  Is it true and right?  And do you believe that God is indeed your shield?

Proverbs - Proverbs 2 verse 2 today is a fantastic teaching: "Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding."  There is so much noise and static and distractions in our modern world today that I think it is often hard for us to "tune our ears to wisdom & understanding."   With our 24 X 7 society, we can go 100mph and just kind of feel like we're doing fine...  but are we really doing fine when we are going that fast and moving all the time?   Can you find ways in your life to slow down and "tune in" to God?  I think reading the Bible each day is one amazingly great way to do this!  What are some areas of your life that you can "tune out" this year in this new year so that you can spend more time "tuning in" to God and His wisdom?

Worship God: Today's readings in Genesis about Abraham entertaining angels reminds me of course of the Newsboys song "Entertaining Angels:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok6JGofobPk

Think you've ever entertained angels?  Click here and meet One greater than the angels!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating a verse of Scripture today:"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray about which "master" you spend more time thinking about each day - God or money?  Pray that you will only serve God.

Comments from You and Questions of the Day:  Based on our Matthew 6 readings today about the Lord's Prayer, let me ask you this: How do you pray?  Or, in how many different ways do you pray?   Do you pray specific prayers regularly, like the Lord's Prayer?  Do you keep a list of people by your bedside to pray for regularly?  Do you pray by writing in a journal?   I actually had one friend share with me that each day of the week he would pray for a specific segment of his life and our world.  For example, on Sundays he'd pray for his church and pastors and the worldwide church.  On Mondays he'd pray for his family and coworkers and friends.  On Tuesdays he'd pray for politicians and world leaders.  And so on...  And he'd repeat this pattern each week. This way he was very intentional about praying - otherwise he said he'd just end up lobbing up a few prayers each day - and usually just for himself.  I think this is an interesting approach!  Please post up some thoughts on your prayer life?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[Ramona]

Genesis 16:1-18:15

It is always interesting how each time I read thought a passage something different jumps out at me. So here goes. The follow verses from Proverbs came to my mind as I read today’s readings:

Under three things the earth is disquieted, and under four it cannot bear up: Under a servant when he reigns, a [empty-headed] fool when he is filled with food, An unloved and repugnant woman when she is married, and a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.
(Proverbs 30:21-23 AMP)

Leaving behind all the opinions about Sari finding a surrogate, Hagar, to carry her husband’s seed, according to the writer of Proverbs, Hagar, Sari’s “maidservant,” may have either tacitly or directly challenged her mistress’ authority. If the writer of the above three verses is correct in his assessment, than Hagar may have been making the ground shake, so to speak. She had produced for Abram what Sari couldn’t. She had been intimate with another woman’s husband, even if that woman initiated and facilitated the act. Talk about one-upmanship.

We are a funny folk. We counsel people and when they received and act on that counsel and it goes awry, we distance ourselves from the consequences. Sari presented her handmaiden to her husband in an attempt to “work” God’s promise to her husband, or had Abram kept the promise to himself? Hmmm. (If Sari knew that God has given a promise of a child to Him, why whould she have laughed when the angel spoke to her husband? Or could she have thought the Promise was to her husband and not to her? That’s a whole ‘nother essay.) Either way, she turned on the one she gave counsel too, her husband. Abram heard the counsel but didn’t have to receive it. How many times do we accept someone’s counsel without considering what is being said just to make the person happy. When it blows up in our faces, if we go back to the person who was so generous with their ideas, what usually is the reception we received?

Every one of us is responsible for your own choices no matter how strong the pressure to accept that advice. Bottom line is this: Not only will we have to serve our choices, but those we are responsible for, those under our leadership at home, work or church, will feel the effects. Abram’s relationship with Hagar was of the flesh. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. It is only the things born of the Spirit that will last. My prayer for all those who come to his Blog, myself included, is this: That we consider the consequences of our choices. May all here evaluate their decisions, are they of the flesh or of the spirit. All things of the “flesh” lead to death. Let us go on to live in Life. Let us stop producing Ishmaels in our lives.

Grace and peace,
Ramona

[Trudy]

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:22-23)

In reflecting on the above passage today, a number of questions came to me.

Is Jesus Christ our number one priority, or do we just have a superficial earthly religion?

The eye is the lamp of the body and reveals our inner life. Jesus said that if our eyes are good, our whole body will be full of light. Do we have a single minded devotion to God? Are we loyal to Jesus Christ? Are our motives pure?

or

Do we have bad eyes, and a body full of darkness? As we seek God, are we double minded with one foot in the world? Are we trying to live in two worlds? Are we more interested in amassing earthly wealth and trusting earthly treasures than we are in trusting God?

Are we walking in the Light, or are we walking in corruption and spiritual darkness?

Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OkWm2KR-_w

Trudy

[John A.]

Matt 7:1
1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

The Greek word here for judge is "krino". It is the Greek word used when God judges. Jesus is saying 'do not play God' - it is not your role. It is hard not to do, and remember it was one of satan's ways of tempting Eve - "ye shall be as gods".

There are seven or eight different Greek words indicating different types of judgement and Paul in 1Corinthians and Romans does call on us to "judge". Is there a contradiction?

No, Jesus's "judge" says to never make Unrighteous and unmerciful judgement. To judge another person's motives (heart) or to curse to condemnation is to play God. Unless a person is teaching false doctrine or following standards that are clearly unscriptural we are never to judge a person's ministry, teaching, life/motives by a self-styled standard.

There are times to judge not a person's heart, but their fruit and the way to handle those times is discussed later in the Bible.

So what hapeens if you do judge in the manner that is only God's realm - well, you do not lose your salvation. But there is a judgement time in heaven where your fruits will be assessed and rewards given out. When you consistently judge harshly on other's - the standards you set up will be applied to you at that judgement.

http://www.astahost.com/info.php/Arete-Agon-Krino-Krisis-Judging_t11832.html
======================================================
Matt 7:7

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." NIV

I realize that this works only in the English and not the original Greek - but take the First letter of each independant clause and you get:

A S K

I think this is so important!!!!!

When witnessing and discussing the bible with someone who does not believe, I often tell them:

'Don't believe me - go to the source. Talk to God and say you are confused - admit you do not know - and ASK Him to reveal the Truth to you. If you do that with a sincere heart, I believe when you pick up the bible you will see things differently (the veil or blinders will be removed from your eyes).'
======================================================
Matt 7:14

"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

One of satan's greatest deceptions is not to deny Christ, but to use theology that acknowledges Christ, believes He came to save, but stops short of a the full deal. You can believe - but never talks about "receiving" Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Someone once said that the two biggest surprises he would get in heaven are the people who are there, and the people who are not there.

All we can do is pray. One should be sure about his own salvation, and by the fruits you can be sure of some others. And some people you just keep praying to God about. You cannot judge them, but you can pray for them. Keep it between you and God.

[Wendy Labrum]

I keep a prayer journal on my Bible desk. I include New prayer requests (I get emails from a Churh), Ongoing prayer requests, Answers to prayer and Praises. When my daughter moved out, I turned her bedroon into my Bible room. I can't pray in a closet so this is the closest thing I have when I pray in secret....I shut the door. I blessed the room and I feel it is sanctified.

[DeeDee]

One thing from yesterdays readings in Genesis 15 that our pastor spoke on last night in church: verse 11, And when the birds of prey swooped down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. Here God was blessing Abram with him Abramic covenent and told Abraham to bring to him, a heifer 3 years old, a she-goat 3 years old, a ram 3, a turtledove and a young pigeon and when Abram sacrificed that sweet offering up to the Lord, immediately "satan, -birds of prey" tried to still the blessing. God doesn't drive away satan from our path, just like Abram drove the prey away from the carcasses of his offering, we have to do the same thing. When we have in our "Spirit-man" our goal and mission of what the Lord wants for us to do with our life, or our situation, we can't let Satan or our fareweather friends or our family talk us out of our blessing, we have to obtain it, and we can't let our flesh man jerk it from us either, our old carcass of our self that lies in wait and preys on snatching our deliverance from us, the flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing, we mush keep the "old-man" under our feet and keep on pressing on. God bless each and every one of you for our wonderful day! We did it, one whole week of the Word-such life to our bodies!~~

[John A.]

The Angel of the Lord

Hebrew word for angel - "mlak" means messenger. Who is this messenger of the Lord? An angel, a special angel, God, Jesus? there is much discussion on this topic.

The actual Hebrew is "mlak ieue" translated messenger of Yahweh. Whoa there is no "the". What gives?

Two Hebrew rules of grammar:
"In Hebrew the definiteness of a noun and that of its modifiers are in agreement."
"If the genitive is definite, the phrase is definite; the genitive may be definite because it bears the article or a suffix or because it is a name."

In this case both the rules are in agreement on these words:
"So, in our case, with 'angel of YHWH', if YHWH is definite, then angel is definite (i.e., 'the angel' in English)."
"Since YHWH is treated as a proper name in the OT (and sometimes like a title), it is always definite as 'intrinsically definite' (Waltke/O'Connor, section 13.4a). This would mean that ANYTIME you see 'malik YHWH' it is to be translated as "THE angel of YHWH" or "THE angel of THE LORD" (both definite)."

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/nothe.html

So "the angel of the Lord" is a correct translation.
====================================================== The angel of the Lord has three interesting clues regarding identity in the passage with Hagar.

1) 10 "The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants..." It doesn't say 'the Lord says, I will... The angel says "he" will increase.
2) 11"...for the LORD has heard of your misery." Refers to the Lord as another person.
3)13 "She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her:..." The author says the speaker is God.

So, the angel of the Lord speaks with authority, refers to the Lord, and is the Lord?

This is great stuff for skeptics, and big headache for Jewish rabbis. However it is easily resolved if you believe in the Trinity. The angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ. He is God and can speak authoratatively, He can refer to the Father in heaven, and Jesus is God.

In the OT the Son and the Father may not be used, but the roles in the Trinity have never changed. (God is immutable). Jesus while equal has always deferred to the Father (in the same way that wives while equal to the husband defer to the husband in NT), and would certainly agree to come down and visit Hagar.

In addition, I believe, that "the angel of the Lord" is a TITLE. Jesus is the pre-eminent messenger of the Lord. If you do a word search and look at the Hebrew for angel in OT, you will see that introducing an angel or referring to an angel never takes the construct like "the angel of the Lord"

Hope this gives you something to think about.

[John A.]

Circumcision: Only one day Scientifically the Best day to perform procedure.

"Among the intriguing proofs of the Bible’s inspiration is its unique scientific foreknowledge. From anthropology to zoology, the Bible presents astonishingly accurate scientific information that the writers, on their own, simply could not have known."

DAY EIGHT is the perfect day to perform a surgery on an infant. How so?

"In humans, blood clotting is dependent upon three factors: (a) platelets; (b) vitamin K; and (c) prothrombin. In 1935, professor H. Dam proposed the name “vitamin K” for the factor that helped prevent hemorrhaging in chicks. We now realize that vitamin K is responsible for the production (by the liver) of prothrombin. If vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombin deficiency and hemorrhaging may occur.

Interestingly, it is only on the fifth to seventh days of a newborn’s life that vitamin K (produced by the action of bacteria in the intestinal tract) is present in adequate quantities. Vitamin K—coupled with prothrombin—causes blood coagulation, which is important in any surgical procedure.

On the eighth day, the amount of prothrombin present actually is elevated above 100 percent of normal. In fact, day eight is the only day in the male’s life in which this will be the case under normal conditions. If surgery is to be performed, day eight is the perfect day to do it."

All quotes come from this foot-noted link:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2467

How did the Hebrews know to perform circumsion on the ABSOLUTE best day to perform surgery on an infant? When the information would not be available until 1,000's of years later? If you are a skeptic, I guess you would say "lucky guess". If you are a believer you know it is because the instruction came from a perfect God who knows all.

Hope you enjoyed and were inspired by this info as much as I was when discovering these facts.

[Raeann]

In Genesis I have a basic problem with how people treated other people, it seems so inhumane to me to think that people actually thought that this was an acceptable practice. I love the Beatitudes. "For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

[Raeann]

I start praying a prayer that I have used since childhood, I pray for my family on a nightly basis, it varies what other people I pray for each night: service personel and there families, politicians, ministers to lead GOD's flock effectively and world peace. I have now added that I hope my congregation will be successfull in reading GOD's WORD in a year. http://www.fpcinv.org I drift off to sleep trying to memorize a short verse of Scripture each day.

[John A.]

Raeann,

"In Genesis I have a basic problem with how people treated other people,"

Would you mind elaborating on your thought? In general or with specific examples would be fine.

It is an interesting and perceptive comment.

[Peggy]

I find it very interesting that I've been a christian for 40 years and this is the first time I have ever heard reference to the possibility that Jesus was present incarnate in the old testatment. Just proves to me that I made the right decision to join this group and shows it's never too late to learn something new.

[Raeann]

The way Sarah treats Hagar and Ishmael.

[Robert]

More of a question, Genesis Ch. 3 states that the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made. I always assumed the serpent was Satan. Satan is a fallen Angel! How did this beast God made become crafty. Did Satan enter this beast or did Satan use this beast to deceive Man.Any thoughts on this?