Genesis 26

Many factors in life may be intergenerational; these may include blessings, wealth, behaviors and patterns of living. Isaac received some of these from Abraham. God extended His promises, given to Abraham, to Isaac, “because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge,” (26:5). Sadly, Isaac probably learned of his father’s poor judgment in claiming Sarah, his wife, as his sister (20:1-11), and Isaac chose to copy that behavior, (26:6-11).

Just as God had prospered Abraham, he prospered Isaac until he was very wealthy and had large flocks that needed much water. Though the Philistines had closed the wells that Abraham had dug, Isaac’s servants knew where they were and dug them out again to get water. Perhaps the most important thing that can be learned from past believers is concerning their obedience, not their failures. Obedience to God will bless any generation.

Genesis 25

Genesis 25:1 records almost incidentally the remarriage of Abraham after the death of Sarah and then the death of Abraham himself at the age of 175 years, “an old man, satisfied with life,” (25:1-8). Then the genealogy of Isaac and Ishmael are mentioned. The genealogy of Ishmael ends with, “they settled….east of Egypt….in defiance of all his relatives”, v18.

Actions grow out of values. The defiance and conflict in Ishmael’s family is mirrored in Isaac’s sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau, the oldest, owns the birthright that Jacob coveted. Jacob was able to cheat him and get possession of the birthright only because “Esau despised his birthright,” (v34). Being a believer does not make us immune to the sins of jealousy, resentment and coveting or of holding wrong values. We must be willing for the Holy Spirit to discipline and cleanse us. Our example must be Jesus, not Abraham, Jacob or anyone else.

Matthew 9

“Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven” (v2). When the paralytic man was carried to Jesus, He saw the sincere, desperate faith of those who had brought their friend. Surprisingly, Jesus offered even more than they asked: forgiveness. The religious leaders knew that offering forgiveness was more radical than healing, and they accused Jesus of blasphemy. But many “harassed and helpless” people recognized their own need, both physical and spiritual, and Jesus answered their cries (v36).

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages ... proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (v35). Only our own pride and self-righteousness can keep us from what Jesus offers. He is full of compassion and mercy (v36).

Matthew 8:18-34

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go” (v19). Like any famous Rabbi, Jesus had many who wished to “follow” Him. But Jesus explained that following Him was a radical, life-changing commitment. The One who commanded wind and waves (v27) and cast out demons with a word (v32) called His followers to surrender their whole hearts and futures. “The Son of Man has no where to lay his head” (v20); therefore, His disciples are called to make their home in Him.

“What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (v27). When we surrender all to Him, the Lord of creation knows how to care for us and include us in His rescuing, reconciling work in the world.

Matthew 8:1-17

“When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him ...” (v1). Israel’s most important teacher, prophet, and leader was Moses. But now Jesus, coming down “from the mountain,” surpassed Moses (Heb 3:2). Through the law of Moses, Israel understood holy and unholy, clean and unclean, and lived by those distinctions. But Jesus was Holiness himself. Nothing impure could corrupt Him. He touched and healed the unclean leper (v3) and responded to the Roman centurion.

“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (v17). Through the law, God revealed His righteousness, but in the perfect Son, He experienced our sorrows and carried our sins to the cross. United with Him, we can be forgiven and healed.

Psalm 6

We like battles and struggles to end with banners and celebration, but that is not always our experience. In Psalm 6:1,2 David indicates that whatever he is experiencing, he is at least partially to blame. It is the darkest night of his soul, “Do not rebuke me in your wrath … I am pining away.” His description of his distress, (v 2-7) suggests a multiplicity of problems for which he has no solution. His health is gone, he weeps instead of sleeping. The stress has affected his sight and aged his body. But even during this, faith finds expression.

The Lord had seen his tears, heard his supplication and received his prayer (vs 8,9). He is convinced that God will bring his enemies to shame. There are no banners of celebration, just deep confidence. God sees, hears and acts; sometimes that rest is the best victory we can have.

Genesis 23-24

“See to it that you do not take my son back there” (24:6). After Sarah’s death (ch 23), the future of Abraham’s family lay with the next generation. Abraham commissioned his servant to go back to Mesopotamia – “my country and my kindred” (24:4) – to find Isaac a wife and bring her to Canaan. Abraham was committed to God’s call (to multiply his family in Canaan) and was not willing to compromise. Rebekah was God’s provision.

“The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way” (24:40). As we step out in faith, we can trust that the God who calls us to obedience will provide whatever we need for “life and godliness” (II Peter 1:3).

Genesis 22

“God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (v8). Isaac was the child of divine promise, and he was also Abraham’s earthly hope for a family line, generational wealth, help in his old age, and public honor in a family-centric society. God asked Abraham to put all this on the altar as a test. In an unimaginable act of faith, Abraham obeyed. God immediately provided a ram in place of Isaac, demonstrating that He did not want bloodshed. Instead, He was the source of everything Abraham needed and desired.

“The Lord will provide ...” (v14). Faith means we throw ourselves into God’s hands without reservation, trusting Him as Savior, Provider, Redeemer. His blessing changes everything (v17).

Genesis 21

“The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised” (v21). Sarah, who had not born children when she was young, gave birth in her old age. The gift of Isaac was “laughter” (v6); he symbolized grace and favor not just for her and Abraham, but ultimately for the whole world. God did not forget Abraham’s son Ishmael (he would become “a great nation” v18), yet Isaac was the miracle child of promise, foretaste of another promised Child to come.

“Through Isaac your offspring shall be named” (v12). Paul tells us that by faith in Christ we, like Isaac, are “children of promise” (Gal 4:28). When all hope was gone, God sent His Son to save us.

Genesis 20

“In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this” (v5). Although God was working out His plan of salvation through Abraham, Abimelech’s integrity and conversation with “the Lord” revealed that God cared for and spoke to others in the land. Abimelech’s righteous intentions, in fact, contrast with Abraham’s self-serving lies about Sarah (v11-13). When Abraham’s lack of faith nearly resulted in disaster for Sarah and their descendants, God intervened to save them all (v3).

“Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech ...” (v17). Through God’s mercy, Abraham still ending up blessing Abimelech’s family. Even when our faith falters, the God who “works all things together for good” looks for ways to bring healing, restoration, and blessing.

Matthew 7:14-29

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father” (v21). Jesus rejected the idea that one could claim His name without loving and following His kingdom ways. Those who did “mighty works” in His name but had no interest in heart change would hear the terrible words, “I never knew you” (v23). He warned against “false prophets” who claimed faith but lived ungodly lives (v15-20).

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (v24). When we trust Jesus as our Savior-King, we are willing to build our lives on His words.

Matthew 7:1-13

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (v3). According to Jesus, human religion focuses on criticizing others and ignoring our own wrongdoing. Even worse, we may justify great sin in ourselves while pointing out someone’s smaller error (v4). Jesus taught his followers to deal with their own hearts first (v5) and to humbly ask for what we need (v7-10). Instead of imitating the world’s cruelty, Jesus calls us to initiate the kindness and fairness we hope to receive (v12).

“Enter by the narrow gate” (v13). The way of Jesus does not fit with the norms of society. When we choose His radical, narrow, surprising path, we find life.

Psalm 5

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you” (v4). The psalmist was convinced that God was not just a divine force of power; instead, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had revealed Himself as holy. He hates lies and violence (v6); He is against those who harm others by manipulation and threats (v9-10). The psalmist asked this God of “steadfast love” to lead him not in the ways of wicked men, but in the way of righteousness (v7-8).

“I will bow down toward your holy temple ... make your way straight before me” (v8). In a world that normalizes deceit, violence, and immorality, our heart’s longing is to walk in the straight paths of our Lord.

Genesis 18-19

“For I have chosen him, that he may command his children ... to keep the way of the Lord” (18:19). Just after “the Lord appeared” to Abraham and confirmed that Sarah would soon be pregnant (18:1), Lot and his family became caught up in the terrible destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (18:22). The attempted gang rape of Lot’s guests revealed the twisted cruelty of the population (ch 19), and Lot’s family barely escaped. Amid the “very grave” evil of the times (18:20), God chose Abraham’s family to demonstrate “righteousness and justice” (18:18).

“... All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (18:18). Those who trust and obey God, resisting sin and following Him, shine brightly in a dark world.

Genesis 17

“I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly” (v1-2). God called Abraham to follow Him, initiating a special relationship, and Abraham responded in faith. Circumcision was the sign of this covenant between God and Abraham and Abraham’s descendants (v11). Significantly, the family would not multiply naturally, but through supposedly infertile Sarah and the miracle baby Isaac (v19).

“And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you” (v7). Through His interactions with Abraham’s family, the Lord revealed His goodness to a sinful world. His promises were ultimately fulfilled through Abraham’s descendant, Jesus, whose “new covenant” makes us all “Abraham’s offspring” (Luke 22:20, Gal 3:29).

Genesis 16

“So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing’” (v13). Sarai and Abram’s frustrations with ten years of waiting for a child led them to the disastrous choice of using Hagar as a concubine- surrogate. When, unsurprisingly, this plan produced conflict, Hagar fled into the desert. But the Lord found her there and spoke to her. The runaway slave, mother of Ishmael, experienced God’s mercy and love. “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me” (v13).

“Where are you going?” (v8). As He did with Adam and Eve, and Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar, the Lord “sees” us in our self-created troubles. Instead of turning His back, He reaches out His hand of mercy.

Genesis 15

“And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (v6). God had promised to give Abram descendants, and now the Lord confirmed that He was Abram’s “shield” and source of reward (v1). But Abram had “no offspring” and wondered how and when God would fulfill His promise (v3). Bringing Abram outside, God commanded him to look at the night sky, filled with stars: “So shall your offspring be” (v5). Abram trusted that God would do what He said.

“Fear not ... I am the Lord” (v1,7). Our capacity to follow Jesus obediently, with courage – as Abraham followed God – flows from our trust in His character. He is good, He loves us, and He is trustworthy.

Matthew 6:19-34

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v21). According to Jesus, wherever we put our treasure (our time, our money, our attention) becomes the controlling center of our lives. He offers us the chance to “lay up treasures in heaven” – to make God and His kingdom the center of our affections and our highest goal. When we do, we know that our investment is secure (His kingdom is unshakeable) and that we do not have to live in anxious desperation (v25).

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (v33). Following King Jesus opens the door to a joyful life that goes beyond the daily struggle, now and for eternity.

Matthew 6:1-18

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (v1). Jesus taught his followers that to have a real relationship with the Father, they would need to live for His presence and approval, not the opinions of others. Instead of public displays of religious tradition, giving, praying, and fasting should be private matters of devotion to the One who matters most (v5-8).

“Your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (v6). God rejoices when we make steps toward Him. As we pray “your kingdom come” (v10), He helps us become people who genuinely desire His reign in our own lives.

Psalm 4

“Who will show us some good?” (v6). This is the universal question of men and women everywhere, in every generation. Who will give us a better life, more security, more happiness? How will we make our “grain and new wine” increase? (v7). Sadly, by believing “vain words” and “lies” (v2), we end up with shame instead of the life God desires for us (v2). He calls us to put our trust in Him alone and discover the joy of knowing Him (v5,7).

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwellin safety” (v8). The real treasure is the gift of a quiet and peaceful heart, at rest in the care of our Father.