As we prepare for 2025 we can pray God intervene in our lives, in the lives of those we love and all of our neighbors. In their peace we have peace.
Exodus 19:8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
Abraham by faith believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Through him Israel became God’s covenant people. They were to be a kingdom of priests to serve God. God is sovereign and all things are His and under His control. It was a works religion based on the moral law of the 10 commandments.
Exodus 21:1 -36 Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them:
The civil law was established by the more than 600 moral laws made by the Israelites. These judgements were set by God.
Exodus 28:1 Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest,
The ritual part of the ecclesiastical law was established for the priests. The priesthood was given for the religious system that would carry out worship. It all pointed to the shed blood of Jesus the Christ that would wash them clean from their sins. The blood of animals could only temporarily cleanse them from sins but only Jesus, all God/all man could cleanse us completely and forever.
Ephesians 2:11-13 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Gentiles included all the people of the world that were not of Jewish descent. In them, starting with Abraham, the world would be blessed. Once strangers from the covenants we are now brought near to God in Jesus. The Jews were elected to be the chosen people and through them to bring knowledge of God to the world. Carla
Paul urges the Gentile believers to recall their life before Christ, just as the Israelites were often told to remember what God had done for them.
Uncircumcision was a derogatory term emphasizing that non-Jewish people are outsiders in relation to God’s covenant with Israel. This category includes most members of the churches planted or empowered by Paul. The Greek word used here, cheiropoiētos, portrays circumcision as a human rite. In the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), this word is used to refer to idols.
Paul may be emphasizing the Gentiles’ lack of knowledge or relationship with Christ. Alternatively, he may be comparing the Gentiles to the Jews, whom God entrusted with the promises about the Messiah. Gentiles were separate from Israel; they were without the law and without God. Despite this separation, God revealed Himself to them through Christ and called them to Himself. In addition, Paul was made a minister to them. Alienated from the citizenship of Israel refers to the covenants between God and His people in the Old Testament. Paul probably is referring to the covenants God made with Abraham (Genesis 15:7–21; 17:1–21), Isaac (Genesis 26:2–5), Jacob (Genesis 28:13–15), Moses (Exodus 24:1–8), and David (2 Samuel 7:14–16). Each of these covenants involved a promise from God. Faithlife Study Bible
Because the sign of the Abrahamic covenant was circumcision, the Jews proudly referred to themselves as the Circumcision. Somewhat less kindly, they called Gentiles the Uncircumcision.
workmanship ( Gk. poiēma) (2:10; Rom. 1:20) Strong’s #4161: The word literally means “a thing made”; it comes into English as poem. The word indicates a handiwork, a masterpiece. God’s church is His “poem,” His masterpiece, His workmanship, just as all creation is (Psalms 19:1; Romans 1:20). As He is the Author of His handiwork, He should get all the credit (Psalms 19:1–6).
Paul painted vividly the bleak condition of pagans. They had no hope, for God had not reached out to them to establish a covenant relationship. However, the shed blood of Christ could bring the Gentiles back to their Creator. The NKJV Study Bible
Ephesians 2:2–3 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
Ephesians 2:17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Genesis 2:4 (ESV) "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens."
God did chose to communicate His Truth using a style the original culture could readily understand, which sometimes means the stories in Scripture have similarities to other narratives in Ancient Near East.
The second section of Genesis (12-50), the story of Israel, started with one man named Abram (also called Abraham) and God's stated purpose to bless the entire world through him (Genesis 12:1-3). Throughout the stories of Abram's family, we'll see a lot of brokenness, but God gently corrected His people and reestablished order, all while moving the storyline toward His promised blessing for all peoples through one family.
The goal of all Scripture is to testify about God's redemptive plan (John 5:39), and Genesis gives us a view into how that plan has been taking shape since the beginning. Perhaps most importantly, Genesis introduces us not only to what our God is doing but to who our God is and how He's so very good. First5
“My faith demands—this is not optional—my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.” Jimmy Carter
And a reminder—mostly to myself—that within each of us there is a light. And that this light—of hope or dignity or delight or passion or justice or beauty or wonder or grace—still shines, regardless of the dirt that may cover it. Yes, there are times we forget. However, there are also times when a simple act of kindness, or gift of compassion, rekindles the light in our own spirit. This gift we give to another, becomes a gift we gratefully receive. Sabbath Moments
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