Connecting the dots in Scripture the big picture of God’s creation tells the story of God’s intervention in the lives of humanity. We do not like change and we are more concerned with our control and our power than His. In the days of Abrahams’ father Nimrod put in place the practice of paganism. BUT God, in Jesus, destroyed satan’s plans. Through the Abrahamic covenant God’s plan for salvation will be carried out. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin. By their choosing the knowledge of good and evil mankind was convicted. The power of sin and the fight to remove it became our reality.
Genesis 11:31-32 And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
God waited until the death of Abraham’s father Terah to call him out of idolatry. He separated him from the pagan world and called him into faith in the one true God.
Joshua 24:2-5 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The little nation of Israel was called out to become a great nation that would be a blessing to the whole earth. This was accomplished in the finished work of the Cross. In Jesus, the King of the Jews, the world would be offered salvation. He conquered sin and death and to all who by faith trust in Him there is eternal peace with God.
Zechariah 9:9
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Psalm 22:7-28
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13 They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
Psalm 22:27 -28
All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
Jesus, the Redeemer King of Israel, was prophesied by King David. A thousand years before His coming the facts of the birth, death and resurrection of His coming was foretold. The Kingdom is the Lord’s and He alone rules over all the nations. God’s will is accomplished in the finished work of the Cross. Carla
The scope of the psalmist’s praise extends beyond faithful Israelites (Psalm 22:22–23) as he invites all the earth to remember and turn to Yahweh. He shows that Yahweh is not just God over Israel, but over all the nations (Isaiah 2:2–5). The rule of God’s divine kingship extends beyond Israel (Psalm 2:10–12). Faithlife Study Bible
All the ends of the world: For David, these words refer to the spread of the news of his deliverance to places far outside of Judah. For the Savior Jesus, these words speak of the eventual spread of the gospel of redemption to all the families of the nations, a fulfillment of God’s promise that He would bless all nations through Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 12:3). Those who go down to the dust is a common biblical expression for physical death and the resulting decay. The NKJV Study Bible
Psalm 2:8
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
Psalm 47:7–8
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
Psalm 86:9
All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
Zechariah 14:9
And the LORD shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be“The LORD is one,”
And His name one.
Obadiah 21
Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
“What radicalized you?”
“Well, in preschool I was told to treat people the way I would want to be treated, and it made sense. I really don’t know what else there is to say.”
And I say, Yes, and Amen.
Or, we can put it in Jimi Hendrix’s words, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, we will know peace.”
Our choice is clear from the start: If we want to be his disciples, we won’t be able to simply coast along and conform to the norms of our society. We must choose a different definition of well-being, a different model of success, a new identity with a new set of values…
We’ll be tempted, no doubt, to let ourselves be tamed, toned down, shut up, and glossed over. But Jesus means for us to stand apart from the status quo, to stand up for what matters, and to stand out as part of the solution rather than part of the problem. He means for our lives to overcome the blandness and darkness of evil with the salt and light of good works. Instead of drawing attention to ourselves, those good works will point toward God. ‘Wow,’ people will say, ‘when I see the goodness and kindness of your lives, I can believe there’s a good and kind God out there, too.’’’
(Brian D. McLaren, We Make the Road by Walking.
Excerpt from “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey
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