Our only hope is in the precious blood of Jesus Christ. His blood shed for the salvation of the world.
Genesis 6:5-12 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 18:1-15 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. 9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.” 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!” 16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
Nothing is impossible with God. Two Angels appeared with the Lord repeating to Abraham that He would fulfill the promises made to him. He and his offspring would be a blessing to the world. The Abrahamic Covenant would be carried out because the promises of God are never void. The signs of our times rest in the promises of God to the nation of Israel.
God loves the world that He created but He will not tolerate violence. He is long suffering but He will put an end to evil in His timing. Jesus when asked about the end said that it would be as in the times of Noah. Our only hope is in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. All those who believe in Him will be saved. We are washed in the unmerited and undeserved Blood of the Lamb. The whole of John 3:16-18 will come to pass. Carla
The reason for the flood is the great evil of humanity. The only (possible) exception is Noah, who is described as “righteous” and “blameless” (verse 9).
Anthropomorphisms—the attribution of human characteristics to God—suggest that God feels emotions as a result of human behavior.
Does God Change His Mind? The Hebrew verb used here, machah—which may be translated “to erase” or “to remove completely”—often appears in contexts where something is washed away or erased with water (Numbers 5:23; 2 Kings 21:13).
God’s wrath extends well beyond the destruction of humanity for their evil. Either the animals named here also contributed to the wickedness on earth, or their destruction is collateral damage. Most likely their destruction emphasizes that violence and evil have totally corrupted God’s originally good creation—damaged beyond repair.
God’s choice of Noah is not necessarily connected to Noah’s character, although his honorable character is also mentioned in Genesis 6:9. Noah finding favor in God’s eyes means only that God is inclined to help him. Following God’s statement that He will blot out all living things, the fact that He favors Noah provides hope for the salvation of a remnant. Faithlife Study Bible
The Hebrew word for giants means “fallen ones” (from the verb meaning “to fall”). Many ancient cultures have legends of titans and demigods. This verse appears to be explaining this common memory of humankind. This language “was sorry” is what theologians call anthropopathic that is, the Lord is described as having human emotions (Numbers 23:19). In these words we sense the passion of the Lord. He had desired so much from humanity—and was overwhelmingly disappointed.Humanity’s ruin extends to all living things that God had made on the earth.
But Noah: In this contrast lies the hope of all of subsequent human history! Were there not a man and a family who by God’s grace stood out from the wickedness of their day, there would have been a new beginning on the part of God that would have omitted all of us!
Genealogy (or family histories) is found in ten significant passages in Genesis (see the list at 2:4).
These words together for just and perfect mean “genuine righteousness” (in contrast to the others of Noah’s time). The phrase walked with God is also used of Enoch in 5:22, 24. It indicates a continual pattern of life—a marked contrast with the pattern of life of the rest of the peoples of the world at the time!
These three sons, first mentioned in 5:32, will form the family tree of the nations following the Flood. The verb translated corrupt has the idea of being ruined, spoiled, or destroyed. Sinful people were bringing ruin to the world that belonged to the living God (Psalm 24:1). The NKJV Study Bible
Psalm 14:1–3
The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God…
2 Peter 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
Genesis 19:19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
Exodus 33:16–17 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
Once upon a time there was a wise abbot of a monastery who was the friend of an equally wise rabbi. This was in the old country, long ago, when times were always hard, but just then they were even worse. The abbot’s community was dwindling, and the faith life of his monks was fearful, weak and anxious. He went to his friend and wept. His friend, the Rabbi, comforted him, and said “there is something you need to know, my brother. We have long known in the Jewish community that the Messiah is one of you.”
"What,” exclaimed the abbot, “the Messiah is one of us? How can this be?”
But the Rabbi insisted that it was so, and the abbot went back to his monastery wondering and praying, comforted and excited. Once back in the monastery, he would pass by a monk and wonder if he was the one. Sitting in chapel, praying, he would hear a voice and look intently at a face and wonder, is he the one. The abbot had always been kind, but now began to treat all of his brothers with profound kindness and awe, ever deeper respect, even reverence.
Soon everyone noticed.
One of the other brothers came to him and asked him what had happened to him.
After some coaxing, the abbot told him what the rabbi had said. Soon the other monk was looking at his brothers differently, with deeper respect and wondering. Word spread quickly: the Messiah is one of us. The monastery was suddenly full of life, worship, love and grace. The prayer life was rich and passionate, devoted, [...] and services were alive and vibrant. Soon the surrounding villagers came to the services, listening and watching intently, and many joined the community of monks. After their novitiate, when they took their vows, they were told the mystery, the truth that their life was based upon, the source of their strength, the richness of their life together: The Messiah is one of us.
The monastery grew and expanded into house after house, and the monks grew in wisdom and grace before each other and in the eyes of God. And they say still, that if you stumble across this place where there is life and hope and kindness and graciousness, that the secret is the same: The Messiah is one of us.
(Excerpted from Mary: Shadow of Grace, by Megan McKenna)
When the fire goes out, we are unable to see the DNA inside—we are (every single one of us), created in the image of God.
My confession, there are times when I don’t see it. Or don’t believe it.
Maybe you can relate. So. It is not surprising that when that happens, we therefore do not see the image of God in those around us. Sabbath Moments
No comments:
Post a Comment