Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Genesis 26-27; Psalm 4; Matthew 7

Genesis 26: What did Isaac tell Abimelech about Rebekah? Where did Isaac and Rebekah finally settle?  Who did Esau marry?

Genesis 27: Why did Esau want to kill Jacob?

Matthew 7: What comes before receiving from God?  What do verses 21-23 communicate about our salvation? Are you astonished (v. 28) when you read Jesus’ teachings?

Journal Prompt: How are you like the wise builder in Matthew 7:24?

Answers:

Genesis 26:  Here we see a familiar pattern:  Isaac told Abimelech that Rebekah was his sister – just as Abraham had done with Sarah. Note: The ruler of Gerar was called Abimelech as a title, not as a personal name. This is why both Abraham and Isaac dealt with Abimelech (Genesis 20, Genesis 26).  Isaac and Rebekah first settled in Gerar, land of the Philistines, then because of disputes with the people of the land, they ended up in Beersheba. Beer-sheva is a thriving city today – known as the Capital of the Negev. Esau married Basemath, the daughter of a Hitite.

Genesis 27: Esau wanted to kill Jacob because he was cheated out of his birthright (his inheritance) and his father’s blessing.

Matthew 7: Before receiving we are to ask, before finding we are to seek and before the door is opened, we are to knock. To me this implies that we have a very active role in prayer. We must be strategic and remember that our prayers – our effective, heartfelt prayers matter to God. He desires to give, to provide, to open the door, but we must be diligent and disciplined in this process as well!

Verses 21-23 communicate that you cannot take salvation for granted.  Salvation is huge – it’s all encompassing and it’s not given lightly.  I heard an illustration about this just last week in the D.R.  Imagine you are out camping in the Rocky Mountains, and at the end of the day you are sitting by the campfire relaxing.  All of a sudden your friend reaches out and flicks a tick off of your shoulder.  You are certainly glad that he noticed the tick and cared to brush it away.  Now imagine that a huge grizzly bear comes bounding into the campsite.  It’s growling and obviously ready to devour you, but your friend, stands up in front of the bear and yells to you, “run, run, get out” and so you do and you escape. You know that your friend has no chance of survival – that he sacrificed his life for you.  What would your response be?  Most likely you would feel overwhelming gratitude and you would want his family to know what he did for you – and to let everyone else know that he died so that you could live. That is salvation.  It’s not flicking a bug off your shoulder and going on to live your life as if nothing really changed.   It’s a life-changing experience that leaves you forever grateful to your savior. 

So if you are ‘saved’ but are living your life just as you did before and thinking that the sins that you are committing are no big deal,  then something is not right.  If there is no fruit in your life, if you are committing the same sin over and over, then it’s time to get on your knees and plead for mercy from Jesus.  He died so that you might have life – that you might be saved.  Ask Him to forgive your sins, and ask Him into your life.  Accept Him as your Savior and walk in His light.