Genesis 33
Jacob meets a friendly Esauverses 1-4
And Jacob lifted up his eyes – and looked – and BEHOLD
Esau came and with him four hundred men
And he divided the children to Leah – and to Rachel
and to the two handmaids
and he put the handmaids and their children foremost
and Leah and her children after
and Rachel and Joseph last of all
And he passed over before them
and bowed himself to the ground SEVEN times
until he came near to his brother
And Esau ran to meet him – and EMBRACED him
and fell on his neck – and KISSED him
and they WEPT
Esau asks about the family of Jacobverses 5-7
And he lifted up his eyes – and saw the women and the children
and said Who are those with you?
And he said
The children whom God has graciously given your servant
THEN the handmaidens came near – they and their children
and they bowed themselves
And Leah also with her children came near – and bowed themselves
and after came Joseph near and Rachel
and they bowed themselves
Esau accepts the gift of Jacobverses 8-11
And he said
What mean you by all this drove which I met?
And he said
These are to find GRACE in the sight of my lord
And Esau said – I have ENOUGH – my brother
keep what you have to yourself
And Jacob said – Nay – I pray you
IF now I have found GRACE in your sight
THEN receive my present at my hand
FOR therefore I have seen your face
as though I had seen the face of God
and you was pleased with me
Take – I pray you – my blessing that is brought to you
BECAUSE God has dealt GRACIOUSLY with me
and BECAUSE I have ENOUGH
And he urged him and he took it
Esau offers help to Jacobverses 12-15
And he said – Let us take our journey – and let us go
and I will go before you
And he said to him
My lord knows that the children are tender
and the flocks and herds with young are with me
and IF men should overdrive them one day
all the flock will die
Let my lord – I pray you – pass over before his servant
and I will lead on softly – according as the cattle that
goes before me and the children be able to endure
until I come unto my lord to Seir
And Esau said
Let me now leave with you some of the folk that are with me
And he said – What need it?
let me find GRACE in the sight of my lord
Jacob builds house on Succothverses 16-17
SO Esau returned that day on his way to Seir
and Jacob journeyed to Succoth – and built him an house
and made booths for his cattle
THEREFORE the name of the place is
called Succoth
Jacob builds altar in Shalemverses 18-20
And Jacob came to Shalem – a city of Shechem
which is in the land of Canaan
when he came from Paddanaram
and pitched his tent before the city
And he bought a portion of the field
where he had spread his tent
at the hand of the children of Hamor
Shechem’s father
FOR an hundred pieces of money
And he erected there an ALTAR
and called it El-elohe-Israel [God, the God of Israel]
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. (7323 “ran” [ruwts] means to move fast using your feet, swiftly, or speedily)
DEVOTION: Family is sometimes difficult. Here we have a brother who hated his brother and wanted to kill him twenty years ago. Now we find that during that time his attitude had changed. Who changed his attitude? It seems that the LORD had promised Jacob or Israel that HE would give him a safe trip home.
God had changed the mind of Laban. God had changed the mind of Abimelech. We have Esau meeting his brother with a warm embrace. It seems that he had a change of mind regarding hating his brother.
So God worked out the details of Israel’s return to his brother. His father was still alive but his mother was not. His mother never saw this reunion. She wanted to protect her son and it happened but it was really the LORD working out all the details.
This is true in our relationship with other believers and even family. God can make the difference. Christians should be able to work out their differences with the help of the LORD.
Do you have any relationships that need the LORD to help you restore? If that is true you need to wait on the LORD through prayer. HE has the power to restore any broken relationship between our personal family or our spiritual family. Give HIM the time to restore. Never close the door. Never give up.
Jacob or Israel thought it was impossible for his brother to love him again but God showed him that he was wrong. Nothing is impossible with the LORD. We need to believe this truth also.
Another truth is that Esau’s children and descendents didn’t have a good relationship the children of the Israel in the future. God judged them for their hatred of the descendents of Israel.
CHALLENGE: Turn all your personal relationships over to the LORD and HE will work to restore a relationship if it is for our good. HE does everything for our good in our life.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children, and said, Who are those with you? And he said, The children which God has graciously given your servant. (2603 “graciously” [chanan] means to favor, to show compassion, to be inclined towards, to be favorably inclined, generous, have mercy, or give them to us voluntarily)
DEVOTION: Children are important in the culture of the day. Jacob introduces his children to his brother. There is an interest in children. Some of the children might have been grown up into their late teens.
Family is important in all cultures. I find that those who come from Asian nations are important to their parents. Their education is important especially to the female children. It seems that it is required for them to receive a college degree before they can be married.
In the eyes of the LORD children are important. HE gives instructions to parents in many of the books of the Bible. HE wants parents to raise their children properly in their relationship to HIM. HE wants them to make a priority of introducing children to proper worship of the LORD. The training of children includes giving to the LORD, communicating with the LORD and living for the LORD in general.
God is said to graciously give children to a family. All we have comes from the LORD. We don’t deserve children but God can give them. Remember that HE can open and close the womb of married women.
CHALLENGE: We should always be thankful for our children. They are a blessing.
: 11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. (3605 “enough” [kowl] means whole, all, every, totality or whatsoever. 7227 “enough” (Esau) [rab] means abundant, exceedingly, full, much, plenteous, or sufficient)
DEVOTION: Two brothers meet after over twenty years. Jacob left with the thought that his brother was going to kill him. On his return he thought he had prepared for the worst. He had divided up his possessions and personal, so that; if one group got attacked the others would be safe. He still feared his brother, even though; he had wrestled with God the night before.
Jacob offered a gift to his brother of 550 animals. It was a large gift. Esau responded to the gift in the negative with a statement that he had plenty of possessions already. He refused the gift.
However, Jacob knew that the LORD has blessed him. He knew that all that he had come from God. He knew that God would provide for his future needs. He was offering Esau the gift because of these facts. When Jacob told Esau that he was totality full of possessions, Esau accepted the gift.
Are we satisfied with all that the LORD has given us? Are we totality full today of the blessings the LORD has in store for us. Are we living with contentment on a daily basis? These are questions that every believer has to face on a daily basis. Why? Because so often the world teaches us that we need more. They redefine how much will make us full. They always imply that God is not giving us all that we need.
The temptation is to believe the world. The temptation is to believe that our neighbors have more than we do and that we need to at least match them to be happy.
Jacob was alive. Jacob was happy that his brother didn’t come to kill him. Jacob came in fear, but left satisfied.
Some people have enough with little; others have enough with a lot. One fact we need to remember is that we need to honor God first with our substance or increase. The first check we should write after we receive our check should be to God’s work. OR are we telling God that HE is not giving us sufficient possession to meet our needs? We shouldn’t do that!!!
I am not saying that we can’t be hard workers to earn more but if that is causing us to be discontent with what God is providing, we are treading on thin ice.
CHALLENGE: Learn to be content with what the LORD has provided for us. Learn to be full with what we have.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:15 And Esau said, “Let me now leave with you some of the folk that are with me.” And he said, “What need it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.” (2580 “grace” [chen] means 1 favour, grace, charm. 1a favour, grace, elegance. 1b favour, acceptance. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: It had been twenty long years since they had last seen each other. All Jacob could think of what the anger on the face of his brother the last time he had seen him. After all, there was the threat of murder on Esau’s breath when Jacob had left for Paddan-aram. Why not be afraid of what lay ahead even though Jacob knew God had told him it was time to go back?
Jesus also had a problem with His siblings. Having grown up together with an older brother who could do no wrong, there was a natural reluctance to accept His claims to be their Messiah. So, they chose to continue to hold a grudge until He revealed Himself to them after His resurrection. Two of them (James and Jude) went on to be leaders in the early church after this and wrote letters to churches which became part of the New Testament.
It took enormous courage to seek to restore the broken ties of these families. In each case, the brother who chose to restore the relationship took the chance that he would be rejected. In Jacob’s case, he knew that he had done wrong and needed to make it right. He was finally willing to take of his personal wealth and share it with his twin brother. For the first time, we see Jacob acting like a brother rather than a rival.
As parents, we can become discouraged by the rivalry that goes on naturally between our children. Yet we can continue to pray that the Lord would operate in their hearts to draw them back together, and Isaac and Rebekah had to heal their own marriage in order to be able to do this for their sons. Yet we find that the relationship with Jacob and Esau is finally restored (although at times the nation of Edom was to go on being enemies of Israel). As brothers, both Jacob and Esau had to search their own hearts and decide if the relationship was worth the effort. Thankfully, they decided that this was so.
CHALLENGE: Are there any siblings in your family that you need to seek forgiveness from and try to restore the relationship? Pick up the phone and call them today! (MW)
: 20 And he erected there an altar and called it El-ehohe-Israel. (5324 “erected” [natsab] means to institute, to establish, to set, to put in place, to station, to fix, to establish, or make solid.)
DEVOTION: Jacob is like Abraham, in that, he builds an altar each place he lives. He knows that it is important to offer sacrifices to the LORD on a regular basis. This is something that shows submission to the LORD for all that HE has provided in a person’s life.
God had promised Jacob that HE would protect him as he traveled to Laban’s house. HE promised blessing while he was there. HE promised that HE would be with him when he returned home. God kept all HIS promises to Jacob plus some.
Worship needs to be practiced to show the children in the home how important fellowship with the LORD is the life of a believer. Today we worship in churches. The Bible commands that we should not skip church on a regular basis. Church attendance gives fresh fellowship to believer with other believers and the Word of God.
There should be prayer and Bible reading in the home throughout the week. There should be meditation on the Word when we walk, sit, lie down and when you rise up. Children need to see their parents and grandparents loving the LORD throughout the day.
We should never miss an opportunity to tell others about the LORD in our house, neighborhood or church. God expects worship with sacrifice throughout the week. HE expects a love offering to HIM of ten percent of our income.
An altar in or close to the home reminds us that we are dependent on the LORD.
CHALLENGE: When we worship HIM, we are being obedient and HE can bless us. Jacob was concerned that his children were in a proper relationship with the LORD. We should be too!!!
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Jacob showed submission to Esauverses 1-16
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Altar called El-elohe-Israelverse 20
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God (Elohim)verses 5, 10, 11
Face of Godverse 10
Sight of the LORDverse 15
El-elohe-Israel [God the God of Israel]verse 20
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Esauverses 1-16
Embraced Jacob
“I have enough”
Seir
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Graceverses 5, 11, 15
Enoughverses 9, 11
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jacob/Israelverses 1-20
Bowed seven times to Esau
Said he was servant of Esau
Wanted to please Esau
“I have enough”
Built a home in Succoth
Booths for cattle
Pitched tent in Padan-aram
Brought land from children of Hamor
Shechem’s father
Hundred pieces of money
Erected altar called El-elohe-Israel
Leahverse 1
Rachelverse 1
Hindermost
Bowed to Esau
Two handmaidsverse 1
First to come
Bowed to Esau
Josephverse 2
Hindermost
Bowed to Esau
Succoth verse 17
Altar: El-el-o- he-Israel = God, the God of Israelverse 20
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
33:18–20 These last verses form a transition in the narrative between Jacob’s sojourn in the east and events of the later years of his life in the land of Canaan. As he left Canaan in chapter 28, Jacob vowed that if God would be with him and watch over him so that he returned to the land “in peace”(bešālôm; NIV, “safely”), he would give to God a tenth of all he had (28:20–22). The narrative has been careful to follow the events in Jacob’s life that have shown the Lord’s faithfulness to this vow. Thus here we are told that Jacob returned “safely” (shalem v.18) to the land of Canaan. Though he was not yet back to Bethel, he was “in [the land of ] Canaan”; thus God had been faithful.
Jacob returned to Bethel in chapter 35 and built an altar there (v.7). No mention is made in any of these texts of Jacob’s giving a “tenth” of all he had to the Lord. Most assume that the erection of an altar here and in chapter 35 along with the offerings represented his “tenth” (Keil, p. 283). It may be also that the “hundred pieces of silver” (v.19) that he paid for the portion of land where an altar was built was intended to represent a part of that “tenth.” The portion of land purchased by Jacob at Shechem plays an important role in the later biblical narratives. This was the portion of land where the Israelites buried the bones of Joseph (Josh 24:32) and thus represented their hope in God’s ultimate fulfillment of his promise of the land. (Sailhamer, J. H. (1990). Genesis. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, pp. 213–214). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
33:18–20. These verses form a sort of epilogue to Jacob’s sojourn outside the land. He returned in peace and camped near Shechem, directly west of the Jabbok River and about 20 miles from the Jordan in Canaan. This is where Abram first camped when he arrived in Canaan (12:6). Shechem was between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.
Jacob, like Abram, purchased a portion of the land and there, like Abram, Jacob set up an altar (12:7) and named it El Elohe Israel (“El is the God of Israel”). In this way he acknowledged that the Lord had led him all the way back to the land.
The following chapters shift the focus onto Jacob’s children. His arrival back in the land and his establishing of the altar are the culmination of Jacob’s “Laban experience.” In this chapter Jacob named two more places (cf. Bethel, 28:19; Galeed, 31:47; Mahanaim, 32:2; Peniel, 32:30). Succoth (“shelters”) was named because of the sheds he built for his livestock (33:17), and the name of the altar commemorated the significance of God’s relationship to Israel, Jacob’s new name. God had prospered and protected him as He had promise. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 82–83). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Deception (vv. 6–24). When Jacob’s sons were told what had happened, they were grieved that their sister had been violated and angry at the man who did it. Both responses were normal and right. Instead of immediately declaring war, they pretended to seek peace with their neighbors and offered to do business together and even to intermarry. All that the men of Shechem had to do was agree to be circumcised. Of course, it would take more than circumcision to make Jews out of Canaanites since no covenant conditions were involved.
The Canaanites saw this policy as an opportunity to absorb Israel and gradually possess their wealth and their people, but Jacob’s sons used it as a means to weaken the men and get them ready for slaughter. Never suspecting the danger, the men of the city submitted to the surgery.
Vengeance (vv. 25–31). At a time when the males in Shechem were in too much pain to defend themselves, Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah’s full brothers, rallied some men from Jacob’s camp and attacked the Shechemites, killing Hamor and his son and all the males in the city. Then they looted the city and took captive the women and children. It was an evil thing to do, and when Jacob heard about it, he was both angry and frightened. But during his lifetime, since he had done his share of scheming and fooled his father, he couldn’t rebuke his sons without incriminating himself.
Simeon and Levi certainly went too far by slaughtering the Canaanites and looting their city in order to avenge their sister, and Jacob never forgot it (49:5–7). By their deception and ruthless destruction, they ruined Jacob’s testimony before the people of the land. What good was it for Jacob to build an altar and worship the true God before his pagan neighbors if his children were going to act like pagans? But it’s sad to see that Jacob’s greatest concern wasn’t the vindication of purity or even his witness in the land, but rather his own safety. Had Jacob and his family been in Bethel where they belonged, this tragedy might not have occurred.
But true to His promise (28:15), God wasn’t finished with Jacob. There were still heartaches and joys to come, but the God of Jacob would prove Himself faithful through it all. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Be authentic (pp. 64–65). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)
Ver. 20. And he erected there an altar, &c.] To offer sacrifice upon to God, by way of thanksgiving, for the many mercies he had received since he went out of the land of Canaan, whither he was now returned; and especially for his safety in journeying hither from Padan-aram, and for deliverance from Laban and Esau, and for all other favours that he and his had been partakers of. And this he also erected for the sake of religious worship, to be continued in his family; he intending to reside here for some time, as appears by the purchase he had made, and as it is certain he did: and called it El-Elohe-lsrael; God, the God of Israel; that is, he called the altar the altar of God, who is the God of Israel, who had been his God, his preserver and protector; and had lately given him the name of Israel, and had made good what answered to it, and was designed by it, that as he had had power with God, and prevailed, so he should with man; and as a memorial of all these favours and mercies, he erected this altar, and devoted it to God and his service, and called it by this name: or he called upon God, the God of Israel, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; he prayed unto him at the time he offered sacrifice on the altar, and gave him praise for all the great and good things he had done for him. Jacob must have stayed at Succoth, and at this place, many years, especially at the latter; since, when he came into those parts, Dinah was a child of little more than six years of age, and Simeon and Levi were very young, not above eleven or twelve years of age; and yet, before he left Shechem, Dinah was marriageable, and Simeon and Levi were grown strong and able-bodied men, and did a most strange exploit in slaying all the males in Shechem, as recorded in the next chapter. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 223). London: Mathews and Leigh)
Jacob’s Failure As a Pilgrim (33:17–20)
The patriarchs were all wealthy men, but with Abraham and Isaac and with Jacob (up until this point) the pilgrim character was never lost. The pilgrim character was symbolized by a tent and an altar; a tent that manifested a pilgrim walk in a wicked world, and an altar that manifested pure worship amidst so much religious corruption. As pilgrims, the patriarchs were men on the move, ever willing and able to obey the call of God. It is that aspect of testimony that now broke down in Jacob’s life.
We follow Jacob first to Succoth. There we see Jacob building (33:17). He built a house and made shelters for his cattle, signifying that he was going to settle down, tired of the pilgrim life, tired of being forever on the move. Everybody else had a house, why should he not have one? He could certainly afford one, a big one—a mansion, if he so desired. For the moment he had lost sight of the mansion being prepared for him in glory in order to settle for a house at Succoth on the east side of the Jordan, in the valley just south of the Jabbok. Jacob had stopped just short of the promised land after all.
The first mention of a house in the Bible is in connection with Lot. Abraham the pilgrim dwelt in a tent on the plains of Mamre; Lot the backslider dwelt in a house in Sodom. Here in Genesis 33 is the first mention of a house in connection with the patriarchs. The Holy Spirit ignores it altogether in Hebrews 11, that great faith chapter, where He says of Abraham, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise” (Hebrews 11:9).
Here, then, was Jacob’s first mistake. He decided to settle down and take it easy even if so doing meant settling short of Canaan and meant the abandonment of his pilgrim way of life. He simply wanted to be like everybody else, at least for a while.
We move along to Shechem. There we see Jacob buying (33:18–20). We do not know how long Jacob lived at Succoth. Probably it was for a number of years and no doubt for much longer than he intended. It was long enough, anyway, for his daughter Dinah to grow up to womanhood—she was about six when he first settled down. Eventually, however, he made a move and off he went to Shalem, a city of Shechem. “And Jacob … pitched his tent toward the city,” we read (33:18). How that statement reminds us of Lot! Jacob, it would seem, had gone back to being a pilgrim, but he was still a reluctant pilgrim. He had gone back to his tent, but wanted to get as close to the world as he could while still outwardly professing to be a migrant for God in a God-dishonoring world.
Shechem was a prominent city located on Mount Gerizim. That mountain became famous in later Hebrew history as the place from which the blessings of the Law were proclaimed. Just across the way stood Mount Ebal where the corresponding curses of the Law were heralded in the ears of Israel. Shechem was near the site where the great capital city of Samaria would one day stand. It was here that Jacob dug that famous well on which the Lord Jesus sat when He met the woman from Samaria and talked to her about the water of life.
Jacob purchased some property at that time, buying it from Hamor, the father of a young man named Shechem. It was those business dealings, no doubt, that first introduced Dinah to the young man whose influence was to be so disastrous. How much better it would have been for Jacob if he had left all such business dealings alone. Just like so many of us who try to give backsliding the aura of religious respectability, Jacob “erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel (“God, the God of Israel”). It sounded very good but it was Jacob, not Israel at work, Jacob and not God. There is not the slightest hint that God instructed Jacob to purchase for cash what had been promised by faith. No doubt Jacob intended his altar to be a testimony to the pagans round about him. If so, his intentions were soon brought to nothing by the behavior of three of his children. He should have gone deeper into Canaan, as Abraham did. He should have put distance between himself and the evil Canaanite city toward which he had pitched his tent. When God insists on complete separation from the world it is because He knows best. (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary (Ge 33:17–20). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp)
20. El-elohe-Israel, is God, the God of Israel; meaning God in a covenant way. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Genesis–Numbers (Vol. 1, p. 147). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
WHAT IS LEGITIMATE IN PRAYER?
O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?
Psalm 74:10
Pleas and arguments and requests are perfectly legitimate in prayer. Have you noticed how men of God prayed? They knew God was omniscient; so they not only made their requests known to Him but also pleaded with Him. And what I like above everything else is the way they argued with Him. Moses, for example, did so. On one occasion he came down from the Mount and found the people rebellious, and when he found God threatening to disown them and leave them to their own devices, Moses said to God, You cannot do this.
Look too at the man in Psalm 74. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? (Psalm 74:10). He says in effect, Lord, why do You allow men to do these things? I believe God as Father delights in listening to such pleas and reasonings and arguments. This flabby generation of Christians seems to have forgotten what our fathers used to delight in when they talked about pleading the promises.” They did not regard that as offensive. They had no sort of mock humility, but they felt they were entitled, according to this teaching, to go to God as the psalmist did and remind him of His own promises. They said, Lord, I do not understand. I know it is my imperfection, but I am certain of these promises. Lord, help me to see how the promises are to be related to these perplexities.
So it is perfectly right to plead with God; our Lord pleaded with Him. In His great prayer in John 17 our Lord argued with God by bringing His requests. He reminded God of His own promises and of His own character. I believe God delights in this as Father, and as we do these things in this way our hearts will be reassured before Him, and often we shall be amazed and astonished at the answers that we receive.
A Thought to Ponder
Pleas and arguments and requests are perfectly legitimate in prayer. (From Saved in Eternity, p. 37, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
In a secular age, we can no longer rely on the luxury of having other cultural voices do the work of instilling our people with a Christian worldview. The plausibility structures of the culture now work at cross-currents to the message we preach on Sunday mornings. No longer does the culture indicate one “ought” to listen to preaching or one “ought” to give credence to the Christian moral tradition. Those days are behind us. Indeed, the plausibility structures of our culture have so radically changed that the cultural “oughts” are now opposed to Christianity—one ought not associate with those so far outside the cultural mainstream, one ought not define the human predicament in terms of sin, one ought not speak in a way that the Bible speaks or believe the things the Bible proclaims.”
Preachers need to be competent in many arenas of life. They need managerial competence. They need organizational competence. But above everything else, the preacher needs theological and exegetical competence. The curriculum in our seminaries and theological institutions must reflect this commitment to train preaching theologians, and not just men who are entertaining.
No longer does the culture indicate one “ought” to listen to preaching or one “ought” to give credence to the Christian moral tradition. Those days are behind us. Indeed, the plausibility structures of our culture have so radically changed that the cultural “oughts” are now opposed to Christianity—one ought not associate with those so far outside the cultural mainstream, one ought not define the human predicament in terms of sin, one ought not speak in a way that the Bible speaks or believe the things the Bible proclaims. (R. Albert Mohler Jr) “Preaching in a Secular Age”)
Nehemiah 8
The people gather at the square to hear Ezra, who reads the Law publicly.
INSIGHT
No one appreciates a glass of water like a man who is truly thirsty. It takes deprivation to appreciate the significance of our blessings. That is why the Christian life is not always easy–with blessings flowing unabated. We get dull and stale to it–just as we do when we have too much food and too little exercise. We are indeed blessed to have the Word of God in such abundance. The returning Jews have never heard the Word, and they are truly thirsty. They stand — from dawn till dusk — and drink it in. To appreciate the Word in your life, imagine not having it at all. (Quiet Walk)
THE KINGDOM OF GOD, PART 2
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:6
The kingdom of God will come with great external pomp and glory, and Christ will come to reign, to judge, and to set up His everlasting kingdom.
Let me give you Christ’s own words: “Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:27-28). That is it. The Son of Man will come and sit in the throne of His glory. This is “the regeneration,” He says, and this is the great message about the visible form of the kingdom that is to come. It means that…the Son of God will return again into this world. He will set up the judgment throne, and He will judge the whole world in righteousness.
Nature is now “red in tooth and claw,” but it will not be so then: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). This is “the generation,” and it is coming….There will be a realm of glory, and He will sit upon His throne in that glory.
A Thought to Ponder: There will be a realm of glory, and He will sit upon His throne in that glory. (From The Kingdom of God, pp. 60-61, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Shame of Entropy
“I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?” (1 Corinthians 6:5)
The word for “shame” in this verse is the Greek entrope, meaning “turning inward” or “inversion.” It is used only one other time, in 1 Corinthians 15:34: “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” Evidently this special variety of shame is associated with taking controversies between Christian brethren to ungodly judges and also with failing to witness to the non-Christian community. Instead of bringing the true wisdom of God to the ungodly, such “entropic Christians” were turning to worldly wisdom to resolve their own spiritual problems. This inverted behavior was nothing less than spiritual confusion!
The modern scientific term “entropy” is essentially this same Greek word. In science, entropy is a measure of disorder in any given system. The universal law of increasing entropy states that every system tends to disintegrate into disorder, or confusion, if left to itself. This tendency can only be reversed if ordering energy is applied to it effectively from a source outside the system.
This universal scientific law has a striking parallel in the spiritual realm. A person turning inward to draw on his own bank of power, or seeking power from an ineffective outside source, will inevitably deteriorate eventually into utter spiritual confusion and death. But when Christ enters the life, that person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Scriptures, “his divine
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). The law of spiritual entropy is transformed into the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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