Genesis 9
New relationship between humans and animalsverses 1-4
And God blessed Noah and his sons
and said to them
Be fruitful – multiply – replenish the earth
and the fear of you and the dread of you
shall be upon every beast of the earth
fowl of the air all that moves upon the earth
all the fish of the sea
into your hand are they delivered
Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you
even as the green herb have I given you all things
BUT flesh with the life thereof – which is the BLOOD thereof
shall you NOT EAT
Human life valuable to the LORDverses 5-7
AND surely your BLOOD of your lives will I require
at the hand of every beast will I require it
at the hand of man – at the hand of
every man’s brother will I require
the life of man
WHOSO sheds man’s BLOOD
by man shall his BLOOD be shed
FOR in the IMAGE of God made HE man
AND you – be you fruitful – and multiply
bring forth abundantly in the earth
and multiply therein
God makes covenant of no more worldwide floodsverses 8-11
And God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him
saying
And I BEHOLD I establish MY covenant with you
and with your seed after you
and with every living creature that is with you
of the fowl cattle every beast of the earth with you
from all that go out of the ark
to every beast of the earth
And I will establish MY covenant with you
neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the
waters of the FLOOD
neither shall there anymore be a FLOOD to
destroy the earth
Rainbow confirms God covenantverses 12-17
And God said
This is the TOKEN of the covenant which I make between
ME and you and every living creature that is with you
for perpetual generations
I do set MY BOW in the cloud and it shall be for a
TOKEN of the covenant between ME and the earth
And it shall come to pass – when I bring a cloud over the earth
that the BOW shall be seen in the cloud
and I will remember MY covenant
which is between ME and you and every living
creature of all flesh
and the waters shall no more become a FLOOD
to destroy all flesh
And the BOW shall be in the cloud
and I will look upon it
that I may remember the everlasting covenant
between God and every living creature of
all flesh that is on the earth
And God said unto Noah
This is the TOKEN of the covenant
which I have established between ME and ALL flesh
that is on the earth
Total world population: 8verses 18-19
And the sons of Noah – that went forth of the ark were
Shem – Ham – Japheth – and Ham is the father of Canaan
These are the three sons of Noah
and of them was the whole earth overspread
Incident while Noah was drunkverses 20-23
And Noah began to be an husbandman – and he planted a vineyard
and he drank of the wine – and was drunken
and he was uncovered within his tent
And Ham – the father of Canaan
saw the nakedness of his father
and told his two brethren without
And Shem and Japheth took a garment
and laid it on both their shoulders – and went backward
and covered the nakedness of their father
and their faces were backward
and they saw not their father’s nakedness
Noah curses Canaanverses 24-25
And Noah awoke from his wine
and knew what his younger son had done to him
And he said – Cursed be Canaan
a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren
Noah blesses other sonsverses 26-27
And he said – Blessed be the LORD God of Shem
and Canaan shall be his servant
God shall enlarge Japheth
and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem
and Canaan shall be his servant
Noah diesverses 28-29
And Noah lived after the FLOOD three hundred and fifty years
and all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years
and he died
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moves upon he earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. (4172 “fear” [mowra] means terror, dread, reverence, awe, or state of high anxiety or alarm)
DEVOTION: There seemed to be no dread of humans before the flood. Adam named the animals with no apparent fear of them or them of him.
The world between Adam and Noah was a changing world but it wasn’t for the better. The sin of the people caused the LORD to send a flood with only eight remaining human beings. They had stayed in the ark for a year while the flood killed all of the other humans and ground animals.
Now was a new dispensation. It was the dispensation of HUMAN GOVERNMENT. The dispensations of Innocence and Conscience were over.
God made some changes in the way people would treat animals. HE stated that the animals would be afraid of humans. They were under the rule of humans during the time from Adam to Noah but now there would be a dread of humans. Animals would normally run away from humans as we witness each day in our backyards when we come near the bird feeders. Deer that feed close to the house will run when they see humans coming. There are still some animals that seem to not have a great fear of humans such as bears or moose that are trapped away from their cubs. They still want to protect their offspring.
So we live in a different world from Adam and Eve. That world will return after the Tribulation time period. During the Millennium there will be animals lying down next to their natural enemies at that time. This will be happening during the reign of Christ.
Until that day there will be God’s change in effect regarding the relationship between animals and humans. This is another sign of who is in control of our world.
CHALLENGE: God makes some changes in each of HIS time periods regarding our relationship to HIM and HIS creation.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 Whoso sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for the image of God made HE man. (6754 “image” [tselem] means the visual appearance of something or someone, likeness, resemblance, model, or replicas)
DEVOTION: Later in the Bible during the dispensation of LAW there is a commandment stating that “You shall not kill.” Here we are living in the time period of the dispensation of HUMAN GOVERNMENT where the LORD gives instructions to only eight people regarding human life.
There should be no human being killing another human being for personal profit. Human life is valuable to God from the beginning of creation as seen by HIS reaction to Cain killing his brother Abel. HE stated that “the ground cries out with the blood of your brother.”
In the New Testament Jesus states that if you are angry your brother without a cause you are in danger of judgment. If you call your brother a vain fellow you are in danger of the council. Finally, if you call a brother a fool you are in danger of hell fire.
God wants us to be encouraging to others not judgmental. We are not to call others names or hurt them with words because God takes these comments seriously.
CHALLENGE: Are you an encourager to others even when they are not encouraging to you?
: 13 I do set MY bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of the covenant between ME and the earth. (226 “token” [’owth] means sign, a public display of a message whether using a crafted or natural object, banner, distinguishing mark, omen, or pledge)
DEVOTION: Remember that this was the first time there was any rain in the world. God had caused a mist to come up from the ground to water the plants before this time period.
So the flood was the first rainfall that humans had seen. Now that this rainfall was over God promised to never cause the earth to be completely covered with water again.
As a sign of HIS promise he caused a rainbow to be in the clouds after it rained. Each time it rained there would be a rainbow. When we go to Niagara Falls we can see a rainbow in the midst of the Falls and it reminds us of the promise of God.
There is no gold at the end of a rainbow but there is a promise from God each time we see a rainbow in the sky. Only think of the rainbow as a sign from God of a promise of no more earthly floods. Humans can corrupt anything that God has made beautiful.
CHALLENGE: When you see a rainbow what do you think? Is it a reminder of the promise of God to the world?
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. (1540 “uncovered” [galah] means to denude, stripped, disclose, discover, or remove)
DEVOTION: Noah and his family came out of the ark and worshipped the LORD. The LORD told them to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. They were the only humans left.
God also changed their diet. HE gave them meat to eat instead of just the fruit of the trees and vegetables from the garden. However, there was one restriction: don’t eat the meat with the blood.
God made a command that if human blood was shed, the person who shed it must shed his own blood. Why? The reason is because man is in the image of God.
God made a covenant with the human race through Noah that HE would never flood the entire earth again. The sign of the covenant is the rainbow in the sky.
Noah became a husbandman after leaving the ark. He planted a vineyard. He drank the fruit of the vine. He got drunk. It is thought that before the flood there was no fermentation. He was in his tent without any clothes on when his youngest son came in and saw him naked.
While he was in a drunken stupor Ham came into the tent and saw his father without any clothes. He seemed delighted to see his father’s nakedness. He went out to his brothers and told them what he saw. It is thought that he was dishonoring his father. The command of the LORD was to honor your father and your mother.
The other brothers walked in backwards so they wouldn’t see their father naked. They didn’t dishonor their father.
The word sometimes implies more than just looking at a naked body. The Bible commands us to not look on naked bodies. There is a long list given in the law regarding those we are not to look upon. We are not to be looking at naked bodies of those other than our spouse. Today we live in an age that wants to end all restrictions given in the Bible.
There are many magazines that present pictures of individuals without clothes. They are available for all to look at in the bookstores and airports of our nation and around the world. Some nations have beaches that all can go to that don’t require clothes. Our world is full of websites and television programs that show parts of the bodies that don’t need to be seen by us. Turn them off. We need to be discerning for our families and ourselves. Today’s teens are at risk.
Whether there was anything more than just looking at his father’s nude body and dishonoring him by telling his brother the Scripture doesn’t give much more information. Our responsibility is to HONOR our father and mother all of their lives.
CHALLENGE: Help your parent know that you love and honor them. Pray for your parent to follow the LORD with all their hearts. If they don’t know the LORD pray for their salvation.
:26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. (1288 “blessed” [barak] means 1 to bless, kneel. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to kneel. 1a2 to bless. 1b (Niphal) to be blessed, bless oneself. 1c (Piel) to bless. 1d (Pual) to be blessed, be adored. 1e (Hiphil) to cause to kneel. 1f (Hithpael) to bless oneself. 2 (TWOT) to praise, salute, curse. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship].)
DEVOTION: There have been times where the lives of people have been radically changed by what has been said to or about them. For example, some adults still remember a parent or adult telling them that they will not be good at anything when they grow up. Others bask in the fact that an adult visualized achievement for them as a child.
Ham did what he knew was wrong by looking on the nudity of his drunken father Noah. For this he was cursed (as well as his children) by his father. One can only imagine how devastating this would be. On the other hand, Noah blesses Shem. This is the first mention of a blessing of another person in the Bible. It is also the first time that the blessing of the firstborn son (Shem) is mentioned in the Bible, and would become the pattern for many father-son blessings later on.
What is interesting about this blessing is that Noah blesses Shem indirectly by blessing the God of Shem. Noah recognizes that it is the blessing of God that resulted in his children’s right responses. No doubt Noah, despite his earthly flaws, had spent many hours in prayer for his sons, and asked God to help them to grow closer to Him. We can only wonder whether Ham (and Canaan) repented as a result and came back to obedience after this.
So, the next time you are prepared to give up on your children for what they have done, you should make a point of praying for them and seek out a way to give a blessing into their lives. You will see a change in their demeanor as a result!
CHALLENGE: Choose to seek ways of blessing your children. Write out a specific blessing for each one today. Be sure to thank God for them every day. (MW)
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)
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)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God (Elohim)verses 1, 6, 8, 12, 16, 17, 26, 27
Man = Image of Godverse 6
Covenant of no worldwide flood againverses 9-17
Token of covenant: Rainbowverses 13, 14
Rememberverse 16
LORD (Jehovah)verse 26
LORD Godverse 26
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)
Noahverses 1-29
Sons of Noahverses 1, 7, 8, 18
Fruitful and multiply
Replenish the earth
Animals fear humansverse 2
Animals given for food nowverse 3
Image of Godverse 6
Promise to perpetual generationsverse 12
Rainbow sign of covenant of Godverse 13
Sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, Japhethverse 18
Ham the father of Canaanverse 18
Noah a husbandman & planted a vineyardverses 20, 21, 24, 25
Drank some wine
Drunken
Uncovered
Awoke form his wine
Knew that Ham had done
Cursed Canaan
Blessed Shem
Canaan was to be his servant
Blessed Japheth
Wanted God to enlarge
Dwell in tents of Shem
Ham – father of Canaanverse 22
Saw nakedness of father
Told his brothers
Shem and Japheth
Took a garment
Went in backwards with garment and covered their fatherverse 23
Noah lived 350 years after floodverses 28-29
Died at 950 years old
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Eating bloodverse 4
Drunkenverse 21
Seeing nakedness of fatherverse 22
Cursedverse 25
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Blessedverses 1, 26
Covenantverses 9, 11, 12, 16, 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Everlasting covenantverse 16
Diedverse 29
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QUOTES regarding passage
5, 6. The theme of the sanctity of blood is now taken further and made memorable by the rhythmic form of 6, preserved in av, rv: Whoso sheddeth man’s blood … Something more than retribution is in mind here. The execution of a man-killing animal is not to be explained in such terms, although that of the murderer could be. The clue is in verse 6b: the purpose is didactic, as was that of verse 4. If all life is God’s, human life is supremely so. Both these lessons remain in force, although (as I have argued elsewhere) the means of teaching them may change: one cannot simply transfer verse 6 to the statute book unless one is prepared to include verses 4 and 5a with it. Capital punishment has to be defended on wider grounds. (Kidner, D. (1967). Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 108–109). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
9:5–7. With Noah’s new beginning came a covenant. It was necessary now to have a covenant with obligations for mankind and a promise from God. Because of the Flood’s destruction of life people might begin to think that God holds life cheap and assume that taking life is a small matter. This covenant shows that life is sacred and that man is not to destroy man, who is made in the image of God.
In essence, then, this covenant was established to ensure the stability of nature. It helped guarantee the order of the world. People would also learn that human law was necessary for the stability of life and that wickedness should not go unchecked as it had before. So human government was brought in. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 40). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Those who kill their fellow human beings will have to answer to God for their deeds, for men and women are made in the image of God. To attack a human being is to attack God, and the Lord will bring judgment on the offender. All life is the gift of God, and to take away life means to take the place of God. The Lord gives life and He alone has the right to authorize taking it away (Job 1:21).
But how did God arrange to punish murderers and see that justice is done and the law upheld? He established human government on the earth and in so doing shared with mankind the awesome power of taking human life. That’s the import of God’s mandate in Genesis 9:6. Human government and capital punishment go together, as Paul explains in Romans 13:1–7. Government authorities carry the sword and have the right to use it.
Under Old Testament Law there was no police force as we know it. If a murder was committed, it was up to the family of the victim to find the culprit and bring him to justice. There’s a difference between murder and involuntary manslaughter (Ex. 21:12–14), so the Lord instructed the nation of Israel to establish six cities of refuge to which an accused murderer could flee for safety (Num. 35:6–34; Deut. 19:1–13). The elders of the city would protect the accused until the case could be investigated; and if the accused was found guilty, the family of the deceased could proceed with the execution. Since the murderer had shed blood, the murderer’s blood must be shed.
Government was established by God because the human heart is evil (Gen. 6:5) and the fear of punishment can help to restrain would-be lawbreakers. The law can restrain but it can’t regenerate; only the grace of God can change the human heart (Jer. 31:31–34; Heb. 8:7–13). But if individuals, families, or groups were allowed to deal with offenders in their own way, society would be in a state of constant chaos. Human government has its weaknesses and limitations, but government is better than anarchy and people doing what’s right in their own eyes (Jud. 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25) (Wiersbe, W. W. (1998). Be basic (pp. 117–118). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)
9:5 beast … man. Capital punishment was invoked upon every animal (Ex 21:28) or man who took human life unlawfully. Cf. Jn 19:11; Ac 25:11; Ro 13:4 for clear NT support for this punishment. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ge 9:5). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 5. And surely your blood of your lives will I require, &c.] Or for surely your blood, &c.; and so is a reason of the preceding law, to teach men not to shed human blood; or though, surely your blood, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; though God had given them liberty to slay the creatures, and shed their blood, and eat them, yet he did not allow them to shed their own blood, or the blood of their fellow-creatures; should they do this, he would surely make inquisition, and punish them for it: at the hand of every beast will I require it; should a beast kill a man, or be the instrument of shedding his blood, it should be slain for it; not by means of another beast, God so ordering it, as Aben Ezra suggests, but by the hands or order of the civil magistrate; which was to be done partly to shew the great regard God has to the life of man, and partly to punish men for not taking more care of their beasts, as well as to be an example to others to be more careful, and to lessen the number of mischievous creatures: and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man; which may be reasonably supposed; for if it is required of a beast, and that is punished for the slaughter of a man, then much more a man himself, that is wilfully guilty of murder; and the rather, since he is by general relation a brother to the person he has murdered, which is an aggravation of his crime: or it may signify, that though he is a brother in the nearest relation, as his crime is the greater, he shall not go unpunished. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 64–65). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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!!)
To insure that animal life will not be a threat to the human family, the Lord endows the animal population with a “fear and dread” of human beings, enabling mankind to exercise a limited authority over them. As noted by Calvin, “The providence of God is a secret bridle to restrain their violence.” (Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26. The New American Commentary (Vol. 1A, pp. 400–401). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
God did not expressly prohibit the eating of meat in the initial stipulation at creation, but by inference 9:3’s provision for flesh is used as a dividing mark between the antediluvian and postdiluvian periods. Whether or not early man could eat meat by permission from the beginning, now it is stated formally in the Noahic covenant. Meat eating was an important part of the human diet in the new world, and specific instructions were required since such practice impinged on the question of human survival and the subservience of animal life. (Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26. The New American Commentary (Vol. 1A, p. 401). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
IMPOSSIBLE PEOPLE by Os Guinness IVP Press 2016
But in all the struggles, two dominant issues have raised their heads again and again: the place of religions in American society and the understanding of how religions and public life should be related. It is clear that the three overlapping forces mentioned earlier – the philosophy of secularism, the process of secularization and the public policy of strict separationism – have in effect converged to become the default position of the American elite. (p. 105
America never was a Christian nation in any formal or established sense, but there is no question that the Christian faith was the faith of most Americans at the beginning, and that Jewish and Christian ideals underlie most of the distinctive values for which America at its best has been known worldwide. (p. 105
Most incredibly of all, the authority of Jesus and the Scriptures has been called into question within the camp of God’s people almost as much as outside in the culture. (p. 106)
But the issue cannot be sugarcoated. Authority is central, uncompromising and inescapable for Christians. For those who follow Jesus, the Christian faith is not primarily a philosophy, a worldview, an ethic or a lifestyle. It is all those things but more because of the authority of Jesus. (p. 106-7)
There is a rottenness in the church that must be addressed. Christians too need to return and stand humbly and obediently with all their fellow believers before the lordship and authority of Jesus Pantocrator, ruler, sustainer and judge of all the world. (p. 110)
But the last generation has seen a significant wing of Evangelicalism – some emergent Evangelicals, some seeker-sensitive extremists, some relevance-chasing hipster pastors – set out to revise, reinterpret and eventually abandon the faith with the same suicidal, lemming-like folly. (p. 111)
As in the time of the prophet Elijah, the postmodern church has become a breeding ground for the undecided, for fence sitters, for people who want to have their cake and eat it too, and so for syncretists who have forgotten the meaning fo the word. (p. 111)
For some time now it has been said that those hwo are faithful to Christ in each denomination are closer to those who are also faithful in other denominations than they are to the members of their own denomination who are revisionists. (p. 112)
2 Kings 1
The Lord sends Elijah to inform Ahaziah that he will die.
INSIGHT
Ahab and Jezebel have become famous for their irreverence and disregard for the Law of the Lord. Yet Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, goes beyond them in his blatant disregard for the Lord. After an accident, he inquires of Baal-Zebub, the pagan god of Ekron, whether or not he will recover. Elijah informs the messengers that Ahaziah will die. No longer afraid, Elijah has been strengthened from his previous failure. We must always look at failure as an opportunity to grow. (Quiet Walk)
REVIVAL OFTEN STARTS WITH ONE PERSON
And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation…which was without the camp.
Exodus 33:7
Here is profound teaching. This Tabernacle was a kind of tent that Moses set up in the middle of the congregation, in the middle of the camp of Israel, where he and others would pray, a “tent of meeting” where people might go together to meet with God. The tent of meeting—it is such a significant and such a wonderful term. The Nonconformist fathers generally referred to their places of worship as meeting houses, and it is a good old term. You see, it is a place not so much where people meet with one another, though that is included, but the essential meaning is this—the place where they meet with God.
It is important that we should understand that Moses was clearly led to take this peculiar action. He took this Tabernacle out of the center of the camp and put it outside, far off from the camp. This was an action taken by Moses himself. And I must pause with that, because you will always find as you read the history of these movements of the Spirit in the long story of the Christian church that generally the very first thing that happens, and which eventually leads to a great revival, is that one man, or a group of men, suddenly begin to feel this burden, and they feel the burden so much that they are led to do something about it.
Martin Luther, a very ordinary kind of monk, suddenly became aware of this burden. And it so burdened him that he was led to do something about it. Just one man, and through that one man, God sent that mighty movement to the church.
A Thought to Ponder: Generally one man suddenly begins to feel this burden, and he feels the burden so much that he is led to do something about it.
(From Revival, pp. 162-163.by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
No Coveting
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” (Exodus 20:17)
This is the broadest prohibition of the Ten Commandments, spilling over to numerous portions of the Scripture. This commandment gives us three different views of “covet.” The initial commandment (Exodus 20:17) uses the Hebrew word chamad, which means “to delight in.” The repeated commandment (Deuteronomy 5:21) uses the word ‘avah, which translates “to wish for.” And the applied commandment (Jeremiah 6:13) uses the word batsa’, which is “to be greedy.”
There are two classic examples from which we can learn. In spite of the awesome evidence of the Rea Sea crossing, water from the rock, and the manna from heaven, Israel was not satisfied with the Lord’s provision (Numbers 11:7-15). They “fell a lusting” (‘avah) for the old delicacies of Egypt (Numbers 11:4-6). The Lord gave Israel its request for “meat” (Numbers 11:16-31), then sent a plague of judgment on the ungrateful nation (Numbers 11:32-35).
There is also the tragic example of Achan (Joshua 7). Achan had been warned twice (Deuteronomy 7:25; Joshua 6:18-19) not to crave the riches of Jericho. But he gave into “a delightful desire” (chamad, Joshua 7:21). Achan’s sin brought judgment upon the whole nation (Joshua 7:5-15) until he was executed (Joshua 7:25-26).
God does not tolerate covetousness. The Bible is clear: Those who covet are never satisfied (Psalm 78:23-37) and have leanness sent to their souls (Psalm 106:13-15). May our Lord protect us from giving in to the “lust of the flesh” (1 John 2:16).
(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
A healthy church has a clearly delineated focus. It understands its purpose for existence and the task that it is to accomplish. This purpose and mission is not determined by denominational leaders or even by the local church. Rather, it is derived from the very pages of the Bible. The task of the leadership is to guide the church in the fulfillment of the mission. To do so we must clearly understand what the purpose and mission of the church is. Then, as leaders, we must be intentional in our focus so that everything the church does works toward achieving its mission. If not, then the church no longer is functioning biblically and no longer has a reason for existence. As a ship fitted with a rudder knifes its way through the ocean currents to reach a desired port, so the church governed by a specific purpose and mission moves to the end that God has ordained.
(Developing Leaders for the Small Church by Glenn C. Daman)
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