2017- 2018 Boyd's Commentary

By R.H. Boyd

This 2017–2018 Boyd’s Commentary continues the tradition of excellence established through the years. Sunday school directors, teachers, and students are again provided with a scholarly, stimulating, insightful, and resourceful Sunday school lesson commentary. Readers will find in its pages information that will provide the necessary insight to “rightly divide” the Word of God (see 2 Tim. 2:15). Edification is one of the primary goals of the writers of this commentary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: May 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781681672861

Book preview

an approach to god’s word

The Bible is a book of revelation wherein God discloses Himself and His thoughts to His beloved creation. The Bible accurately communicates the messages and revelations about God that He intends for His people to have. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the components that make up Scripture are fully authoritative, a trustworthy means to bring us to salvation and guide us in a life of faith.

God did not share His Word with us simply to give us information or simply so we may believe correctly. Rather, God gave us His Word to draw us into a transformative relationship with Him.

The Bible is a book we can experience. So, how can we approach the Word of God so that it will shape and enrich our experience?

1. Read with faith. The Bible is deeply personal. We can approach Scripture with the confidence that God is, that God loves us, and that in Jesus Christ God has called us into a personal, saving relationship with Him. We can never have a full understanding of the Bible until we come to Jesus by faith and invite Him into our lives as Savior and Lord.

2. Read with an open mind and heart. As we read Scripture, we ask God to speak to us through His Word. We consciously seek to relate what we read to our daily living. We must be willing to let God’s Word touch and inform our joys and sorrows, our strengths and weaknesses. God’s Word is not only a record of history—but God’s Word is still alive today. The Bible becomes active in the lives of believers who run to it seeking solace. Moreover, constant meditation on God’s Word empowers us with a source of strength, even when the Word is not at our fingertips. If we often meditate on God’s Word, we will have a constant source of encouragement on which to depend. The psalmist said, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalm 119:11, KJV). When Scripture abides in our hearts and minds, we will not face our trials without a defense but come to them with the power of God’s Word.

3. Read with readiness to respond. The Bible is a relational book. Through it, God speaks to us individually and personally. When we read the Bible with open hearts, we hear Him speaking to us. It is then that our response is vital. Both the Old and New Testaments emphasize the importance of an obedient response to God. We are called by Scripture to pattern our lives on the moral and spiritual teachings of the Bible, and to be responsive to the voice of God when He speaks to us with personal applications. Our obedient response to God’s Word flows out of our love for Him. This response should be natural. It should be as natural as flipping a switch and a light coming on, or turning a faucet and seeing water come out. In a typical family setting, children are expected to follow the instructions of their parents. All of these examples have command–response scenarios. Likewise, Christians are to respond to the commands (or instructions) found in Scripture. Jesus said, If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15, KJV).If we confess Christ, a sign of our love for Him is our obedience to His commands.

FIRST QUARTER

Lesson material is based on International Sunday School Lessons and International Bible Lessons for Christian Teaching. Copyrighted by the International Council of Religious Education and is used by its permission.

SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER 2017

WRITER: REV. RICHARD MONTGOMERY

SUGGESTED OPENING EXERCISES

1. Usual Signal for Beginning

2. Prayer (Closing with the Lord’s Prayer)

3. Singing (Song to Be Selected)

4. Scripture Reading: Psalm 1:1–6 (KJV)

Director: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

School: But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Director: And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

School: The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Director: Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

All: For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Recitation in Concert: Joshua 1:6–8 (KJV)

6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

CLOSING WORK

1. Singing

2. Sentences:

James 4:6–10 (KJV)

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

3. Dismissal with Prayer

GENESIS 8:20–22; 9:8–17

MAIN THOUGHT: And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. (Genesis 9:11, KJV)

LESSON SETTING

Time: Unknown

Place: Mount Ararat

LESSON OUTLINE

I. A Test Passed

(Genesis 8:20–22)

II. A Covenant Enacted

(Genesis 9:8–11)

III. A Sign Given

(Genesis 9:12–17)

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

After tragedy strikes, there are possibilities for people to seek renewed hope and strength to rebuild their lives. Is there a reliable source humans can turn to for rebuilding and protecting their lives? As an act of benevolence, God used the rainbow to assure Noah that neither humankind nor the earth would ever again be destroyed by water.

INTRODUCTION

The book of Genesis is aptly called a book of beginnings. The various writers and editors who worked faithfully to record the works of their LORD spanned a wide swath of time and Israelite tradition. Scholars today commonly divide Genesis into two unequal halves. The first eleven chapters compose the first half while the remaining chapters are the second half. Genesis 12 and following chapters introduces Abram and Sarai, their promised son Isaac, and finally Jacob, who would be called Israel, along with his twelve sons. Thus, the beginning of Israel is recounted. In contrast to this very specific origin story of God’s people, Genesis 1–11 is concerned largely with God’s interaction with His entire creation, not just one people or region. The narrative of the flood and its aftermath belongs in this section. In it, God did what He needed to do in order to cleanse the world of the evil that had overtaken it, but He also made provision so that life could go on. This provision came in the form of Noah, his family, and all the many animals who were saved in the ark.

Noah was both blessed and sorely tested. His immediate family was the only group of humans to be spared death by the great flood. That was a blessing. But, once the flood waters receded, Noah and his family were the only people left on earth. Genesis does not say where Noah was living at the time of the flood, but many scholars believe that he lived in Urartu, located in what is today southeastern Turkey. If that is true, then the ark did not travel far since the Ararat Mountains are in the same general area. But it was an entirely different world into which Noah and his family disembarked from the ark.

EXPOSITION

I. A TEST PASSED

(GENESIS 8:20–22)

Before doing any of the myriad chores necessary to start life over from scratch, Noah made sacrifices to God. God had instructed Noah to fill the ark with seven pairs of clean animals and one pair of unclean animals (see Gen. 7:2). What characteristics made an animal clean or unclean is not defined, but it is generally assumed that the people of Noah’s day already understood that some animals were acceptable for sacrifice to God while others were not, a distinction later codified (see Lev. 11). From the seven pairs of clean animals that remained to repopulate the earth, Noah took one clean animal of each kind and sacrificed it to God. It was a demonstration of faith on Noah’s part that indicates he was willing to kill off nearly 15 percent of his available stock of animals.

The aroma that rose from Noah’s sacrifice was pleasing to God. Psalm 51:16–17 says, For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (NRSV). It is not the aroma of roasting meat that pleased God. Noah’s contrite heart put sacrificing to God ahead of finding food, building a new home, or figuring out what the family was to wear and that pleased God.

The Hebrew word translated aroma is reyach. In the Septuagint, which was the Old Testament that most Jews in Christ’s time knew, the Greek word chosen to translate reyach is hosmē. The Greek word is interesting because it appears three times in the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians 2:14, one learns that those who know Christ give off an aroma. In Ephesians 5:2, Paul says that Christ, as He hung dying on the cross, gave off a fragrant aroma. Paul recounts, in Philippians 4:18, that the monetary offering sent to him by Epaphroditus was a fragrant aroma that pleased God.

Noah was being put to the test by God to see how he would handle the responsibility of rebuilding the earth. When Noah put God first, offering a valuable portion of what had been left to him for rebuilding, God smelled the aroma of faith and found it pleasing. God had tested Noah and Noah passed the test. The creation could continue safe in the knowledge that no more cataclysmic floods would come.

This in no way suggests that God expected Noah to be perfect. Genesis 8:21 clearly states God’s recognition that ‘the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth’ (NRSV). Noah was no exception. Don Fleming writes, God’s promise not to destroy the earth by a flood again was not because he expected people to improve. He knew they would be as sinful as ever. If God always dealt with people as they deserved, such floods would occur constantly (Bridgeway Bible Commentary, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bbc/genesis-8.html). What God saw in Noah was a hopeful sign that faith was present in the human heart. This somber reflection on the state of human hearts excludes optimism about the direction of human history or the improvement of people over the generations. Though each generation would like to believe that they are more righteous than those who came before, it remains true that human hearts are bent toward evil from birth. Only few turn from this path when God is allowed to change those hearts as part of His recreating of His world.

II. A COVENANT ENACTED

(GENESIS 9:8–11)

Noah needed help from God, and God came through. While the creatures that had previously viewed people as their caretaker would now regard people with fear and dread (see Gen. 2:9–20; 9:2–3), God placed these creatures into Noah’s hand. They would be his to use as he required, including sustenance.

God required only one thing of Noah, just as he had only one requirement of Adam. Adam was to leave the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil alone. Now, Noah was to leave the blood of the animals alone. Israel was also prohibited from eating animals with their blood as recorded in Leviticus 17:10. The Church is still prohibited from eating blood by the decision of the Apostles recorded in Acts 15:28–29. The reason God gave to Noah for the prohibition about eating blood was that the blood represents the life of the creature (see Gen. 9:4–5). Adam Clarke observes, No blood was eaten under the law, because the blood was to be shed for the sin of the world; and under the Gospel it should not be eaten, because it should ever be considered as representing the blood which has been shed for the remission of sins (Adam Clarke’s Commentary, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/genesis-9.html).

As Noah and his family left the ark and began the process of starting humanity all over again, God gave them a gift. He offered them a covenant that would bind Him to His promise that He would never again destroy the earth by flood. The Hebrew word berit is translated covenant. A covenant is, in general terms, simply a contract between two; marriage is such a contract and is illustrative of what a covenant entails. The marriage covenant involves promises given from a man to his betrothed and from the woman to her betrothed. Each typically promises to love, cherish, and honor the other. Blessings come in the form of a happy marriage when those promises are kept. Curses, in the form of discord, strife, and, ultimately perhaps, divorce, come when the promises are broken. The covenant is symbolized by the exchange of rings that are said to represent the unbreakable bond between the new husband and wife.

A covenant between God and humanity is slightly different. In covenants between two people, both may give blessings and both may receive blessings. In God’s covenants, only God is the Giver. He, alone, offers the blessings and He, alone, threatens the curses. It is left to people to choose whether or not they will obey the terms of the covenant. When Joshua gave his speech in preparation for the people of Israel to cross into the Promised Land, he asked them to choose whether or not they would obey God (see Josh. 24:15). Their continued obedience was by no means a foregone conclusion. The power imbalance between God and His people reflects the dynamic of many ancient Near Eastern covenants in which a more powerful figure or nation would enter into a covenant with a less powerful individual or group. In exchange for the loyalty of the less powerful party, the more powerful party would provide protections of various kinds and other incentives. Israel’s obedience to covenants with God would result in His showers of blessings and through them blessing the whole world.

God’s covenant with Noah was to be applied to all flesh. The animals had been given into Noah’s hand, and they were to receive the blessing of the covenant just the same as the people were. All living things were blessed as a result of God’s graciousness and Noah’s humble submission.

III. A SIGN GIVEN

(GENESIS 9:12–17)

The rainbow was God’s symbol given to all creation as a reminder of His promise to them. God, of course, does not forget, but the Hebrew word zakar translated as remember implies having something brought to the forefront of one’s thought (Gen. 9:16, NRSV). A person might place a note on the bathroom mirror to remind himself to pay a bill, for example. It is not that the person will simply forget, but rather, that the note serves to bring the payment back to his attention. Every time there is a rainbow, God’s promise is returned to the forefront of His mind and He thinks of His promise to Noah. God’s remembrance is not just a mental process; it is an action. When God remembers, He acts on His memory. Remembering His promise to Noah, He would act by refraining from sending a flood to destroy the world in water.

The words of God’s promise to Noah emphasize that the promise is not actually just for Noah, or his family or the people who would come to repopulate the world. The promise is for every single creature in the world. The covenant was made between God, Noah, and every living creature . . . for all future generations (v. 12, NRSV). The involvement of the nonhuman in the promise parallels their presence in the expectations of vv. 1–7 (see also 6:11–13). . . . The bow thus suggests restraint in the midst of deserved judgment. It therefore seems best to retain the bow as a symbol of peace and divine good will toward creation. In either case, the bow serves as an important sign of God’s deep, ongoing commitment to the life of the creation (Terence E. Fretheim, Genesis in The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol. I [Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1994], 400).

God’s concern was for all of His creation, just as it is today. Though the bow reminds believers that God would not destroy the world again in water, the reminder was primarily to the LORD to see and remember all of His beloved creation. For this reason, God repeated Himself to Noah and said ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth’ (v. 17, NRSV).

THE LESSON APPLIED

Noah was tested, and he passed by making submission to God a priority in the aftermath of his ordeal. Because he humbly acknowledged God first, God blessed Noah. All people have the same opportunity whenever we face the trials and tests of life. When what seems like a tragedy strikes, we have the choice of either accepting it in faith that God knows what He is doing, or grumbling and complaining in rebellion against the will of God, who allowed it. When something that seems wonderful happens, people face a similar choice as to how to react. We may choose to congratulate ourselves and use the blessing for our own desires, or we may choose to gratefully offer the blessing back to the God who sent it to be used in service to His Kingdom. James wrote about this truth: those who petition God’s blessings for personal comfort and pleasure will not be heard (see James 4:3).

It all comes down to the aroma of our lives, just as it did with Noah. Those of us who spread around an aroma of faith, obedience, humility, and surrender will pass the tests of life and find from God what we need to overcome. He has told us what the fruits of the Spirit are and he has been just as clear about what are the fruits of the flesh (see Gal. 5:16–26). We cannot claim that God has not told us what He desires from us. If a person wishes to triumph over all that life can throw, she should strive to be like Noah and offer to God the fragrance of a surrendered life.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

1. Are covenant and contract the same?

The words contract and covenant are often thought of as being synonymous, but these two forms of agreement are not parallel.

Contract signers agree to uphold up their end as long as the other signatories uphold theirs. If one party violates the terms of the agreement, the contract is broken in the eyes of the law, often rendering the contract null and void.

A covenantal agreement is more binding, such as the bond within a matrimonial relationship. It has often been observed that marriage is not a 50-50 arrangement; but rather, a 100-100 partnership. Each party commits to giving 100 percent of themselves to the marriage, regardless of the marital partner’s actions.

When parties enter into covenant, both are bound to the agreement, regardless of whether the other party keeps honors the terms. One party’s violation of the covenant does not release the other party from the alliance. The other violated party still has a responsibility to faithfully honor the covenant.

HOME DAILY DEVOTIONAL READINGS

SEPTEMBER 4–10, 2017

GENESIS 17:1–14

MAIN THOUGHT: This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. (Genesis 17:10, KJV)

LESSON SETTING

Time: Third Millennium B.C.

Place: Canaan

LESSON OUTLINE

I. Covenant from God

(Genesis 17:1–2)

II. Covenant Promises

(Genesis 17:3–8)

III. Covenant Requirements

(Genesis 17:9–14)

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

Humans have an innate desire to support their children and ensure their future. What is required to make this possible? God used circumcision to ratify an everlasting covenant between God and Abram to make him and his descendants prosperous, provided they walk with God and live blameless lives.

INTRODUCTION

It is difficult to date with any certainty when Abraham and Sarah may have been alive. The earliest surviving reference to Abraham may be in a 10th century Egyptian text, which refers to a place in the Negeb called ‘the Fortress of Abraham,’ listed among places conquered by the 22nd-Dynasty king Sheshonq (Shishak) in his incursion into Palestine during the reign of Rehoboam (P. Kyle McCarter, Jr, Abraham in Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000], 8). Scholars generally date Abraham’s lifetime to the third millennium B.C. during the Middle Bronze Age. However, more important to Christians than when exactly Abraham lived are the promises that God made to Abraham and how they have been fulfilled in the span of human history.

It should come as no surprise to Christians that God offers similar agreements. One of the earliest examples in Scripture of a conditional covenant between God and humanity is the agreement God made with Abram, as recorded in Genesis 17. One can learn much about God and His dealings with people by examining who the participants were in God’s covenant with Abram, what the requirements were that Abram and other participants had to meet, and what they would earn if they met the requirements.

EXPOSITION

I. COVENANT FROM GOD

(GENESIS 17:1–2)

In Genesis 17:1, God initiated the covenant of circumcision with Abram. It is not a covenant between equals. Had God not approached Abram, introducing himself as the almighty God, the covenant would never have been offered. Agreements between people and God always begin with God. While God, in His infinite grace and mercy, may do what His people seek, He does it out of His love, not because anyone can bind him into an agreement that He did not initiate. Abram needed to clearly understand that this is the God above all other gods. Abram was living at the time in Canaan, where there was a multitude of local deities. It was not a local god who spoke to Abram, however. This was the God whose power and glory transcended anything that anyone might claim on behalf of another god. Abram prostrated himself in total submission.

Abram had a history with God. God had called Abram to leave his family and his home in Haran and journey to some unknown land (see Gen. 12:1–3). Leaving and unsure of his destination, Abram next encountered God when God promised that a land of Abram’s own awaited him (see Gen. 13:14–18). In those days, land was everything. To have land was to have an identity, to have stature and honor among the various groups of people. Land provided security for entire families, extended relations included. Abram’s next encounter with God came in the aftermath of the promise of land. Having land was important, but Abram also needed offspring to whom he could bequeath the land God would give. He cried out to God for a son (see Gen. 15:1–6). God heard Abram’s cry and promised him an heir, despite Abram’s advanced age.

In short, Abram had a history of encounters with God and had responded with obedience. He had journeyed forward from Haran (Gen. 12) in the face of a promise that someday, somewhere, a new home awaited. Then he accepted God’s promise that a childless couple would produce an heir in their old age. Abram was a man of faith, though that faith was not always perfect (see Gen. 16). Abram had a track record of trust in God’s commands.

In a covenant between God and humanity, the only requirement with which God binds Himself is to honor the terms of the covenant by providing the blessings for obedience. People, however, have requirements that must be met to remain inside the bounds of the covenant. Two requirements were presented to Abram from the start. God told Abram and all who would come after him through faith, to walk before me (Gen. 17:1, NRSV). To walk before God did not mean, as it did with many of the local gods in Canaan, to physically present oneself at a specific location. Canaanite peoples had their baals and their Ashtoreth images before which the believers would bow in worship and supplication. Stephen, in his speech before the Sanhedrin, said, ‘The Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands’ (Acts 7:48, NRSV). God dwells in the hearts of people whose faith opens them to His presence. That has always been the case, despite the focus in Israel on building temples of stone. God walked in the Garden of Eden as a companion to Adam and Eve (see Gen. 3:8). It was an intimate personal relationship between a loving God and the crown of His creation. Therefore, walking before God has nothing to do with one’s location or any building or statue. Walking before God is a matter of the heart, where God dwells.

The second requirement God placed on Abram—and Abram’s seed as people of faith—is to be blameless (Gen. 17:1, NRSV). God never expected that Abram or anyone else would be sinless; therefore, God’s instruction to be blameless should not be misinterpreted as a requirement to live without committing sin. To understand what God was requiring necessitates an examination of sin. There are two basic ways in which a person might sin. One is unintentional. Through negligence, absentmindedness, or otherwise distractedness, a person can sin without meaning to do so. The other means is intentional. People can choose to do wrong—whether by omission or comission—and frequently decide to sin rather than walking in righteousness.

God knows that human hearts are inclined to evil, but He takes great delight in those who earnestly endeavor to set aside fleshly desires and strive to obey His laws. God did not require Abram to be sinless and perfect to receive His promises. He simply required that Abram’s life be characterized by a willingness to do as God instructed him.

II. COVENANT PROMISES

(GENESIS 17:3–8)

Another participant in the covenant of circumcision was not an individual, but the seed that would come from Abram and Sarai. The Hebrew word used describes any source of life, from the seed of a plant to the life-carrying seed of human beings. The natural tendency, and the one which Israel chose, was to consider the seed of Abram the biological descendants of the union between Abram and Sarai. Jews took pride in their heritage as the literal descendants of Abram in Jesus’ days. John the Baptist warned the Jews not to think that being descendants of Abraham would excuse their lack of repentance (see Luke 3:8). It took Paul to straighten out and elaborate the misunderstanding of exactly who were the seeds of Abram. Romans 4 explains in great detail that the descendants of Abram’s faith, as exemplified in Isaac, are the actual participants in the covenant of circumcision, not the literal biological descendants.

This in no way means that God did not intend to bless Abraham’s biological descendants. He blessed Ishmael, despite him not being the promised heir. He blessed the people of Israel as well, though it was their faith in God’s promises that God honored, not the biological connection. This understanding that it is Abram’s faith, not Abram’s biology, that God is primarily focused on changes the understanding of the covenant He made with Abram.

III. COVENANT REQUIREMENTS

(GENESIS 17:9–14)

A final requirement was the covenant is circumcision. God clearly described this rite as a symbol (see 17:11). Symbols are outward indicators of an inward reality. While God expected Abram to physically circumcise all the males living under his protection, whether family or servants, the act of circumcision was to symbolize the cutting away of the world and the turning of the heart to God. Paul makes this clear in Romans 2:28–29: For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal (NRSV). Both the outer symbol and the inner reality were important to God’s covenant.

God promised that the covenant with Abram—now called Abraham—would be everlasting. There will come a day when the sky is rolled up like a scroll, and yet the covenant with Abraham will continue. Jerusalem may vanish in the fire of God’s judgment, yet a new Jerusalem will descend from heaven to be the home of all those who keep the covenant (see Rev. 21:1–2). This promise awaits all who, by faith, keep the requirements. Though believers may only dimly understand the true glory of what God has planned.

God promised a land, which represented security, identity, stature, and honor. While Abraham was certain to gain a worldly home, God also had in view something much more significant.

God introduced Himself by using a name humanity had never before heard—El Shaddai, or Almighty God. He was not the only one to get a new name that day. Abram became Abraham, and Sarai became Sarah. New names signify new realities. Abram signified a great father, Abraham a father of multitudes. Through covenant participation in the faith of Abraham, people can be included in that multitude today.

The final promise to Abraham was more of a warning. It is possible to be cut off from the promises. An individual who has the opportunity to join the covenant family of faith but refuses to circumcise his or her heart will have no place among the multitude of Abraham’s offspring. This should be a sobering warning to those who believe that simply walking down an aisle and praying a quick prayer is enough to guarantee them inclusion among Abraham’s covenant family.

While God spoke to Abram at first, Sarai was one flesh with Abram in God’s sight and so, what God would do for Abram, he would do for Sarai as well. She, like Abram, had demonstrated faith by accompanying Abram as he left behind all they had ever known in life. Sarai, too, left behind family, friends, a community, and the security of a homeland, trusting both in God and in her spouse. In some ways, her faith might be considered stronger than Abram’s because none of the promises were made directly to her. Despite her pushing Abram to produce an heir through Hagar, Sarai found favor in God’s sight and would be blessed by God’s covenant.

Faith was the key for Abraham and Sarah. It was not to be the first son, Ishmael, through whom the covenant would be fulfilled, but through the child of promise, Isaac. The promise to Abraham was given prior to physical circumcision and is for those who carry on Abraham’s faith, not for those who are biological descendants.

THE LESSON APPLIED

Sometimes, American Christians seem to be very much interested in what we get by being children of God. We want salvation for ourselves and for those we love. We want blessings of health, wealth, and happiness all the time. We often expect God to come through for us in myriad of ways. Before we can expect the blessings, we must meet the requirements. The covenant between God and Abraham makes clear that God expects His people to have hearts that are completely inclined to Him at all times. Proverbs 4:23 warns believers to keep your heart with all vigilance (NRSV).

Directly speaking to those awaiting the coming of the day of the Lord, Jesus warned, Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap (Luke 21:34–35, NRSV). To guard our hearts, we must be on high alert as we maneuver through our daily lives, aware that the deceiver prowls like a lion seeking our total destruction. We do well to humbly examine ourselves at the close of each day, asking God to alert our awareness any and every time our hearts have turned away from him, so that we might repent and be restored before our stumbling turns into something deadly.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

1. Does God promise material prosperity to His children?

Being a Christian brings no guarantee of material prosperity, yet the television is replete with clergy who try to convince us otherwise. Prosperity is, in a sense, about attaining one’s desired outcome and moving steadily toward that goal. When a person walks before God blamelessly, that person can expect to steadily move toward the goal of salvation and eternity with God, whether they are rich or poor or somewhere in between. This is the spiritual reality we receive as a promise from God if we keep the requirements of the covenant. Paul shouts in Romans 8, Who will separate us from the love of Christ? (v. 35, NRSV). It is a rhetorical question to which the answer is nothing!

God needs nothing from His people. He offers us a covenant agreement only because He loves His creation and desires to see it redeemed from the mess that sin has made of it. God desires that today’s people walk before Him just as he commanded Abram to do. God is not some distant, unapproachable deity dwelling behind a curtain in a stone temple. He desires to be our intimate companion, dwelling daily in our hearts through our faith in Him.

HOME DAILY DEVOTIONAL READINGS

SEPTEMBER 11–17, 2017

EXODUS 31:12–18

MAIN THOUGHT: Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. (Exodus 31:13–14, KJV)

LESSON SETTING

Time: Thirteenth Century B.C.

Place: Mt. Sinai

LESSON OUTLINE

I. Why Have a Sabbath?

(Exodus: 31:12–14)

II. Keeping the Sabbath

(Exodus: 31:15–17)

III. Two Stone Tablets

(Exodus: 31:18)

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

Multitasking, complex job responsibilities, and diverse family structures and commitments may make persons feel overwhelmed. How can one find relief from the tedious and mundane? God commanded Moses and the Israelites to rest on the sabbath and keep it holy as a sign of their reverence to God who created the earth in six days and who rested and was refreshed on the seventh day.

INTRODUCTION

From the earliest days of recorded human history, a day of rest has been common place. The biblical creation account says that observance of Sabbath rest began at creation when God rested on the seventh day (see Gen. 2:2). From that example, humanity dispersed across the earth, as they migrated taking with them the habit of doing as God had done. M.G. Easton writes, "The ancient Babylonian calendar, as seen from recently recovered inscriptions on the bricks among the ruins of the royal palace, was based on the division of time into weeks of seven days. The Sabbath is in these inscriptions designated Sabattu, and defined as ‘a day of rest for the heart’ and ‘a day of completion of labour [sic]’" (Illustrated Bible Dictionary [New York City, NY: Cosimo Classics, 2005], 591). However, not all cultures permitted everyone to have the day of rest. The biblical account suggests that the Egyptians worked their Hebrew slaves without a day off (see Exod. 1:11–14).

As the Hebrew people left the tyranny of Egypt and journeyed into the Negev desert to Mt. Sinai, they turned to God for guidance in putting their culture back together after centuries of enslavement. Moses, as recorded in Exodus 19:3, climbed Mt. Sinai to hear from God. One of the things God presented to Moses was a detailed set of instructions for the construction