From Zero to Hero

Gen 37:26  Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Gen 37:27  Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
Gen 37:35  All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son.” So his father wept for him.

Gen 42:4  But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.

Gen 43:8  Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.

Gen 43:9  I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.

Gen 44:16  “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup

Gen 44:32  Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’
Gen 44:33  “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.

(NIV)
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The past catches up – it often does. Judah, a tainted individual with family problems adds one more to the list when he proposes selling his brother (by his own words “our own flesh and blood”) to the slave traders. Jealousy and envy has clouded his judgement, the same way it clouded Cain’s. Judah’s sin is almost equivalent to Cain – both sought the end of their brother – only Judah’s method was more indirect. However, there is one key difference between the two men – Judah realized his mistake while Cain never admitted his.

What changed Judah? Perhaps seeing the pain of his father moved Judah back to the path of righteousness. We don’t know for sure, but he appeared to have been conscious and carried the guilt of his early transgressions until finally, in Gen 44:33, the years of accumulated progress toward righteousness reaches a high point. What was the relationship between Judah and Joseph in the latter years? The bible doesn’t detail this, but we know that Judah of tainted past was eventually transformed to Judah of future kings. Centuries later, a great king in the line of Judah will unite all of Israel and from his line, will come the messiah.

Genesis 49:9-12 details Jacob’s blessing on Judah:

Gen 49:8  “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.
Gen 49:9  You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
Gen 49:10  The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
Gen 49:11  He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
Gen 49:12  His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

Humankind is filled with imperfections; we have all sinned – how we choose to respond to that makes all the difference.

Shalom.

Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah

Gen 18:20  Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
Gen 18:21  that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
Gen 18:22  The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
Gen 18:23  Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Gen 18:24  What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
Gen 18:25  Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Gen 18:26  The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Gen 18:27  Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,
Gen 18:28  what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
Gen 18:29  Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
Gen 18:30  Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
Gen 18:31  Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
Gen 18:32  Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
Gen 18:33  When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

(NIV)

This is one of my favourite passages in the bible. Where I come from, not many sermons are preached about Abraham, but more should be. To say that Abraham may be one of the holiest humans to ever walk the earth is not exaggeration. Here was a man who could stand face-to-face with God and converse with Him. In today’s awesomely amazing passage, the Lord God Almighty converses with Abraham and shares with him the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. We can only wonder how both persons communicated, but the way Abraham communicates with God is instructive. In the presence of the Lord, His divine majesty inspires the deep humility that is sometimes so lacking in our society today.

More importantly, God demonstrates His divine grace – the almighty Judge listening to the intercessor’s plea – He relents and shows no sign of impatience even if the evil cities deserve judgement. Our God is not an unjust God, but He provides us grace in order that we may be reconciled with Him. No one on earth today can be saved except through grace and grace exists only because God wills it.

Shalom

Samuel the Listener

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.
The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
1 Sam 3:19-21 (NIV)

Throughout history, we have grown accustomed to great people of God – eloquent speakers, powerful characters and dynamic speakers and indeed, all these have been worthy and valid champions for God.
However, today’s champion had quite different trait. Let’s understand Samuel’s background in more detail. Samuel was a young boy sent by his grateful mother to train and serve as God’s priest. He served Eli, the aged high priest of Israel and we are told Samuel wore a linen ephod (a priestly garment) even at a young age – something the author of Samuel thought to highlight to future readers, since not everybody could wear the ephod – this is reinforced in 1 Sam 2:28.

So Samuel continued to grow, and found favour with both God and men (1 Sam 2:26). This similar text was used to illustrate the growth of another high priest – our eternal high priest Jesus Christ (Luke 2:52).
NOt much is known about Samuel’s gift as a servant of GOd – we know people were drawn to him and he served faithfully all his life – the bible does not provide details of his physical characteristics – but 1 Sam 3:19 shares what may have been his greatest strength. Samuel was a man who listened to the God and his heart was a fertile ground for God’s word. Indeed, who knows if Jesus had Samuel in mind when he shared the parable of the sower?

So for us today, ponder what it means to “let none of the Word of God fall to the ground”? Let’s discuss and meditate on these worthy thoughts and be blessed.

Shalom.