Thoughts from January 8 and 9 Bible Readings

January 9, 2018

Reading: Genesis 23-24; Matthew 8

I missed a day in the reading.  There, I said it.  It happens.  By God’s grace, I was able to catch up by including yesterday’s reading this morning. The Lord used the reading in Matthew 7 to remind me that the person whose sins cause me the biggest problems are my own. While I have a responsibility to my brothers and sisters in Christ to help them recognize and repent of their sins, I should be more bothered by my own sins than theirs, and I need to address my own sins before I help them address theirs.

Genesis 24:2–4 (CSB)

²Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,

³and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,

⁴but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Our Old Testament reading for today continues the story of Abraham and his family. In Genesis 23, Sarah, his wife, dies. In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant back to his relatives to find a wife for his son, Isaac. I do not want to assume too much about the reasons Abraham was concerned that his son marry someone from his people rather than from the Canaanites, but it was important. Marriage is important for many, many reasons.

I am a dad of two children, one of whom is now a college student. Who my children marry is important; for their sake, for their children’s sake; and for the sake of the glory of God. I sometimes wish I could arrange their marriages for them, but that is not how it works in this time and in this culture. What I can do for the marriages of my children is to pray for them and their future spouses and to teach my children about marriage and the kind of person they should seek to marry as a follower of Christ. 

Oh Lord, please find me faithful in praying for my children and in teaching them about Christian marriage. Amen.

Matthew 8:34 (CSB)

³⁴At that, the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Matthew 8 contains the stories of several miracles that Jesus did.  The miracles include healings, casting out demons, and calming storms.  One miracle included Jesus casting demons out of two people who lived among the tombs. (Can you imaging how tormented these folks must have been?) He sent the demons into a herd of pigs who ran off a cliff into the sea. I am sure the owners were not happy. After seeing this miracle, the whole town asked Him to leave. Two of their lesser citizens were healed at the cost of a herd of pigs and the Son of God was in their midst. Yet, they preferred the status quo rather than the necessary changes to see Jesus redeem these lives and the lives of others.

How often do I prefer the status quo over the good things the Lord may want to do in my life or through my life? I believe many of us prefer the status quo over the works of God because the works of God may cause us to change, may cost us something, or may positively impact some we do not care deeply about.  Oh Lord, please help me, help us to desire You and Your works over the status quo. Amen.

What is the Lord addressing in your life from this reading in His Word?