Burunche’s Blog

Abram and Lot Part Ways

“Genesis 13:1-18 So Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev—he and his wife and all his possessions—and Lot was with him. And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold. From the Negev he journeyed from place to place toward Bethel, until he came to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched, to the site where he had built the altar. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist. And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Lot Proceeds toward Sodom

And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

God Renews the Promise to Abram

After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west, for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width—for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.”

Abram and Lot both have huge herds and flocks and grazing land and water for these animals is a problem. Now Abram’s workers and Lot’s workers are constantly fighting over grazing and water rights. Something must done, and Abram must take the lead. Why doesn’t Lot come to Abram and suggest a solution? Lot is not a believer and Lot is selfish, having a sense of entitlement.

Abram is Lot’s uncle. As the elder, Abram should have first choice in everything, enjoying the best and leaving the remainder for Lot. But Abram graciously allows Lot first choice. At this point, the Dead Sea might not exist; the Jordan River might flow through the Sea of Galilee and on down to the Gulf of Aqaba and the entire Jordan Valley is verdant, promising rich grazing for Lot’s large flocks and herds. True, the men of Sodom have a reputation for wickedness, but Lot figures he can avoid Sodom. So Lot chooses the whole plain of the Jordan for himself, leaving Abram with hill country, sparser grazing, and less water. There’s Lot’s sense of entitlement kicking in again. Lot lives in the cities of the plain but “pitches his tent toward Sodom.” This decision will prove to be the worst of Lot’s entire life.

“After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west, for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width—for I will give it to you.” Notice that God does not renew this promise to Abram until after Abram has given the Jordan Valley to Lot. Here God is assuring Abram that no matter what kind of arrangement Abram has made with Lot, Abram’s descendants will inherit all the land, including the Jordan Valley and that God will multiply Abram’s descendants ”like the dust of the earth.”

Being a good and generous person can be very trying, particularly when you are dealing with those with a strong sense of entitlement. Few things are more frustrating than seeing the solution for a problem and then having to navigate around someone else’s ego to reach that solution. Although the account in Genesis is descriptive, we wonder what has not been recorded. Given the fact that Abram takes the lead, it’s likely that Lot’s herdsmen have been causing most of the problems with Lot urging them on in the background. Perhaps Abram makes his suggestion out of a sense of frustration and disgust.

The important thing to notice about Abram is his regular worship of the Lord. Abram returns from the Negev in the south to the area between Ai and Bethel, rebuilds his altar, and worships the Lord. Once God gives Abram His promise, Abram moves south to the oaks of Mamre near Hebron and worships the Lord again. At no point is there any mention of Lot worshiping the Lord. Lot might be a good person, but he is trusting in his own goodness and not in God’s.

How is Abram able to give up the best grazing land to an ungrateful nephew? Abram is in regular communication with God and God is reassuring Abram of His watch care and His promises. Abram trusts that God is going to give him the necessary grazing and water for his herds and flocks. Abram is also trusting that God will keep His promises, and this faith gives Abram peace.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of people with well-developed senses of entitlement, and you never know when one of these people will appear to complicate things. But when you are trusting God as Abram has done, you can trust that God keeps the books and God can multiply resources and improved things for you. Even if you like Abram find yourself forced to retreat to a less than optimal location, God is still fully capable of blessing you and multiplying resources.

Our hospital cares for very poor people, many of whom cannot possibly settle even the smallest of medical bills. Through our hospital chaplain and some of our nurses, we settle medical bills and also provide money for feeding for patients and their families. We are not rich people nor do we have large numbers of wealthy donors supporting us; yet, God continues to provide so that we are able to help others. Through the years, we have seen God multiply our resources in many different ways, and we can state with Joshua that “And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” (Joshua 23:14)

The law of the Kingdom of God is simple: the measure you give out is the measure you will receive. Abram graciously gave his nephew first choice and lived to rejoice that he had done so, gaining God’s peace in the process. Selfish Lot forfeited God’s peace by grabbing the best land, but a land inhabited by wicked men.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You and Your promises and to be willing to yield to gain peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 12:10-20 “Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”

So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.” 

Abram is at least 75 and his wife is a little younger. Sarai must be incredibly beautiful for the Egyptians to suggest Pharaoh add her to his harem. But the story of Abram’s duplicity is very sad. Abram is willing to sacrifice his wife to save himself, allowing Sarai to risk being raped, abused, or even murdered. At this point, Abram is not precisely an ideal hero of the faith, and later, he will do the same thing in a different setting. How does Sarai feel about this?

Abram starts out by benefiting from allowing Sarai to enter the harem, collecting sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. But God intervenes on Sarai’s behalf, sending plagues on Pharaoh and his household. By some means, Pharaoh realizes that these plagues are from God because of Sarai entering the harem. God has protected Sarai from Pharaoh taking her as another wife. Pharaoh realizes Abram’s deception and also realizes that Abram and Sarai are under God’s protection and sends them away.

What can we learn from this story? Abram is trying to save his own skin and to gain peace in the process; however, godly peace can never be gained by deception. Abram doesn’t bother to ask for God’s protection; he simply comes up with a scheme of his own, and a wretched one at that. Later, one of Abram’s descendants will pull something similar, most likely using Abram as an excuse.

Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, was fond of saying that “God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” The reverse is also true: Refusing to do things God’s way will result in disaster. God must be shaking his head in disdain as He sends the plagues on Egypt to deliver Sarai.

Why is God allowing Abram to get away with such a horrible deed? God knows that Abran believes in him and that Abram will eventually grow far beyond the need to attempt to be his own amateur providence. By the end of Abram’s lifetime, Abram will have received a new name, Abraham, and will also have received incredible promises from God. This part of Abram’s story should encourage all of us, for we all have tried to make things happen on our own without waiting for God.

There is also another aspect to this situation. As we were concluding our first two-year mission term, we realized that the work of the Kingdom of God goes on in spite of most of us, not because of most of us. This story from Abram’s life serves as a graphic illustration. Looking at Abram’s behavior in this situation, most of us would never think that this man would become the father of nations, a man whose name would go down in history and for whom many other outstanding men would be named, including Abraham Lincoln. The plain fact is that God uses flawed people to do His work because that’s the only kind of people available. If not for God’s power, His mercy, and His grace, none of us would accomplish anything for the Kingdom.   

Want peace? Do things God’s way, for that is the only way that will work. All other efforts will result in disaster and embarrassment. Perhaps God will graciously deliver us from our foolishness; however, why take a chance?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow Your leading so that we will have Your peace rather than trying to make things happen on our own. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 12:1-9 The Call of Abram (Genesis 26:1-5; Acts 7:1-8)

“Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.

When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring. ” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.”

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” God is calling Abram to leave everything comfortable and familiar to go to an unknown land. As God is promising to make Abram a great nation, Abram is probably thinking, “Say what? My wife Sarai is barren, and I’m already 75 years old. God, how are you going to do this?” There is nothing to indicate that Abram is a distinguished citizen of Haran or that he has any kind of reputation whatsoever, so Abram is probably confused about the rest of God’s promises as well.

 “So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.” Abram is succeeding where his father Terah failed. Abram obeys God and packs up all his possessions, his family, and his servants and his livestock and moves out toward the west to Canaan. Anyone who has ever moved knows few things are more painful than moving. You might think you are living very simply until you must pack everything up and move it. That’s when you realize you don’t own your possessions but your possessions own you. During moving, things get lost and broken. When you arrive, unpacking and arranging your things can be a daunting task.

In the spring of 1963 my family moved from a thirteen-room house to an eight-room house. To make matters worse, my father had arranged for friends from the church to assist in the move, but he neglected to inform my mother or us kids that we were moving! We went off to school from one house only to get off the school bus and be told that we were now living somewhere else and that strangers had packed all our things. To make matters even more complicated, our move took us from one school district to a different school district, so my father or grandfather had to take us to the neighbors to catch the bus to our current schools for the remaining three months of the school year. We had to stuff lots of things into the garage next to the house. Two years later, that garage and its contents were reduced to splinters by a tornado, and we never could remember what we had stored there in the first place.

“When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring. ” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.” The journey described here covers much of the current land of Israel. Without realizing it, Abram is viewing the territory God is promising to give to his descendants.

How much courage does it take for Abram to obey God? Abram is the only one of the family hearing from God, so everyone else has to go along. Are family members resisting and asking questions? Or is Abram so charismatic that everyone believes him? And when Abram reaches Canaan, how many others in the party are prepared to settle at once without going any further? But God is leading  Abram, giving him no peace until he travels throughout the land.

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “The Explorer.” In that poem, the narrator tells of trying to be satisfied with a settlement in a cozy little border station in the foothills until God’s whisper came to him, driving him to cross the mountains and explore. The final line is “Anybody might have found it, but – His Whisper came to me.” Throughout Abram’s travels, God’s whispers were leading him on. Abram finds peace in the journey.    

Perhaps God is leading you into something dangerous and exciting. You wonder if it’s worth the risk. But if you don’t take the risk, for the rest of your life you will hate yourself for not having tried. When God’s Whispers come, listen to them and obey. You’ll never regret it, even when you are questioning your sanity!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to step out even when we are afraid, knowing that You are the One who leads and guides us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Terah was the father of Abram, who later became Abraham and who received so many of God’s promises, including the miraculous birth of Isaac to Sarai when she was well beyond child-bearing age and the promise to become the father of nations. We don’t know how old Terah was when he set out for Canaan, but obviously he had something in mind. But when Terah and his family arrived in Haran, they settled there. If you look at the map, you realize that Terah had already made it most of the way to Canaan. Terah traveled from Ur, south of Babylon, to Haran, north of Damascus. But Terah never made it to Canaan; had he done so, he might have shared in the miraculous promises God gave Abraham.

Why did Terah leave Ur in the first place? Was he bored or hoping for better grazing for livestock? Or was God calling Terah to leave Ur? And why did Terah settle in Haran? Was Haran that attractive? Was Terah developing health problems? Did Terah become tired of traveling? Were other family members complaining and demanding to remain in Haran? At any rate, Terah settled for less than his original goal.

Life can be very hard sometimes. Family stresses, financial stresses, health threats, and events beyond our control may drag us down, tempting us to copy Terah and settle where we have reached, rather than continuing to pursue our goals. But God wants great things for us, and when we settle for less, we miss out on the good things we would have enjoyed had we persevered. In addition, we may always find ourselves wishing that we had not given up our dreams and struggling to find peace about our poor decision.

I nearly failed to apply to medical school at all, but I persevered in applying because a close friend urged me, demanding that I not abandon my dream. When I suffered through severe depression during my senior year of medical school, I nearly gave up becoming a surgeon. But the training program that accepted me held the position open for me, and I decided to go ahead and enter surgery residency. It was one of the best decisions I ever made, and thousands of grateful patients are glad I didn’t give up.
Has God given you a dream that is so big you feel it is impossible? Remember that if God gives you that dream, God will make a way for it to happen. Don’t give up! Keep making progress, even if you feel you are measuring that progress in inches or centimeters. One day, you will look back and thank God that you didn’t give up! And you will have the peace that comes from knowing that you are fulfilling God’s will for your life.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who are struggling to remember that You are the One who calls and when You call us to do something, You will also help us. Give those struggling Your strength and courage and endurance to reach the goals You have for them. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 11:1-9 The Tower of Babel (Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 2:1-13)

“Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it is called Babel,(Confusion) for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.”

“Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

When Noah and his family got off the ark, God commanded them to be fruitful and to multiply and to fill the entire earth. Fulfilling this commandment would mean scattering and becoming isolated. The lure of the familiar is very strong, and these people are no exception. Rather than spreading out, these folks are trying to clump together in a single metropolis, rebelling against God as they do so. And they are building a monument to themselves, “that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”  Clearly, these people are more worried about their reputations than about God’s will for their lives. And clearly, they also are anticipating some kind of divine retribution. You might think that after a flood that wiped out everything on earth that wasn’t in the ark, these people would know better. But the ability of human beings to delude themselves is almost unlimited.

Years ago, Rebecca Pippert wrote an excellent book on evangelism entitled Out of the Salt Shaker and Into the World:Evangelism as a Way of Life. This book pointed out the fact that when we clump together in churches, nobody outside the church will hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The last commandment Jesus gave his disciples was to be his witnesses ”in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8) Shortly after Jesus went into heaven, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and nothing was ever the same again.

“Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” In the beginning, there is only one language, and communication is simple. But these people are bent on going their own way, not God’s way. There is no indication that they have any interest in worshiping God; instead, they are busy building and inventing. Archaeology has proven that there were brilliant ancient people who devised all kinds of sophisticated instruments for astronomy and mathematics. Who knows what these people might develop? Perhaps without this confusion of speech, the atomic bomb would have existed millennia earlier.

“So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it is called Babel,(Confusion) for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.”  How did God scatter these people? Lacking a common language, people began feeling very uncomfortable with their neighbors. No matter how hard they tried to convince themselves that everything they tried to get along, they simply could not communicate. Far better to move!

God can send a divine restlessness in our spirits so that we are unable to remain in comfortable situations. In the fall of 1985, my husband and I began feeling incredibly uncomfortable for no reason. I had completed pediatric surgery training and was working, making more money than ever before. My husband had a job he enjoyed. We were attending a good church where we had many friends and were enjoying excellent teaching. We should have been very happy; yet, we felt quite uncomfortable. That was when my husband met a missionary surgeon friend who put us in touch with his mission. When we completed the application papers and submitted them, we began feeling some relief. Although that mission did not accept us as missionaries for doctrinal reasons, we had begun the move toward the mission field and felt a release within ourselves. Eventually, God led us to a mission and we came to Ghana nearly three years later.

Communication is vitally important. We work in northern Ghana in an area that is a linguistic patchwork quilt. We might go through 5 or 6 languages in the course of an average day in our outpatient department. Sometimes we scramble to find native speakers of unusual dialects so that we can communicate clearly. I speak two tribal languages poorly and have phrases in two more; however, sometimes my best communication is through hand gestures. (The nurses derive lots of entertainment from those hand gestures!) Since Ghana is a former British colony, the English spoken here has a British accent and not an American one. I find it helpful to advise new staff that they will not offend me if they ask me to repeat or to explain something.

How hard do we try to communicate with others? American tourists are infamous for assuming that they can make themselves understood in other countries if they simply SPEAK LOUD ENOUGH!!! Of course, this ploy doesn’t work and only makes the speaker appear ridiculous and insensitive. But clear communication depends on listening as well as speaking. How willing are we to listen to others before jumping in with our contribution? Communication is a two-way affair; otherwise, the speaker is only delivering a monologue with no anticipation of any response from the other individual.

There is another sad aspect of the short story of Babel: nowhere is there any indication that people asked God for direction, or that they consulted God in any fashion. We rarely attend prayer meetings anymore because most of the time, people are busy screaming at God as loudly and rapidly as possible. Sometimes the screamers claim they are waging spiritual warfare; however, it is God who has the power and not us, and God is not deaf, nor are demons impressed with noise. When God was trying to gain the attention of the prophet Samuel as a child, Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.” After that, Samuel was quiet and allowed God to speak into his heart. If we are unwilling to be quiet and to listen to God, how can we expect to hear anything from Him?

If we want peace, we must communicate with God and with others effectively. May God help us to listen more than we speak!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to listen to You and to others, knowing that You are the Source of all effective communication. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

Genesis 9: 18-27 “The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.

Now Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.

Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.

When Noah awoke from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” He also declared: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the servant of Shem. May God expand the territory of Japheth; may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”

After the lovely story of the rainbow, we have this strange tale of a family dispute. The flood waters have gone. Noah has three sons And in the beginning, they all have equal prospects and equal opportunities. But Noah has planted a vineyard and has made wine and is now so drunk that he is sprawling naked within his tent. Ham, the youngest son, peeps into the tent, sees Noah, and tells his brothers, mocking his father as he does so. Why should Ham do such a thing? Perhaps Ham wants to lord it over his elder brothers-“Look what I know that you don’t!” Perhaps Ham has heard his father muttering strange things in his drunken state. Shem and Japheth are horrified and spread a cloth between the two of them, backing into the tent so they can cover Noah without looking at him; they cover Noah and move out, never once glancing at Noah. Despite Noah’s pitiful state, Shem and Japheth do everything they can to honor their father. Once Noah sobers up, he learns how Ham has made fun of him and becomes very angry, cursing Ham and his son Canaan and all the generations of their family to come. Noah blesses Shem and Japheth for their respectful handling of the situation.

When a friend or relative does something embarrassing, we can create a peaceful resolution or we can embarrass them. But remember that the measure you give out is the measure you will receive. What goes around really does come around, and tomorrow you might be the one caught in an embarrassing situation.

Notice that this account says nothing about how Shem and Japheth feel about their father getting drunk. They might be sad and embarrassed as well. But these two men are doing everything in their power to honor their father even in his drunken state. When the Bible admonishes us to honor our parents, it does not list any exceptions such as “honor your parents as long as they are not doing anything shameful.” God loves us despite our shortcomings, not because of them. We must be as gracious to others as God is to us. We must grant all those around us the same measure of grace we would hope for were we in their position.

Some of us have no problems granting others grace. I was unfortunately raised in a home in which “smart” criticism of others was applauded. It has taken me most of my adult life to break the habits I learned as a child. If you find yourself in that same situation, do what I continue to do-ask God to change you and to help you to be kind and loving rather than harsh and critical. You will find much more peace when you are gracious.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be kind and loving, even when we are tempted to be harsh and critical. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 9:1-17 The Covenant of the Rainbow

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things. But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.

And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man: Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.” Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth—every living thing that came out of the ark. And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures: Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. And whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all living things on the earth.”

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things. But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.” Evidently, until now, people have been vegetarians; however, now God says that everything that lives and moves is potential food. But why is God so picky about blood? Blood represents life and God wants people to avoid eating raw meat or even tearing a piece out of a live creature.

“And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man: Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.” Although God has already punished Cain for murdering Abel, this is the first Biblical proscription against murder. Human life is to be respected because God has created men in His image. No matter how angry we are, we are to respect others because they have been made in God’s image. Atoning sacrifices for sins are blood sacrifices.

“But what about evolution?” you ask. What about it? If we accept the Big Bang theory, then a God who can speak the universe into an existence  with a single word can certainly use any means He chooses. It takes no less faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in special creation.   

“But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.” Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth—every living thing that came out of the ark. And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Notice that God is making a covenant with all creation and not just with people.

“And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures: Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” Why is the rainbow a sign of peace? The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise that He will never send another world-wide flood to destroy all creation, no matter how sinful men might become.

“But,” you protest, “rainbows are the result of certain atmospheric conditions.” Certainly, and Who do you think has created the atmosphere and those conditions? “I refuse to believe that God is involved,” you retort. Fine. Your choice. But your refusal to accept God’s word and His covenant does not nullify that covenant; it only cheapens your life by depriving you of the wonder of believing in God.   

We are all born with a sin problem, something about which we can do nothing. Not only has God sent rainbows but He has also sent His Son Jesus Christ to shed his blood in payment for our sins. We can choose to accept what Jesus has done and to believe in that salvation, or we can behave like Noah’s neighbors.

There’s a Gospel song that says, “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. So the rush for the door didn’t stop till it got dark. Don’t wait for the judgment to give the Lord your heart. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You for continuing to send rainbows as signs of Your faithfulness. Help all who read these words to trust You completely. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 8:13-22 “In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the water had dried up from the earth. So Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was fully dry.

Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives. Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.”

So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird—everything that moves upon the earth—came out of the ark, kind by kind.

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”

“In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the water had dried up from the earth. So Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was fully dry.

Talk about having cabin fever! Evidently, although there were some windows in the ark, there was some kind of covering over much of the deck that protected anyone out there from the weather. One of the untold miracles of the ark experience is the fact that Noah and his family managed to remain on good terms with one another throughout this entire ordeal.

Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives. Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it. So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird—everything that moves upon the earth—came out of the ark, kind by kind.”  By now everybody is blinking at the brightness of the sunshine, enjoying a breeze that is not bringing more rain, and generally feeling relieved and free. Everything is great, right? That’s when God gives His next set of instructions.

“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.” We must assume that Noah is making these offerings to the Lord according to the Lord’s command. It scarcely seems fair! These clean animals and clean birds have survived several months in the ark and have probably multiplied while there. Now some of them are to be killed and offered as burnt offerings-why? These clean animals and birds represent a kind of first fruits offering. Noah is offering the Lord the best he has as an act of trust that God is going to use the rest of the animals and the birds to repopulate the earth. The animals are also being sacrificed as blood offerings to atone for any sins Noah and his family might have committed while on the ark. (How long would you be sweet-tempered if you were shut up on a small boat for months on end?)  

“When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”  We think about the smell of burning flesh and it seems anything but pleasing! But this aroma is pleasing because of Noah’s willing obedience. Notice God has no illusions about human nature; however, he promises not to curse the ground nor to destroy all living creatures. In one of the loveliest passages in these verses, God promises, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.” 

Later, when God is giving Moses His Law, God institutes regular peace offerings, special celebrations when men are to offer perfect animals to atone for sins and to make peace with God. Noah’s offerings might be viewed as the first peace offerings recorded.

The Bible tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” (Hebrews 9:22) But God has sent His Son Jesus Christ to die as a blood sacrifice for our sins so that we no longer have to sacrifice sheep and goats and bullocks. When we accept what Jesus has done for us and believe in him, we are justified by faith. Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

All of us have a sin problem; nothing any of us can do will make up for our sins. Noah and his family sacrificed the best animals and birds they possessed to achieve peace with God. But Jesus has done what we cannot do. If we believe in Jesus and accept His sacrifice, we are freed from our sins and we can live in God’s peace.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are facing horrible problems and have no peace. Please heal these situations and give those of us who are struggling Your perfect peace that passes all understanding. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 8:1-12 “Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.”

“Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.”  Water!!! For forty days and nights, all Noah and his family have heard is the rain beating on the roof and the deck of the ark while the waves crash into the side of the ship. Not only has God caused torrential rainfall, but the “fountains of the deep” have already spewed forth their water as well. But on Day #41, the rain stops and the water begins to recede. At first, Noah and his family don’t realize what’s happening, but suddenly they notice that it’s quiet with only the wind blowing. The animals in the ark also notice the difference and are making happy sounds. The ark is no longer moving but has come to rest on a mountaintop. But it takes several more weeks before the mountaintops appear.

Noah sends out a raven that can perch on mountaintops, but it’s not until Noah sends out a dove that he gets the necessary information. The first time Noah sends out the dove, the dove returns immediately because there is nowhere for her to perch. Noah waits a week and sends out the dove again. The second time, the dove returns with a fresh olive leaf in her mouth, indicating that the water is receding. Noah waits an additional week and sends out the dove a third time; this time, the dove doesn’t return because she has found a nesting place.

By this point, Noah, his family, and the animals are becoming thoroughly tired of being on the ark. Noah is worrying because the animal food is running out. Noah’s family members are becoming fractious after being confined to small cabins for the duration of the voyage, only going on deck for some fresh air after caring for the animals. Noah is wondering how much longer everybody can survive the situation. Just when things are looking bleak, Noah suddenly realizes that the rain has stopped and all he hears is a wind blowing. Noah begins to hope that the worst is truly over.

God can send His peace into all kinds of situations; however, there’s a special allure to the peace we feel after a storm has passed by. We come out of our shelters, thankful to have survived. Life has never seemed so precious and we feel an incredible sense of relief. In such situations, there is a special kind of peace borne of joy that we have endured and hope that we will never have to be tested in that way again.

Perhaps you have been enduring a time of strenuous testing. Take heart! God is bringing you His special peace. The same God who instituted Sabbath rest wants to give you rest right now in the midst of your problems.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Thank You for giving us the rest we so desperately need and with it, Your peace. In the mighty and previous Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 7:11 – 24 “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.”

“On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.” Ever stop to wonder how Noah and his family must have felt as they saw all those animals streaming from every direction to enter the ark? Those animals must have behaved in an abnormally peaceful fashion for Noah and his sons to herd them all into their respective pens. God must have directed the animals so that chaos would not ensue? And have you ever stopped to wonder the feelings of Noah and his family as they heard that huge door swing closed, knowing that it was God who was closing the door and not them?

Noah and his sons have been working on the ark for 100 years, braving the jeers of the neighbors. Their wives have been enduring ridicule as they have fetched water at the local wells and done their marketing. Anywhere Noah’s family members have gone, they have been objects of derision, and meanwhile, they must have been wondering if Noah has really heard from God or not. Talk about honoring your father, even when you suspect he might be crazy! Now as God is closing the door to the ark, Noah’s entire family must be down on their knees worshiping God in fear and trembling.

Next, how must Noah’s family feel when the neighbors who had been mocking them are now pounding on the door, begging to enter? Gone are the ridicule and the vicious insults! As the thunder rolls and the lightning crashes, Noah’s family can hear people screaming for help. “But Noah, we are your neighbors! We’ve lived next door to you all these years! Open this door, Noah!” Noah’s family members look at him in horror as they realize that everyone they know apart from themselves is about to die. All Noah can do is to shrug his shoulders. “I didn’t shut that door; God did. I can’t open it either. Have you seen how those animals and birds all found their correct places by themselves? God has directed them. God is the One who is in charge here, not me.”

And now Noah and his family are safe in the ark; however, they are also trapped with nowhere else to go. Noah has no idea where God will take them; all he knows is that God has kept them safe so far.

There are many times when we find ourselves in a position not unlike that of Noah. Circumstances have overtaken us and all we can do is to keep working and hope we survive. In February 1994 a tribal conflict broke out while we were in Accra for a meeting. After spending nearly two months in Accra, we succeeded in returning to our small village to find that I was now the only doctor for 100,000 people who had nowhere else to go. We had to start an operating theater, a laboratory, and blood transfusions-all without electricity or running water. On countless occasions I looked out the window of the consulting room to watch as women and children streamed toward the River Oti with all their belongings on their heads because yet another rumor was circulating that we were about to be attacked. Our facility was forced to care for refugees and the military for free, and government support evaporated. Those supervising us had no appreciation or understanding for our situation but tried to micro-manage us from the capital city anyway. In the middle of this mess, one supporting church wrote us, grandly announcing that we “no longer fit into their missions program.” (We later learned that church was searching for a mission that would allow them to do missionary tourism, short visits to an attractive mission field. They chose to support someone in Israel instead. Supporting vitally needed health care in a conflict zone didn’t fit their concept of missions.) In many ways, we found ourselves in the same situation as Noah and his family. But we had peace because we knew God had called us to be there during this time.

How can you have peace when you are stuck in a difficult situation with no way out? More than a century ago, many missionaries were slaughtered during the Boxer Rebellion in China. As news of the tragedies multiplied, Hudson Taylor, Founder of the China Inland Mission, was found singing this hymn to himself:

Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting in the Joy of What Thou Art

1

Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For, by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.
Jesus! I am resting, resting In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness Of Thy loving heart.
2
Oh, how great Thy loving kindness, Vaster, broader than the sea:
Oh, how marvelous Thy goodness, Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved, Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise, And have made it mine.
3
Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless, Satisfies my heart,
Satisfies its deepest longings, Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings, Thine is love indeed.
4
Ever lift Thy face upon me, As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory, Sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting, Fill me with Thy grace.

Today, you might feel you are stuck in a mess with no way out. Ask God to show you if this mess is from Him, for if it is, He can give you peace in the middle of it.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us feel trapped in bad situations not of our making. Help us to trust You, that either these situations are of You and You will give us peace or that You will deliver us and give us peace. Thank You for being Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.