Genesis 6:4-6 – Giants in the Earth

Genesis 6:4-6
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

There have always been giants on the earth, mighty men of renown, those who can draw a crowd and seem to be “better” than others.  Many who are not among those giants spend their whole lives trying to fit in among them.  But notice the state of things in verses 5 and 6; the world was so bad that God was grieved in His very heart for having made mankind.  Is being a person of renown really something to be desired?  Those giants certainly didn’t do anything to make the world a good place that was pleasing to the Lord.  But if being a giant is not the right goal, what is the right goal?  What does please the Lord?  “The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:11).  “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8)

Genesis 41:39-44 – The Land of Affliction

Genesis 41:39-44
39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

After what no doubt seemed like an eternity of affliction, things finally started to go well for Joseph.  He had been given power above all but Pharaoh himself and was responsible for determining the future of both the nation of Egypt and her people.  In light of such tremendous blessing, it would be easy to forget that Egypt was never supposed to be home for a Jew.  Joseph didn’t forget, and even though he is basically running the show, he still refers to it as the “land of affliction” (Genesis 41:52).  This is why Joseph asked the Hebrews to take his bones out of Egypt when they left (Genesis 50:25).  Earth is just a stop along the way for all of humanity.  No matter how richly the Lord may bless you here and no matter how good people or circumstances may be to you here, never forget that this is not home.  Even on the best days, this is just another land of affliction.  “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).

Genesis 18:25-26, 32 – For Their Sakes

Genesis 18:25-26, 32
25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
 
In an act of compassion sometimes missing among God’s people in modern society, Abraham pleads on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah.  As a result of Abraham’s intercession, God agrees to spare the entirety of both cities if only 10 righteous people can be found.  We know how the story ends, with Sodom and Gomorrah in ashes.  Scripture makes it clear these cities fell under God’s judgment because of their wickedness, but the text also tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because the Lord couldn’t find 10 righteous people.  I wonder which of our modern cities would fall to God’s judgment for the same reason?

Genesis 18:1, 10-14 – Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord?

Genesis 18:1, 10-14
1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

We are told previously in scripture that Sarah was barren even in her youth (Genesis 11:30).  She is now past the point when even a normal woman would be able to conceive a child and yet the Lord promises that at nearly 100 years old, she will do exactly that.  The sheer size of the Lord’s promise leads her to question it; “If I couldn’t have a child all of these years, how am I supposed to have one now that I’m old?”  The Lord reminded Abraham and Sarah that there is really only one question we should ever ask, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  Focusing on our circumstances will inevitably lead to doubt because our circumstances can get very big.  But if we focus on God instead, we will be able to see how much bigger He is and that “with [Him] all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Exodus 12:13 – When I See The Blood

Genesis 3:6-8
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
 
Revelation 6:15-17
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
 
I find it striking that in both of these instances when sinners sense the presence of the Lord, their reaction is to seek shelter.  It would imply that on some level, humanity instinctively realizes that we cannot abide in the presence of God without some type of covering.  This is, of course, a truth with which the Lord completely agrees.  But God knows that such vain coverings as mountains and trees are of no use; for certainly in the presence of God’s judgment, the trees wither (Matthew 21:19) and even the mountains melt (Psalm 97:5).  God does however have a covering that is worthy to both purge sins and stand in the presence of God’s judgment and that covering is the blood of Jesus Christ.  When God sees the trees He will not stop, when He sees the rocks He will not stop, but as He promised in Exodus 12:13, “when I see the blood, I will pass over you” and “shall not be upon you to destroy you.”

Genesis 50:20 – God Meant it For Good

Genesis 50:20
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Getting angry when we’ve been wronged seems like common sense, but it is instead proof positive that we lack perspective.  Consider the life of Joseph as told in Scripture.  Many people wronged him.  His brothers sold him into slavery, Potiphar’s wife accused him of rape, and the king’s chief butler forgot him in prison.  But where others would have only seen the bad, Joseph instead realized that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  Joseph had peace and forgiveness in his heart because he was less focused on what people were doing in his life and more focused on what God was doing in his life.  We would all do well to follow this example.  The Bible teaches that it is needful to let go of hate and bitterness (Ephesians 4:31), so to forgive is not to admit that the person who wronged you is right, it is to admit that God is right.