In the second half of Genesis Chapter 11, the family tree of a very significant man, Abram (his new name "Abraham" is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible), is documented. There is also a brief account of his travels to the city of Haran. The account culminates in Terah (Abram's father), Abram, Sarai (Abram's wife), and Lot (Abram's nephew) moving from an area known as Ur of the Chaldeans (near the mouth of the Euphrates River; modern day Iraq) to the city of Haran (probably named after Terah's son, Haran) following the death of Haran (he died in the presence of his father). It is pretty safe to assume, Terah deeply grieved the death of his son, Haran. It is quite likely that Terah named the city after this son as a memorial, in addition to ensuring Haran's child, Lot, was taken care of.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Multiplication: Good or Bad?
Gen 1:11-12 …sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. NASU
Look at how important multiplication is to the Lord. He doesn’t just tell the earth to sprout forth vegetation and/or fruit, but He commands it to bring forth these things, with the capacity to sprout again in the future already contained within the fruit (the seed). He has established from the beginning the systematic universal law by which multiplication is always the natural reaping to whatever is sowed. It is natural for multiplication to happen on earth because God has designed it so. It is impossible for multiplication not to happen. He has established, by speaking it into existence, that when something is sowed, it will bring forth fruit of its kind, and multiplied seed of its kind. It is His plan for creation for multiplication to always take place. This is not man’s plan, but rather God’s plan. He has established the agricultural world as a witness to us that everything necessary for multiplication to occur has already been put in place by God. The law of multiplication is very, very sobering and should cause us to have reverence for God and trust in Him because multiplication either works for you or against you depending on what is sown! The law is effective whether the seed is good or bad, and multiplies just as effectively!
Gen 1:14-16 14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. NASU
God established the sun as a means of blessing creation. One way that the sun is used to bless the earth is by giving light to the earth. In addition, scientists have discovered that humans receive vital nutrients like Vitamin D from the sun. Light is used by medical professionals on donated blood to destroy destructive organisms in the blood. Photosynthesis, the process that occurs in plants to take sunlight and use it to produce oxygen and carbon byproducts, requires light as well. There are many reasons that light is necessary here on earth and God purposefully designed it this way. The sun warms the earth so that vegetation, animal and mankind have an atmosphere conducive to survive and thrive.
More benefits and info on the sun (some true, some not) can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun.
In His wisdom, having not even yet created man, but knowing what He had intended to create and mans’ requirements to survive and thrive, He established the sun to bring light, heat and solar energy to the earth. Even now, we are discovering ways to harness the energy of the sun. Imagine what could be done with solar energy if we asked God for wisdom regarding the sun’s energy and how we could best harness it and redirect it. Certainly, God has plans for the use of light and energy from the sun that mankind has not yet discovered.
Gen 1:20-22 20 Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens." 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." NASU
God established the universal law (the systematic means/process) of multiplication in the animal kingdom, as well. He put the seed in animal and bird as a natural manifestation of His multiplicative nature. He did the same in man, as well. When we trust and obey God, the natural consequence is a multiplication of righteousness, a harvest of righteousness, He ensures it. When we disobey God and move in fear, that which is multiplied is from the seed of rebellion and unbelief, a harvest of corruption. The universal law of multiplication ensures that as well. Know this…God will not be mocked…you will reap what you sow!
Gal 6:7-8 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. NASU
Multiplication that occurs in creation brings glory to God and is a sign to us, pointing to His multiplicative nature. The enemy despises the occurrence of multiplication in creation because it serves as a sign to point away from him, and towards God. Because of the devil’s enmity towards God, he is literally, hell-bent on stealing, killing and destroying the good harvest, and deceiving us into sowing and reaping in a multiplicative manner, the bad harvest, in efforts to redirect attention his way, away from God in efforts to steal the glory of God. Thus, multiplication, is not only natural, but it is a process that brings glory to God. To multiply and be fruitful is to declare that God is and God is faithful, that“the Lord is upright.”
John 15:8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. NASU
Ps 92:12-15
12 The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in
13 Planted in the house of the LORD,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. NASU
Matt 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. NASU
1 Cor 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. NASU
2 Cor 9:10-11 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.
NASU
Isa 9:7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. NASU
Heb 6:13-14 13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, "I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU." NASU
Prov 11:18
18 The wicked earns deceptive wages,
But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward. NASU
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
When I Consider...
No need to explain God. No need to teach how God arrived on the spot or where He had His beginning...simply because....God is...God. The assumption is made right from the beginning of the Bible that God has always been...that this "beginning" being referred to in this passage, refers to the beginning of all creation but not God's beginning.
God started the dimension of time. Without time there is no yesterday, no today, no tomorrow. Without time there is no reference point for time references. There are no seconds, no minutes, no hours or days without a time reference. Because God is "all that and then some," He is able to, not only give creation a starting point, but give time its starting point. Unlike humans, He isn't confined by time. God stands outside the confines and limitations of time. Our whole human existence has always been inclusive of the experiences of time and this makes it difficult to think "outside the box" of time, but God knows what things were like when there was no time dimension and no time reference. Time, to us humans, gains its reference from the earth orbiting the sun and spinning on its axis. We have established time references in our language and customs based on these reference points. One complete revolution on the axis of earth...we have established as one day. One elliptical journey of the earth around the sun is equivalent to one year. Without an earth spinning on its axis and without an earth orbiting a sun, we have no time reference. Thus, God established time when He said...
Gen 1:3-5 3 "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. NASU
God established the dimension of time before the earth was formed, and before He gave the sun and stars shape. He created one day before all this work was formed in His hands. This brings to the forefront of my mind how very awesome God really is. Have I ever separated all of light from all of darkness? Have I started the dimension of time? Eventually God would take the light and form it into stars and the sun, He would create the earth and the seas. Have I ever held the sun or the entire earth in my hands? Have I ever formed these massive substances with my hands? The answer is obviously no. This highlights just one of many differences between God and man. This is following a similar thought journey that inspired a psalmwriter to express...
Ps 8:3-4
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him? NASU
Let us be rightfully in awe of this Almighty God!