Daily Encouragement

September 6, 2009 – Believe And Obey

Meditation on Genesis 7

After Noah and his three sons and their wives as well as all the required animals had entered the ark as God had commanded, God closed the door for them. Yes, God protected them and preserved the righteous.

The rained poured down for forty days and nights. The Bible says that "....all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened." (v. 11b-12 NASB) Some scholars believed that there was a canopy of vapor wrapped around the earth at the creation of the earth. (v. 6) And these water up in the sky all came down. That is why there was tremendous water to cover the whole earth.

The fact that there was great flood on earth in the past cannot be denied. Almost all the civilizations have such records or stories. There were over two hundred some stories concerning it including the Gilgamesh Epic from the Babylonian. The Chinese character for boat is composed of the ideas of eight mouths in a floating vessel, which gives the hint that the ancient Chinese may have known the story of Noah and his family.

However, many have questioned whether it was a universal flood. But the account of Genesis clearly recorded this, "The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered." (v. 19-20) This was clearly an indication of a universal situation. As a result, verse 21 said all flesh on earth perished.

Jesus also mentioned the destruction of all except Noah. (Matthew 24:37-39) So the earth was destroyed by the flood because of sins. (2 Peter 3:6)

May we learn that God's word is to be believed and obeyed as Noah did.

September 7, 2009 - The Sign Of New Life

Meditation on Genesis 8

Noah and his family were confined in the Ark for almost a year before he sent out a raven, then a dove to test if the water had receded from the face of the ground. At the second time he sent out the dove, it came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her mouth. This is a sign that not only the ground was dried up but also of a new life on earth.

We can imagine the tough time Noah had gone through with the rain pouring on outside and the ark moved about on the service of the water. Beside that he had not known what was going on in the world. Now he saw this olive leaf, he knew that there is growth and hope on world outside. He knew that God remembered him, (v. 1) and he could get out of the confinement soon. Indeed, after one year and ten days of the flood, he and his family and all the living in the Ark finally disembarked as God instructed.

If you feel you are at a time of distress in a ministry or in some situation today, please know that God will not abandon you. He will not forsake you. He will give you a new sign of life. The Holy Spirit like the dove will show you some new growth, some token of revival. God is in the business of doing new things for you. The flood of problems will dry up. God will show you that he remembers you. Just be patient and wait on Him.

September 8, 2009 - Lessons After The Flood

Meditation on Genesis 9

There are much information and many lessons we can learn from this chapter. Let us just look into two in the following:

After Noah and his family got out of the Ark, he offered sacrifices to God to worship and thank God for His deliverance through the flood. (Genesis 8:20-22) So in chapter 9, we find God blessed them and encouraged them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. God also set a rainbow in the sky to be a sign of His covenant with Noah and every living creature that He would not destroy the world with a flood again. Henry Morris, a professor of hydrology and civil engineering made an interesting observation in his book, "The Genesis Record" concerning the rainbow like this: "The "bow in the cloud", of course requires both the sunlight and the "cloud"- that is, liquid water droplets in the air- before it can form. Before the Flood, the upper air contained only invisible water vapor, and therefore no rainbow was possible. With the new hydrological cycle following the Flood, the former vapor canopy is gone; and it is physically impossible now for enough water ever to be raised into the atmosphere to cause a universal flood. When a storm has done its worst, and the clouds are finally exhausted of most of their water, then there always appears a rainbow...."

The second passage we look at is from verses 20 to 27. There, it was recorded that Noah was drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. His son Ham, the father of Canaan saw it but did not do anything to cover his father but told his two brothers in the context of making fun of it. When Noah woke up and was informed about this incidence, he cursed Ham's son, Canaan and blessed the two brothers who went backward to put a garment to cover his nakedness. This episode taught us the importance of honoring one's father without shaming him. Also, it hinted the reason for the future eradication of the Canaanites in the Promised Land because of their extremely immoral and sinful behaviors as it had been proved by the archaeological evidence.

The behavior of an ancestor had tremendous implication for his descendants.

September 9, 2009 - The Mighty Hunter

Meditation on Genesis 10

This chapter listed the names and territories of the prominent children of Shem, Ham and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. These were the people, tribes and nations that spread over the whole world. It is amazing that Noah's prophecy concerning the three sons were fulfilled as we see how they spread and their fate in the world history. Shem who was blessed was the ancestor of Abraham whose line brought forth the Messiah to the whole world. (Genesis 9:26-27)

There is a very special narration of a grandchild of Ham, Nimrod. It was pointed out that he was a mighty hunter before the LORD. This did not mean that he was good. Martin Luther the great reformer in his commentary considered Nimrod as a mighty hunter of men, a killer and conqueror. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel or Babylon. He was also the one who built Nineveh, the capital of the famous Assyrian kingdom in ancient history of the Middle East. (v. 8-11)

Babylon had become a symbol of a city that is in contrast to the city of Jerusalem in the Bible. It was Babylon that attacked and destroyed the city of God. In Revelation, it would face total destruction by God because this city though prosper was full of violence and idolatry and witchcraft and wine and drugs. This city represented rebellion against God as chapter 11 recorded its beginning. Nimrod, the mighty hunter initiated it.

What are we famous about, for getting blessing from God or for how we are rebellious against God?

September 10, 2009 - The United People?

Meditation on Genesis 11

At the beginning, the descendants of Noah's three sons were together and had one language. They were united together to build a city and a tower to reach heaven in order to make a name for themselves. (v. 4) Though they had the skill and intelligence to build a high tower, they did not have the right motive. So soon mankind had forgotten that they were to glorify God in all they do and not to glorify themselves. They did not consult with God in what they tried to accomplish. They did not make plan with God in mind. (James 4:15-16)

Some scholars feel that these people who wanted to build a tower to reach heaven implied their attempt to establish their own religion that was man-centered rather God-centered.

So the Bible recorded that God came down to confuse their tongues so they could not understand each other any more. And they spread from each other all over the earth since then. The tower they built was called the tower of Babel, which was the beginning of the name, Babylon.

Man would not be able to unite ourselves together unless we are in the kingdom of God. True unity is only possible through Christ and in Christ. For our lives are created with the image of God and for the glory of God.

Praise the Lord that this same chapter also recorded the selection of God upon Shem who was the ancestor of Abram though him man was called back to obey the plan of God.

September 11, 2009 - Be A Blessing

Meditation on Genesis 12

God called Abraham to leave his home town and relatives to go the land God would show him. God said to him, "And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (v. 2-3 NASB) We can imagine that these words were the motivation for the faith walk of Abram all his life.

Let me bring out an important sentence by God to Abram, "and so you shall be a blessing." (v. 2b) In the literal translation from Hebrews, this should be a command, "Be a blessing". In the midst of endowing blessing for him, God ordered him to be a blessing for others. What an important lesson we should remember. As God blesses us, we should in turn be a blessing to others!

In the following story in Genesis, we find that Abram had encountered many testing about his faith in God. Here in chapter 12:10-20 he failed his first test miserably. You should read this passage carefully. Yes, in the midst of his failure, God still protected him and his wife and delivered them from trouble and danger because Abram was a servant of God.

Some may say that he got lots of cattle and servants in spite of his lie about his wife. I do question whether those incomes were good for him or not. Soon after, he and his nephew, Lot had to split from one another because of too many cattle they owned. And it led to the down fall of Lot eventually. Then a female servant Abram got from Egypt became his concubine who gave birth to Ishmael. The descendants of Ishmael became the enemies of Israelite throughout history.

So income may not be an indication of God's blessings. Rather being a blessing to others is. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35 NASB)

September 12, 2009 - How To Resolve Strife Among Believers

Meditation on Genesis 13

Abram and Lot together owned huge flock of livestock. There was not enough pasture for them. So there were constant strife among their herdsmen. What was the solution? Abram conducted himself like a person of faith in this matter. There were several things indicated his character fitted for a believer as the following:

First, he valued relationship with his nephew, Lot more than gaining the advantage for his own flock.

Second, he called his nephew, brother (v. 8) instead of asserting his own right as the uncle who had the right to decide a matter of conflict in the Eastern culture.

Third, he let his nephew has the advantage to choose first where he wanted to go and what he wanted without any contest.

Those, I think showed that Abram valued relationship with others and trusted in God's provision. By doing that, he gave a testimony before all the Canaanites who lived in the land also. (v. 7)

Soon after this strife was resolved, God gave him confirmation of His blessings upon him and told him that his descendants would be multiplied. (v. 14-18)

Abram had passed his second test of faith with excellent grade!