Collected or prepared by Pastor Wilfred Chung

January 3 - January 9, 2010

January 3, 2010 - God Doesn’t Like Sin

Meditation on Genesis 6

Noah was commanded by God to build an ark, a huge wooden box that floated so that he and his family and all the living things he collected would survive the flood which God would bring to destroy the earth.

The reason of this catastrophic judgment was recorded in verse five, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (v. 5 NIV) As a result, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” (v. 11) Man at that time was actually destroying each other constantly. So God had decided to eliminate them. The consequence of sin was terrible.

But Noah found grace in God’s sight. He obeyed God and did everything God told him to do. (v. 27) The ark he was instructed to build was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high with three levels. It would have a volume of about 1.4 million cubic feet. It should have a tonnage of about 14, 000 tons. Someone estimates that it had the capacity of 522 standard railroad box cars. Therefore it should have enough space to room all the living species and insects of the world with two of each plus the storage for their food for a whole year.

Recently, there are separate groups of Christians in Europe and Hong Kong who are building a similar boat for exhibition. It will be interesting to see them when it is finished. Also there had been incidences in modern time that reported sighting of the ark-like structure buried in the snow and the collecting of a piece of ancient wood at the region of Mt. Ararat.

January 4, 2010 - 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.

January 5, 2010 - 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?

January 6, 2010 - 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)

January 7, 2010 - From Uncertainty To Faith

Meditation on Genesis 15

In the aftermath of a great war over many enemies in a land he still not owned and knowing that he was getting old but remain childless, we can see that Abram had fear and uncertainty for his future. So God gave him visions and assurance.

In the first vision, God told him that He was his shield, a protector and He would reward him for his sacrifice and testimony for Him. (v. 1) God reassured him that his descendants would come from his own body. And his descendants would be numerous. (v. 4-5)

"And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted to him for righteousness." (v. 6 NKJV) His faith brought him righteous standing before God. This was the Old Testament example of justification by faith quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 4 and Galatians 3. When a person trusted in God's word, he would have be justified because of the grace and calling of God. Like Abram, he would be blessed.

Then Abram was instructed to prepare animals for cutting a covenant between God and himself. God even told him what would happen to his descendants in the near future. He also showed Abram some burning objects flying between the animal sacrifices that were cut by half and lying opposite from each other. That was the symbol of God's presence to participate in an ancient tradition of cutting a covenant between two parties. God confirmed his promise that Abram would inherit the land! (v. 9-21)

January 8, 2010 - Hospitality And Prayer

Meditation on Genesis 18

Abraham could recognize the three travelers who passed by were godly people. He invited them into his tent and offered them the best meal he could come up with. As a result, he was entertaining angels. And these unusual guests told him that he would have a son within a year. What a blessing that came from being hospitable! God would reward that virtue in a believer's life. (Hebrews 13:2)

It was an oriental custom that the host would accompany the guest for a short distance as they leave. As Abraham walked with his guests, he heard them talking. The angel of the LORD revealed to him their intention of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah because of the great wickedness in that city. Here we found Abraham manifested his faith, his humbleness and earnestness in prayer. It is amazing to see that he could reduce the number of righteous persons in the cities from fifty to only ten so that they would be spared of destruction. Abraham probably thought that there ought to be at least ten people there including the family of his nephew, Lot who were righteous.

So it showed that God's compassion was great and Abraham's persistent request was granted. The fervent prayer of a righteous man is effective. (James 5:16)

What we need today among Christians are men of hospitality and prayer. Then God will bless our church.

January 9, 2010 - The Ultimate Test Of Faith

Meditation on Genesis 22

The offering of Isaac was the greatest drama one would ever read. The carefully documented use of the language for God's instruction, the long journey, the inquiry by the young son, the preparation of the altar, the binding of Isaac, the raising up of knife by Abraham, the voice of Angel, and the sighting of the ram are all packed with intense emotion. One can feel the heart of Abraham and His son.

Indeed this was the ultimate test of faith upon Abraham and the manifestation of supreme obedience of Isaac. The book of Hebrews explained to us that Abraham's faith was also rational. He believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead in order to fulfill His promise to him. (Hebrews 11:19) This historical and powerful event foreshadowed the sacrifice of God's only begotten son on the cross and the resurrection three days later. Abraham's action of faith revealed the heart of God who was willing to sacrifice His own son to create a new generation of people of faith.

Abraham had passed this final test. He deserved to be called the father of faith. Surely through him we all are blessed today. Yes, he was the father of us all. (Romans 4:16-18)