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Friday 18th May 2012

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Response-able' to respond

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Text: Prepare

Meditate on, and then pray, each phrase of this prayer: 'Lord, help me to "know you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day"' (Richard of Chichester).

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Mark 4:10-20

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

"'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,

and ever hearing but never understanding;

otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'a]'> "

13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

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Text: Explore the Bible

Hard sayings

Jesus' parables were not stories that illustrated a preaching point, but sermons demanding a faith response from his listeners.

Verse 12 (quoting Isaiah 6:9,10) is one of those 'hard sayings' of the Bible. It may seem as if the disciples had been granted an unfair advantage denied to the crowds (v11). But it is difficult, sometimes impossible, to capture the tone of voice on the printed page.

Sowing without ceasing

When God sent Isaiah to a stubbornly unrepentant people, he spoke with irony, but also despair, yearning for his people to repent, yet realising that they were so hard of heart that they would not. The heart behind the harsh words was hurting and breaking, yet God keeps sending and speaking.

The Sower sows without ceasing.

Responding to Jesus

Yet Jesus recognises this same spiritual dullness in those who have rejected the invitation to become insiders in God's kingdom. Responsibility equals response-ability.

We are each 'response-able' to respond to Jesus, and what Jesus demands is not superficial hearing or shallow acquiescence (vs 16-19), but acceptance leading to obedience (v 20).

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Text: Respond

'Most people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those I do understand' (Mark Twain). What have you understood today, and which you will obey?

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Text: Deeper Bible study

We have seen that large numbers of people were attracted to Jesus, but it now becomes clear that only a few of them were ready to move beyond this initial attraction and draw close. Together with the apostles, these few made up the small band of Jesus' first disciples, and it was to them that he explained the meaning of the parables (v 34).

Verse 12 may seem to suggest that God is making it impossible for some to welcome the good news of the kingdom of God. However, this makes nonsense of Jesus' exhortation to everyone to listen carefully (v3). A more compelling explanation, in keeping with the original context of these words in Isaiah, is that they describe a consequence, not a cause. Those who continue to resist Jesus' message will render themselves less and less able to comprehend it. In other words, it's 'a statement about judgement and not about predestination'1 - a case of reaping what we sow. Paul's warning in Galatians 6:7-11 provides an instructive parallel.

Church history demonstrates the prophetic quality of this parable, as does our own experience. We know people who fit the descriptions in Jesus' story, and indeed we ourselves are vulnerable to the threats described by Jesus. This is why you and I have to take these warnings so seriously. What will prevent our faith in Jesus from being overwhelmed by these enemies? I doubt that it will be our friendship with other Christians, no matter how meaningful. Nor will it be our theology, no matter how sound. What is critical is our rootedness in the loving presence of Christ. This alone will teach us that no alternative will truly satisfy human need. To go elsewhere is futile, for only Jesus has 'the words of real life, eternal life' (John 6:68, The Message).

1 Ronald J Kernaghan, Mark, IVP, 2007, p88

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Kings 1,2

Psalm 55

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Sow without ceasing

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Text: Prepare

Picture a harvest scene. What feelings does it evoke? Think about the kind of harvest that delights God.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Mark 4:1-9

Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

9 Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

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Text: Explore the Bible

Costly effort

Mark 1-3 shows Jesus on the move, passionately preaching, tirelessly teaching, compassionately healing (1:39), with his disciples faithfully tagging along. But the religious leaders were bitterly opposed to Jesus (3:6); his own family failed to understand (3:21); and although crowds came after Jesus (4:1), most had not become 'insiders' (v 10). Perhaps the disciples were wondering if all these costly, risky efforts were worthwhile.

Jesus relates the story of a sower (v 3) who sowed liberally, extravagantly, even wastefully; those who do the sums would realise that 75 per cent of those seeds were wasted (vs 4-7)! By modern standards, that farmer was a fool - but a faithful fool, since he never gave up on sowing.

Keep sowing

The New Bible Commentary notes that even a tenfold return was considered good in Palestine. The other 25 per cent of the seeds resulted in yields as high as a hundredfold (v 8)! Despite the apparent waste of seeds and effort, the end was an incomparably splendid harvest.

God does not seek efficiency experts, but faithfulness freaks! We are encouraged to keep sowing, faithfully, hopefully, because God promises: 'So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire' (Isaiah 55:11).

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Text: Respond

Let Paul's exhortation discourage any discouragement: 'Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up' (Galatians 6:9).

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Despite the open antagonism of the Pharisees, many people from far and wide across the region continued to flock to Jesus, and the crowd was now so large that the only way he could effectively address them was from a floating pulpit. What was it that drove them to seek him? Mark has already provided much explanation, and it could be instructive to compare it to our own experience.

Some were clearly drawn by the radical difference between Jesus' teaching and the diet fed to them by their traditional teachers of spirituality. Jesus' words had authority - they had the ring of truth (Mark 1:22). He intervened in power to liberate the demon-possessed and cure the sick, and many came either to witness this or to seek healing for themselves (Mark 1:27,32-34, for example). Perhaps others were intrigued by his disdain of the Pharisees' interpretation of the Torah, and others were no doubt drawn by his affection and respect for those ostracised by respectable people (see Mark 2:16,27).

When we look around us, in our own towns, cities and neighbourhoods, can we recognise these same hungers in the people we encounter? A longing for authentic and liberating spirituality, for healing, and for a non-judgemental community of sinners, woven together by their shared experience of repentance, grace, acceptance and forgiveness. As companions of Jesus, this is also our hunger. Amazingly, it is our calling to be part of God's response to these human yearnings.

Mark has only recorded one of the public parables that Jesus used on this occasion to teach 'them many things by parables' (v 2), and the crowd was not present when Jesus explained its meaning (Mark 4:13-20). Those described in the parable as the 'good soil' would undoubtedly have pondered deeply to fathom its meaning. Almost certainly they would have been among those to whom its truths were later revealed.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 23,24

1 Corinthians 10

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Sanctified common sense

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Text: Prepare

Take time to shut out disturbances and distractions. Ask the Holy Spirit to create in you a mind that is alert and receptive to the truths he is going to teach you.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Mark 3:20-35

Jesus and Beelzebub

20 Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, "He is out of his mind."

22 Some teachers of the law were there. They had come down from Jerusalem. They said, "He is controlled by Beelzebub! He is driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons."

23 So Jesus called them over and spoke to them by using stories. He said, "How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom fights against itself, it can't stand. 25 If a family is divided, it can't stand. 26 And if Satan fights against himself, and his helpers are divided, he can't stand. That is the end of him. 27 In fact, none of you can enter a strong man's house and just take what the man owns. You must first tie him up. Then you can rob his house.

28 "What I'm about to tell you is true. Everyone's sins and evil words against God will be forgiven. 29 But anyone who speaks evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. His guilt will last forever."

30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

31 Jesus' mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to get him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Jesus. They told him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside. They are looking for you."

33 "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" he asked.

34 Then Jesus looked at the people sitting in a circle around him. He said, "Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! 35 Anyone who does what God wants is my brother or sister or mother."

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Text: Explore the Bible

Conspiring critics

The religious leaders were increasingly and uncomfortably threatened by Jesus' obvious authority (Mark 1:27) and rising popularity (1:33; 2:2,13; 3:7,8). They became critical (2:7,16,24), watching him like a hawk (3:2), even conspiring together about how best to get rid of him (3:6).

When they could not succeed by fair means, some resorted to foul. Some scribes attempted to discredit Jesus by accusing him of being demon-possessed - Beelzebub was another name for Satan, ruler of the demons (v 22).

Common sense

Jesus, knowing that his accusers were not interested in the truth, did not bother to quote scripture or get into a complex theological argument. Instead, he used a simple story, laced with good old-fashioned common sense (vs 23-27), which highlighted the utter foolishness of their accusations. He also warned them of the danger of a hard heart that knowingly and deliberately denies the truth and refuses to believe (v29).

When sharing our faith, there will be times to quote scripture, times to talk theology, times for reasoning. but there will also be times to simply rely on Spirit-inspired sanctified common sense!

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Text: Respond

How will you love God 'with all your mind' (Mark 12:30)? Will you begin systematically studying the Bible, rather than settling for a superficial reading? Will you deliberately think through how you will translate into practical action the truths you learn?

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Mark now draws attention to the growing intensity of Jesus' conflict with the religious authorities. A group of scribes, experts in Jewish Law, had clearly been sent from Jerusalem for the sole purpose of attacking and discrediting Jesus. The absurdity of their accusations, indicative perhaps of their level of desperation, would have been utterly laughable if not for their evil intent (v 6). Jesus' defence against such a preposterous proposition was simple and undeniable - the purity and effectiveness of his actions. The casting out of demons - a transparent act of opposition to Satan - demonstrated the power of absolute good over evil.

What can explain the Pharisees' implacable and vehement hostility to Jesus? How could his actions and teaching have generated such enmity? Jesus' holiness was an offence to their hypocrisy and self-serving, and his authority and power a potent threat to their status and security. But was there more to it? Were they so blinded by their misplaced ambitions that they actually believed what they were saying about Jesus - that he was a tool of Satan? This would explain Jesus' dreadful warning in verse 29.

Bitter and irrational hostility has confronted the incoming kingdom of God in every age since Jesus began this project two millennia ago. He warned that this would happen (Matthew 10:16-20). Even as I write, Christian sisters and brothers are being persecuted, often violently, and denied the freedom to worship for no reason other than the malevolence or insecurity of political or religious leaders. In other places, the faith that sustains us is publicly caricatured and ridiculed with a venom far beyond any reasonable satire of the church's inevitable foibles. This is different, of course, from the antagonism and opposition generated by Christians behaving badly, which sadly is also part of the church's history.

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Text: Bible Background: Family matters

Opposition

Mary and Joseph feature in the birth stories of Matthew and Luke, but we hear no more about Joseph. The normal assumption is that he was older than Mary and died before Jesus reached adulthood.

Jesus' brothers are named in Mark 6:3 as James, Joseph, Judas and Simon. Sisters are also mentioned. They are known in Capernaum where Jesus has made his home (Matthew 4:13). At this stage they are opposed to Jesus (Mark 6:4; John 7:75) and try to stop his ministry (Mark 3:20,21).

At the cross Jesus entrusted Mary to the care of John which suggests that his brothers may still not have been supportive, but in Acts 1:14 they are among those praying with the eleven. Given Mary's faith and obedience at the time of Jesus' birth and her thoughtful reception of all that was said it is unlikely that she shared the unbelief of his brothers.

Conversion

In Galatians 1:19 Paul describes James, Jesus' brother, as an apostle (see Acts 15:13). Perhaps he came to believe after the risen Jesus appeared to him (1 Corinthians 15:7).

He is almost certainly the author of the letter of James. It is also highly likely that Jude was written by Jesus' brother Judas.

Outstanding questions

The natural assumption is that Jesus' brothers and sisters were the later children of Joseph and Mary. From fairly early times, however, some argued that Mary remained a virgin all her life and this has been the official teaching of some churches.

Jesus' siblings are then seen either as step-siblings (children of Joseph by a previous marriage) or cousins (on the grounds that ancient language was less precise). In the absence of a clear statement in the New Testament this view must remain open to question.

John Grayston

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 21,22

1 Corinthians 9

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First things first

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Text: Prepare

We make preparations when meeting with someone important. What will you do to help you consciously and deliberately enter God's presence: switch off your phone? Sit up straight? Sing a praise song? Tell the Lord how much you're looking forward to this time?

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Mark 3:7-19

Crowds Follow Jesus

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the evila]'> spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was. The Appointing of the Twelve Apostles

13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve-designating them apostlesb]'> -that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Clamouring crowds

As Jesus departed towards the sea the crowds, like relentlessly rolling waves, converged upon him (vs7,8), threatening to crush him (v 9). People flocked from near and far to see him (v 8); those seeking healing strained to touch him (v 10); even evil spirits acclaimed him (v11).

One thinks of modern-day pop stars surrounded by clamouring crowds reaching out to touch their hero or begging for autographs, with reporters hurling questions and the paparazzi clicking away!

First things first

Yet Jesus refused to be carried along on these waves of urgent excitement. It was not the urgency of the crowds that drove Jesus, but the importance of seeking his Father's will.

Mountains (v 13) were, typically, places of prayer and divine revelation - and Luke 6:12 indicates that Jesus spent a whole night in prayer before appointing the twelve. Those whom Jesus chooses must also put first things first: they are called first to be with Jesus (v 14a); from this all other activities flow (v 14b).

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Text: Respond

Have you distinguished between what is important and what is merely urgent? To what extent are you focusing your time and energy on what is important in God's eyes?

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Text: Deeper Bible study

It's important to see the events of this passage in the context that Mark has so carefully described for us. The catalyst for Jesus' next steps was the intensity of the Pharisees' animosity towards him, and their conspiring with the royal household to destroy him (v 6). Profound lines of difference and division were being drawn. On the one side were those who had somehow managed to transform the God-given and life-giving Torah into a burdensome and joy-leaching plethora of rules (Matthew 23:4); on the other, Jesus and his band of disciples. This somewhat surprising selection of ordinary people had no idea what lay ahead - neither the joy nor the pain - but their very ordinariness should be a comfort and encouragement to us.

Jesus' decision to appoint exactly twelve apostles, reflecting the original number of tribes of Israel, was a significant sign that something dramatically new was under way. The divine project of creating a new people of God had begun. Participation in this new community was open to all who would relish Jesus' forgiveness and embrace his lordship. Its ethics and lifestyle, imbued with love and justice and embedded in grace and forgiveness, was the opposite of the legalisms of the Pharisees and temple authorities in Jerusalem.

Mark emphasises that many in the crowd that followed Jesus were from Galilee (v 7), as were Jesus and his close disciples - hinting, perhaps, at the subversive nature of the new kingdom. God deliberately became man in a poor, rural backwater - a place of minimal importance and no influence within the politics and economics of the all-conquering Roman empire. Moreover, its inhabitants were derided by the rest of Israel (John 1:46), and considered of no consequence by the temple authorities in Jerusalem. The church began its life among the most marginalised, and loses its way when it moves away from them.

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Text: Bible Background: Jesus' first followers

Disciples

A Jewish rabbi attracted a small group of disciples who travelled with him and learnt from him by observation, discussion and practice. Disciples would normally choose their rabbi and apply to join him - often they would be turned down.

Jesus worked differently. He invited disciples to join him but he warned them of the cost (Matthew 16:24). In a revolutionary move, he included women in the group (Luke 8:1-3).

The group of those described as disciples of Jesus had no fixed size. Sometimes the term is limited to the twelve who seem to be the core group (Matthew 10:1), sometimes of a crowd (Luke 6:17). There were 120 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

Apostles

The Greek word describes those who are sent and is used of the twelve in the Gospels. In Acts it is used of the original twelve with Judas being replaced by Matthias.

They became the original leaders of the church in Jerusalem. James, Jesus' brother, not one of the twelve, soon took up a leadership role (Acts 15:13) and is described as an apostle (Galatians 1:19).

Paul uses the term to describe a wider group (Ephesians 4:11) including himself (1 Corinthians 15:9) and Junias, who was almost certainly a woman (Romans 16:7).

Neither term is used with complete consistency in the New Testament.

And today?

There is disagreement as to whether apostles in the technical sense still exist in the church today. All of us are called to learn and all of are sent into the world as Jesus was (John 20:21). But not all are called to be leaders.

John Grayston

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 19,20

1 Corinthians 8

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Delight in God, delight God

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Text: Prepare

Think about the words of your favourite love song. Sing it to the Lord, tweaking the words if necessary.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Psalm 18:1-29

Psalm 18

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me;

the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains shook;

they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;

consuming fire came from his mouth,

burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;

dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;

he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-

the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,

with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,

great bolts of lightning and routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed

and the foundations of the earth laid bare

at your rebuke, O LORD,

at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

but the LORD was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;

he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;

I have not done evil by turning from my God.

22 All his laws are before me;

I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him

and have kept myself from sin.

24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,

to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure,

but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

27 You save the humble

but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;

my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop ;

with my God I can scale a wall.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Confidence in God

Like an enthusiastic lover, David exclaims, 'I love you!' (v 1), piling metaphor upon metaphor to express his great delight in the Lord (v 2). The frequent use of the personal pronoun 'my' (nine times in vs 1,2) also conveys a tremendous sense of security and strength, as well as the deep personal intimacy he enjoys with the Lord.

David's confidence in calling upon God in the present (v3) is based on his experience of God's faithfulness in the past (vs 4-19). Behind the caves at Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1) and the Crags of the Wild Goats (1 Samuel 24:2) that had sheltered and saved him, David discerns God's hand at work.

Delightful

But not only does David delight in God as his ultimate rock and refuge, David himself is a delight to God (v 19)! Under the covenant, God had pledged to deliver his people; but his people also had obligations. Verses 25-27 give expression to the principle that obedience brings God's blessing; and the outworking of that principle in David's life is expressed in verses 20-24.

God's deliverance delighted David; David's obedience delighted the Lord. Do you and I delight in the Lord? Do we delight the Lord?

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Text: Respond

David likened God to a rock, a fortress, a horn, a shield. Express your praise and gratitude to God using images drawn from your world (eg virus guard, compass, bodyguard, security system).

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Text: Deeper Bible study

The reasons for David's profound happiness (v 1) can be readily seen in the ensuing verses. Even though powerful enemies had surrounded him and death at their hands seemed imminent (vs 4,5), he did more than merely survive. He was victorious (vs 37,38), and he knew that this triumph was not the result of his military prowess. It had to be God's work - no other explanation made sense.

When all was clearly lost and David descended into utter despair, he cried out to God for delivery (v 6). The victory was God's (vs 36,40,43). That is why he sang, 'The Lord lives!' (v 46) - an 'exultant, thankful cry . the theological climax of Psalm 18'.1 David's experience, yet again, was of a living God - not a disinterested or distant being, nor a lifeless image carved in stone or wood, but a living, caring, personal and responsive God.

I'm no king, thank God, and my life is lived on a very different stage from David's, but I can still confidently declare that my Lord lives! No doubt the same is true for you. Just like Israel's greatest king, we know that he who has created all that exists is also our shepherd (Psalm 23). We have our own stories to tell, our own experiences to share of God's gentle shepherding in our lives.

Like David, too, we have other stories, of times when it feels like God has forgotten us for ever (Psalm 13). For days on end, even months, we long for an unmistakable indication of God's presence and care. During such times God requires of us a patient trust. And when a Christian friend or companion is enduring such times, we must take care not to burden them further with slick 'solutions', but instead stand by them with our love and prayers.

1 JL Mays, Psalms, John Knox Press, 1994

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 17,18

Psalms 52-54

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Cutting ties

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Text: Prepare

'Lord, help me to forgive those who hurt or anger me, especially my family. Break the bonds of annoyance and resentment. Set me free to love them as you would.'

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Genesis 27:41 - 28:9

Jacob Runs Away to Laban

41 Esau was angry with Jacob. He was angry because of the blessing his father had given to Jacob. He said to himself, "My father will soon die. The days of sorrow over him are near. Then I'll kill my brother Jacob."

42 Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said. So she sent for her younger son Jacob. She said to him, "Your brother Esau is comforting himself with the thought of killing you.

43 "Now then, my son, do what I say. Go at once to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 Stay with him until your brother's anger calms down. 45 Stay until your brother isn't angry with you anymore. When he forgets what you did to him, I'll let you know. Then you can come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"

46 Then Rebekah spoke to Isaac. She said, "I'm sick of living because of Esau's Hittite wives. Suppose Jacob also marries a Hittite woman. If he does, my life won't be worth living."

Genesis 28

1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. He commanded him, "Don't get married to a woman from Canaan. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram. Go to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Find a wife for yourself there. Take her from among the daughters of your mother's brother Laban.

3 "May the Mighty God bless you. May he give you children. May he increase your numbers until you become a community of nations. 4 May he give you and your children after you the blessing he gave to Abraham. Then you can take over the land where you now live as an outsider. It's the land God gave to Abraham."

5 Isaac sent Jacob on his way. Jacob went to Paddan Aram. He went to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah. And Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6 Esau found out that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram. Isaac wanted him to get a wife from there. Esau heard that when Isaac blessed Jacob, he commanded him, "Don't get married to a woman from Canaan." 7 Esau also learned that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.

8 Then Esau realized how much his father Isaac disliked the women of Canaan. 9 So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael. Esau added her to the wives he already had.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Time to reflect

Like the elder brother in the parable (Luke 15:29,30), Esau is embittered by his brother's behaviour. He's angry enough to kill - as Abel's brother was before him (4:8) and Joseph's brothers after him (37:20). So Jacob's search for a wife becomes a timely excuse for him to slip away on the same journey that Abraham's servant took years before.

There is a natural pause in the story here; as Jacob leaves, does Rebekah reflect on her part in events? Her strong devotion to her family has given them security, but maybe she enjoys wrapping them round her little finger too much.

The great healer

The tie that binds can also be the noose that ensnares. My keenness to manage my own family is sometimes Rebekah-like, although, I have to say, they frequently resist my organisational powers!

'O time! thou must untangle this, not I; It is too hard a knot for me to untie!' says Viola in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Such faith in time, often called 'the great healer', is not entirely misplaced.

Time can put space between people and events, taking the sting out of painful episodes, but only God can help us forgive. Only he can transform our attitudes and mistakes. Let's bind ourselves to him.

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Text: Respond

Find a ring or some other jewellery you can wear to remind you of Rebekah's story (Proverbs 3:3).

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Being the recipient of the birthright and the blessing did not result in a trouble-free life for Jacob. He probably experienced more conflict as the chosen one than if he had simply remained the little-known head of a pastoral family. We must take this to heart. Being chosen of God can divide rather than unite, sometimes because of the antagonism of others towards those who consider themselves chosen but equally frequently because of improper actions by the chosen individuals themselves.

The tension between Jacob and Esau will have long-term consequences. The relationship between the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, and the Edomites, the descendants of Esau who lived to their south, would always be strained and mostly violent (eg 1 Kings 11:14-16; 1 Chronicles 18:11-13). Centuries later the Edomites would be overrun by the Arabs and disappear, like northern Israel, merging into the mix of peoples which would eventually become the Muslim world. Some Edomites ended up in Judea, and by choice or force were incorporated into the Jewish people. The Herodians were generally of Edomite background.

Jacob's descendants, the children of Israel, fared no better in the end, despite being God's chosen people. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that the successive destruction of the northern and southern kingdoms was because of the choices that the chosen people made, their desertion of the giver of the promise (Isaiah 42:23-25). God's blessing is not automatic. Sometimes Scripture makes clear the conditions for blessing (Deuteronomy 30:15,16) and sometimes it does not (Genesis 12:2,3), but, written or unwritten, the ifs and buts are always there.

People remain free to choose their own path, and they or future generations will bear the consequences. God, as we have said, does not micromanage the future. Our choices matter. God's purposes will finally prevail, but people's choices can drastically affect what happens along the way.

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Text: Bible background: Inter-nation marriage

Keeping free from idolatry

The desire to marry relatives who were familiar with God's revelation of himself to Abraham did not stem from any racial prejudice. Rather, the Canaanite tribes were guilty of moral evil including idolatry, child sacrifice and sacred prostitution.

God would not allow them to be attacked in Abraham's day because 'the iniquity of the Amorites [another general term for Canaanites here] has not yet reached its full measure' (Genesis 15:16). Hittites were one of the original seven nations inhabiting the land (Deuteronomy 7:1; see also Genesis 23:3-20; 26:34; 2 Samuel 23:39; Ezekiel 16:3).

Bringing up godly offspring

In Genesis 18:19 God says, 'I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.'

This stress on bringing up children to know the Lord became central to Israel's life. The confession of faith known as the Shema is immediately followed by commands to teach children about God (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). One main purpose of marriage is to bring up 'godly offspring' (Malachi 2:15).

Esau and his wives

Rebekah says (literally), 'I loathe my life because of the Hittite women', a very strong expression used elsewhere of extreme disgust (Leviticus 20:23; Numbers 21:5). It may be noted that she follows a strategy of appealing to what she and Isaac agree on. In referring to their origins rather than calling them 'Esau's wives', she discouraged any sympathy by Isaac.

It is interesting to note that it is said in 28:8 that slow-witted Esau finally realised 'how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac' - nothing is said of his mother's feelings because it was his father's opinion that mattered to him. He seemed to hope that marrying a relation would ensure his father's goodwill, so he goes to Ishmael and marries his daughter.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 15,16

1 Corinthians 7

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Text: Prepare

'Lord, make me what I should be, change me whatever the cost' (Anthony Bloom).

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Genesis 27:1-40

Genesis 27

Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son."

"Here I am," he answered.

2 Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your weapons-your quiver and bow-and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."

5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 'Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.' 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies."

11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing."

13 His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me."

14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

18 He went to his father and said, "My father."

"Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?"

19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing."

20 Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?"

"The LORD your God gave me success," he replied.

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not."

22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked.

"I am," he replied.

25 Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing."

Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me."

27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,

"Ah, the smell of my son

is like the smell of a field

that the LORD has blessed.

28 May God give you of heaven's dew

and of earth's richness-

an abundance of grain and new wine.

29 May nations serve you

and peoples bow down to you.

Be lord over your brothers,

and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.

May those who curse you be cursed

and those who bless you be blessed."

30 After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing."

32 His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?"

"I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau."

33 Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him-and indeed he will be blessed!"

34 When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me-me too, my father!"

35 But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."

36 Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacoba]'> ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?"

37 Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"

38 Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud.

39 His father Isaac answered him,

"Your dwelling will be

away from the earth's richness,

away from the dew of heaven above.

40 You will live by the sword

and you will serve your brother.

But when you grow restless,

you will throw his yoke

from off your neck."

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Text: Explore the Bible

A battle for blessing

'There was a man who had two sons', begins the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11, NIV). Jesus has his finger on the pulse: who wouldn't want their inheritance now? But how many care about their spiritual inheritance?

Today in the West we have no tradition of inheriting a father's blessing or being appointed as head of the family. Parents rarely see themselves as role models or spiritual leaders, and their children don't necessarily respect their wisdom or experience. So the brothers' battle for the blessing can be hard to understand.

Human weakness

Yet from this unseemly race to impress their failing father, we get an idea of how important such oaths were. Jacob really wants to receive the blessing of prosperity, power and divine promise that Isaac has acquired (and, by implication, the responsibility that goes with it). Esau, however, does not. Despite his outcry (v 34) he's already given mixed messages about the importance of his family (25:34; 26:34,35).

Rebekah, meanwhile, offstage, seems to be pulling the apron strings. This beautiful, generous woman disappoints us by setting a snare for her unseeing husband. So what do we make of her motives? Did God need her helping hand? The whole scene suggests human weakness, even if it manages, strangely, to achieve the divine purpose.

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Text: Respond

Picture your family tree and pray God's blessing on your relations.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Who hasn't told a white lie - about liking the socks we got for Christmas or the cakes the children made for us? Such lies are attempts to be kind. Despite Scripture's apparently global condemnation of all lying (eg Revelation 22:15), we all know there are lies and lies. There are things we say which are not absolutely true but which are our well-intentioned, if sometimes inept, attempts simply to be nice or not hurt someone.

Other lies are very different, lies which are meant to hurt or intended to deceive, lies which 'give false testimony' against others (Exodus 20:16). Many leading characters of the Bible lied, including Rachel, Jacob's sons and David. Abraham and Isaac have already told the same lie and almost created disaster (Genesis 20:2; 26:7).

Should Rebekah have lied? Clearly a strong woman, she was also a woman of faith and prayer (Genesis 25:22,23). She had been given prophetic insight into the future but, as is sometimes the case with strong characters, including some ardent Christians, she felt she must be proactive to ensure God's purposes would prevail even if this involved deceptive behaviour. She could have acted differently, perhaps confiding the prophecy in Isaac or teaching her children early what they should do.

Christians sometimes read these stories as if the end did in fact justify the means, but this is to read them wrongly. God's ultimate purposes will indeed prevail (Job 42:2) but along the way people, even key people, may act wrongly. That God's intent is not finally frustrated, and may even seem to be progressed by wrong actions, does not make them right. Rather it means that God overrules, not by turning evil into good, but by ensuring that his will prevails, not only through the way his people act but sometimes in spite of it. Indeed, we could argue that this is a major theme of the Old Testament.

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Text: Bible background: Blessings

Paternal blessings

When transferring goods and authority to his children prior to his death, fathers would bless their children (Genesis 31:55; 48:9,15,20; Hebrews 11:20). There would often be an invocation of God's favour upon one's descendants (Genesis 49:25; Deuteronomy 33:1).

This act of dividing power and property was a solemn act, and could not be undone. Good was bestowed, and this was often seen in material terms. The blessing (Hebrew, berakah) was often contrasted with a curse (Genesis 27:12; Deuteronomy 11:26; Proverbs 10:22; 28:20; Isaiah 19:24).

Other biblical blessings

Other biblical passages in which blessings are pronounced include Numbers 6:22-27 (the 'Aaronic' blessing), Luke 24:20, 2 Corinthians 13:11-14 (the 'grace'), Philippians 4:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17 and Hebrews 13:20,21.

Blessing in church

The pronouncement on the assembled worshippers at the end of the service is called 'the blessing' in Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican churches, and 'the benediction' in most Protestant churches.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 13,14

1 Corinthians 6

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'Water links us to our neighbour in a way more profound and complex than any other' (John Thorson). Pray for the people you are bound to through water (Lamentations 2:19).

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Genesis 26

Genesis 26

Isaac and Abimelech

1 There was very little food in the land. The same thing had been true earlier, in Abraham's time. Isaac went to Abimelech in Gerar. Abimelech was the king of the Philistines.

2 The Lord appeared to Isaac. He said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay here for a while. I will be with you and give you my blessing. I will give all of these lands to you and your children after you. And I will keep the promise I made with an oath to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. And I will give them all these lands. All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children.

5 "I will do all of those things because Abraham obeyed me. He did what I required. He kept my commands, my rules and my laws." 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

7 The men of that place asked him about his wife. He said, "She's my sister." He was afraid to say, "She's my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah. She's a beautiful woman."

8 Isaac had been there a long time. One day Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, looked down from a window. He saw Isaac hugging and kissing his wife Rebekah.

9 So Abimelech sent for Isaac. He said, "She's really your wife, isn't she? Why did you say, 'She's my sister'?"

Isaac answered him, "I thought I might lose my life because of her."

10 Then Abimelech said, "What have you done to us? What if one of the men had sex with your wife? Then you would have made us guilty."

11 So Abimelech gave orders to all of the people. He said, "You can be sure that anyone who harms this man or his wife will be put to death."

12 Isaac planted crops in that land. That same year he gathered 100 times more than he planted. That was because the Lord blessed him.

13 Isaac became rich. His wealth continued to grow until he became very rich. 14 He had many flocks and herds and servants.

Isaac had so much that the Philistines became jealous of him. 15 So they stopped up all of the wells the servants of his father Abraham had dug. They filled them with dirt.

16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us. You have become too powerful for us."

17 So Isaac moved away from there. He camped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac opened up the wells again. They had been dug in the time of his father Abraham. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham died. Isaac gave the wells the same names his father had given them.

19 Isaac's servants dug for wells in the valley. There they discovered a well of fresh water. 20 But the people of Gerar who took care of their herds argued with the people who took care of Isaac's herds. "The water is ours!" the people of Gerar said. So Isaac named the well Esek. That's because they argued with him.

21 Then Isaac's servants dug another well. They argued about that one too. So he named it Sitnah.

22 He moved on from there and dug another well. But no one argued about that one. So he named it Rehoboth. He said, "Now the Lord has given us room. Now we will do well in the land."

23 From there Isaac went up to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to him. He said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid. I am with you. I will bless you. I will increase the number of your children because of my servant Abraham."

25 Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. There he set up his tent. And there his servants dug a well.

26 During that time, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar. Ahuzzath had come with him. So had Phicol, Abimelech's army commander. Ahuzzath was Abimelech's personal adviser.

27 Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me? You were angry with me and sent me away."

28 They answered, "We saw clearly that the Lord was with you. So we said, 'We should make an agreement by taking an oath.' The agreement should be between us and you. We want to make a peace treaty with you. 29 Promise that you won't harm us. We didn't harm you. We always treated you well. We sent you away in peace. Now the Lord has blessed you."

30 Then Isaac had a big dinner prepared for them. They ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men made an agreement with an oath. Then Isaac sent the men of Gerar on their way. And they left in peace.

32 That day Isaac's servants came to him. They told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!" 33 So he named it Shibah. To this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.

34 When Esau was 40 years old, he got married to Judith. She was the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath. She was the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 Isaac and Rebekah became very upset because Esau had married Hittite women.

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Text: Explore the Bible

New wells

Seasons come and go, but human nature doesn't change. It's like father, like son for Isaac, who attempts to deceive the very same king (ch 20). However, amid failure there is success: Isaac plants crops (the only patriarch known to have done so) and reaps a good harvest.

It's a mixed blessing and they're forced to move away to a dry, desert area at the northern tip of the Negev. But the wells have become unusable - as they often do today. Claiming new sources of fresh water brings conflict - as it often does today. But when all goes well, the people can celebrate freedom - as is often the case today, too.

God's blessing

Once they have their own wells people have time to do other things. Water is like 'silver', says the poet Imtiaz Dharker. For children it's a blessing that 'sings over their small bones'. They no longer spend hours fetching water; they can go to school or play with friends. For such blessings, we depend on our Creator - as Abimelech recognises (26:28).

Water joins us to others. Every time we offer someone a glass of water, do a sponsored walk or donate towards the cost of a well, we create new Beershebas: places where God can bless people with his love.

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Text: Respond

Bring water to someone this week. Tie a thread around your wrist as a reminder until you've done it.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

As a Christian child, I used to play a childish game with God. Taught that God controlled everything, I struggled with the question of whether all was therefore preordained. Did it matter to God, I asked, if I had chocolate ice cream or vanilla? I used to try to think 'chocolate' as long as I could and then change at the last moment to vanilla. Had I chosen the preordained flavour?

As Paul says, when I was a child I reasoned as a child but now as an adult 'I put the ways of childhood behind me' (1 Corinthians 13:11) - but the question can still haunt me. To what extent are our actions predetermined? The story of Isaac in its own strange way holds, if not the answer, at least an approach to it.

In today's reading, the promise is transmitted to the next generation. Despite the faithfulness of the original receiver of the promise, it is not simply inherited genetically. The 'because' of verse 5 troubles commentators. It must be understood separately from verse 3. God's original oath was given to Abraham before he obeyed (Genesis 12:1-3). 'Because' shows that Abraham chose to obey. Abraham could have chosen otherwise. We cannot tell what God would then have done to further his purposes, but he would not finally have been frustrated.

As Jesus famously said, God could raise up children of Abraham from the stones (Matthew 3:9)! Isaac too could have chosen otherwise, but he did not: he chose to live as a recipient of the promise, failing sometimes as Abraham did but striving to align himself with God's ways in worship (v 25) and in peacemaking (v 31). We too are recipients of God's promises, supremely because of the faithfulness of Jesus, but even such a great act as his death and resurrection does not guarantee our salvation. Life with God is a gift, but we can choose not to receive it (John 1:12,13).

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Text: Bible background: Why did Abram say Sara was his sister? Abram's fears There are several things in this story that are surprising. First, that Abram should have clearly felt so insecure in Egypt in a way he does not seem to have done in Canaan. Lacking the support and protection of the wider family network, he seems to have feared being exploited. Maybe it was having to hear and try to speak a non-Semitic language, Egyptian, that made him feel less at home.

Secondly, there is the fact that Sarai is so drop dead gorgeous even though she is about 65! Not only Abram (v 11) but also Pharaoh's courtiers (v 15) agree on her beauty. Calvin suggested that childless women preserve their beauty longer than mothers!

Thirdly, there is a puzzle as to why Abram decides on the deception of saying she is his sister, and why Sarai goes along with this.1

Significance of pretending to be his sister

There are various suggestions as to what this deception signified. First, 20:12 indicates that Sarai was Abram's half-sister, 'the daughter of my father though not of my mother' (though it is possible that 'the daughter of my father' could mean she was an adopted daughter), and that Abram therefore didn't see it as a serious deception.

The scholar EA Speiser made a different explanation on the basis of his understanding of some texts from Nuzi, a town in North East Mesopotamia inhabited at the time by Hurrians (who had influenced Abram when he stayed at Harran; 11:31; 12:4). He proposed that there was a marriage practice among the upper Hurrian classes which allowed a wife to be adopted by her husband as his sister.

But other scholars are not persuaded of this. The most likely explanation is that Abram hoped that by posing as her brother he could fend off suitors by promises of marriage without actually giving her away. But his plan misfired when the Pharaoh wanted her, and she was taken into his harem.

Commentators are divided as to whether or not the text implies that Sarai had sexual intercourse with the Pharaoh or not. But clearly Abram was very much at fault in this episode.

1 I am indebted in this section to GJ Wenham, Genesis 1-15, WBC 1; Word, 1987, pp287f

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 11,12

Psalm 51

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Text: Prepare

Everything on earth has its own time and its own season: birth, death, planting, reaping (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). What season are you in?

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Text: Prepare

Everything on earth has its own time and its own season: birth, death, planting, reaping (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). What season are you in?

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Genesis 25:1-11,19-34

Genesis 25

Abraham Dies

1 Abraham married another woman. Her name was Keturah. 2 She had Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah by Abraham. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The children of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All of them came from Keturah.

5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines. Then he sent them away from his son Isaac. He sent them to the land of the east.

7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8 He took his last breath and died when he was very old. He had lived a very long time. Then he joined the members of his family who had already died.

9 Abraham's sons Isaac and Ishmael buried his body. They put it in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre. It was in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite. 10 Abraham had bought it from the Hittites. He was buried there with his wife Sarah.

11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. At that time Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Genesis 25:1-11,19-34

Jacob and Esau

19 Here is the story of Abraham's son Isaac.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. She was the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram. She was also the sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Rebekah couldn't have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. And the Lord answered his prayer. His wife Rebekah became pregnant.

22 The babies struggled with each other inside her. She said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to ask the Lord what she should do.

23 The Lord said to her,

"Two nations are in your body.

Two tribes that are now inside you will be separated.

One nation will be stronger than the other.

The older son will serve the younger one."

24 The time came for Rebekah to have her babies. There were twin boys in her body. 25 The first one to come out was red. His whole body was covered with hair. So they named him Esau.

26 Then his brother came out. His hand was holding onto Esau's heel. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah had them.

27 The boys grew up. Esau became a skillful hunter. He was a man who liked the open country. But Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed at home among the tents. 28 Isaac liked the meat of wild animals. So Esau was his favorite son. But Rebekah's favorite was Jacob.

29 One day Jacob was cooking some stew. Esau came in from the open country. He was very hungry. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick! Let me have some of that red stew! I'm very hungry!" That's why he was also named Edom.

31 Jacob replied, "First sell me the rights that belong to you as the oldest son in the family."

32 "Look, I'm dying of hunger," Esau said. "What good are those rights to me?"

33 But Jacob said, "First promise me with an oath that you are selling me your rights." So Esau promised to do it. He sold Jacob all of the rights that belonged to him as the oldest son.

34 Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. Esau ate and drank. Then he got up and left.

So Esau didn't care anything at all about the rights that belonged to him as the oldest son.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Promise in jeopardy

Halfway through Genesis is this pivotal moment in the story of God's people. No ordinary love story, the union of Isaac and Rebekah is key to the fulfilment of God's promise (22:16-18). Yet 20 years after Rebekah left home, confidently hoping for a large family (24:60), the promise appears in jeopardy.

Then Isaac's prayers are answered with a smashing set of twins - the Hebrew for 'fighting' (v 22) literally means 'smashing'. When Rebekah asks God to speak she gets a prenatal scan with a difference, giving a cryptic glimpse of what's in store (v 23)!

Missing out

I wonder how Rebekah viewed God's words and whether she shared them with her husband or sons. Did she see them as a prophecy to be acted upon, like Shakespeare's Macbeth? Or were they an inevitable, unstoppable pronouncement from heaven - the issue at the heart of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex?

Consider the difference it might have made to your family life if you had received such a word from God. Whether or not Esau is aware of this prophecy, he clearly hasn't bought into God's promise. He doesn't value the role of elder son, leading the family, providing descendants down to God's Messiah, no less. What an opportunity to miss for the sake of some beans!

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Text: Respond

'Lord, give me a sense of the part I can play in the unravelling story of your people.'

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Text: Respond

'Lord, give me a sense of the part I can play in the unravelling story of your people.'

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Here we see the hostile after-effects (v 18) of the family division which began when Abraham banished Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21:8-21), a division with ongoing consequences today. Muslims believe Ishmael is one of the progenitors of the Arabs and an ancestor of Muhammad himself. Muslims do not reject the Isaac line, regarding Moses, David and even Jesus as great prophets, but they believe Jews and Christians have lost the plot and that Islam alone preserves the pure truth, tracing itself back to the faith of Abraham. Is it possible that an understanding of a common physical and symbolic descent from Abraham may yet form a basis for the resolution of these tensions?

Long-term hostilities will also result from tensions between Jacob and Esau. Their story begins with a struggle. Some want to see this unusual birth as evidence of predestination, but it is better to see it as demonstrating that not even the most powerful traditions - in this case the rights of the firstborn - are more important than God's purposes. Still today among God's people, there can be difficulty in discerning when and how to change. Change for its own sake is not good, but neither is stubbornly holding onto the way things are.

We should be careful not to side with either son in the matter of the stew and the birthright. Esau comes across as thickheaded, careless of his family responsibilities and disrespectful of his birthright, but just because Jacob is eventually the one through whom God's purposes are advanced, that does not excuse him from taking advantage of a brother in need and sowing the seeds of future conflict. Jacob could have chosen to act more graciously. God's promises do not shape everything that will transpire before their ultimate fulfilment. What the recipients, like Jacob, do and say along the way will affect the future, for good or for ill.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 8-10

1 Corinthians 5

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Text: Prepare

Think about times when you've experienced a sense of success (Psalm 17:14). Reflect on how God played a part in it and give thanks now.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Genesis 24:29-67

29 Rebekah had a brother named Laban. He hurried out to the spring to meet the man. 30 Laban had seen the nose ring. He had seen the bracelets on his sister's arms. And he had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said to her. So he went out to the man. He found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 "The Lord has given you his blessing," he said. "So come. Why are you standing out here? I've prepared my house for you. I also have a place for the camels."

32 So the man went to the house. The camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought for the camels. And water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet.

33 Then food was placed in front of him. But he said, "I won't eat until I've told you what I have to say."

"Then tell us," Laban said.

34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master greatly. He has become wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle. He has given him silver and gold. He has also given him male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

36 "My master's wife Sarah had a son by him when she was old. He has given that son everything he owns. 37 My master made me take an oath. He said, 'I'm living in the land of the people of Canaan. But promise me that you won't get a wife for my son from their daughters. 38 Instead, go to my father's family and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son there.'

39 "Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman won't come back with me?'

40 "He replied, 'I have walked with the Lord. He will send his angel with you. He will give you success on your journey. So you will be able to get a wife for my son. You will get her from my own relatives and from my father's family.

41 " 'When you go to my relatives, suppose they refuse to give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.'

42 "Today I came to the spring. I said, 'Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Please give me success on this journey I've made.

43 " 'I'm standing beside this spring. A young woman will come out to get water. I will speak to her. I'll say, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar." 44 Suppose she says, "Have a drink of water. And I'll get some for your camels too." Then let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master's son.'

45 "Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out. She had a jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'

46 "She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder. She said, 'Have a drink. And I'll get water for your camels too.' So I drank. She also got water for the camels.

47 "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?'

"She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel. He's the son Milcah had by Nahor.'

"Then I put the ring in her nose. I put the bracelets on her arms. 48 And I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. He had led me on the right road. He had led me to get for my master's son the granddaughter of my master's brother.

49 "Now will you be kind and faithful to my master? If you will, tell me. And if you won't, tell me. Then I'll know which way to turn."

50 Laban and Bethuel answered, "The Lord has done all of this. We can't say anything to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah. Take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, just as the Lord has said."

52 Abraham's servant heard what they said. So he bowed down to the Lord with his face to the ground. 53 He brought out gold and silver jewelry. He brought out articles of clothing. He gave all of it to Rebekah. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and her mother.

54 Then Abraham's servant and the men who were with him ate and drank. They spent the night there.

They got up the next morning. Abraham's servant said, "Send me back to my master."

55 But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the young woman stay with us ten days or so. Then you can go."

56 But he said to them, "Don't make me wait. The Lord has given me success on my journey. Send me on my way so I can go to my master."

57 Then they said, "Let's get Rebekah. We'll ask her about it." 58 So they sent for her. They asked her, "Will you go with this man?"

"Yes," she said.

59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way with Abraham's servant and his men. They also sent Rebekah's attendant with her. 60 And they gave Rebekah their blessing. They said to her,

"Dear sister, may your family grow

by thousands and thousands.

May your children after you take over

the cities of their enemies."

61 Then Rebekah and her female servants got ready. They got on their camels to go with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

62 By that time Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi. He was living in the Negev Desert.

63 One evening he went out to the field. He wanted to spend some time thinking. When he looked up, he saw camels approaching.

64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel. 65 She asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?"

"He's my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered her face.

66 Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.

67 Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent that had belonged to his mother Sarah. And he married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother died.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Just right!

It's all good at this point in the story. Abraham's servant, amazingly, gets to Haran (now in Turkey) from Hebron (now in Israel) and discovers Rebekah, who not only shows generosity and kindness but is also from just the right family.

She is the knot that ties these two parts of the family together. It's the stuff of soap operas - yet just what Abraham believed could happen (v 40).

God's hand

What is the secret of the servant's success? He listens to God and gives him credit for keeping him on 'the right road, the road of truth' (see 24:48) as it says in Mary Phil Korsak's At the Start... Genesis Made New (Doubleday, 1993).

Notice how many times the servant is shown praying to the Lord or acknowledging his guidance. His excitement is contagious for Laban and Bethuel, too, to recognise God's hand in events.

Role model

Do you have a sense of how God has blessed your work or your family life? When Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem in the last week of his life, his ordinary disciples and the children in the crowd were more ready to praise him than the people who thought themselves important.

We might be important, in some senses, but we are servants, too. Abraham's servant is a role model whose attitude speaks across the centuries.

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Text: Respond

Think through what success will mean for you in the next 24 hours. Ask God to be with you and grant you success (Psalm 118:25).

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Yes, I did watch William and Kate's wedding! The world wishes them well. I pray that their union will last and be an example to their cynical generation. In top-rating Australian TV show, The Farmer Wants a Wife, young women compete for the affection of eligible young farmers. Tonight, previous years' contestants are revisited to see who found lasting happiness. A far cry from Isaac, another eligible young farmer, and his arranged marriage to his second cousin once removed, the beautiful woman (v 16) he came to love (v 67).

Western society values freedom of choice and romantic love, but does this guarantee a successful marriage? Here in Australia, over 40 per cent of marriages fail. We could wish Christian marriages were significantly more lasting but, sadly, statistics show otherwise. Judith and I have been married 44 years. I would still not dare to say I know the secrets of success, but at the very least they include love (Ephesians 5:25,28), faithfulness (Exodus 20:14), forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32), sex (1 Corinthians 7:3), and, as the Bishop of London said in his address at the royal wedding, the encouragement and support of others (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Well-known names abound in this story - Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, and lesser characters like Laban - but we can learn most from the nameless servant. He is like many unsung people of God in every age, the 'good and faithful servant' (Matthew 25:21,23) - people of prayer, serving their Lord faithfully in quite ordinary situations, remaining anonymous in the overall scheme of things but crucial as vehicles of God's blessing in daily affairs.

God does work highly effectively behind the scenes with such people, but they too have chosen which path to follow. They too can make wrong choices and temporarily frustrate the purposes of God; or, like Abraham's servant, they may need reassurance that they can only do their best and that they might not always succeed (vs 5,8).

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Text: Bible background: Marriage customs in the Old Testament Arranged marriages In the time of Abraham it was normal for a marriage to be arranged by the couple's fathers. In Rebekah's case her brother is the male responsible for her who draws up the contract - and she is only consulted when the deal is complete!

The marriage price

The marriage price or mohar was regarded as compensation for the loss of a worker in the household. The bride was not regarded as an object to be bought, however, and the marriage price was kept intact in case the woman needed it again in the future.

The amount of the marriage price varied dependent on the social standing and wealth of the bride's father (or brother, in the case of Laban). When all was agreed, the groom gave presents to the bride's family. Often fathers might give their daughters (or their husbands) a wedding gift which might be in the form of servants, land or property (see Joshua 15:18,19).

The wedding

After a formal engagement, when the groom had the new home ready, he would go with his friends to the bride's house in the evening, where she would be waiting, veiled, in her wedding dress and wearing her jewellery.

During a simple ceremony, the veil would be removed and placed on the groom's shoulder. Then there would be a prolonged feast at the home of the groom or his parents.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 6,7

1 Corinthians 4

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Family ties

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Text: Prepare

Read Psalm 17:6. Do you believe it? Ask God now for the help you need and see what he can do.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Genesis 24:1-28

Genesis 24

Abraham's Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac

1 By that time Abraham was very old. The Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 The best servant in his house was in charge of everything he had.

Abraham said to him, "Put your hand under my thigh. 3 The Lord is the God of heaven and the God of earth. I want you to make a promise with an oath in his name.

"I'm living among the people of Canaan. But I want you to promise me that you won't get a wife for my son from their daughters. 4 Instead, promise me that you will go to my country and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac from there."

5 The servant asked him, "What if the woman doesn't want to come back with me to this land? Then should I take your son back to the country you came from?"

6 "Make sure you don't take my son back there," Abraham said. 7 "The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from my father's family. He brought me out of my own land. And he made me a promise with an oath. He said, 'I will give this land to your family after you.' The Lord will send his angel ahead of you. So you will be able to get a wife for my son from there.

8 "The woman may not want to come back with you. If she doesn't, you will be free from your oath. But don't take my son back there."

9 So the servant put his hand under Abraham's thigh. He promised with an oath to do what his master wanted.

10 The servant took ten of his master's camels and left. He took with him all kinds of good things from his master. He started out for Aram Naharaim. He made his way to the town of Nahor.

11 He stopped near the well outside the town. There he made the camels get down on their knees. It was almost evening. It was the time when women go out to get water.

12 Then he prayed, "Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Give me success today. Be kind to my master Abraham. 13 I'm standing beside this spring. The daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out here to get water.

14 "I will speak to a young woman. I'll say, 'Please lower your jar so I can have a drink.' Suppose she says, 'Have a drink of water. And I'll get some for your camels too.' Then let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. That's how I'll know you have been kind to my master."

15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out. She had a jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah. Milcah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. 16 The young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin. No man had made love to her. She went down to the spring. She filled her jar and came up again.

17 The servant hurried to meet her. He said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."

18 "Have a drink, sir," she said. She quickly lowered the jar to her hands. And she gave him a drink.

19 After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll get water for your camels too. I'll keep doing it until they finish drinking." 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the stone tub. Then she ran back to the well to get more water. She got enough for all of his camels.

21 The man didn't say a word. He watched her closely. He wanted to learn whether the Lord had given him success on the journey he had made.

22 The camels finished drinking. Then the man took out a gold nose ring. It weighed a fifth of an ounce. He also took out two gold bracelets. They weighed four ounces.

23 Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? And please tell me something else. Is there room in your father's house for us? Can we spend the night there?"

24 She answered, "I'm the daughter of Bethuel. He's the son Milcah had by Nahor." 25 She continued, "We have plenty of straw and feed for your camels. We also have room for you to spend the night."

26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord. 27 He said, "I praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. He hasn't stopped being kind and faithful to my master. The Lord has led me on this journey. He has brought me to the house of my master's relatives."

28 The young woman ran home. She told her mother's family what had happened.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Big responsibility

At this point in Abraham's life he is 140 years old, hugely rich, powerful and committed to serving God in Canaan. He has a trusted right-hand man, possibly Eliezer of Damascus, a servant he picked up on his way down from Haran (15:2).

When Abraham had no sons, this man was considered the only possible inheritor of his wealth - an indication of his status. Now he is being given an incredible responsibility: to find a good wife for Isaac. How would you feel about finding a wife for your boss's son?

Test of faith

Of course, the last time we saw Isaac he was a child bound to a wooden altar, being offered as a sacrifice (ch 22), when his father's faith was tested at Mount Moriah. Here his faith is being tested once again. If you are a parent, you may have some sympathy for Abraham, who looks around his locality and can't see a suitable wife for his offspring.

What Isaac thinks about it all we never get to hear - as before, he seems a passive actor - but for Abraham and his servant it's a solemn moment, a long journey and a big task. It requires Abraham to trust his servant and for the servant to trust God - all bound together in the same quest.

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Text: Respond

If you have children, pray for their relationships. Pray for your own relationships, too, that they may be directed by God.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Romance is in the air today. Along with a other billion people, I shall watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Although set in another time and place. with different expectations, today's attractive little story could be in a romantic magazine: written to be told, well-crafted, with human interest and suspense (Will the servant find a woman? Will she go with him?). The narrator keeps the reader in mind: in good story-telling fashion we know Rebekah's identity before the servant does (v 15).

Yet the narrative is not trivial: it reveals deep truths about people and God. The narrator places the events in a broad universal context. For a start, the God of this story is no mere local tribal deity but a God whose influence extends outside Canaan to distant parts of Mesopotamia. This God is involved in events that will become patriarchal, the founding of nations which will descend from Abraham.

Beyond that, we know what the narrator did not, that these events would reach into a distant future when this God, who would in time describe himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:6; 1 Kings 18:36; Mark 12:26), would bring these stories to their ultimate fulfilment not only in Abraham's physical family but in us, his spiritual descendants (Galatians 3:7,29).

The Lord is indeed God of heaven and earth (v 3), but here he works in the unspectacular events of normal Mesopotamian family life. While there is good reason to see divine guidance operating in this story, it is too simplistic to read it deterministically as if all events were absolutely preordained. Indeed, as the story of Isaac and Jacob unfolds, an important dynamic emerges: human activity can shape the future. God's ultimate purposes will not be thwarted, but God does not micromanage the choices people make, nor the consequences.

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Text: Bible background: Rebekah

Who was she?

Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham's brother. Laban, who later tricked Jacob, Rebekah's son, was her brother.

What was she like?

In the story of how Abraham's servant goes to seek a bride for his master's son, she appears at first in a good light, as she not only gives a drink to Eleazar but also waters his camels. She also shows herself ready to go with him to marry Isaac.

When she first sees Isaac in modesty she veils herself. Isaac became her husband and 'loved her deeply' (Genesis 24:67) and was comforted following the death of his mother. According to Jewish tradition Rebekah was very beautiful.

On the negative side, Rebekah was guilty of favouritism in preferring the younger of her two twins, Jacob, who was 'a quiet man, staying among the tents' (Genesis 25:27) to Esau.

Disgusted (as was Isaac) by Esau's two Hittite wives (Genesis 34,35), it was her idea that Jacob should trick her husband into giving him his blessing. On hearing of Esau's anger at the deception, she persuades Jacob to run away to Haran (Genesis 27:42-45).

Where was she buried?

Rebekah was buried by the side of her husband in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre (Genesis 49:31). The New Testament refers to her just once, in Romans 10:9.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 3-5

1 Corinthians 3

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Text: Prepare

On this day in 1536 King Henry VIII ordered English-language Bibles to be placed in every church. Thank God for the Bibles that you have in your church and home.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Psalm 17

Psalm 17

A prayer of David.

1 Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;

listen to my cry.

Give ear to my prayer-

it does not rise from deceitful lips.

2 May my vindication come from you;

may your eyes see what is right.

3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,

though you test me, you will find nothing;

I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

4 As for the deeds of men-

by the word of your lips

I have kept myself

from the ways of the violent.

5 My steps have held to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;

give ear to me and hear my prayer.

7 Show the wonder of your great love,

you who save by your right hand

those who take refuge in you from their foes.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings

9 from the wicked who assail me,

from my mortal enemies who surround me.

10 They close up their callous hearts,

and their mouths speak with arrogance.

11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,

with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,

like a great lion crouching in cover.

13 Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;

rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,

from men of this world whose reward is in this life.

You still the hunger of those you cherish;

their sons have plenty,

and they store up wealth for their children.

15 And I-in righteousness I will see your face;

when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Persecution

As I read this beautiful song, I imagine the video that might accompany it: perhaps scenes from David's life, when he is being persecuted by Saul (eg 1 Samuel 24); or a flash forward to Jesus, on trial before Pilate. It could focus on David's powerful images (vs 8,12) or on the face of this man as he pleads with God.

Many Christians today are persecuted for their faith and would have no difficulty in sympathising with the words of David's song. Some are in prison, like Uyghur house church leader, Alimjan Yimit, serving a 15-year prison sentence. Some have experienced violence, like Dawit and Meaza in Ethiopia, who continue to live alongside their attackers.

And some have died. All of them are ordinary Christians like you and me, but they get arrested for going to church, for studying the Bible or for telling others about Jesus.

Shocking

In 2006 the Poverty and Justice Bible was published, highlighting all the verses relating to poverty. There are so many - how did we miss them before? I often think that if someone were to produce the Persecution Bible, we would be similarly shocked.

As we read these words today, let's pray for our brothers and sisters who have held to God's paths in the face of violence from others.

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Text: Respond

Find out more about persecuted Christians today.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

As thoughtful Christians, aware that none can protest their sinlessness, we may feel awkward reading these protestations of innocence. They may even seem self-righteous. But if there is one counter to this, it is that the psalmists constantly acknowledge their sin (eg Psalms 32:5; 38:18; 51:3). Here the psalmist is not claiming to be sinless but to be innocent in a particular case involving false accusation and active hostility. We can all sympathise with that. Most of us know what it is like to have been unfairly treated, some of us of course more seriously than others.

We could get mired down in a discussion of justice and injustice and how we (and the psalmist) should feel or act about it, but verse 15 renders all that irrelevant. The assurance of seeing God's face and likeness gives everything a new dimension. It is enough to awake seeing God's likeness.

How will the psalmist 'see' God? Making a likeness of God was prohibited (Exodus 20:4) but in Scripture there are those who have 'seen the God of Israel' (Psalm 63:2), a special experience accorded to some leaders and prophets. On other occasions, 'seeing God' was a way of describing the experience of worship, a feeling echoed in many Christian hymns. At another level, it is right for Christian readers to see in this psalm one of those great leaps of faith in which, perhaps through the eye of the poet, the psalmist glimpses the resurrection.

The ancient poetic language here reaches out incredibly to an understanding that there is a communion with God which nothing, not even death, can interrupt (Romans 8:38,39). When one day we too find ourselves waking in the presence of God, then, for us, like the psalmist, all of the injustices of this life will pale into insignificance. To see God will, for us too, be enough.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

2 Samuel 1,2

Psalm 50

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Text: Prepare

Ask the Lord to speak to you through this reading today.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Hebrews 10:26-39

26 What if we keep sinning on purpose? What if we do it even after we know the truth? Then there is no offering for our sins. 27 All we can do is to wait in fear for God to judge. His blazing fire will burn up his enemies.

28 Anyone who did not obey the law of Moses died without mercy if there were two or three witnesses. 29 What should be done to anyone who has hated the Son of God or has said no to him? What should be done to a person who treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that makes him holy? What should be done to someone who has made fun of the Holy Spirit who brings God's grace? Don't you think people like that should be punished more than anyone else?

30 We know the One who said, "I am the One who judges people. I will pay them back."-(Deuteronomy 32:35) Scripture also says, "The Lord will judge his people."-(Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalm 135:14)

31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 Remember those earlier days after you received the light. At that time you stood firm in a great struggle. You did it even in the face of suffering.

33 Sometimes you were made fun of in front of others. You were treated badly. At other times you stood side by side with people who were being treated like that. 34 You suffered together with people in prison. When your property was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew that God had given you better and more lasting things.

35 So don't throw away your bold faith. It will bring you rich rewards. 36 You need to be faithful. Then you will do what God wants. You will receive what he has promised. 37 In just a very little while,

"The one who is coming will come. He will not wait.

38 The one who is in the right will live by faith.

If he pulls back,

I will not be pleased with him." -(Habakkuk 2:3,4)

39 But we aren't people who pull back and are destroyed. We are people who believe and are saved.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Missing the deadline

My life is ruled by deadlines. I suspect yours is too. If I don't renew my car licence, I may not drive the car. As a nursing sister, if I don't pay my registration fees, I will be removed from the roll. If I miss a writing deadline, my work won't be published. If we forget the phone bill, we'll be unable to phone, Skype or send emails.

We all try not to miss deadlines. How sad then that so many people miss the most important deadline of all. No matter who we are, how old we are, how well off we are, or where we live, one day we will all die. We will each appear before Almighty God (9:27).

Hang in there

Where the Old Testament sacrifices only pointed to a coming Redeemer (8:5a), today we can draw near to God through Jesus Christ. The first readers of Hebrews had already faced persecution yet they stayed strong in their faith (vs 32-34).

However, the writer fears that, as they face constant criticism and further tribulation, they might turn back to their old ways. He urges them, and us, to hang in there (vs 35,36). The key issue is not how we started out as Christians (no matter how dramatic our conversion experience) but how we end.

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Text: Respond

What person, habit or activity puts the most negative pressure on your spiritual life? Pray now that you will see new ways of standing firm in your faith.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

There is nothing squeamish about the author of Hebrews and he does not pull any punches here. He spells out the implications of turning back rather than persevering. Part of his point is that those who go back to live under the old covenant will be judged on the basis of that covenant (v 27). The apostasy that is described in verse 26 - 'If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth' - is not about things like falling back into old bad habits, struggling with persistent areas of weakness, struggling with doubt or even entering a wrong relationship.

These are all sinful, but the proper response is to turn to Christ for mercy and help (Hebrews 4:14-16). What is described here is a deliberate and permanent turning from Christ (not the same as having difficulties with the church!), which denies him, spurns his cross and turns from grace (v 29). The strong language is the only appropriate language for such a betrayal.

But this author also has a pastoral heart. He reminds them that they have found Christ to be faithful in previous times of testing. They have stood up for their faith, and stood by one another under extreme pressure (vs 32-34). With God's help they can do so again. Whatever may have been taken from them in persecution, they knew they had something of far greater value that no one could take away. They are challenged to maintain that original confidence and so persevere.

When Christ comes they will be richly rewarded (v 35). Verses from Isaiah 26 and Habakkuk 2 point them to faith, as the way to both please God and find him faithful. Our author did not create the chapter breaks. He immediately begins his great section about the heroes of faith. Put together, the encouragement far outweighs the solemn warning.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 29-31

1 Corinthians 2

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Text: Prepare

My English teacher used to say, 'Whenever you read the word ''therefore" always stop and consider what it's there for.' Today's passage starts that way, 'Therefore .' (NIV).

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Hebrews 10:19-25

A Call to Persevere

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Keep going

'Draw near to God with a sincere heart', says the writer (v 22, NIV). How is this possible? The word 'therefore' refers to how we are able to draw near to God because the blood of Jesus opened the way to the most holy place (vs 19,20). We are able to draw near because we have a great high priest (v 21).

The passage encourages us to 'hold unswervingly to the hope we profess' (v 23, NIV). Have you ever taught a child to ride a bicycle? As you run, panting, alongside the new rider, before you let go, you caution, 'Keep going forward'. The bicycle goes straight for a few pedal turns, then it wobbles and swerves out of control - and the child follows. How does this tie in with verse 23?

We need one another

In the same way as we run alongside the bicycle, shouting encouragement to the rider, so the writer tells us to do this for one another (v 24). As Christians, we need encouragement, and that is one of the main reasons for meeting together on a regular basis (v 25).

We can read the Bible on our own. We can sing and listen to sermons at home. But we need to do these things with one another. We need to worship together, in order to build one another up in the faith.

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Text: Respond

Who can you encourage in their Christian walk today or tomorrow?

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Text: Deeper Bible study

The theological argument is complete, and is followed by a vigorous exhortation to live confidently in the light of Christ. Baptised believers ('washed with pure water', v 22), cleansed of their guilt through the cross, are to approach the Most Holy Place, the presence of God, as though they belonged there. Because they do! They are members of God's household (v 21), brothers and sisters to Jesus (Hebrews 2:11). So they are to come 'in full assurance of faith' (v 22).

This is not an escape from the tough business of living for Christ, in a world which does not acknowledge him. Faith is about confident trust in God for the resources to engage the difficult reality around us. According to the following chapter, 'faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see' (Hebrews 11:1). Jim Wallis calls it 'believing God despite the evidence, and watching the evidence change before your eyes.' The basis for this faith has nothing to do with the nature or scale of our circumstances. It is based in the faithfulness of God, who fulfilled his promises through his Son and will continue to do so.

The striking characteristic of this passage is that all the exhortations are plural. 'We', 'us' and 'our' fill the page. Discipleship is a God's family affair. Individually and collectively we are to trust God and encourage one another to do so. Vigorous encouragement and disciplined meeting together are required. We are to spur one another on (v 24) and spurs can be sharp! Christians meet together regularly to help one another be faithful to Jesus and to stand together as a public witness. The Church is not only the fruit of Christ's cross, it is his gift to his brothers and sisters to help them remain faithful. We become lone-wolf Christians at our, and others', peril!

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Text: Bible background: The Day of the Lord

Use by the Old Testament prophets

'The Day of the Lord' was an expression used by many of the writing prophets, at least since the time of Amos in the eighth century BC, to refer to 'the day of the LORD's anger' (Zephaniah 2:2). Joel speaks of how God will 'judge all the nations on every side' because of their great 'wickedness' (Joel 3:12,13). So he warns that 'the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision', as cosmic calamity unfolds (3:14-16).

The people expected that this would be a day of judgement on Israel's enemies, when God's anger would be poured out on them for their sins of rejecting the Lord and attacking his people. But Amos warns those who 'long for the day of the Lord' that it will be 'darkness, not light' for them - God is not pleased with their offerings and worship because of the lack of justice and righteousness in their common life (Amos 5:18-24).

Use in the New Testament

The fact that in the New Testament the expression 'The day of the Lord' is consistently used with reference to Christ rather than God, as in the Old Testament, is a testimony to the ease and naturalness with which they accepted the deity of Christ. The term is used with reference to the Second Coming of Christ, bringing punishment for the wicked and salvation for his holy people (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; see 2:2).

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 27,28

1 Corinthians 1

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Work in progress

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Text: Prepare

As you prepare to read God's Word today, can you remember something you've done for which you need forgiveness?

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Hebrews 10:11-18

11 Day after day every priest stands and does his special duties. He offers the same sacrifices again and again. But they can never take away sins.

12 Jesus our priest offered one sacrifice for sins for all time. Then he sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time, he waits for his enemies to be put under his control. 14 By that one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

15 The Holy Spirit also gives witness to us about this. First he says,

16 "This is the covenant I will make with them

after that time, says the Lord.

I will put my laws in their hearts.

I will write my laws on their minds." -(Jeremiah 31:33)

17 Then he adds,

"I will not remember their sins anymore.

I will not remember the evil things they have done." -(Jeremiah 31:34)

18 Where those have been forgiven, there is no longer any offering for sin.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Again and again

Some years ago, I saw a T-shirt with a slogan that could have been my motto, 'Please be patient. God's not finished with me yet.' So often I decide not to do something again, or never to speak in a certain way. Then a few days later, I realise I've slipped up again. Can you identify? It is so hard to stay good.

The people in Old Testament times had the same problem. No matter how they tried, they kept sinning. And each sin demanded a sacrifice. As a result, the priests had to offer sacrifices over and over (v 11).

Perfection is assured

Then Jesus came into the world. He offered himself as a one-off sacrifice for our sins. Yes, for all of them. Take a closer look at verse 14. Whom did Christ make perfect? Those who are in the process of being made holy. We're not there yet, and God knows that. Yet perfection is assured - in the future.

We may remember our sins, but see how long God remembers them (v 17). For that reason, we no longer need sin sacrifices (v 18). Even though I continually mess up, Christ's sacrifice has guaranteed me a place in heaven, and he'll keep working on me until I go to him one day, perfect and holy.

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Text: Respond

Bring to the Lord the area you thought of before the reading, and thank him for his continual act of forgiveness. Ask him to help you forgive yourself.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

These verses conclude the multilayered argument we have been following since 7:1. The work of the temple and the Levitical priests was no longer necessary. It has been superseded by the work of Christ. Christians now live between Christ's finished work (the 'for all time one sacrifice for sins', v 12) and his return (Hebrews 9:28). In the meantime, he has 'sat down at the right hand of God' (v 12), the place of authority in heaven. The decisive battle has been won and is being worked out in human hearts, minds and lives. Sins have been forgiven (v 18).

Now Christ waits for his victory to have its full effect, for 'his enemies to be made his footstall' (v 13). The victory is won, but the battle has not yet ended. This was anticipated in chapter 2. 'At present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death (Hebrews 2:8,9).

The new-covenant promise of God's law in our hearts and minds (v 16) has to be lived in cultures where many other hearts and minds are committed to very different values and aspirations. There are ways of thinking, and their resulting life styles, which are enemies of Christ. Neither the church which received this letter, nor believers today, should be surprised that it is costly to be a public disciple of Christ.

Were these believers to turn back to old covenant Judaism their religion would come under the protection of Roman law. The temptation to go back may have been powerful because the cost of perseverance seemed too great. Our author has sought to convince them of the folly of turning back to an interim arrangement that merely foreshadowed the reality they had now entered.

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Bible passage: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 25,26

Psalm 49

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An object lesson

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Text: Prepare

Imagine that you are extremely thirsty. You see a picture of a delicious milkshake. Does it quench your thirst? See how this illustration fits today's reading.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Hebrews 10:1-10

Hebrews 10

Christ's Sacrifice Is Once and for All Time

1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming. It is not the real things themselves. The same sacrifices have to be offered over and over again. They must be offered year after year. That's why the law can never make perfect those who come near to worship. 2 If it could, wouldn't the sacrifices have stopped being offered? The worshipers would have been made clean once and for all time. They would not have felt guilty for their sins anymore.

3 But those offerings remind people of their sins every year. 4 It isn't possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 So when Christ came into the world, he said,

"You didn't want sacrifices and offerings.

Instead, you prepared a body for me.

6 You weren't pleased

with burnt offerings and sin offerings.

7 Then I said, 'Here I am. It is written about me in the scroll.

God, I have come to do what you want.' " -(Psalm 40:6-8)

8 First Christ said, "You didn't want sacrifices and offerings. You didn't want burnt offerings and sin offerings. You weren't pleased with them." He said that even though the law required people to bring them. 9 Then he said, "Here I am. I have come to do what you want." He did away with the first. He did it to put the second in place.

10 We have been made holy by what God wanted. We have been made holy because Jesus Christ offered his body once and for all time.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Picturing Jesus

When I taught children at Sunday School I often used felt boards. I would place brightly coloured figures backed in felt onto the background. The children would listen, enthralled, as they watched the illustration of the story.

A figure of Jesus helped them 'see' Jesus and how he acted. It wasn't the real thing, only a picture, an illustration. Sadly, many people today see Jesus like that - as a picture. They have not seen past the illustration to meet the real Saviour.

Not the real thing

The Old Testament sacrifices were only illustrations of the real thing, mere shadows. If they really removed people's sins for ever, what would this have meant (v 2)?

During the Day of Atonement, the high priest showed the people an object lesson. He symbolically laid their sins on the back of a 'scapegoat', which he sent out into the wilderness, lost for ever (Leviticus 16:10). This illustrated the removal of humankind's sins, but it was an illustration, not the real thing.

No animal could act as a substitute for people. Only a person - a perfect human - could take away our sins (vs 5-9). And as he was perfect, there is no need to repeat the sacrifice (v 10).

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Text: Respond

Have you seen past the illustration, and laid your sins on the shoulders of the only one in all history who can remove them from you? For ever?

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Text: Deeper Bible study

Although the old covenant established a sacrificial system (v 8), there is a strong counterpoint within the Old Testament, that the sacrifices themselves were never the main thing. God required mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Samuel asked Saul, 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice' (1 Samuel 15:22).

The same theme is found in Psalm 40:6-8, quoted here in verses 5-7, where it is presented as a statement by Christ. He makes the words his own, and it is he who fulfils them (and there is a hint that they were written under his inspiration as pre-existent Son of God).

God is looking for people to do his will. The Son of God was born into a fallen, disobedient race, to offer the obedience we had failed to give. The sacrifices could never change disobedient hearts, but the death of Christ can make imperfect people 'holy' (v 10).

The life of Jesus, summed up as 'I have come to do your will' (v9) demonstrates what the new humanity in Christ should be like. Loving obedience to God is its DNA. God is creating a people who say to him, 'Here I am' (vs 7,9). Jesus revealed both the cost and the motivation for obedience. His motivation is love for the Father ('I have come to do your will'), love for us and, later in Hebrews, 'the joy that was set before him' (Hebrews 12:2).

This passage speaks of 'the good things that are coming' (v 1). The cost of obedience was that it was learned through suffering (Hebrews 5:8), culminating in the cross. Christian discipleship only begins with forgiveness; it is then learned in obedience to Christ. Despite the claims of our instant culture, it is worth suffering now for a future that is guaranteed.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 23,24

Proverbs 31

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Are you ready?

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Text: Prepare

If today was the last day of your life, what would you still have to do?

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Hebrews 9:23-28

23 So the copies of the heavenly things had to be made pure with those sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves had to be made pure with better sacrifices.

24 Christ did not enter a sacred tent made by people. That tent was only a copy of the true one. He entered heaven itself. He did it to stand in front of God for us. He is there right now.

25 The high priest enters the Most Holy Room every year. He enters with blood that is not his own. But Christ did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again. 26 If he had, he would have had to suffer many times since the world was created. But now he has appeared once and for all time. He has come at the end of the ages to do away with sin. He has done that by offering himself.

27 People have to die once. After that, God will judge them. 28 In the same way, Christ was offered up once. He took away the sins of many people.

He will also come a second time. At that time he will not suffer for sin. Instead, he will come to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

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Text: Explore the Bible

We only die once

The tabernacle was a symbolic meeting place, set aside to give people access to God. Yet it was only a shadow of what was to come. Jesus, through his sacrifice on the cross, set apart a real meeting place for us with God in heaven. This is no shadow (v 24).

Unlike the repeated sacrifices of the earthly tabernacle, Jesus only needed to give his life once (vs 25,26). When we celebrate the Lord's Supper (also called Communion or Eucharist) we remember what Jesus did for us. We don't literally partake of his body and blood. It's a reminder, a celebration, of his amazing sacrifice.

We too will only die once (v 27). The problem is, we never know when.

Ready for heaven?

In recent months we have seen cataclysmic events in the world. Thousands have lost their lives to devastating tsunamis, earthquakes and landslides. Acts of war and criminal activities bring sudden death to many.

Even if we live in safer areas, we all face life-threatening situations. We survive many, but eventually one may send us into the presence of Almighty God. If not, we will die of old age.

But, unless Jesus returns in our lifetime, we will die. Once. It could happen at any time. Are we ready for our heavenly rendezvous (v 28)?

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Text: Respond

How do you feel about standing before God's throne? Do you look forward with joyful anticipation? Or does the idea fill you with terror? Pray about your answer.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

The death of Christ was 'once for all' (v 26). This simple phrase encapsulates the gospel and underlines key issues for today. The Day of Atonement provides the setting. He offered himself as an eternally effective sacrifice just once, not year by year. Unlike the high priest, he had no need to sacrifice for his own sin; his offering was solely for others. All may now approach 'heaven itself' (v 24) with him as the one mediator. 'At the culmination of the ages' (v 26) his death and entry into heaven provide the vital element which the old covenant lacked, but to which it pointed.

The phrase 'once for all' challenges many human assumptions and philosophies. It challenges our pride, because sin is so serious that Christ had to die for it. Forgiveness has been achieved, and there is nothing we can add! It is for all, so there is no other way. The uniqueness of Christ and the finality of his work on the cross are contested in many societies today, but they are essential to a Christian understanding.

An objective salvation has been won, and there can be no multichoice alternatives! It is for all: no church can be content with leaving whole sectors of society or parts of culture unevangelised. It is the basis of the most critical encounter each human being will experience - because we die once, and after that face judgement (v 27). There is no reincarnation, we are given the one life only and we are accountable for what we do with it.

This chapter ends with a promise, not a warning. The emphasis is that Christ has done all that is necessary to sustain those who wait for him, and then to bring them the full salvation he has secured.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 20-22

Proverbs 29,30

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A perfect love

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Text: Prepare

Have you paid your monthly bills? What would happen if you didn't?

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Hebrews 9:11-22

The Blood of Christ

11 Christ came to be the high priest of the good things that are already here. When he came, he went through the greater and more perfect holy tent. The tent was not made by people. In other words, it is not a part of this creation.

12 He did not enter by spilling the blood of goats and calves. He entered the Most Holy Room by spilling his own blood. He did it once and for all time. He paid the price to set us free from sin forever.

13 The blood of goats and bulls is sprinkled on people. So are the ashes of a young cow. They are sprinkled on people the Law called unclean. The people are sprinkled to make them holy. That makes them clean on the outside.

14 But Christ offered himself to God without any flaw. He did this through the power of the eternal Holy Spirit. So how much more will his blood wash from our minds our feelings of guilt for committing sin! Sin always leads to death. But now we can serve the living God.

15 That's why Christ is the go-between of a new covenant. Now those God calls to himself will receive the eternal gift he promised. They will receive it now that Christ has died to save them. He died to set them free from the sins they committed under the first covenant.

16 What happens in the case of a will? It is necessary to prove that the person who made the will has died. 17 A will is in effect only when somebody has died. It never takes effect while the one who made it is still living. 18 That's why even the first covenant was not put into effect without the spilling of blood.

19 Moses first announced every commandment of the law to all the people. Then he took the blood of calves. He also took water, bright red wool and branches of a hyssop plant. He sprinkled the scroll. He also sprinkled all of the people. 20 He said, "This is the blood of the covenant God has commanded you to keep."-(Exodus 24:8) 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the holy tent with blood. He also sprinkled everything that was used in worship there.

22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be made clean with blood. Without the spilling of blood, no one can be forgiven.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Obedience or love

Every month we pay our electricity bill. That's the law, and we obey. (Besides, if we didn't, they'd cut off the power!) During the year we buy presents for family birthdays. We don't do that because of any law. We do it out of love.

In the tabernacle, the priests had to make sacrifices in order to obey the law. How does that compare with Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross (v 12)?

Blood offering

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest sacrificed many animals in order to fulfil the law (v 13). Remember the word used for 'covenant' here also means a will, and that only comes into play when the testator dies (v 17). So Jesus offered up his own blood to make us pure before God (vs 13,14).

Have we perhaps become so used to talking about blood sacrifices that we no longer think of the horror? When the high priest went into the Holy of Holies, he sprinkled the blood of a bullock, and later a goat, onto the mercy seat.

Stains removed

Imagine what this looked like. There were no cleanup crews in the holy of holies. The evidence of man's sin remained there, staining the wood, for ever.

Have we become so used to the picture of Christ on the cross that we've forgotten the horror of Calvary? Yet because of his resurrection, the stains of our sins are gone. He took them away - for ever.

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Text: Respond

Give thanks today that Jesus willingly gave up his life out of love, for you.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

A central assumption of Hebrews is the awesome holiness of God (Hebrews 10:31). His eternal dwelling is called 'the Most Holy Place'. God is a moral God, the source of all true morality. Sin is serious because it is an affront to the character of God. Christ the high priest enters the true holy place, which is 'not a part of this creation' (v 11), the presence of this holy God. His life was 'unblemished' (v 14).

There was no barrier to prevent his entry. He entered for us, presenting his blood shed as our ransom. He secured 'eternal redemption' (v 12). Sins can be forgiven (vs 15,22) and consciences, confronted by God's holiness, can be cleansed (v 14). He is 'the mediator of a new covenant' (v 15). Through him we receive what God has promised in the new covenant, and can enter the Most Holy Place without fear.

The message of Hebrews is clear, but the imagery can be difficult for those whose cultures have no connection to animal sacrifice - (unless we have a thorough grasp of the Old Testament!). Could it be that the real challenge of Hebrews today is that we lack this writer's grasp of the holiness of God and the seriousness of sin? If so, our understanding of redemption is likely to be cheap. We will take forgiveness for granted, rather than be staggered that it is possible at all.

The good news is that the triune God desires our service (v 14), despite our sin, and has done everything that is necessary. The Father promised the new covenant (v 15), the Son offered himself as a ransom (v 14), sustained in his costly self-giving by the eternal Spirit (v 14). We need not be afraid to take sin seriously, because the holy God is for us, and has done all that is necessary.

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Text: Bible background: Blood and sacrifices

Old Testament rituals

The need for atonement arises from the holiness of God and the sinfulness of human beings. In the Old Testament all sorts of sacrifices were instituted to enable fellowship between God and man to occur.

The sin offerings, burnt offerings, fellowship offerings, guilt offerings and cereal offerings discussed in Leviticus 1-7 were graciously instituted by God with this purpose. Because these offerings could not cover 'secret' and hence unconfessed sin, the Day of Atonement ('Yom Kippur') was given, when the High Priest representing the people entered the Most Holy Place carrying the blood of the sacrifice of a bull and a ram (Leviticus 16).

New Testament fulfilment

The author of Hebrews regards all these rituals (and indeed the whole Old Testament revelation) as prefiguring and looking forward to the person and atonement of Christ.

The Old Testament sacrifices were only valid because they were looking forward to the perfect sacrifice of Christ, who was morally and spiritually perfect and who offered himself voluntarily (as the Old Testament animals could never do).

He has 'appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself' (Hebrews 9:26). Not only was he the perfect sacrifice, he now appears 'for us in God's presence' (9:24) as our great High Priest, pleading his once for all finished sacrifice before the throne of God, and thus winning forgiveness and access to God's presence for all true believers.

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 18,19

Proverbs 27,28

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Perfection ahead

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Text: Prepare

Ask the Lord to speak to you in a special way today.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Psalm 16

Psalm 16

A miktam of David.

1 Keep me safe, O God,

for in you I take refuge.

2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

3 As for the saints who are in the land,

they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those will increase

who run after other gods.

I will not pour out their libations of blood

or take up their names on my lips.

5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;

you have made my lot secure.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

8 I have set the LORD always before me.

Because he is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

11 You have made known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Tough times

This psalm is a miktam or Golden Psalm - a precious one. A miktam only occurs six times in the Scriptures and each time it's a psalm of David. In Psalm 16, David refers to tough times as he runs to his only place of refuge (vs 1,2).

Years ago, my husband and I experienced tough times while ministering in war-torn Rhodesia during its bloody transition into Zimbabwe. Life wasn't easy - yet it was our most thrilling period of ministry. Why? Because the people saw their need of God: Bible studies were well attended; prayer was frequent and intense. As a result, miracles happened and people turned their hearts to the Lord.

The path to eternal life

David confirms his relationship with God (v5), and glorifies him (vs 6,7). David has absolute confidence in his life after death (v 10). He knows he will share an eternal future with God's Holy One - clearly referring to Christ. In the Old Testament, if sacrifices were insufficient to grant salvation, how were people saved? They didn't yet have Jesus.

Here's the answer: David 'saw' the Holy One, he saw the path to eternal life (v 11) through faith - not through sacrifices, but in the One they pointed to. Abraham, David and all the Old Testament saints were assured of one day entering God's presence through faith. Just as we are (Romans 4:3; Genesis 15:6).

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Text: Respond

What tough times do you face? Look ahead to the One who is beyond them and keep your faith strong.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

This psalm of David is one part prayer to God, and one part a reminder of God's faithfulness. It is written from a place of danger. It starts with the sort of 'help' prayer we all have prayed - 'keep me safe, my God' (v 1). Then David remembers how he has prayed previously: how he has put himself totally in God's hands (v 2); how he has recognised that every good thing he has came from God (v 2); how he has identified himself with God's people (v 3) and kept himself from all pagan or idolatrous worship (v 4).

He has discovered the reality of God's care and protection (vs 5, 6), so why is he worrying about safety now? So, rather than praying a panic prayer, he praises God (v 7). God will guide him, if and when guidance is needed. He is secure in God's protection (vs 8, 9), even if his life is threatened. What matters is God's presence, not the nature of the circumstances (v 11).

Perhaps this psalm was written when David was hiding from Saul. Whatever its original context, the journey from an instinctive panic prayer to a reflection on security in God is applicable to us all. What sort of instinctive prayers do we pray before we have had time to think about how to pray? Do we allow our experience of God's faithfulness to inform our prayers? Are we growing in trust, or are we in permanent panic mode?

The New Testament gives this psalm a further dimension. It was understood as a prophecy of the resurrection (Acts 2:25-28). The book of Psalms was Jesus' prayer book. He trusted the Father to raise him from in the grave: Could this psalm have been one of the scriptures which led Jesus to the assurance that he would be raised (Mark 9:9)?

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 16,17

Psalm 48

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An imperfect tabernacle

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Text: Prepare

'Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker' (Psalm 95:6, NIV). Spend a few minutes on your knees or bowed before the Lord before proceeding.

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Bible passage: Bible reading: Hebrews 9:1-10

Hebrews 9

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

1 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings-external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

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Text: Explore the Bible

Access to God

It is often said, 'It's not what you know; it's who you know.' I have attended many functions and sat in special seats, not because of who I am or anything I did, but because of someone I knew. Let's see if the writer to the Hebrews would agree with this comment.

In discussing the tabernacle, see how few words he gives to the tent (vs 2,3) compared to his comments about the furniture. He is more concerned with the items representing people's ability to have access to God than with the venue. He doesn't go into detail because his readers are scripture scholars and know it already (v 5). (You can read more in Exodus 25-31,35-40.)

Any time, any place

To have access to God, people had to follow rigid instructions. Even then, the main functions of tabernacle worship were only carried out by the priests (v 6). Not even the most spiritual of the high priests had access to God at any time other than once a year (v 7).

A sinner like you or me had no chance of drawing near to him. Yet today, if we accept what the Lord has done for us, Jesus Christ gives access to God at any time in any place.

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Text: Respond

Spend time worshipping God. Thank him for this privilege. It really isn't about who you are or what you've done. It's all about Jesus and what he's done for you.

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Text: Deeper Bible study

If the worship of God in the tabernacle and temple foreshadowed worship in the heavenly sanctuary, it also demonstrated the incompleteness of that way of worship. Something further needed to be revealed (v 8). The layout of the tabernacle, as revealed to Moses, is described in some detail, but the detail is not the main point (v 5). The key point is the barrier between the first or outer room and the inner room, behind a second curtain, called the Most Holy Place. This is a clear reference to the Day of Atonement and the unique role of the high priest, at the greatest festival in the Jewish year (Leviticus 16). At the same time, it is an enacted parable of the barrier between God and sinful humans.

The very fact that the high priest could only enter once per year was evidence that the old covenant was provisional. (Aaron was warned that he would die if he came any other time; Leviticus 16:2.) He could only come with sacrifice for his own sins and those of the people. If the promise was that 'they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest' (Hebrews 8:11), then the way through the barrier 'had not yet been disclosed' (v 8). Worse still, the gifts and sacrifices were largely about ceremonial failings and breaches of external regulations. The heart remained unchanged and the conscience could not be cleansed (v 9).

Sin is a real barrier. The state of the human heart is its source. External displays of penitence only have meaning if they flow from the heart. Under the old covenant, God granted forgiveness through the sacrifices required by the Law, because those sacrifices anticipated the self-offering of his Son. In this passage the stage has been set for what is to follow about Jesus, without whom there is no atonement.

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Text: Bible background: The tabernacle

The tabernacle and its contents

The tabernacle and its furnishings are described in detail in Exodus 25-40. The starting point is the description of the contents of the inner sanctuary (the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place).

The ark in the Most Holy Place was a wooden box of acacia wood sheathed in gold, approximately 1.1 metres long and 0.7 metres wide and high. It contained no representation of deity, only the Ten Commandments, a golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod which blossomed overnight. These contents are enumerated in Hebrews 9:1-5 where the author says they have spiritual significance, though unfortunately for us he does not explain how!

The ark was carried with poles pushed through rings at the four lower corners, in a manner similar to a chest discovered in Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt. At each end of the ark were cherubim with wings spread out, symbolising God's protection.

Getting right with God

In the main area of the Tabernacle stood the bronze laver for washing and the altar of burnt offering. The Holy Place contained the incense altar, the golden lampstand, and the table of showbread.

Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and that once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). God was teaching the people about his holiness and the need for atonement for sins to be forgiven.

Meeting God

The Tabernacle was also known as 'the tent of meeting' (Exodus 33:7 and 130 times in all) because here God met with Moses and his people to make known his will (Exodus 25:22; 29:42,43). The climax of the Tabernacle's construction was when the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34).

Andrew Clark

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Text: Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:

1 Samuel 14,15

Proverbs 25,26

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