With a Heavy Dose of Love... First Chronicles 24-25; Romans 12

May the mumbling commence!

Sometimes, it’s hard not to play favorites.  Playing favorites happens in every walk of life.  The solution for the Hebrews was to use the lot – to ask God for the correct path to take… the correct person to fill the job.  There are many church bodies even today who use the lot amongst several qualified candidates.  So it was in the early days of our spiritual ancestors.  Read from First Chronicles chapter twenty-four:

All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.  Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, acted as secretary and wrote down the names and assignments in the presence of the king, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the family leaders of the priests and Levites. The descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar took turns casting lots.  (Verses 5-6)

When there seem to be multiple good choices, allow the Lord to decide.  The same can be said for when there are many bad choices to choose from.  Let the Lord decide.

Then, let your love shine through – no matter what the Lord has called you to do.  Do it with love.  Read from Romans chapter twelve:

Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. 

Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.  When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. 

If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.  When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.  Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! (Verses 9-16)

Love is genuine.  Love honors others.  Love is hard work.  Love calls for patience and constant prayer.  Love invites guests to dinner and to stay the night. 

Love knows no boundaries when it comes to “enemies”. 

Love shares happiness and sadness equally.  Love does NOT demand its own way… it allows for harmony.  Love enjoys the company of all people. 

And love always has the attitude of learning.  Yes, learning and loving go hand-in-hand.

No more masquerade, no more façade!  Take the role God has given you and do it with love.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Peaceful Children of God. First Chronicles 22-23; Romans 11

May the mumbling commence!

For all the blood and violence of the Hebrew Bible, there is an interesting passage from First Chronicles chapter twenty-two.  Read the passage that gives the reasoning for David not building the Temple… and tell me what you think:

Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel.  "I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God," David told him. 

"But the Lord said to me, 'You have killed many men in the great battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood before me, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name.  But you will have a son who will experience peace and rest. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.  He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' 

Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and give you success as you follow his instructions in building the Temple of the Lord your God.  And may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the law of the Lord your God as you rule over Israel.  For if you carefully obey the laws and regulations that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses, you will be successful. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!” (Verses 6-13)

Though David was a man after God’s heart, he was not called a son of God.  Why?  David told his son Solomon that God refused to allow David to build the Temple because of the violence that David committed during the many battles that were fought.  That kind of action does not honor the Name of the Lord.

Solomon was a man of peace and wisdom and understanding and obedience.  Solomon was called a son of God.  Solomon is a foreshadowing of Jesus.  The throne of Solomon was not established forever.  Solomon stumbled. 

Jesus did not.  Jesus remains obedient to the will of the Father.  His kingdom will never end.  For this reason, we can be strong and courageous as we seek to serve the will of the Lord – not our own will.  

And as we do God’s will for our lives, let’s not forget where we came from – just as Solomon didn't forget the wandering days of Israel.  Read from First Chronicles chapter twenty-three: “And so, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple and faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of the Lord.” (Verse 32)  

The Tabernacle was remembered and kept for a reminder of the days of wandering – a reminder of the faithfulness of the Lord.

And the Lord remains faithful even when we do not.  Read about the relationship between Israel and the Lord from Romans chapter eleven:

No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." 

And do you remember God's reply? He said, "You are not the only one left. I have seven thousand others who have never bowed down to Baal!" 

It is the same today, for not all the Jews have turned away from God. A few are being saved as a result of God's kindness in choosing them.  And if they are saved by God's kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's wonderful kindness would not be what it really is – free and undeserved. (Verses 2-6)

We are not alone.  Many faithful Jews have come to and are coming to Christ as Messiah.  This miracle is through the grace and kindness of the Lord.  

Though our numbers may dwindle, there are many more faithful ones that we do not see – like an iceberg, most of the Lord’s faithful ones are beneath the surface.

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Listen, Test and Confess. First Chronicles 20-21; Romans 10

May the mumbling commence!

We can often talk about listening to the voice of God – that still quiet voice.  Yet, we do need to exercise some caution.  There are other small voices that do not come from God.  We need to test the spirits.

How do we test the spirits?  First John talks some about that.  Does what that small voice is saying align with recognition of Jesus as living Lord?  The true Spirit of God will not say anything in contradiction to the Scriptures.  And testing is best done in intentional Christian community. 

Otherwise, we can easily be led astray.  Just look at what happened to King David, a man after God’s heart.  Read from First Chronicles chapter twenty-one:

Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the Israelites.  David gave these orders to Joab and his commanders: "Take a census of all the people in the land – from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north – and bring me the totals so I may know how many there are." 

But Joab replied, "May the Lord increase the number of his people a hundred times over! But why, my lord, do you want to do this? Are they not all your servants? Why must you cause Israel to sin?" 

But the king insisted that Joab take the census, so Joab traveled throughout Israel to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem and reported the number of people to David. There were 1,100,000 men of military age in Israel, and 470,000 in Judah.  But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do. (Verses 1-6)

David heard a still small voice.  That voice told him to take a census.  How many people did David lead?  How much human power was at his fingertips?

The narrator tells us that Satan inspired this census.  Why was it wrong?  Well, God had always defeated the enemy regardless of the number of soldiers in the army.  Trust in the strength of the Lord – not in your own human strength.  That is the first clue that the spirit was not from the Lord.

The second clue was the hesitancy of Joab.  Joab knew that the census was completely unnecessary.  He advised against it.  But David did not listen.  David cut himself off from his community and made himself more vulnerable to the deception of Satan.  Let’s learn from David’s mistake and not make the same mistake he did.

So pay attention to the Word of Scripture.  There is great power in hearing the Word of Scripture read aloud.  Yes, there is great power in the spoken word.  Do you doubt it?  Read from Romans chapter ten:

For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.  As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed.”   Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They all have the same Lord, who generously gives his riches to all who ask for them.  For "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Verses 9-15)

Hear it.  Say it.  Receive salvation.  That is Good News – the best.  And that’s the power of the spoken Word of God.

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Be Then Do. First Chronicles 18-19; Romans 9

May the mumbling commence!

Sometimes, we will try to do right by our friends only to be met by insult and injury.  That is what David found when he sent ambassadors to the new Ammonite king at the death of his father.  Read from the beginning of First Chronicles chapter nineteen:

Sometime after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.  David said, "I am going to show complete loyalty to Hanun because his father, Nahash, was always completely loyal to me." So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father's death.

But when David's ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, Hanun's advisers said to him, "Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the land so that they can come in and conquer it!"  So Hanun seized David's ambassadors and shaved their beards, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.  When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men to stay at Jericho until their beards grew out, for they were very embarrassed by their appearance. (Verses 1-5)

Sympathy is met by suspicion.  Instead of accepting sympathy for his father’s death, Hanun heeded the counsel of his advisors.  First David’s men had come to spy out the land.  Then the invading army would come.

Beards were shaved.  Clothing was cut short.  And the ambassadors were sent home in disgrace and shame.

What was David’s response to such a slap in the face?  When he first heard of it, he sent messengers to the ambassadors to tell them to stay in Jericho until their beards were grown back.  That would be about a month’s worth of growth for most men.  They would need supplies and new clothes.  Though the passage says nothing about these things, I am sure that David provided these very things.

David ministered to those who were shamed first.  No retaliation was on his mind when he first heard about the rude reception that his ambassadors received.  Would that our political leaders would respond with such tact!

Such tact is a sign of a deep faith in the Lord’s ability to judge and bring forth justice.  Such faith is what saves us.  Read from the end of Romans chapter nine:

Well then, what shall we say about these things? Just this: The Gentiles have been made right with God by faith, even though they were not seeking him.  But the Jews, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.  Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law and being good instead of by depending on faith. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.  God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said,

"I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that causes people to stumble,

and a rock that makes them fall.

But anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed." (Verses 30-33)

Our salvation is not a matter of doing.  It is a matter of being.  Yes, being will eventually lead to doing – but it all starts with being, with believing.  Have faith in God, and just see where it will lead you.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Proper Worship of the Lord - Part Two. First Chronicles 16-17; Romans 8

May the mumbling commence!

Yesterday, we spoke of proper worship.  Today, we will look at some words for worship that David wrote that are recorded in First Chronicles chapter sixteen:

Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! 

     Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. 

Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. 

     Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. 

Great is the Lord! 

     He is most worthy of praise! 

     He is to be revered above all gods. 

The gods of other nations are merely idols, 

     but the Lord made the heavens! 

Honor and majesty surround him; 

     strength and beauty are in his dwelling. 

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, 

     recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. 

Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! 

     Bring your offering and come to worship him.

     Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. 

Let all the earth tremble before him. 

     The world is firmly established and cannot be shaken. 

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice! 

     Tell all the nations that the Lord is king. 

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! 

     Let the fields and their crops burst forth with joy! 

Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord! 

     For he is coming to judge the earth. 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! 

     His faithful love endures forever. 

Cry out, "Save us, O God of our salvation! 

     Gather and rescue us from among the nations,

     so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you." 

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, 

     from everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people shouted "Amen!" and praised the LORD. (Verses 23-36)

It is a song that all creation is called to sing.  It is a song of good news that God saves (the meaning of Jesus’ name).  Proclaim this good news.  Sing it.  Publish it.  Tell everyone. 

And recognize the greatness of our Lord.  Give our God glory.  Bring offerings and worship the Lord.

Everyone and everything else is praising the Lord.  Are we going to hold back or are we going to join with reckless abandon the concert of praise?  Join in with joy and thanksgiving.  Shout it.  Raise the roof!  Amen and amen.

How does this look in our lives?  It means a whole new way of living – the Way of Christ Jesus as led by the Holy Spirit of the living God.  Read from Romans chapter eight:

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.)  Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.  The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you. 

So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Verses 9-14)

The Holy Spirit of God empowers us to turn from our old evil ways.  For the first time, we will be living through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  Everything before that baptism that we thought was living will be revealed as nothing but a pale substitute… a lie… a deception.

Yes, proper worship happens at our meeting places on Sunday morning, but proper worship also guides the way we live from Sunday to Saturday.

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Defining Proper Worship of the Lord. First Chronicles 11-15

May the mumbling commence!

In the midst of warring factions, it is good to surround yourself with quality leadership who understand the temper of the people and the times.  As the other tribes of Israel are listed as bringing commanders and warriors, the tribe of Issachar provided some leaders – two hundred of them.  Read from First Chronicles chapter twelve:

From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the temper of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.  (Verse 32)

Yet even this kind of knowledge is not enough, and the Chronicler knows it.  The Chronicler is immensely interested in proper worship of the Lord.  The people of Israel were returning to their Promised Land after exile – an exile forced by improper worship of the Lord.  It is no wonder that proper worship is so important for the writer(s).  Read a couple of passages from First Chronicles chapter fifteen:

Then David summoned the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and these Levite leaders: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.  He said to them, "You are the leaders of the Levite families. You must purify yourselves and all your fellow Levites, so you can bring the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.  Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it in the proper way."  So the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to bring the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to Jerusalem.  Then the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with its carrying poles, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. (Verses 11-15)

If the proper way of relating to God in worship is not followed, the Lord’s anger will burst forth.  [This anger is a remembrance of what happened to Uzzah as the Ark of the Covenant was carried on a cart by oxen (1 Chronicles 13:1 ff.).]  The way we worship must be pure.  All who come to participate in worship must purify themselves before entering the presence of the Lord for worship.

Proper worship will bring the aid of the Lord.  Read on in chapter fifteen of First Chronicles:

Then David and the leaders of Israel and the generals of the army went to the home of Obed-edom to bring the Ark of the Lord's covenant up to Jerusalem with a great celebration.  And because God was clearly helping the Levites as they carried the Ark of the Lord's covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven lambs.  David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were the Levites who carried the Ark, the singers, and Kenaniah the song leader. David was also wearing a priestly tunic.  So all Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord's covenant to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the blowing of horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on harps and lyres. (Verses 25-28)

God was clearly helping as the Ark of the Lord was returning to Jerusalem.  They had purified themselves.  They continued to sacrifice.  They expressed their worship of the Lord through dance and music and instrument playing.  They even paid careful attention to what they wore.

Proper worship is essential to the call of both Christians and Jews.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Hijacked by Sin. First Chronicles 9-10; Romans 7

May the mumbling commence!

All that the Chronicler gives us about Saul is his fall – Saul’s fall from grace.  It can be found in First Chronicles chapter ten.  Read the entire chapter below:

Now the Philistines attacked Israel, forcing the Israelites to flee. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa.  The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons – Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua.  The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely.  Saul groaned to his armor bearer, "Take your sword and run me through before these pagan Philistines come and humiliate me." But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.  When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died.  So Saul and his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to an end. 

When the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley saw that their army had been routed and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. 

The next day when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa.  So they stripped off Saul's armor and cut off his head. Then they proclaimed the news of Saul's death before their idols and to the people throughout the land of Philistia.  They placed his armor in the temple of their gods, and they fastened his head to the wall in the temple of Dagon. 

But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, their warriors went out and brought the bodies of Saul and his three sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their remains beneath the oak tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. 

So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord's command, and he even consulted a medium instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So the Lord killed him and turned his kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

Yes, we see only Saul’s fall from grace.  It is one of the few recorded suicides in the entire Bible.  The others are the armor bearer in this same passage (and in the parallel passage – First Samuel chapter 31) and Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:1ff.). 

But, in this brief retelling, we do not get to see the reluctant leader who hid among the baggage.  Only later did power corrupt him.  Only later did he disobey the command of the Lord.  Only later did he consult a medium instead of the Lord.  It is a tragedy robbed of its peak in the beginning.  Just as David is seen through rose-colored glasses, Saul is seen only as an unfaithful figure.

The deeper meaning beneath the death from suicide is missing if we only look at this passage.  There is nearly always a deeper meaning when a spiritual ancestor of ours falls so low.  

Indeed there are personalities that are driven away from the structure of Law.  Knowing the Law actually paves the way to disobedience.  Saul was that way.  And, in our worst moments, we are no different.  Read from Romans chapter seven:

Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is evil? Of course not! The law is not sinful, but it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, "Do not covet."  But sin took advantage of this law and aroused all kinds of forbidden desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 

I felt fine when I did not understand what the law demanded. But when I learned the truth, I realized I had broken the law and was a sinner, doomed to die.  So the good law, which was supposed to show me the way of life, instead gave me the death penalty.  Sin took advantage of the law and fooled me; it took the good law and used it to make me guilty of death.  But still, the law itself is holy and right and good. 

But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my doom? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commandment for its own evil purposes. (Verses 7-13)

Sin hijacks the Law.  It takes us where we do not want to go.  It leads us in doing things that we know to be wrong.  

Indeed, we are helpless without the grace and peace and love that Jesus Christ extends to each of us.  Will we accept that gift?  Or will we be content to be hijacked by sin?  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

Stories of God's Grace and Freedom. First Chronicles 7-8; Romans 6

May the mumbling commence!

There are other hidden stories in the genealogies from the beginning of First Chronicles that make me wonder about the stories that are behind the vaguest of hints.  One of these instances is in the genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin recorded in First Chronicles chapter eight.  Read it below:

The sons of Ehud, leaders of the clans living at Geba, were driven out and moved to Manahath.  Ehud's sons were Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. Gera, the father of Uzza and Ahihud, led them when they moved. 

After Shaharaim divorced his wives Hushim and Baara, he had children in the land of Moab.  Hodesh, his new wife, gave birth to Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These sons all became the leaders of clans. 

Shaharaim's wife Hushim had already given birth to Abitub and Elpaal.  The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod and their villages), Beriah, and Shema. They were the leaders of the clans living in Aijalon, and they drove out the inhabitants of Gath. (Verses 6-13)

The people of Benjamin were driven out.  I wonder what the circumstances were.  Gera led them.  I wonder how that leadership took form.

And, to add to the intrigue of this passage, there are three women mentioned – Hushim, Baara and Hodesh.  Women in genealogies are somewhat of a variety for the Hebrews.  I take note when I see any woman’s name at all. 

And it must not be missed that divorce is mentioned.  I cannot think of another instance of divorce being noted in the context of genealogies in the Bible.  Did Hushim and Baara put their collective feet down and refuse to move to Moab – the scene of Naomi and Ruth’s story? 

It is exhilarating to extrapolate what stories this passage may be based upon!  What grace and freedom might be discovered in this story that will overcome the sinful nature of humanity?  Read from Romans chapter six:

So since God's grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!  Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval.  Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you.  Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness. (Verses 15-18)

God’s grace and the gift of freedom is not license to sin.  Whichever nature you feed will rule you… will be your master.  Will you feed the sinful nature and be easily mastered by it?  Or will you feed the godly nature and obey God?  Receive the kindest master you can… the Lord Jesus.  Be mastered by righteousness.

Do so, and you we realize that your story becomes a part of the mega-story of God’s story.  It is both a comforting and terrifying thought.  I am no longer the center.  Christ Jesus is.  That fact can be terrifying to the me generation.  But it also means that everything does not depend on my performance.  That is a relieving and comforting thought.

Thank God for a new master found in the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

From a Dead End to the Living Way of Acceptance. First Chronicles 5-6; Romans 5

May the mumbling commence!

Sometimes in genealogies, story comes to the surface to explain a deviation from normal protocol.  This is the case at the beginning of First Chronicles chapter five.  Read the first couple of verses below:

The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father's concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogy as the firstborn son.  It was the descendants of Judah that became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph. (Verses 1-2)

The dishonor of Israel’s firstborn son, Reuben, caused a deviation from the norm in those days.  Most firstborns would be given first place in genealogies and would receive the birthright.  But to sleep with your father’s concubine was to dishonor your father (and your step-mother!). 

Reuben does not receive firstborn status either in the genealogy or in the birthright.  Judah was considered the firstborn [perhaps because he tried to prevent disaster with Joseph (Genesis 37:26 ff.) and Benjamin (Genesis 44:18 ff.)]  And the birthright belonged to Joseph – especially to his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, who became two of the tribes of Israel to replace Levi and Joseph.

Heartache slips into genealogies from time to time like in this passage.  Thank God that we have a Way beyond this heartache and sin in our lives.  Read from Romans chapter five:

When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.  Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. And though there was no law to break, since it had not yet been given, they all died anyway – even though they did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did.

What a contrast between Adam and Christ, who was yet to come!  And what a difference between our sin and God's generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's bountiful gift.  And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but we have the free gift of being accepted by God, even though we are guilty of many sins. (Verses 12-16)

Sin entered the human world through the choice of Adam.  Adam chose to sin.  Each day, you and I follow in his footsteps and chose to sin.  And that choice leads inevitably to death.  That has been the way of the world ever since Adam and Eve.

What good news it is that Christ has changed everything!  What a generous gift of acceptance…of righteousness through the free gift of Christ Jesus!  We are accepted despite of our many sins – though they could be recorded for all to see.  The perfect obedience of Christ Jesus opened this way for us.  Praise God!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out