TheGatheringWeek4 Matthew 2:1-9
Cast of Characters:
Herod:
Was a descendant of Esau (Edomite or as the Romans called them Idumea ) During the intertestament period both the Maccabeus and John Hyrcanus fought and subdued the Idumeans and forced them to convert to Judaism and be circumcised however, when the Romans took control of the area they chose Herod's father Antipater to rule all of Judea. (1,2,3)
Heord was paranoid and a very cruel leader who would punished any uprising against him with cruel recourse. He won over his critics and foes by ellaborate building projects like
*
He built relentlessly -- cities, palaces and fortresses, some of which still stand:
* the fortresses at Masada, Antonia and Herodium
* the port city of Caesarea
* the huge edifice at the top of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron
* the massive fortifications around Jerusalem as well as three towers at the entrance to the city (the remains of which are today erroneously named the Tower of David) and much more (4)
Toward the end of his life he tried to have his family killed because he was sick (his father was poisoned by the Jews) but many of them escaped and ruled after his death. This is one of the reasons why he was afraid of the message for the Magi.
Magi:
The Magi were not kings but sorcerers or magicians who studied the stars (This was considered a science and was respected in Jesus' day). They came from the east and were thought to be Chaldeans (Abraham's original people) and were followers of Zoroastrianism. Zoroaster's believed
Ahura Mazda is the beginning and the end, the creator of everything which can and cannot be seen, the Eternal, the Pure and the only Truth.
Daena (din in modern Persian) is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the Mathra-Spenta ("Holy Words").
For these, asha was the course of everything observable, the motion of the planets and astral bodies, the progression of the seasons, the pattern of daily nomadic herdsman life, governed by regular metronomic events such as sunrise and sunset. All physical creation (geti) was thus determined to run according to a master plan—inherent to Ahura Mazda
The Struggle is between order and chaos and the order is affected by humans agreeing with Asha and having "good thoughts, good words, good deeds" (Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta in Avestan), for it is through these that asha is maintained and druj is kept in check.
The Zoroaster's were prominent in the east when Daniel was in Babylon. (Dan 2) 5 and I think during this time the people of Iran began to look for signs the only way they new how and God revealed to them his son through there sorcery.
The Gifts 5
1. The three gifts had a spiritual meaning : gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of priestship, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.
* Sometimes this is described more generally as gold symbolizing virtue, frankincense symbolizing prayer, and myrrh symbolizing suffering.
The gifts would have been worth enough to sustain the young family when they escaped to Egypt.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Exodus 34:7 Hidden love
Exodus 34:7 (New International Version)
7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
This verse was really bugging me. I struggle with the consistency of the Old Testament Jehovah to the New Testament Jesus. Nevertheless, I feel it is import no matter how I feel to be honest with a passage when I come to it an allow myself to live in the question of, "I can't figure this out." One thing however, that has been very helpful to me is something I learned from Greg Boyd, it is the "Christocentric Principle" approach to Biblical studies. His definition is,
"The Christocentric Principle: All of our thinking about God must be rooted in Christ. Jesus reveals what God has always been like. We thus need to read the Old Testament “through the lens” of Christ"
The first chapter of the book of Hebrews puts it this way,
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. (emphasis mine)
So as I approach the Old Testament I try to view it through what I know about Jesus. And to me, Exodus 34:7a, is what I would expect of Jesus but then the last part of the verse seems out of place, "Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. (b)"
Why would a God who says he will be merciful to the actual perpetrators condemn their children for the sins of their parents and grandparents and even the great, great, great grandparents?
If we step back and read the whole chapter it seems even more out of place.
6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
The passage's focus is mercy, grace and forgiveness and longsuffering. God say he will not only forgive Israel's sin at Moses request but he also makes a covenant with them that he alone is responsible for which again, makes the visiting punishment on grandchildren seem out of place.
So the next thing I did was to read the passage in a couple different translations but I did not find any new revelations. Then I looked for similar phrases elsewhere in the bible using the "Treasury of Scriptrures" which comes free with E-Sword. If you have never used E-Sword and you have a Windows PC or a Mac running Windows I highly recommend this free bible study software. It is awesome and everything I am writing about here was assited with E-sword and Biblegateway.com.
Here is what I found, if you read Exodus 20:4-6, Deuteronomy 5:8-10, Nehemiah 1:4-6, Psalm 86:14-17, Jeremiah 32 and Daniel 9 you will see a pattern. This phrasing is an acknowledgement that there are consequences for sin but when we are as far from God as we think we can get, His desire is for us change so that we would stop punishing ourselves with our own sin. It is not that God wants to punish us every time we step out of line, it is that he realizes the natural consequence of not abiding with him is punishment. This fallen world will punish us naturally if we are not walking in the protection (commandments in the Old Testament view before Christ's death and resurrection) of God's presence. However, regardless of our actions God will move heaven and Hell to redeem the lost. The Jeremiah passage is a perfect example. Jerimiah quotes this Exodus passage to God and says , "You said this would happen if we did not do what you said. And you said it would effect our children as well and now we are going to suffer the consequences for a long time and it is all our fault. (paraphrase)" God could have looked at Jeremiah and said, "Preach it brother." but he responds like this,
" 36 "You are saying about this city, 'By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." (Jeremiah 32)
Before the people repent God says he will chase after Israel and it's children regardless of their action or unrepentant heart. Nine times he says "I" will do this. He will gather the Israelites (including their children) back to safety. God would appeal to their hearts and make a everlasting covenant where he would rejoice in doing good to them forever and give them his heart and soul. So it seems this phrasing is more an acknowledgement from earth (man) toward heaven (God) that we will pay a price for our decisions. It is how we pray now when we goofed up and are ready to acknowledge all the damage we have caused ourselves and people around us. For instance, "Dear God, forgive my sins. I am sorry I have not taken time to acknowledge that I have a problem with anger and now I can see that my daughter has been infected by anger and has been acting out with her siblings I want to ask for mercy and grace for myself and her. Renew my mind...Amen." This is a prayer I have prayed and continue to pray.
After looking up other passages I returned to Exodus 34:7 and started to brake down each individual Hebrew phrase using E-Sword. One version of the bible that comes free with E-sword is the King James with the Strong's Hebrew definitions attached to each phrase. What I found may surprise you. Here is what it looks like.
Exo 34:7 KeepingH5341 mercyH2617 for thousands,H505 forgivingH5375 iniquityH5771 and transgressionH6588 and sin,H2403 and that will by no means clearH3808 H5352 H5352 the guilty; visitingH6485 the iniquityH5771 of the fathersH1 uponH5921 the children,H1121 and uponH5921 the children'sH1121 children,H1121 untoH5921 the thirdH8029 and toH5921 the fourthH7256 generation.
The H next to the number means the word is Hebrew and the number is a corresponding phrase or word that gets translated to English. There is a Hebrew word for every word till we get to the word sin and then the phrase, "and that will by no means clearH3808 H5352 H5352 the guilty;" is made up of only two Hebrew words with one word being repeated and the word guilty in the phrase was added by translators because they felt it was implied (that is why it is italicized). The repeated word H5352 "nâqâh" can mean to be stipped bare or to be made blameless or even set free.
The Treasury of Scripture has this note to share, "that will by no means clear the guilty: The Hebrew nakkeh lo yenakkeh, has been rendered "Acquitting him who is not innocent." Nothing can more strongly express the goodness of God to frail mortals than this declaration, "which has been misunderstood and misinterpreted by all our translators." (Emphasis mine)
So God is saying I am merciful and forgive those who don't deserve it. Now that sounds like Jesus! But what about that last part about visiting the sin on the children? Lastly, I took the Hebrew phrase and googled it and here is something interesting I found.
"Nevertheless, acts of mercy, pardon, pity, and grace should more frequently be performed by the governor of a country than acts of punishment; seeing that all the thirteen middothof God are attributes of mercy with only one exception, namely, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children" (Exod. xxxiv. 7); for the meaning of the preceding attribute (in the original ve-nakkeh lo yenakkeh) is "and he will not utterly destroy"; (and not "He will by no means clear the guilty"); comp. "And she will be utterly destroyed (ve-nikketah), she shall sit upon the ground" (Isa. iii. 26). When it is said that God is visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, this refers exclusively to the sin of idolatry, and to no other sin. That this is the case may be inferred from what is said in the ten commandments, "upon the third and fourth generation of my enemies" (Exod. xx. 5), none except idolaters being called "enemy"; comp. also "every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth" (Deut. xii. 31). It was, however, considered sufficient to extend the punishment to the fourth generation, because the fourth generation is the utmost a man can see of his posterity; and when, therefore, the idolaters of a place are destroyed, the old man worshipping idols is killed, his son, his grandson, and his great-grandson, that is, the fourth generation. (Guide for the Perplexed, by Moses Maimonides, Friedländer tr. [1904], at sacred-texts.com)
So to the Hebrews in their unique time and place would have understood that God was saying if they worshiped idols their children would be affected for at least four generations. How many of us can relate to this truth and are probably feeling the effects of the sins of our parents and their parents and so forth. Another result of idolatry would be the trust in another God for everyday needs and redemption and if you are looking to something else to "fix and restore you" you are choosing not to partake of the mercy and grace God is always extending by your own volition.
So I will end with my own paraphrase of Exodus 34:6-8
"I am the only true creator God. The essence of who I am is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth. therefore I will always extend mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression to those who cannot earn it or deserve forgiveness. However, if you choose to worship another god you are choosing not to partake in the greatness of who I am."
Eternal Love,
Abba.
Ref. Verses
Exodus 20: 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Deuteronomy 5: 8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Nehemiah 1: 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5Then I said: "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
Psalm 86: 14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life— men without regard for you. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. [b]
17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Jeremiah 32 and Daniel 9: (you have to read the whole chapter it is beautiful)
7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
This verse was really bugging me. I struggle with the consistency of the Old Testament Jehovah to the New Testament Jesus. Nevertheless, I feel it is import no matter how I feel to be honest with a passage when I come to it an allow myself to live in the question of, "I can't figure this out." One thing however, that has been very helpful to me is something I learned from Greg Boyd, it is the "Christocentric Principle" approach to Biblical studies. His definition is,
"The Christocentric Principle: All of our thinking about God must be rooted in Christ. Jesus reveals what God has always been like. We thus need to read the Old Testament “through the lens” of Christ"
The first chapter of the book of Hebrews puts it this way,
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. (emphasis mine)
So as I approach the Old Testament I try to view it through what I know about Jesus. And to me, Exodus 34:7a, is what I would expect of Jesus but then the last part of the verse seems out of place, "Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. (b)"
Why would a God who says he will be merciful to the actual perpetrators condemn their children for the sins of their parents and grandparents and even the great, great, great grandparents?
If we step back and read the whole chapter it seems even more out of place.
6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
The passage's focus is mercy, grace and forgiveness and longsuffering. God say he will not only forgive Israel's sin at Moses request but he also makes a covenant with them that he alone is responsible for which again, makes the visiting punishment on grandchildren seem out of place.
So the next thing I did was to read the passage in a couple different translations but I did not find any new revelations. Then I looked for similar phrases elsewhere in the bible using the "Treasury of Scriptrures" which comes free with E-Sword. If you have never used E-Sword and you have a Windows PC or a Mac running Windows I highly recommend this free bible study software. It is awesome and everything I am writing about here was assited with E-sword and Biblegateway.com.
Here is what I found, if you read Exodus 20:4-6, Deuteronomy 5:8-10, Nehemiah 1:4-6, Psalm 86:14-17, Jeremiah 32 and Daniel 9 you will see a pattern. This phrasing is an acknowledgement that there are consequences for sin but when we are as far from God as we think we can get, His desire is for us change so that we would stop punishing ourselves with our own sin. It is not that God wants to punish us every time we step out of line, it is that he realizes the natural consequence of not abiding with him is punishment. This fallen world will punish us naturally if we are not walking in the protection (commandments in the Old Testament view before Christ's death and resurrection) of God's presence. However, regardless of our actions God will move heaven and Hell to redeem the lost. The Jeremiah passage is a perfect example. Jerimiah quotes this Exodus passage to God and says , "You said this would happen if we did not do what you said. And you said it would effect our children as well and now we are going to suffer the consequences for a long time and it is all our fault. (paraphrase)" God could have looked at Jeremiah and said, "Preach it brother." but he responds like this,
" 36 "You are saying about this city, 'By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." (Jeremiah 32)
Before the people repent God says he will chase after Israel and it's children regardless of their action or unrepentant heart. Nine times he says "I" will do this. He will gather the Israelites (including their children) back to safety. God would appeal to their hearts and make a everlasting covenant where he would rejoice in doing good to them forever and give them his heart and soul. So it seems this phrasing is more an acknowledgement from earth (man) toward heaven (God) that we will pay a price for our decisions. It is how we pray now when we goofed up and are ready to acknowledge all the damage we have caused ourselves and people around us. For instance, "Dear God, forgive my sins. I am sorry I have not taken time to acknowledge that I have a problem with anger and now I can see that my daughter has been infected by anger and has been acting out with her siblings I want to ask for mercy and grace for myself and her. Renew my mind...Amen." This is a prayer I have prayed and continue to pray.
After looking up other passages I returned to Exodus 34:7 and started to brake down each individual Hebrew phrase using E-Sword. One version of the bible that comes free with E-sword is the King James with the Strong's Hebrew definitions attached to each phrase. What I found may surprise you. Here is what it looks like.
Exo 34:7 KeepingH5341 mercyH2617 for thousands,H505 forgivingH5375 iniquityH5771 and transgressionH6588 and sin,H2403 and that will by no means clearH3808 H5352 H5352 the guilty; visitingH6485 the iniquityH5771 of the fathersH1 uponH5921 the children,H1121 and uponH5921 the children'sH1121 children,H1121 untoH5921 the thirdH8029 and toH5921 the fourthH7256 generation.
The H next to the number means the word is Hebrew and the number is a corresponding phrase or word that gets translated to English. There is a Hebrew word for every word till we get to the word sin and then the phrase, "and that will by no means clearH3808 H5352 H5352 the guilty;" is made up of only two Hebrew words with one word being repeated and the word guilty in the phrase was added by translators because they felt it was implied (that is why it is italicized). The repeated word H5352 "nâqâh" can mean to be stipped bare or to be made blameless or even set free.
The Treasury of Scripture has this note to share, "that will by no means clear the guilty: The Hebrew nakkeh lo yenakkeh, has been rendered "Acquitting him who is not innocent." Nothing can more strongly express the goodness of God to frail mortals than this declaration, "which has been misunderstood and misinterpreted by all our translators." (Emphasis mine)
So God is saying I am merciful and forgive those who don't deserve it. Now that sounds like Jesus! But what about that last part about visiting the sin on the children? Lastly, I took the Hebrew phrase and googled it and here is something interesting I found.
"Nevertheless, acts of mercy, pardon, pity, and grace should more frequently be performed by the governor of a country than acts of punishment; seeing that all the thirteen middothof God are attributes of mercy with only one exception, namely, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children" (Exod. xxxiv. 7); for the meaning of the preceding attribute (in the original ve-nakkeh lo yenakkeh) is "and he will not utterly destroy"; (and not "He will by no means clear the guilty"); comp. "And she will be utterly destroyed (ve-nikketah), she shall sit upon the ground" (Isa. iii. 26). When it is said that God is visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, this refers exclusively to the sin of idolatry, and to no other sin. That this is the case may be inferred from what is said in the ten commandments, "upon the third and fourth generation of my enemies" (Exod. xx. 5), none except idolaters being called "enemy"; comp. also "every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth" (Deut. xii. 31). It was, however, considered sufficient to extend the punishment to the fourth generation, because the fourth generation is the utmost a man can see of his posterity; and when, therefore, the idolaters of a place are destroyed, the old man worshipping idols is killed, his son, his grandson, and his great-grandson, that is, the fourth generation. (Guide for the Perplexed, by Moses Maimonides, Friedländer tr. [1904], at sacred-texts.com)
So to the Hebrews in their unique time and place would have understood that God was saying if they worshiped idols their children would be affected for at least four generations. How many of us can relate to this truth and are probably feeling the effects of the sins of our parents and their parents and so forth. Another result of idolatry would be the trust in another God for everyday needs and redemption and if you are looking to something else to "fix and restore you" you are choosing not to partake of the mercy and grace God is always extending by your own volition.
So I will end with my own paraphrase of Exodus 34:6-8
"I am the only true creator God. The essence of who I am is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth. therefore I will always extend mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression to those who cannot earn it or deserve forgiveness. However, if you choose to worship another god you are choosing not to partake in the greatness of who I am."
Eternal Love,
Abba.
Ref. Verses
Exodus 20: 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Deuteronomy 5: 8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Nehemiah 1: 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5Then I said: "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
Psalm 86: 14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life— men without regard for you. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. [b]
17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Jeremiah 32 and Daniel 9: (you have to read the whole chapter it is beautiful)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Gathering Part 2 The importance of Genealogy Matt 1:1-17 November 8th 2009
Review:
Genealogies were important to the Jews because they proved your “right” to be royalty.
Matthew Traces Jesus' right to the thrown through Joseph his father while Luke traces his right through Mary.
The records for the kings lineage was kept at the temple until it was destroyed in 70 AD.
There are four women mentioned in Jesus' lineage was very unusual so it seems to signify something new for the role of women and non-Jewish believers.
Question?
What is so important about our heritage? (Matthew 1:1-17
One of the major things I think we can learn from this passage is that Jesus was not born with any better opportunity then any of us. His parent were not rich and wasn't even married when he was conceived (so no one could question the possibility of a immaculate conception he had to live with the stigma of being a illegitimate child). His mother was probably between the age of 13-16 and his father could have been anywhere from 19-40 (it was common for older men to marry very young girls back then and it may explain why we never here of Joseph after Jesus begins his ministry, he might have passed away). Beyond the fact that he descended from royalty he had all the same haunts in his family tree as any of us and he was most likely worse off. He could clearly see that in his lineage he had, pagans, murderers, adulterers, incestuous relationships and kings who were unkind to there subjects and enslaved them; just to name a few indiscretions. Not to mention the fact that the Jewish nation left the protection of God for the promises of other gods many times, leaving Jesus even without a patriotism to brag about. There are not many sins that he died for on the Cross of Calvary that someone in his family tree didn't commit. And yet the Bible says Jesus can relate to our plight, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrew 4:15) Jesus was tempted because he was fully human. He had the parents that modeled fallen-ness because fallen-ness was modeled by their parents who saw it in their parents etc... The term “you are just like your mother, father, uncle or grandparent” is true in two ways: some sins are modeled and learned by observation while others seem to be more intuitive because they are the result of a generational sin passed on through a spiritual obligation to evil. One way the bible illuminates this truth is, “The sins of the father will be visited on their children for generations to come.” (my paraphrase of Num 14:18). Another example is in Romans 7 Paul says, “21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
The answer to our issue is Jesus. Jesus resisted every temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit and died in our place so the Spirit was able to say about him.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, (Is. 61:1,2)
We are either captive (in prison because of something someone else has done to us) or prisoners (in prison because of something we ourselves have done.) but in either case we can be set free because of the ministry of Jesus.
What is a generational curse? Here is one definition,
“Generational curses are judgments that are passed on to individuals because of sins perpetuated in a family in a number of generations. Generational curses are similar to original sin curses because they can be passed down on a generational basis. They differ in that generational curses do not impose eternal judgment. They bring judgment or bondage during an individual's life, reducing the quality of life, until that individual addresses the sin issues that put the curses into place.” Don Rogers
How do you address sins that have been passed down to us? First, we must realize that whether a sin is ours or one passed onto us we are always responsible for our actions no matter what the cause of our sin. However, while some sin can be dealt with by asking for forgiveness directly for a sin some deliverance only comes after finding the root cause of our sin and then praying for deliverance of it. This may seem like a minor difference but have you ever been angry, sad, ashamed, had other feelings that seemed out of place or lied about something and wondered, "why did I do that or feel that way"? That might be because you are dealing with something that has been passed down to you. The good news is Jesus is bigger than either kind of sin and will deliver you from all of your short comings.
So practically, how do we address generational sins? It would be best to take some time and sit alone with God and ask him this question, "God would you reveal to me the things I struggle with that are not because of my own faults but a sin in my family line?" Then with a pen a paper in hand take time to listen and write down unedited the Holy Spirits response to you. Then take that list to your parents or friends who are on a faith journey to be more like Jesus and asked them to pray with you over your list and see if it rings true with them that these are generational sins and if you agree in your spirits with God's Spirit then pray for those curses to be broken in your life so that they are not passed on to your kids.
Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
If we want to have life to the full then,
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
Genealogies were important to the Jews because they proved your “right” to be royalty.
Matthew Traces Jesus' right to the thrown through Joseph his father while Luke traces his right through Mary.
The records for the kings lineage was kept at the temple until it was destroyed in 70 AD.
There are four women mentioned in Jesus' lineage was very unusual so it seems to signify something new for the role of women and non-Jewish believers.
Question?
What is so important about our heritage? (Matthew 1:1-17
One of the major things I think we can learn from this passage is that Jesus was not born with any better opportunity then any of us. His parent were not rich and wasn't even married when he was conceived (so no one could question the possibility of a immaculate conception he had to live with the stigma of being a illegitimate child). His mother was probably between the age of 13-16 and his father could have been anywhere from 19-40 (it was common for older men to marry very young girls back then and it may explain why we never here of Joseph after Jesus begins his ministry, he might have passed away). Beyond the fact that he descended from royalty he had all the same haunts in his family tree as any of us and he was most likely worse off. He could clearly see that in his lineage he had, pagans, murderers, adulterers, incestuous relationships and kings who were unkind to there subjects and enslaved them; just to name a few indiscretions. Not to mention the fact that the Jewish nation left the protection of God for the promises of other gods many times, leaving Jesus even without a patriotism to brag about. There are not many sins that he died for on the Cross of Calvary that someone in his family tree didn't commit. And yet the Bible says Jesus can relate to our plight, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrew 4:15) Jesus was tempted because he was fully human. He had the parents that modeled fallen-ness because fallen-ness was modeled by their parents who saw it in their parents etc... The term “you are just like your mother, father, uncle or grandparent” is true in two ways: some sins are modeled and learned by observation while others seem to be more intuitive because they are the result of a generational sin passed on through a spiritual obligation to evil. One way the bible illuminates this truth is, “The sins of the father will be visited on their children for generations to come.” (my paraphrase of Num 14:18). Another example is in Romans 7 Paul says, “21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
The answer to our issue is Jesus. Jesus resisted every temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit and died in our place so the Spirit was able to say about him.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, (Is. 61:1,2)
We are either captive (in prison because of something someone else has done to us) or prisoners (in prison because of something we ourselves have done.) but in either case we can be set free because of the ministry of Jesus.
What is a generational curse? Here is one definition,
“Generational curses are judgments that are passed on to individuals because of sins perpetuated in a family in a number of generations. Generational curses are similar to original sin curses because they can be passed down on a generational basis. They differ in that generational curses do not impose eternal judgment. They bring judgment or bondage during an individual's life, reducing the quality of life, until that individual addresses the sin issues that put the curses into place.” Don Rogers
How do you address sins that have been passed down to us? First, we must realize that whether a sin is ours or one passed onto us we are always responsible for our actions no matter what the cause of our sin. However, while some sin can be dealt with by asking for forgiveness directly for a sin some deliverance only comes after finding the root cause of our sin and then praying for deliverance of it. This may seem like a minor difference but have you ever been angry, sad, ashamed, had other feelings that seemed out of place or lied about something and wondered, "why did I do that or feel that way"? That might be because you are dealing with something that has been passed down to you. The good news is Jesus is bigger than either kind of sin and will deliver you from all of your short comings.
So practically, how do we address generational sins? It would be best to take some time and sit alone with God and ask him this question, "God would you reveal to me the things I struggle with that are not because of my own faults but a sin in my family line?" Then with a pen a paper in hand take time to listen and write down unedited the Holy Spirits response to you. Then take that list to your parents or friends who are on a faith journey to be more like Jesus and asked them to pray with you over your list and see if it rings true with them that these are generational sins and if you agree in your spirits with God's Spirit then pray for those curses to be broken in your life so that they are not passed on to your kids.
Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
If we want to have life to the full then,
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Gathering Part 1: The lineage of Jesus
Matthew 1:1-17
Why was Jesus' Lineage important?
It proved that he was of the line of David therefore, he could be a king in Israel. (You had to be a royal blood to be the Messiah).
Until 70 A.D. (when the temple was destroyed by the Romans) if you were of the line of David you could go to the temple and trace your family tree by the scrolls that were meticulousness kept by temple scribes. It was not a guessing game and you could not be a king if you were not connected to the line of David.
Why is it significant that there are four women in Jesus' lineage? It was not necessary for women to be mentioned in a patriarchal (Lineage represented by fathers, matriarchal would be lineage represented by mothers, the Jews lineage was strictly patriarchal) lineage and yet four women are mention in Jesus' ancestry. The four women did not come from great backgrounds either. Tamar was was not Jewish, Rehab (Canaanite), Ruth (Moabite, a descendant of Lot) and Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, the wife of Uriah could have been either Jewish or Hittite. Tamar, Rehab, And Bathsheba are know for their sexual sins and Ruth came from a people not well respected by a Jewish audience, and yet under direction of the Holy Spirit they are added to the This most important list. This was a sign of God to show right from the beginning of Jesus' ministry he would be making room for the non-Jewish people-groups and elevating the status of women of New Testament women compared to Old Testament ones. A common prayer prayed by Jews of Jesus times was, "Blessed art thou, O God, for not making me a Gentile, slave, or woman." Guess God was not a big fan of that prayer.
Here is a quick rundown of the other people mentioned in Jesus' lineage.
Abraham: Family came from modern day Iraq where he grew up worshiping the sun God Nanna.
Struggle with lying when in trouble but loved his family and was one of the richest men of his time.
Married to Sarai who God miraculously gave a child at an old age.
Issac: Was also successful at business man and share his fathers problem with lying. (probably observed it at home and work with his Dad) Married Rebekah. Rebekah also struggled with having children.
Judah: Was successful in saving Joseph's life but seems to be a all around immoral person sleeping with his daughter-in-law when he thougt she was a prostitute and being given to superstition.
Pharez and Zerah out of Tamar: Judah was the father of her children Gen:38
Hezron was Pharez's son: we don't know anything about him
Aram: - Unknown
Amminadab: – Aaron took his daughter as a wife and seems to be the respected leader of the tribe of Judah before his son.
Nahshon:- The leader of the tribe of Judah during the Exodus Numbers 1:7
Salmon: Father of Boaz. (Ruth 4:20, Ps. 68:14)
Boaz Out of Rahab: This is significant because it shows the missional mission statement of GOd. He has always been interested in reaching the world.
Obed out of Ruth: Ruth was a Moabite. Moabites were descendants of Lots showing God's complete forgiveness of Lot and his family.
Jesse: Seems to be a everyday guy who was loyal to God and Israel.
David: Man after Gods own heart.
Solomon out of her who had been the wife of Uriah: Uriah was a Hittie who were known as warriors and giants and at one time they were enemies of Israel. (Gen 15:20) But by Genesis chapter 20 the Hittites seem to be friends cause Ephron the Hittite allows Abraham to bury Sarah on his land for free.
Rehoboam: destroyed davids kingdom by taking bad council and enslaving his own people 1Kings 12) His mom was a descendant of Lots younger daughter (the Ammonites).. (1 Sam 11) Saul scatters the ammonites and they live among the Israelites after that.
Abijam: was evil and married to a forenier that was suppose to be disposed of
Asa: followed God and returned them to true worship
Jehoshaphat: Walked in the way of David and took council from prophets
Jehoram: Good king and warrior died because he was betrayed
Uzziah: Good king but made a bad choice at the end of his life
Jotham: Good king died of leprosy
Ahaz: Bad king practiced the rights of foreign gods
Hezekiah: was a great king with a lot of faith but ended poorly and did not care about the generation after him.
Manasseh: Bad king but repented at the end of his life.
Amon: Bad king his servants killed him and put his 8 year old son in his place
Josiah: Good king listen to council and to God. Turned people back tot he law and rebuilt the kingdom at the grand old age of 8 years old.
Jehoiachin: He was evil and the Israelites were taken into captivity under this king
Shealtiel: Good king
Zerbbabel: Good King
Abiud: Not mentioned elsewhere
Eliakim: was a priest king.
Azor,Sadoc,Achim,Eliud,Eleazar,Matthan,Jacob,Joseph: The rest of the names mentioned were all rulers after the Israelites were in captivity. They could not have been kings but must have been leaders during the inter-testament period (The four hundred years between the last book of the Old Testament and the writing of the New Testament. Some of the names are mention in apocrypha books (books that tell the history of the Jews during the inter-testament times) but these books are not recognized as being inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Why was Jesus' Lineage important?
It proved that he was of the line of David therefore, he could be a king in Israel. (You had to be a royal blood to be the Messiah).
Until 70 A.D. (when the temple was destroyed by the Romans) if you were of the line of David you could go to the temple and trace your family tree by the scrolls that were meticulousness kept by temple scribes. It was not a guessing game and you could not be a king if you were not connected to the line of David.
Why is it significant that there are four women in Jesus' lineage? It was not necessary for women to be mentioned in a patriarchal (Lineage represented by fathers, matriarchal would be lineage represented by mothers, the Jews lineage was strictly patriarchal) lineage and yet four women are mention in Jesus' ancestry. The four women did not come from great backgrounds either. Tamar was was not Jewish, Rehab (Canaanite), Ruth (Moabite, a descendant of Lot) and Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, the wife of Uriah could have been either Jewish or Hittite. Tamar, Rehab, And Bathsheba are know for their sexual sins and Ruth came from a people not well respected by a Jewish audience, and yet under direction of the Holy Spirit they are added to the This most important list. This was a sign of God to show right from the beginning of Jesus' ministry he would be making room for the non-Jewish people-groups and elevating the status of women of New Testament women compared to Old Testament ones. A common prayer prayed by Jews of Jesus times was, "Blessed art thou, O God, for not making me a Gentile, slave, or woman." Guess God was not a big fan of that prayer.
Here is a quick rundown of the other people mentioned in Jesus' lineage.
Abraham: Family came from modern day Iraq where he grew up worshiping the sun God Nanna.
Struggle with lying when in trouble but loved his family and was one of the richest men of his time.
Married to Sarai who God miraculously gave a child at an old age.
Issac: Was also successful at business man and share his fathers problem with lying. (probably observed it at home and work with his Dad) Married Rebekah. Rebekah also struggled with having children.
Judah: Was successful in saving Joseph's life but seems to be a all around immoral person sleeping with his daughter-in-law when he thougt she was a prostitute and being given to superstition.
Pharez and Zerah out of Tamar: Judah was the father of her children Gen:38
Hezron was Pharez's son: we don't know anything about him
Aram: - Unknown
Amminadab: – Aaron took his daughter as a wife and seems to be the respected leader of the tribe of Judah before his son.
Nahshon:- The leader of the tribe of Judah during the Exodus Numbers 1:7
Salmon: Father of Boaz. (Ruth 4:20, Ps. 68:14)
Boaz Out of Rahab: This is significant because it shows the missional mission statement of GOd. He has always been interested in reaching the world.
Obed out of Ruth: Ruth was a Moabite. Moabites were descendants of Lots showing God's complete forgiveness of Lot and his family.
Jesse: Seems to be a everyday guy who was loyal to God and Israel.
David: Man after Gods own heart.
Solomon out of her who had been the wife of Uriah: Uriah was a Hittie who were known as warriors and giants and at one time they were enemies of Israel. (Gen 15:20) But by Genesis chapter 20 the Hittites seem to be friends cause Ephron the Hittite allows Abraham to bury Sarah on his land for free.
Rehoboam: destroyed davids kingdom by taking bad council and enslaving his own people 1Kings 12) His mom was a descendant of Lots younger daughter (the Ammonites).. (1 Sam 11) Saul scatters the ammonites and they live among the Israelites after that.
Abijam: was evil and married to a forenier that was suppose to be disposed of
Asa: followed God and returned them to true worship
Jehoshaphat: Walked in the way of David and took council from prophets
Jehoram: Good king and warrior died because he was betrayed
Uzziah: Good king but made a bad choice at the end of his life
Jotham: Good king died of leprosy
Ahaz: Bad king practiced the rights of foreign gods
Hezekiah: was a great king with a lot of faith but ended poorly and did not care about the generation after him.
Manasseh: Bad king but repented at the end of his life.
Amon: Bad king his servants killed him and put his 8 year old son in his place
Josiah: Good king listen to council and to God. Turned people back tot he law and rebuilt the kingdom at the grand old age of 8 years old.
Jehoiachin: He was evil and the Israelites were taken into captivity under this king
Shealtiel: Good king
Zerbbabel: Good King
Abiud: Not mentioned elsewhere
Eliakim: was a priest king.
Azor,Sadoc,Achim,Eliud,Eleazar,Matthan,Jacob,Joseph: The rest of the names mentioned were all rulers after the Israelites were in captivity. They could not have been kings but must have been leaders during the inter-testament period (The four hundred years between the last book of the Old Testament and the writing of the New Testament. Some of the names are mention in apocrypha books (books that tell the history of the Jews during the inter-testament times) but these books are not recognized as being inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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