David Guzik’s weekly devotional, based on a verse or two from the Bible.

The Foolishness of Helping God

The Foolishness of Helping God

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Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. (Genesis 16:3-4)

God promised Abram and Sarai what they desperately wanted and long waited for: a son. After waiting ten years, they decided to “help” God fulfill His promise by using an Egyptian slave woman as an ancient version of a surrogate mother. In this, Abram and Sarai both acted in unbelief. Abram did not actually marry Hagar, but he acted towards her as a man should only act towards his wife. This wasn’t the right path for Abram, the friend of God and the man of faith. God had a different way for him, but Abram and Sarai didn’t want to take that way.

The Foolishness of Helping God

Abram and Sarai were discouraged enough that they approached the problem of no children by leaving God out of the matter. It was as if they said, “If we remove God from this situation, how do we solve this?” This was wrong for many reasons.

– God is never removed from any circumstance.
– Men and women of faith must walk in faith, not in unbelief.
– Men and women of faith must live being mindful of the realm of the spirit, not only mindful of the material world.

When a believer impatiently tries to fulfill God’s promises in their own effort, it accomplishes nothing and may even prolong the time until the promise is fulfilled. Jacob had to live as an exile for 25 years, because he thought he had to arrange the fulfillment of God’s promise to get his father’s blessing (Genesis 28:1-5; 33:17-20). Moses had to tend sheep for 40 years in the desert after he tried to arrange the fulfillment of God’s promise by murdering an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15; 3:1).

It is better to receive God’s help than to try and help Him in our own wisdom and unbelief. When the servant woman conceived, things only became worse, especially for Sarai, the wife of Abram. Hagar’s pregnancy seemed to confirm that the inability to bear children was Sarai’s problem, not Abram’s. In a culture that so highly valued childbearing, mothering the child of a wealthy and influential man like Abram gave Hagar greater status, and made her appeared more blessed than Sarai.

This is a good reminder that results are not enough to justify what we do before God. It’s not right to say, “They got a baby out of it. It must have been God’s will.” The flesh profits nothing (John 6:63), but it can producesomething. Doing things in the flesh may get results, but they may be results that are soon regretted.

Whatever a man or woman attempts to do without God will be a miserable failure – or an even more miserable success.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 16

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Covenant Assurance

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And he said, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8)

Jesus spoke of faith that could move mountains, but often our doubts seem to create those mountains. Trusting God and His promises is a constant challenge, faced by everyone who has ever tried to chase away doubt.

Sometimes doubt comes from unbelief – an attitude that doubts God will keep His word or can keep His promises. Other times doubt is connected to faith that is growing and maturing; a doubt that recognizes that there is no weakness or wavering in God, but we are weak in our ability to trust. This was the kind of doubt that led a desperate father to say to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

Covenant Assurance

God promised Abram a son and he waited ten years. Abram was successful in business and every other enterprise, but he thought “what good is all that without the fulfillment of God’s promise?” This was the ache of Abram’s heart, and it prompted his doubt-filled question to God in Genesis 15:8: How shall I know that I will inherit it?

Abram did what we all should do with our doubts: he brought them to God, and let God speak to his doubts. Again, understand this was not doubt that denied God’s promise, but doubt that desired God’s promise. God is always willing to help that kind of doubt.

God, in effect, answered: “Abram, do you want to be certain? Then let’s make a contract.” In that day, one way to make a contract was to have both parties walk together through the split carcasses of sacrificed animals, while they repeated the terms of the contract. It seems bloody and barbaric to us, but to them it represented two things. First, it showed this was a blood covenant – something serious. Second, it was a dramatic warning: if one failed to live up to the contract, he could expect that his animals, and perhaps himself, would end up cut in two.

God wants to help our doubts with a contract. But our contract is not Abram’s; it is the contract Jesus called the new covenant (Luke 22:20, Hebrews 9:15). The new covenant was also established by sacrifice – by what Jesus did on the cross towards God the Father and for us.

When we want to believe but still seem to doubt, we don’t have to think God is angry and irritated with us. We can even ask God to prove Himself. But when you ask for proof, God will speak to you the same way He did to Abram. God will point you to a covenant made by sacrifice that proves God’s love and concern for you is real and His promises are true. God will point you to the new covenant.

Today, ask God to help you with your doubts, and to remember He proved His love for you by the new covenant and what Jesus did at the cross to establish it.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 15

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Trusting God, Not Man

Trusting God, Not Man

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But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” (Genesis 14:22-24)

Abram was the great patriarch of the Jewish people and the father of all who believe, those who trust God and are declared to be righteous. We don’t often think of him as a military man, but on at least one occasion he was. In Genesis 15, a group of four kings attacked a group of five kings, to punish them for rebellion. In the attack, the armies of the four kings took Abram’s nephew Lot as a hostage, and they returned to the north.

Trusting God, Not Man

That didn’t make Abram happy. Lot was family, and Abram would protect him. Abram gathered an army of 318 trained fighters among his servants and pursued the armies holding Lot. In a bold night attack, Abram defeated the four kings, rescued Lot, and recovered all the spoil the kings had seized from the five cities. After the battle, the king of Sodom wanted to reward Abram, offering him all the plunder.

Abram replied, I will take nothing – not even a thread! Abram would not take any of the plunder because of a vow he made to God Most High. Abram made the vow because he didn’t want any man to rightly say, I have made Abram rich. Abram determined that all the credit for his success and wealth should go to God and God alone.

As a man of faith, Abram had decided to live so that whatever outward success he gained, everyone could see that it was because of the blessing of God, not because of any generosity or help from man. His faith was in God not man; his reward would be from God and not man.

This is wise living, and especially a wise way to serve God. If apparent success comes through man-centered methods and strategies, then it is difficult to confidently say the blessing came from God. It is much better to rely on God’s methods and wisdom, so if apparent success comes, then God receives the glory, and everyone sees it was God’s work.

However, at the same time, Abram did not impose his principles on his Amorite allies – they could take their portion. They were entitled to as much of the spoil as was appropriate under the customs of the time. If they wanted to live by Abram’s faith, they could choose to do so. Abram wouldn’t force it on them.

Dear brother or sister in Christ, determine to live by faith in God instead of looking to or leaning on man.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 14

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Laying Down Our Rights

Laying Down Our Rights

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So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:8-9)

God did something special when He called Abram (later named Abraham) out of Ur of the Chaldees and promised Abram all of Canaan. But when Abram brought his nephew Lot with him into the land, it wasn’t long until there was conflict. Abram and Lot each had big herds of livestock, and their workers fought over the better grazing lands.

Laying Down Our Rights

Abram and Lot each claimed to serve Yahweh as God instead of the local Canaanite idols, and their conflict made them look like hypocrites. The logical solution was to separate the flocks and take them to different grazing lands. But who would go where? That is when Abram used his right to lay down his rights.

Abram said to his nephew, If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left. Abram was the eldest and God promised the land to Abram (not to Lot), this was pure generosity.

This was true generosity, not weakness. Abram could fight when it was the right thing to do (Genesis 14). He didn’t yield to Lot out of weakness but out of love and trust in God. Because Abram lived with an eternal perspective, a few acres of grazing land didn’t seem worth fighting for.

The giving up of rights is a theme throughout the Bible. God was glorified when Jesus, out of love, waived his right to an existence that knew no human suffering or trial by experience (Philippians 2:5-11). God was glorified when Paul, out of love, waived his right to be supported by the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14-18). In Genesis 13, Abram fulfilled the New Testament principle of love: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

But if we give up our rights, who will look out for us? Abram could do this because he learned that God would provide for him, and so Abram did not have to worry about being too generous. In this case, Abram was willing to let God look out for his interests. Right or left, it didn’t matter to Abram, because God would be there.

There are times to stand on principle and claim a right – the Bible also gives examples of this. Sometimes doing this is good for others and not only for us. Yet we are grateful for the generosity God shows to us, and we seek to show that to others.

We can do what is right by committing our rights to God.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 13

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Land, Nation, Blessing

Land, Nation, Blessing

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I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:2-3)

God told a Mesopotamian man from an idol-worshipping family to leave his land and his family, and to receive a wonderful promise. God promised Abram a land, a nation, and a blessing.

Land, Nation, Blessing

Abram only partially obeyed. First, he traveled half-way to the place God told him to go, and he brought his father and nephew with him, though God had told him to leave his family. Yet in God’s grace and goodness, He worked with Abram’s partial obedience and eventually Abram came to the land of Canaan – the land God promised him.

Abram would become a giant of faith, even being the father of the believing (Galatians 3:7-9); yet he did not start as a hero of faith. We see Abram as an example of growing in faith and obedience. Through faith and patience, he inherited the promises of God.

God promised Abram a land. In Genesis 12:1 God directed Abram to the land He would show him.

God promised to make a nation from Abram. He would have children, grandchildren, and further descendants, enough to populate a great nation. This would make the name of Abram great. There is probably no more honored name in history than the name of Abram, who is honored by Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

God also promised He would bless those who bless you and to curse him who curses you. This promise – inherited by the covenant descendants of Abram, the Jewish people – remains true and is a root reason for the decline and death of many empires. Historically speaking, nations that have treated the Jewish people well have often been blessed. The opposite may be seen in the fall of the empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Spain radically declined after the Inquisition and Poland fell after her pogroms. Germany was severely humbled after the Holocaust, and Britain lost her empire after breaking faith with Israel.

God promised to bless Abram, but also that he would be a blessing, even to the point where all the families of the earth would be blessed in Abram. This amazing promise was fulfilled in the Messiah that came from Abram’s lineage. God’s blessing to Abram was not for his own sake, or even the sake of the Jewish nation to come. It was for the whole world, for all the families of the earth through Jesus Christ. Revelation 5:9 tells us that the work of Jesus will touch every people group on the earth.

Whether you are a genetic descendant of Abram or not, this blessing is for you – in and through Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the blessing promised to Abram. By faith, receive that blessing in Jesus today.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 12

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Fulfilling Your Potential

Fulfilling Your Potential

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Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:3-4)

After the flood humanity began to multiply quickly. God told Noah and his descendants to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 9:1), and they did. Instead of spreading over the earth, people stayed close, settling in southern Mesopotamia, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The area was called Shinar (Genesis 11:2), also known as Babylon (Genesis 10:10). All this was in disobedience to another command God gave in Genesis 9:1 – the command to fill the earth, instead of sticking close together.

Fulfilling Your Potential

We could say that humanity was determined, ready to build and to accomplish things. Unfortunately, they didn’t surrender that determination to God. Speaking one language (Genesis 11:1), man advanced quickly in technology and organization. They used their determination, potential, technology, and organization to rebel against God and God’s will.

Because we are made in the image of God, people have a lot of potential – especially when they work together. First, they built themselves a city. Then, they built a tower. Using the technology of well-baked bricks and asphalt for mortar, they started building a tall tower.

Allow me to suggest something. It’s not my original thought, and we don’t have enough information to be certain. Yet, I think they made the Tower of Babel out of well-baked bricks and asphalt for mortar to make it strong and waterproof. The Bible says that Noah used the same material in waterproofing the ark (Genesis 6:14). The mother of Moses used the same material in waterproofing Moses’ basket (Exodus 2:3).

If this is true, then Babylon and the Tower of Babel were not only expressions of disobedience to God’s command to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). The Tower of Babel means that man did not believe God’s promise to never again flood the earth. A waterproof tower was made to protect mankind against a future deluge.

The top of the tower was intended to be in the heavens. It is doubtful they thought they could build a tower all the way to heaven. It is more likely they built the tower as an observation point of the heavens; it was built “unto the heavens.” Most astrological and occult practices have a history back to Babel. This tower was real. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus said the remains of the Tower of Babel still stood in his day and he had seen it.

Disobeying God and doubting His promise didn’t do them any good. God easily defeated their plan by confusing their languages and scattering them over the earth.

You are made in God’s image and capable of amazing things. Don’t waste all that potential in disobedience and unbelief.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 11

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

All From One

All From One

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These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood. (Genesis 10:32)

Genesis 10 gathers together the names of the descendants of Noah, from whom came all the nations of the earth. It’s a remarkable chapter, and some scholars call it “The Table of Nations” – that’s “table” like a chart, not something you sit at. The great archaeologist William F. Albright often did not take the Bible literally, but of Genesis 10 he wrote: “The tenth chapter of Genesis…stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where we find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in genealogical framework.… The Table of Nations remains an astonishing accurate document.”

All From One

There is value in looking at each name and working to understand which people group came forth from that ancestor, but there is also value in simply drawing out three significant ideas from Genesis 10.

The Unity of the Human Race. Genesis 10 tells us that all humanity came from Noah and his family, and the book of Genesis also explains we have a common origin in Adam and Eve. As the apostle Paul explained to the philosophers on Mars Hill, God has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth (Acts 17:26). We truly are collectively of “one blood,” and while there are some differences between generations and races and ethnic groups, what they have in common is far greater than their differences. We are all made in the image of God.

The Generosity of God. Genesis 10 makes us consider just how wide all creation is, and how there are billions of people on the earth today, even more in the past, and should Jesus tarry, there will be many more in the future. Yet the love of God is broad enough to include all humanity. Remember that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16), and that in some way God shows His love to all humanity, and the blessings of sun and rain are just one example of this (Matthew 5:45). Since God is this generous with all humanity, we can rest with even greater confidence in His generous love to His people, those who trust in, rely on, and cling to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The Reason for a Missionary Heart. God divided and spread-out humanity, but not for the purpose of taking people away from His good news and salvation in Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the World (John 4:42). Rather, Jesus gave His disciples specific instructions before He ascended to heaven: go and make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded His disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). We must have the missionary heart to reach the world as Jesus commanded.

Today, remember God’s heart for all humanity.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 10

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Lifeblood

Lifeblood

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But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. (Genesis 9:4)

When Noah left the ark, God gave him some commands suited to the world after the flood. God gave Noah the same kind of mandate He gave Adam in the beginning of creation, to “be fruitful and multiply,” (Genesis 1:28) because Noah, in a sense, began all over again.

Lifeblood

Noah also received specific permission to eat animals, permission Adam was not given (as far we know). The Bible doesn’t tell us why after the flood God told humanity to eat the meat of animals. Perhaps this was because the earth was less productive agriculturally after the flood, considering the ecological changes mentioned in Genesis 9:1-3 and 8:22. Maybe meat was good for humanity after the flood in a way it wasn’t before the flood.

God also commanded that if animals were killed and eaten, there must be proper respect for the blood, which represents the life principle (Leviticus 17:11-14, Deuteronomy 12:23). The respect for blood isn’t based on mysticism or superstition, but because blood represents the life of the being, whether animal or human. When blood is poured out, life is poured out.

The importance of the idea of blood in the Bible is shown by how often the word is used. It is used 424 times in 357 separate verses (New King James Version).

One could say that blood is all over the Bible:

– Blood was the sign of mercy for Israel at the first Passover (Exodus 12:13).
– Blood sealed God’s covenant with Israel (Exodus 24:8).
– Blood sanctified the bronze altar for sacrifice (Exodus 29:12).
– Blood set aside the priests, consecrating them for service (Exodus 29:20).
– Blood made atonement for God’s people (Exodus 30:10).
– Blood sealed the new covenant (Matthew 26:28).
– Blood justifies believers (Romans 5:9).
– Blood brings redemption (Ephesians 1:7).
– Blood brings peace with God (Colossians 1:20).
– Blood cleanses believers (Hebrews 9:14, 1 John 1:7).
– Blood gives God’s people entrance to His holy place (Hebrews 10:19).
– Blood sanctifies the Christian (Hebrews 13:12).
– Blood enables believers to overcome Satan (Revelation 12:11).

Some people read all this and think, “God must be a blood-thirsty monster, something from a horror movie.” Not at all. The key is found in two principles.

First, blood is vitally connected to life (Leviticus 17:11). When blood is lost, life can be lost. Poured out blood often means a poured-out life.

Second, this points to the most important giving of life of all: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, when His poured-out life accomplished redemption for the people of God.

Even today, blood should be respected and treated honorably. But of greatest importance is the blood of Christ; His life poured out for means new life for all who trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus and all His saving work at the cross and in His resurrection.

Today, thank God for the preciousness of blood – the blood of Christ.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 9

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Sacrifice and Covenant Faithfulness

Sacrifice and Covenant Faithfulness

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And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21)

When the rains were over and the waters subsided, Noah and his family were able to leave the ark. One of the first they did was to sacrifice animals to God. This was both risky and costly. Noah understood there were few animals on the earth, yet he offered some in honor to God.

Sacrifice and Covenant Faithfulness

Yet, Noah’s costly sacrifice pleased God: the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Here, the Bible speaks anthropomorphically, using a human analogy of a divine action or attribute. God was more pleased by the heart of Noah in his sacrifice than the actual smell of the offering. It was as if the scent of such a costly, faith-inspired gift of roasting meat was pleasant to God. In response, God made this wonderful promise to Noah and to humanity: I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake.

God promised to never again visit the earth with judgment by a flood on this scale, to destroy every living thing. God did this even as He understood that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth. This was a promise full of mercy.

It was a strange combination of truths. First, that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and second, God’s promise to never again curse the ground for man’s sake. Man’s evil would seem to invite God’s curse, not put it away. The strange combination is accounted for by Noah’s altar and sacrifice, and God’s pleasure in the sacrifice.

The sacrifice Noah made and God received was the key. Without a sacrifice, sin demands judgment and vengeance, like the judgment sent by God in the flood. But Noah’s costly sacrifice pointed to the ultimate sacrifice, one that was and is infinite in value: when God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, laid down His life, dying to bring all who believe into right relationship with God.

We can say that after the flood, Noah’s story when the flood was over illustrated many things relevant to the life of the believer.

– When he left the ark to possess the earth, Noah showed the believer’s freedom.
– When he made such a costly sacrifice, Noah showed the believer’s faith.
– When he honored God with a worshipful offering, Noah showed the believer’s heart.

Better than anything Noah showed, God showed His great covenant of mercy after Noah’s sacrifice. He promised to never again judge the world in the same way as He did with the flood of Noah’s time. That covenant has stood the test of time.

God has been completely faithful His covenant made in Noah’s day. Even so, in Jesus Christ, God will be completely faithful to His covenant with you. Rest in that today.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 8

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Witnesses to the Resurrection

Witnesses to the Resurrection

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And that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)

No one saw the actual resurrection of Jesus. No one was present in the tomb with Him when His body transformed into a resurrection body. If someone were there, perhaps in a brilliant flash of light, they would have seen the dead body of Jesus transformed. We know that Jesus could miraculously appear in a room with all the doors locked and the windows shut (John 20:19, 26). Yet the resurrected Jesus was not a phantom; He had a real flesh and bone body.

Witnesses to the Resurrection

Though no one saw the actual resurrection of Jesus, many people did see the resurrected Jesus. Paul presented these witnesses to the resurrection, to establish beyond all controversy that Jesus was raised in a resurrection body.

The first witness presented was Cephas. Jesus made a special resurrection appearance to Peter (Cephas) in Luke 24:34. We can assume that Jesus spoke to some special need for comfort and restoration in Peter.

Paul presents the twelve as witnesses. This probably refers to the first meeting Jesus had with His assembled disciples, mentioned in Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-43, and John 20:19-25. This was the meeting where Jesus appeared in the room with the doors and windows shut and breathed on the disciples, giving them the Holy Spirit.

The meeting of Jesus with over five hundred brethren at once is suggested by Matthew 28:10, 16-17. Paul is saying, “Go ask these people who saw the resurrected Jesus. These are not a handful of self-deluded souls; there are literally hundreds who saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes.”

The James mentioned here would be James, the brother of Jesus, who was a prominent leader in the early church (Acts 15:13-21). In the gospels, Jesus’ brothers were hostile to Him and His mission (John 7:3-5). But after His resurrection, Jesus’ brothers were among the followers of Jesus (Acts 1:14).

All the apostles refers to a few different meetings, such as in John 20:26-31, 21:1-25, Matthew 28:16-20, and Luke 24:44-49. Jesus ate with them, comforted them, commanded them to preach the gospel, and told them to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, Paul could add his testimony (last of all He was seen by me), and his encounter with the resurrected Savior was after Jesus ascended to heaven.

The changed character of the apostles and their willingness to die for the testimony of the resurrection, decisively eliminate fraud as an explanation of the empty tomb.

Understand and appreciate all these but add a final piece of evidence – your own experience of the resurrected Jesus.

Click here for David’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 15

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David