January 8 - Evening
"Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:" - Genesis 13:10-11
Lot Lives by Sight and Decides by What is Seen
Abram was obedient and came to the land he had never seen. Abram lived in the land by faith knowing that God had told him, "To your offspring I will give this land." It is true that Abram lived by faith. Abram made decisions based on what he knew to be true according to the Lord's Word. But, with Lot it was another story.
The two men stood to decide their fate and the fate of the people who trusted them. Abram was going to make his decision based on faith in God's promise, so, of course, he let Lot choose first. Abram's fate was in the promise of God. But, Lot chose his own fate. Lot did not use faith and he did not look to the Word of God. Instead the text says, "Lot looked..." Lot did not live by faith, but by what he saw. Lot looked for the best angle and for the greatest advantage. So, Lot "saw" the well watered plain, but he could not see the future, he could not see God's Word, he could not see the invisible. Lot "looked." Lot "saw." And, "Lot chose for himself."
And, the text says, "the two men parted company." They parted for logistical reasons. But, they also parted because one man was going to follow what his faith had showed him, and one man was going to follow only what his eye could see.
The text gives major correlation that this was not going to end well. The wording is tied closely to another situation where someone followed what they saw. Eve in a similar situation had to choose between the Word of God and what she saw. Similar words here in Genesis13:10-11 and Genesis3:6-24 are listed here:
Ptocheia (Gr) - Poverty (Eng) - ptocheia is a Greek noun translated poverty. Ptocheia would define a beggar who had nothing or someone who was totally destitute of all possessions and hopes of financial recovery would be ptocheia. Jesus describes the widow of Mark 12:42-43 as ptocheia, which is the same word Paul used in Romans 15:26 to describe the believers in Jerusalem who would receive the money Paul collected from the Gentile churches.
Do I live by faith or by sight?
Do I make decisions based on what I see and perceive now, or based on what I know and perceive to be true?
I will live by faith in God's Word and not by sight of my own plans, schemes and desires.
Do I make decisions based on what I see and perceive now, or based on what I know and perceive to be true?
I will live by faith in God's Word and not by sight of my own plans, schemes and desires.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Changed to be like Jesus
Church
Living holy lives
Nation
Government Reform
World
Intense drive for Global politics and economy
Someone to Quote
"Whom else do you know that is high, yet humble; strong, yet sensitive; righteous, yet gracious; powerful, yet merciful; authoritative, yet tender; holy, yet forgiving; just, yet compassionate; angry, yet gentle; firm, yet friendly?" - Sam Storms
Something to Ponder
Patrick was born around 390 AD in Britain under the Roman Empire. At the age of 16 Patrick was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave watching pigs. Later he escaped, traveled 200 miles on foot to the coast to join a ship heading to France. After spending several years in a monastery, Patrick returned to his homeland where he had a vision/dream of the people of Ireland calling for him. Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the hostile Druids and other pagans. By the time he died in 460 Patrick had baptized 120,000 people and started 300 churches.
Here’s a Fact
Joshua 13:1 says that at the end of Joshua’s life the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.”
Judges 1:27 says that Israel “did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo.” Archaeological evidence shows an Egyptian presence at Beth-Shean (or, Beth Shan) until 1150 BC. Archaelogy does not show a shift from Egyptian and Canaanite presence in this valley (Megiddo, Beth Shean, etc.) until the time of Solomon. That would mean David was the one who secured this area for Israel. (Saul’s body was hung on the walls of Beth Shean which indicates the city was still occupied by Canaanite friends of the Philistines – 1 Samuel 31:10-15.) This agrees with the Biblical account that says in 1 Kings 9:15-19 and 2 Chronicles 1:14 that Solomon occupied these cities, built up their walls and fortified them with chariots.
Judges 1:27 says that Israel “did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo.” Archaeological evidence shows an Egyptian presence at Beth-Shean (or, Beth Shan) until 1150 BC. Archaelogy does not show a shift from Egyptian and Canaanite presence in this valley (Megiddo, Beth Shean, etc.) until the time of Solomon. That would mean David was the one who secured this area for Israel. (Saul’s body was hung on the walls of Beth Shean which indicates the city was still occupied by Canaanite friends of the Philistines – 1 Samuel 31:10-15.) This agrees with the Biblical account that says in 1 Kings 9:15-19 and 2 Chronicles 1:14 that Solomon occupied these cities, built up their walls and fortified them with chariots.
Proverb
"To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding." - Proverbs 8:4-5
Coach’s Corner
Admit your mistakes and correct your errors, and, definitely, don’t try to blame someone else.
Joshua 13:1-3
New International Version (NIV)
Land Still to Be Taken
13 When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.
2 “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites, 3 from the Shihor River on the east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north, all of it counted as Canaanite though held by the five Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron; the territory of the Avvites
New International Version (NIV)
Land Still to Be Taken
13 When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.
2 “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites, 3 from the Shihor River on the east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north, all of it counted as Canaanite though held by the five Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron; the territory of the Avvites
1 Samuel 31:10-13
New International Version (NIV)
10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
New International Version (NIV)
10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
1 Kings 9:15-19
New International Version (NIV)
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
New International Version (NIV)
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
Genesis 3:6-7
New International Version (NIV)
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
New International Version (NIV)
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Genesis 16
New International Version (NIV)
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12
He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
New International Version (NIV)
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12
He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Job 19-20
New International Version (NIV)
Job
19 Then Job replied:
2
“How long will you torment me and crush me with words?
3
Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me.
4
If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone.
5
If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my humiliation against me,
6
then know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me.
7
“Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.
8
He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness.
9
He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head.
10
He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree.
11
His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies.
12
His troops advance in force; they build a siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent.
13
“He has alienated my family from me; my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14
My relatives have gone away; my closest friends have forgotten me.
15
My guests and my female servants count me a foreigner; they look on me as on a stranger.
16
I summon my servant, but he does not answer, though I beg him with my own mouth.
17
My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family.
18
Even the little boys scorn me; when I appear, they ridicule me.
19
All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me.
20
I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
21
“Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
22
Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23
“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll,
24
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!
25
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;
27
I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
28
“If you say, ‘How we will hound him, since the root of the trouble lies in him,’
29
you should fear the sword yourselves; for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know that there is judgment.”
Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2
“My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed.
3
I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4
“Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth,
5
that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
6
Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds,
7
he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8
Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night.
9
The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more.
10
His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth.
11
The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.
12
“Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,
13
though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth,
14
yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him.
15
He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up.
16
He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him.
17
He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18
What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
19
For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build.
20
“Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure.
21
Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure.
22
In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him.
23
When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him.
24
Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
25
He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him;
26
total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.
27
The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him.
28
A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath.
29
Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.”
New International Version (NIV)
Job
19 Then Job replied:
2
“How long will you torment me and crush me with words?
3
Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me.
4
If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone.
5
If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my humiliation against me,
6
then know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me.
7
“Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.
8
He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness.
9
He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head.
10
He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree.
11
His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies.
12
His troops advance in force; they build a siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent.
13
“He has alienated my family from me; my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14
My relatives have gone away; my closest friends have forgotten me.
15
My guests and my female servants count me a foreigner; they look on me as on a stranger.
16
I summon my servant, but he does not answer, though I beg him with my own mouth.
17
My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family.
18
Even the little boys scorn me; when I appear, they ridicule me.
19
All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me.
20
I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
21
“Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
22
Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23
“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll,
24
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!
25
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;
27
I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
28
“If you say, ‘How we will hound him, since the root of the trouble lies in him,’
29
you should fear the sword yourselves; for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know that there is judgment.”
Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2
“My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed.
3
I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4
“Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth,
5
that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
6
Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds,
7
he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8
Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night.
9
The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more.
10
His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth.
11
The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.
12
“Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,
13
though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth,
14
yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him.
15
He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up.
16
He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him.
17
He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18
What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
19
For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build.
20
“Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure.
21
Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure.
22
In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him.
23
When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him.
24
Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
25
He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him;
26
total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.
27
The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him.
28
A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath.
29
Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.”