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Gen. 15
When Abram asked God how he could know that he would possess the land God promised his descendants, God started a covenant process with him. However, during the actual covenant ritual, Abram was dead asleep. That, to me, was Abram’s answer. He could be certain of God’s promise because the covenant relied on God alone. It is the same reason we can be certain of God’s promise to us through the covenant of Jesus Christ.
Matt. 14
Jesus had five loaves of bread and two fish. As they were, they were inadequate for the need. When Jesus broke them, however, they multiplied to satisfy the large crowd with abundance. This miracle was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ purpose on earth. As He once said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (Jn. 12:24). Just like those loaves, Jesus, who is the bread of life, was broken in order to abundantly meet our need. He likewise breaks us when we come to Him so that He can multiply through us.
Neh. 4
Why did the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall anger the residents in the land so badly? I would suppose for the same reason that evil gets so angry with truth. The specifics of the situation don’t matter; it is all about opposition to God. That is a force that will never cease until the end of time. And since the force that opposed the rebuilding of the wall is the same force that fights God’s truth today, we would do well to pay attention to both the danger and the returned exile’s response to it.
The enemies of the rebuilding Jews said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work.” (Neh. 4:11). That sure sounds like wolves in sheep’s clothing that Jesus warns us about in Matthew 7:15. “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Satan works to fight us from the inside. It also makes me think of Balaam, who knew he could not curse the Jews from the outside, but could entice the Jews into cursing themselves by infiltrating them with women who did not fear God.
That is the danger; what, then, should be our response? Even though the returned exiles worked in separate places on the wall, they banded together. They remained watchful, armed, and ready at all times, never letting down their guard. And they relied on God to fight for them. That is the kind of unity, awareness, and trust we need, both in our personal lives and as Christ’s Church. Just as the workers carried swords, shields and breastplates everywhere they went, we, too, have the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of His truth. We need to keep these ever at the ready, “so that [we] will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Eph. 6:11b).