Gen. 13-15
In Gen 9:25-26, God cursed Canaan (Ham’s descendants) and blessed Shem, giving his descendants rule over Ham’s descendants. In the last part of Gen 15, God makes a covenant with one of Shem’s descendants (Abram), promising him all the land of Ham’s descendants. Note three things here –
- 1. We are really starting to see the thread of God’s Plan that is woven throughout the entire Bible. Jesus is the core of this thread.
- 2. This is GOD’s covenant – Abram was dead asleep when the covenant was made, so he has no part in keeping it, he simply plays a role in it.
- 3. Abram was told his descendants would suffer for 400 years before this promise was fulfilled.
The application? We know that God keeps His promises, but we also know that a lot of CRAP typically happens in the meantime, so, as Jesus states, “the one who endures to the end will be saved”!
Matt. 5:1-26
In this passage, the start of The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says He came to fulfill the law and the prophets, and he issues a warning to anyone who breaks (or “relaxes” in the ESV – interesting) the commandments. He then launches into a series of comments on various commands from the law. Jesus is calling us to go above and beyond the letter of the law; to dig deeper into its true meaning and intent, which of course all boils down to “love the LORD your God…and love your neighbor…”. This is how we begin to be more like Jesus.