For a full description of the (Y4) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Gen. 8
After what I learned yesterday about the seventeenth of the second month – the day God started the great flood – I naturally wanted to know about the seventeenth of the seventh month – the day the ark settled back onto dry land. What I found was a correlation to our hope for new life in Jesus Christ. Due to God’s resetting of the Jewish calendar in Exodus 12:1, a few other significant Jewish events share this day.
First, this is the day they came to the Red Sea after leaving Egypt. As with Noah and his ark, the Jews then passed through the waters from a life of slavery into a new life of hope in God’s promise. Also, this was the day Ester approached the king, putting her own life at risk to intercede for her people. Finally, the most significant event that took place on the seventeenth day of what was the seventh then became the first month is the very event that all of these other events, including the grounding of the ark, foreshadow. That event is Jesus’ resurrection. The ark returning to dry ground, the crossing oft the Red Sea, and Esther’s plea to the king all brought hope for life where death seemed certain. That is exactly what Jesus’ resurrection does for us.
One last note regarding that hope. I mentioned the other day that God knew wiping everything out with a flood was not the solution man needed. I see verification of that truth in this chapter. When Noah, with his feet once again firmly on solid ground, offered sacrifices to the LORD, God said, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (from Gen. 8:21). The flood didn’t change man’s heart. What it did was bring God’s mercy. It is that mercy, if we choose to accept it, that changes our heart.
Matt. 8
I couldn’t help but notice what the demons said to Jesus when He came into the country of the Gadarenes. They said, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God?” (Matt. 8:29a). It reminded me of the statement Zerubbabel made to the enemies of Judah in Ezra 4. He said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God” (from Ez. 4:3). It also made me think of God’s reprimand to King Jehoshaphat of Judah when he allied himself with evil King Ahab of Israel. God told him through a prophet, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD and so bring wrath on yourself form the LORD?” (2 Chron. 19:2b).
All of this takes me to Paul’s directive to the Corinthian Church. He said, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). Yes, even the demons know that evil will never be at peace in the presence of truth. And if we belong to the truth, we should never be at peace with the presence of evil.
Ezra 8
I love how Ezra earnestly sought the LORD and His protection before they set out on their journey to Jerusalem. The group was clearly serving God in their effort and making the journey in obedience to Him. Even so, they did not take His presence and protection for granted. I have mentioned before that I so often find myself simply assuming that God is with me wherever I go. This is especially true when I know I am going in obedience to Him. And while I firmly believe that God has promised to always be with those who are with Him and that He is more than good for His promise, I see a big problem with my behavior. There is no intentional seeking of God in it.
In thinking about this the other day, a hiking analogy occurred to me. Hiking trails are often marked in some way so you can be sure you are still on the right path. If you aren’t intentionally checking for those markers, however, there are many situations where you could easily miss or mistakenly take a turn, landing you on a different path than the one you started on. So where you started out confidently and obediently following God’s path, your lack of attention got you lost.
A similar analogy I thought of was hiking with an off-leash dog. Most dogs run out ahead of you. A good dog, however, will frequently stop to make sure you are still behind him. Ideally, we want to walk beside, or even follow close behind God on our life’s path, rather than running out ahead. Regardless, though, we absolutely need to continually check to make sure we are still with God and traveling His intended path, even when it seems obvious that we are.