For a full description of the (Y4) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Gen. 9-10
I’ve been talking about how the Bible leaves a lot of unanswered questions with a lot of missing details. People often get hung up on these things, but honestly, the Bible doesn’t include them because they don’t matter. I mention this here because the question often comes up as to whether or not there were people outside the Garden of Eden in the beginning. Who did Cain leave to dwell among? Where did Cain and Seth’s wives come from? Who were the “sons of God”, who married the “daughters of men”? While these are all very intriguing questions, the answers don’t change anything. Whatever was, God destroyed. With the exception of Noah and his three sons, “…and from these the whole earth was populated.” (Gen. 9:19b).
The unanswered questions don’t matter. The Bible tells us what we need to know. It tells us that God created all that is and is thus the sovereign standard for all things. It tells us that man’s heart is inherently evil and leads him down a path to death and destruction. Then it tells us that God provided another path. He did this through Seth, His alternative to death, if you will. This path leads us to God’s mercy and the one who gives us rest from our work, as seen in the person and story of Noah. From the new start after the flood, everything is under the promise of God’s mercy. From here the pattern repeats. Man causes chaos doing his own thing. Yet God holds intact the single thread of His promise, providing us one way that leads to life in a world of death.
Matt. 9
There is nothing Jesus cannot do; no condition of man that He cannot touch and heal. From physical ailments, to forgiveness of sin, to our very lives – He is the answer for all of it. He is God’s promise of mercy whom we receive by faith.
Ezra 9
The exiles quickly became unfaithful to God. They readily yoked themselves to people who did not serve Him. While that in itself is a sad situation, the even sadder part is that the leaders of the exiles were the frontrunners in this unfaithfulness. Not good! Leadership matters! No matter what our position in life, we need to be careful that we aren’t leading others down the wrong path. Conversely, we need to be just as careful about whom we choose to follow. Having leaders in your life is not a bad thing. We are, however, to follow Christ first and foremost. Thus, if the lifestyle and / or message of a leader doesn’t stack up against God’s truth, we should not follow.