Blind Blessings

January 9, 2024

January 9, 2024

Read Genesis 9, Psalm 9, John 9

Genesis 8 starts out “But God remembered Noah,” now Genesis 9 begins “Then God blessed Noah.” After everything that Noah had been through, the blessings come last. This is true for most of the things we face in life. We struggle through difficult circumstances and if we are faithful, in the end we see the blessings. For the Christian this is the ultimate truth. We face all the temporary earthly trials in life, but to the faithful come the blessings of eternal life yet to come. For Noah, one of these blessings from God was the ability to eat not only the plants he provided, but now “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything” v. 3. Some prefer the Daniel diet of Vegetables and water, others the Noah diet, “everything!” To each their own. The one exception is that people are not to eat meat that still contains lifeblood in it. God will demand an accounting for not only every human, but also every animal. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man” v. 6. From the very beginning we learn of the value of humanity. The reason? Because man is made in the image of God. This should cover everything from before birth to our very eldest.

The most important part of Genesis 9 is the covenant that God made with Noah. It is an everlasting covenant, (“a covenant for all generations to come” v. 12). God promises never to again destroy the world by flood. God sets the symbol of the rainbow to be a reminder of the covenant. Is it interesting that scientifically we know that the rainbow only appears when there is water in the atmosphere, when it has rained. Just in case we needed the reminder. There are various thoughts on a biblical interpretation of the flood.  Was it a localized flood, regional, or covering the entire globe? One of the pieces of evidence for a global flood lies with the promise of God to never flood the earth again is this; we know there have been local and reginal floods in history, but never have we had a reordered flood that covered the entire world. If you dig into many cultures across the globe, we have over a dozen traditions of a flood that occurred.

The last part of Genesis 9 invites many questions. What did Ham do? Why did Noah curse his son Canaan and not Ham? Why did Noah name him Ham? (only joking here!) This space is too short to answer this question, but Kenneth Gangel and Stephen Brammer list the five most popular thoughts on what Ham did.

1. Some sort of incest between Ham and his mom based on a phrase in Lev. 18:8 and for cursing Cain and not Ham as a possible incest child. 2. An action of homosexuality between Ham and his dad, hence the phrase “what his youngest son did to him.” 3. An act of trespassing in the tent.  4. An act where Ham attempted to blackmail or embarrass his father or become the dominant male in the house.  5. An accidental or purposeful viewing of his father that was not treated properly with respect because he spoke about it to his brothers.  – Genesis OT Holman commentary pg. 95.

Psalm 9 is another psalm of David that speaks of his judgment upon the world and the wicked. We often speak of God as a loving and compassionate God, which He is. But this is only half of it. God is also a just and holy God who punishes the wicked for their deeds. David writes, “The Lord reigns for ever; he has established his throne for judgment. 8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice” vv. 7-8. There are hints of Genesis in this psalm too. “For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted” v. 12. David ends the psalm by saying, “The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands” v. 16. In contemporary culture we like to place the word “justice” in front of something as if to make it seem noble or right.  Climate justice, reproductive justice, economic justice, racial justice, and so on and so on. The thing to remember is that justice is determined by God, his nature and law. Simply dressing up a word with justice does not make something right or wrong. Without God there can be no object moral law. We are only left with one option, a subjective view where everything is opinion. No one could call what the Nazis did in Germany as wrong if there were not objective moral right and wrongs.

John 9 is the story of Jesus healing a blindman. Jesus’ disciples notice him and ask the question that shows us the typical Jewish assumption of the time. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” v. 2. Many people assumed that physical infirmity was brought on to someone based on a sin they or a parent committed. Sometimes the Bible does give us a reason like that, but it is not always the case. Jesus squashed their assumptions by telling them that neither of these reasons were the cause of his blindness. His answer is encouraging to all of us who face difficult circumstances. Jesus responds with “this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” v. 3. Have you ever considered that the things you face and battle in life might also be an opportunity for God to display his work in your life. I know we all want to immediately exit these difficult circumstances in life, but maybe God has another plan. Maybe God would use our difficulties to bring glory to God and point people to Him. We can see this in the rest of John 9. The religious leaders demand an explanation for the man and his parents. The blindman gives testimony to them about what happened.

In the last part of John 9 Jesus reveals himself to the blindman and he believes in him. With onlookers standing by Jesus declares “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind’” v. 39. The pharisees nearby ask if they are also blind and Jesus tells them they are indeed spiritually blind to the things of God.

What else do you see in these three chapters? What words or phrases or themes stand out to you? Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

Mindful

January 9, 2024

January 8, 2024

Read Genesis 8, Psalm 8, John 8

What are some things that you will never forget? Depending on how old you are, you might recall some of the details surrounding; the moon landing, when JFK died, when Elvis died, where you were when the challenger space shuttle exploded, the 9/11 attack, when Michael Jackson passed away, when a family member got married and on and on. These were big events in your life that made an impact on your mind.  On a side note, many skeptics will balk at the idea of the gospels being written down years or decades after Jesus had died and risen from the dead, but we must remember that Jesus’ resurrection was a huge event like many of the ones listed above. You might not remember what you had for breakfast 20 years ago, but you will remember the significant events that impacted your life.

Genesis 8 starts out, “But God remembered Noah” (and all the animals too). We are not talking about a God with amnesia here. This phrase is an anthropomorphic (places a human-like character trait on an object or something not human) phrase that shows that God cares and has compassion for Noah and the animals. God is the creator of the universe and everything in it. He could have hit the reset button, but he didn’t. He chooses to save that which He has compassion for. Over a year passes and the ark finally comes to rest on the mountains. The Lord dries up the waters and tells Noah he can leave the ark safely. The first thing Noah does is to offer and sacrifice to God for His protection. When we come to appreciate and love God for what He has done for us, we should desire to thank Him or give Him praise.

In Psalm 8 we have a similar theme. David gives praise to God, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” v. 1, David is in awe of who God is and for His interest in His creation. He acknowledges that God is the creator of the “moon and stars” v. 3. Yet in verses 4-5 he sees the personal nature of God, “what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

In John 8 we read the story of the woman caught in adultery. Most bibles have a note in them telling you that the earliest manuscripts do not contain John 7:53-8:11. My opinion is that it was not in the original manuscripts but was likely a scribal addition later when documents were being copied. I personal believe this interaction between Jesus and the women took place and was later added in from other sources or the oral tradition. Nothing in the 12 verses seems out of place or “unlike Jesus” from the other Scriptures. Jesus craftily keep the Law of Moses and single handedly dismissed the woman’s accusers. Jesus was mindful of this sinful woman and showed her compassion in her time of need.

The majority of John 8 is a dialog between Jesus and the Pharisees. It is started by Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world.” There are seven “I am” statements in the gospel of John. Jesus and the Pharisees hold a discussion over the authority to do and say the things that Jesus does. Then the conversation turns over to fathers. Jesus claims that God is His Father, the Pharisees want to name Abraham as their father, but Jesus disagrees. “’If you were Abraham’s children, said Jesus, ‘then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things’” vv.39-40. The Pharisees object that they are not illegitimate children and Jesus agrees with them here, but plot twist, Jesus tells them “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire” v. 44.

 In the final section of John 8, the pharisees get mad and start name-calling Jesus. That’s usually what happens in an argument when one side is losing or they don’t have their facts straight, they resort to ad-hominem attacks (a.k.a. name calling). Christians are not exempt from this either. We need to study and know what and why we believe least we get embarrassed and start it too. In John 8:58 Jesus makes one of the most pivotable statements in all the Gospels. The confused pharisees think Jesus claims to be alive during the time of Abraham, He was just not like they think. They question Him on this and Jesus replies with a quote from Exodus 3. When Moses asks God in the burning bush what His name is, God responds with “I AM WHO I AM” v. 14.  Jesus tells the pharisees, “before Abraham was born, I am!” v. 58. You might say, well that’s not really saying He is God, but to the pharisees of the day they knew exactly what Jesus meant.  We can tell by their reaction, they picked up stones to stone him. If someone were to commit the sin of blasphemy the punishment was death by stoning. We will see even more clearing from another interaction with Jesus and the pharisees in John 10 that this is what was going on.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stick out to you? Do you understand just have mindful that God is toward you just like he was with Noah, David, and the woman caught in adultery? Add your thoughts and comments below.  

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Posted by John Weldon