Tag Archives: Romans

The Road Through Romans: The Son Of God In Power Pt. 2

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100_5431We have been studying the Book of Romans bit by little bit over the last several weeks. Currently we are in verse four of chapter 1. If you have missed any of our discussions you can catch up on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Last time we were discussing the work of the Spirit in revealing Jesus to be the Son of God. Romans 1:4 says,

and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

The NIV says Jesus was appointed the Son Of God by the Holy Spirit, the KJV says Jesus was declared the Son Of God by the Holy Spirit. The actual verb used is “ὁρίζω horizō”, which can also be translated as “defined”. Jesus was defined as the Son of God by the Holy Spirit. I love that!

How did the Holy Spirit define Jesus as the Son of God? It wasn’t through Jesus’ baptism; It wasn’t through His teaching; It wasn’t through His miracles; It wasn’t even through His death on the cross; The Holy Spirit proved Jesus was the Son Of God by Jesus’ resurrection.

The Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead and in that moment all the other defining prophecies for Messiah became secondary. Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, not just because he is the Son of David, not just because He fulfilled the prophecies of Abraham, Balaam, Moses and Isaiah, but because He alone has risen from the dead and now can offer that same hope to any who believe on His name.

The symbol of Christianity is not primarily an empty cross but an empty tomb!

The Road Through Romans: The Son Of God In Power

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100_5431Today we move into verse 4 of Romans chapter 1 in our study through the Book of Romans. If you have missed any of this study you can find the posts on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power[b] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. rO. 1:4

I want to begin our study of this verse by studying the one who appointed Jesus to be the Son of God in power. That would be the Spirit of holiness, the πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνη, the Holy Spirit.

In Christianity we worship the Triune God, the Trinity. That is not three Gods but One God expressed in three distinct personalities. You might not totally get that, and that is O.K. There are lots of things we don’t totally get about God, like the balance between sovereignty and free will (we will get into that in our study of Romans chapter 9). The trinity is one of those things that can be explained but still defies explanation. I just accept that in faith. That said what I know is that each member of the Trinity has a different part in the plan of salvation. Each part is intrinsic to the plan and if at any place the whole Trinity did not work together the whole plan would fall apart.

The Father’s Part: To Create the plan of salvation

The Son’s Part: To Execute the plan of salvation (to die and rise from the dead)

The Spirit’s Part: To reveal the plan of salvation to the recipients of salvation (that would be us humans).

Of the Spirit of Holiness Jesus said, very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16: 7-15

So according to Jesus it is the Spirit who reveals the need for salvation and it is also the Spirit who applies the power of salvation to our lives. Jesus made that final point clear when he told the Pharisee, Nicodemus, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” John 3:6

So let me conclude this portion of our study with two questions:

Do you think the Holy Spirit reveals the “truth” to everybody?

If so why doesn’t everybody come to Jesus?

 

The Road Through Romans: The Seed Of David

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 “regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[a] was a descendant of David,” Romans 1:3

Jesus was a descendant of David. That’s important stuff. If Jesus had not been a Son of David he could not have been Messiah. He would not be qualified to take the throne of Israel.

David was arguably Israel’s most famous king. It was to him that God made this promise, “The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” 2 Samuel 7:11-13

Solomon may have built the first temple but that temple fell. The king of David’s line who was prophesied to come, will build a house for God’s name that will last forever.

That is why Matthew makes the first chapter of his book a genealogy of Jesus.

This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Ma 1:1-15

It is why Luke offers another genealogy (thought to be the genealogy of Mary) in the third chapter of his book.

What writer in his right mind starts a book with a genealogy? No one that’s who. No publisher would publish a book that started with a genealogy, except of course God. The genealogy is of first importance here because unless Jesus is a son of David we have nothing further to discuss. Further unless Jesus is THAT son of David we also have nothing further to discuss.

In Romans 1:3 Paul is not just saying Jesus was a son of David. There were literally thousands of sons of David roaming the earth at that time. Paul was declaring, “2 Samuel 7:13 is fulfilled in Jesus. He is not just a son of David. He is THE SON OF DAVID.”

If you have missed any of our previous discussions concerning the book of Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

The Road Through Romans: His Earthly Life

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100_5427We are spending our second day on verse three of Romans chapter one. If you missed any of our previous discussions concerning this word by word study through Romans you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Before we go on today I also want to reference my friend Ben Nelson’s blog series on the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.   The things that he is writing tie in to some of the discussions we are having here and add interesting counterpoint to my thoughts.

Verse 3 of Romans 1 reads,

“regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[a] was a descendant of David,”

It’s interesting to contemplate that Jesus’ earthly life is only one very small part of the Son of God’s experience. It’s His earthly life that we tend to emphasize because that is the part of His existence which most directly impacts us. His arrival on earth, his life and teachings, his death and his resurrection were seismic shifts for the human race.

I do sometimes wonder though, out of all the things Jesus has done throughout the course of eternity: creating eternity, creating time, creating the Earth, coming to Earth as a man to die on the cross and rise from the dead,  ascending back to Heaven to rule and reign at the right hand of the Father, which does Jesus place first in His memory?

Does He value the memory of the cross before all else or is that something He tries to push out of His mind? Would He rather remember the glory of creation or the glory of the resurrection?

Maybe it is silly but I do wonder if maybe Jesus’ perspective might not be a little different from ours simply because it happened to Him and not to us.

What do you think?

The Road Through Romans: It’s All About Jesus!

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100_5431We are finally at verse 3 in our study of the first chapter of Romans and it only took us two weeks to get here!

If you have missed any of the posts concerning the book you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

In verse 3 of chapter 1 Paul states that the gospel was,Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

The gospel may have been preached even by the Prophets of the Old Testament but the gospel the good news finds its root in Jesus Christ God’s Son. Jesus is the good news. The whole Bible is about Jesus. It is history which is HIS STORY.  Without Jesus there is no Good news. Without Jesus there is no creation. Without Jesus the universe would simply fall apart. He is the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the God particle, the Word that holds everything together. He was there at the start and He will be waiting there at the finish. He is the Author of life and faith and also its chief end, goal and aim.

As the old song says, “He is my everything. He is my all.”

How about you?

 

 

The Road Through Romans: The Gospel According To Isaiah

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It has been a few days since we looked at the Book Of Romans together. You might recall that we were studying verse two where Paul remarked that he was a preacher of, “the gospel he (God) promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” Romans 1:2

If you have missed our previous conversation you can find it at THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

In our conversation so far we have established that the Gospel was given in pieces-parts to men and women in the Old Testament. It was preached by increments until the birth of Jesus revealed “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. John 1:29

We could go on for a long time about all the little portions of Messianic promise that were given through the Old Testament period, but our purpose here is not to study the Old Testament but the Book Of Romans. I don’t want to belabor the point. I really just want to show that Paul was not preaching a new message just an old Message that was  being tied together and fulfilled through one man, Jesus Christ.

Before we move on though I do want to share one more passage of Old Testament Scripture which is going to be very important to us as we move through the rest of Romans. That is the passage of Scripture from Isaiah which reveals Messiah as the suffering servant.

In Isaiah 53 we read,

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

This Old Testament prophecy is a picture of Jesus. Throughout Romans Paul is going to explain exactly how this prophecy played out through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Let’s move on to find out more!

 

 

The Road Through Romans: The Gospel According to Balaam

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We’ve been walking the Romans Road one small step at a time. We’ve gotten to verse two in chapter one and that has sent us careening back through the Old Testament to see how the gospel was preached before Jesus was even born. As Paul says it is…

 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.

If you have missed any of the discussion it can be found on

THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

So far we have talked about God preaching the gospel a little in Genesis and  about Moses revealing that the Messiah would be a game-changing prophet like himself. Yet, another prophetic contemporary of Moses added a very important piece to the Messianic puzzle.

You may recall a man named Balaam from the Book of Numbers. Balaam was not a game-changer like Moses. Truth be told, as prophets go he was not very faithful. Actually he only worked part time for God. He also worked part time for the enemies of Israel and full time for his own self interests. Still God gave him a pretty important piece of the Messianic prophecy. It is spoken in Numbers chapter  24.

Balaam had been hired by a general, named Balak, to curse Israel. Instead Balaam was forced by God to bless Israel at every turn much to Balak’s chagrin. In his fourth blessing of Israel Balaam shares this foresight.

“I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
    a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls[b] of[c] all the people of Sheth.[d]
18 Edom will be conquered;
    Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
    but Israel will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob
    and destroy the survivors of the city.”

It is important to note Balaam was not a Jewish prophet. He came from the area around Babylon. It is thought that his prophecies returned to that place, after his death in a battle against the Israelites, some years later. Further, it is thought that certain magicians probably referred to these prophecies thousands of years later when a certain star rose over the land of Israel. Following that star those very magicians made history when they approached a certain king of Israel proclaiming…

Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  Ma. 2:2

This means that even in the Old Testament God was preparing the Gentiles for the message of the gospel that would be preached through Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, thousands of years later.

Just as an aside, there is a whole portion of this prophecy that was not fulfilled with Jesus’ first coming. This means it will be fulfilled with His second coming. Also interesting to note that star, “The Star of Bethlehem”,   may just have made another appearance over the Earth. If so what does that mean?

The Road Through Romans: The Gospel According To Moses

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We are currently working our way through Romans a verse (more like a word) at a time. If you have missed any of the discussion, it can be found on

THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

We have been discussing the truth that the Bible is a unified text, the theme of which is Jesus, from beginning to end. Specifically we have been discussing that the Old Testament writers were used step by step to unveil God’s plan to send a Savior from among men for men. As Paul says,

“…the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” Romans 1:2

I suppose the question can be asked, “Why did God not just reveal the whole plan at once?”

Paul offers us some insight when he says,

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor. 2:6-8

For God’s plan to work it had to be revealed in such a way that God’s enemies would not realize that they were undoing themselves by crucifying Christ. In some ways the cross was the greatest long con in history. By the time God’s plan was revealed it was too late to do anything about it. Still, the signs were there like puzzle pieces scattered across time just waiting for someone to put them all together. It strikes me that Jesus was the first one to do this on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection.

He (Jesus) said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24: 26-27

Jesus started his explanation of the gospel with Moses. Yes Moses was given a puzzle piece to share with the world too. In Deuteronomy 18 Moses shared these thoughts with the Israelites.

TheLord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

17The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name  Deut. 18:15-19

Like so many other Messianic prophecies this one lay hidden in between verses that seem to have little to do with Messiahship. Many probably looked at these verses and considered that they could speak of any prophet in general. Yet, the very words “like me” mark a certain prophet out from the rest of the prophets that crowd the annals of Israel’s history. Moses was a prophet of a different sort. He was the vessel that carried the ten plagues that brought low Egypt. He walked softly and carried a big stick that span ocean in two. Jeremiah was great but he was no Moses. Ezekiel? He was awesome. Moses rose above him. The prophet of Deuteronomy 18 would be like Moses. He would be a game-changer.

In preaching to the leaders of Israel after healing the crippled beggar Peter reveals the name of this prophet like Moses when he says, “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.”  Acts 3: 17-23

The Principle is this. The New Testament reality fulfills Old Testament Prophecy. What the Old Testament saints looked forward too we experience in full if wee believe.

How exciting is that?

The Road Through Romans: Noah’s Promise Through Abraham’s Eyes Pt. 2

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Yesterday we mentioned that the good news regarding a Savior for mankind was preached thousands of years before Christ was even born, through the stories of Noah and Abraham. If you have missed any part of our discussion in Romans you can find it on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

 We left off yesterday in this way,

So let’s ask, “What was going to happen in Abram’s life that would bless the whole world?

Many years after Genesis chapter twelve God would develop the promise a bit more and the promise of Messiah would begin to be seen more clearly than ever before.”

The story of that development is written in Genesis 22 and it goes like this,

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba”

In this chapter God promises that through Abraham’s (formerly Abram) offspring all nations on Earth will be blessed.

Paul explained that verse this way to the church in Galatia.

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[d] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[e] 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”[f] 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[g] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[i] meaning one person, who is Christ.   

Galatians 3:7-16

Abraham may not have had the particulars but he taught his children that someone was coming who would fix the human race.

That was good news almost four thousand years before Christ!

The Road Through Romans: 1:2:3 Noah’s Promise Through Abram’s Eyes

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We are continuing our study verse by verse through the book of Romans. This week we are using Romans 1:2 to take a peek back through time to see that the gospel (good news) about Jesus was preached even in the Old Testament.

If you have missed any of our discussions they can be found on…

THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

Romans 1:2 reads,

 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.

From this verse we understand that Paul was not preaching a new message in preaching the gospel (good news) about Jesus. He may have been bringing some new information to the table but the message was an ancient one. Yesterday we talked about how the message was first preached by God Himself in the Garden of Eden.

Today we turn to the end of the story of Noah to see how God used the first savior of mankind to proclaim some more information about the Savior Of Mankind.

I think we probably all know the story. Even many non-Christian societies have flood epics that are written into their cultural ethos but for the sake of making sure we are all on the same page I will share a brief summary of Noah’s history.

Noah was deemed by God to be the last righteous man on the face of the Earth.

God determined that He was left with no choice but to destroy the world by flood.

God told Noah to build a boat which would save himself, his immediate family and a small number of animals from the destruction to come.

Noah built the boat.

The flood came,

The world was destroyed.

The waters receded.

Noah and the animals got out of the boat.

The world started going back to normal, which was a bad thing.

Noah, a man of the soil, proceededa to plant a vineyard. 21When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

24When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25he said,

“Cursed be Canaan!

The lowest of slaves

will he be to his brothers.”

26He also said,

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!

May Canaan be the slave of Shem.

27May God extend Japheth’sb territory;

may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,

and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” Genesis 9:20-27

It may seem a small thing and maybe even to the listeners this father’s curse may have seemed nothing more than a Dad getting mad, but there was something of the prophetic being uttered here.

God was singling out the line of Shem to be the dominant among the three brothers. And while the whole world and even the hosts of Heaven may have missed it, God was singling out Shem’s family to be the genetic line of Messiah. Canaan (the son of Ham) was to be totally supplanted by Shem and to become Shem’s slave and Japheth was to find his protection in the tent of Shem.

Ten generations later God is speaking to one of Shem’s great- great and so forth grandsons, Abram. God says, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2“I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.a

3I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”b

4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspringc I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Did you note the words “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” ? Did you note that Abram was being given the land that belonged to the Canaanites (the sons of Canaan the son of Ham)?

What was going to happen in Abram’s life that would bless the whole world?

Many years later God would develop the promise a bit more and the promise of Messiah would begin to be seen more clearly than ever before.

Tune in tomorrow for more of the Old Testament Gospel.