February 8

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 8, 2024: GENESIS 4, MATTHEW 4, PSALM 3                              GENESIS 4                                                                                                                                                 Eve gave birth to Cain in the same way non-miraculous births happen every day, but she still correctly credited God’s help. This reminds us that God provides for us in all things all the time. Every good gift comes from God, even if not a result of a supernatural act. Let’s join Eve.

She then gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel, who took a different career path than Cain. Each brother presented God an offering from his work—a good idea. God was pleased with Abel’s offering but not with Cain’s. The Bible does not say why, but it does say that Abel’s offering was the first-fruit or firstlings of his flock. Perhaps Abel’s giving this best portion of his work to God was the difference. 

It is sad that the act of bringing an offering to God, a good thing, eventually led to jealousy, violence, God’s cursing of Cain, and Cain leaving God’s presence. This progression might serve as a negative example for us: 1) not giving ourselves or our best to God leading to 2) allowing anger and jealousy toward others to fester leading to 3) committing sin and even violence leading to 4) experiencing the consequences for that sin—all happening in a worship context.

God encouraged Cain to break this chain of negativity by not allowing this disappointment to turn to anger. In verses 6-7, He advises Cain to learn from this experience, honor God in the way God has prescribed, and watch out for the deceitfulness of sin. This is God’s will for us today and will help us avoid much pain in life. Easier said than done, but doable with God.

As the generations pass, we learn of the first city, named Enoch; the first musician, named Jubal; and the first iron worker, named Tubal-cain. Lamech--who likely caused himself problems by marrying two wives—tells of his crime that was similar to Cain’s. Like Cain, he shows no remorse for his sin, only concern that he might receive a worse punishment than Cain. It is interesting that he knew about Cain’s story, who lived generations before him. Yet, He did not seem to learn anything from that example. 

Questions to Consider: 

  • Have we ever allowed disappointment to turn into anger or jealousy toward another, perhaps even while involved in a church activity?
  • Do we have a plan for stopping the cycle of negative thoughts before it leads to sin?
  • How are we doing interacting with God in ways He has prescribed?
  • Do we regularly learn positive lessons from the past heroes of faith (Heb. 11) and negative ones from those who disobeyed Him (1 Cor. 10:6-12)?

READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 8 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 4, PSALM 3                                  MATTHEW 4 It seems that the Holy Spirit wanted Jesus to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness, away from other human support, and in a physically weakened state after having fasted 40 days. Partly because of this, the writer of the Hebrews makes the accurate claim that Jesus is a high priest aware of our most extreme challenges in life (Heb. 4:15). No mention is made that the Holy Spirit left Jesus during these trials. This could be significant. Notice also that in fending off each attack of Satan, Jesus fought back with what Paul describes in Ephesians 4:17 as the sword of the Spirit: THE WORD OF GOD.  That is one purpose of this Bible-reading plan—to equip us for the attacks of Satan that will certainly come our way.  If Jesus depended on the Bible and, as it said in Heb.4:15, was without sin, perhaps we should follow His example. 

  • Temptation 1—Satan, aware of Jesus’s great physical hunger, asked Jesus to turn stone into bread. Jesus used this opportunity to declare that every Word of God (not just the parts we like) is the more necessary to our life than food.
  • Temptation 2—Satan, knowing that Jesus could perform miracles, asked Jesus to jump off the top of the temple. Jesus, who later fed the thousands, healed the sick, and calmed the sea to serve others, did not do miracles just to prove Himself by recklessly placing himself in harm’s way and then expecting to be bailed out.
  • Temptation 3—Satan was possibly aware of Jesus’s plan to defeat him at the cross, albeit through the most painful experience possible. He gave Jesus the option of an earthly Kingdom without the pain, if He would just worship Satan. Jesus, committed to His mission and the much greater Kingdom of God, submitted to that longer-term mission and pain because of His obedience and His joy in loving us (Heb. 12:2).   

Ponder these questions:   

  • Is our knowledge of the Bible sufficient to withstand a Satanic attack?
  • Do we continually put ourselves in reckless situations and expect God to bail us out?
  • Are there any features of life—such as food, success, or personal relations—that mean more to us than our relationship with God? 

PSALM 3

David expressed these words while fleeing for his life from His son Absalom. The folks around David said even God could not save him this time. (I am afraid we can’t always count on others to give us good advice.) Not many of us have had such a dramatic encounter with our children. We have, however, had times of loss, sadness, or fear that overwhelm us. What did David do? 1) Cried out to the Lord; 2) Sought a Word from God; 3) Trusted in God and slept well; 4)Verbalized His confidence in God; and 5) Claimed that God had already smitten his enemies.  On this point, remember Ephesian 6 says our enemies now aren’t people but spiritual forces. Since the cross, our weapons are spiritual in nature. Don’t hit anyone!