READING FOR JUNE 10, 2024: GENESIS 49, GALATIANS 2, PSALM 51:13-19 GENESIS 49 Last words are sometimes quite dramatic. Jesus tops the list by telling His disciples to evangelize the world; then he ascends into the heavens. Jacob’s sendoff was remarkable, too. He gave each of his 12 sons a blessing that included their past actions and future life paths. These paths have impacted human history all the way to the present day. After he pronounces these blessings, he gives them details for his burial, lays down, and dies.
Jacob’s pronouncements weren’t all positive. Reuben’s sexual indiscretion and Simeon’s and Levi’s violent response to Dinah’s abduction led Jacob to foresee bad days ahead for them. Nonetheless, God eventually used Moses, a descendant of Levi, to be the great leader of the Exodus and all other Levites to serve Him in the Temple. As mentioned in Jacob’s blessing, though, the Levites did not ever have a region of their own to call their homeland.
Jacob’s blessings on Joseph and Judah predicted promising futures. Joseph obviously had already achieved prominence surpassing his brothers and ancestors. Judah’s descendants would include both the kings of Israel and the Jesus, the king of all kings. The reference to Judah as a lion is reprised in Revelation 5:5, naming Jesus as the Lion of Judah. C.S. Lewis also referred to Jesus as Aslan the Lion in The Chronicles of Narnia.
From the content of his blessings, it appears that Jacob never truly forgave the sins of Reuben, Simeon and Levi—even though Jacob was not flawless himself. How wonderful in comparison is God’s grace to us who believe in the sinless Jesus as a result of His being held accountable for our sins: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1: 7). THIS IS THE GOSPEL!
GALATIANS 2 After reading this study guide, it would be good to reread Galatians 2 and then reread this guide. The topic is that important and can be that difficult to understand. Certainly, it is challenging to convey clearly.
After 14 years of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, Paul went back to Jerusalem and let the church leadership examine his message. He did this because some “false brothers” thought Paul was teaching incorrect doctrine. But Peter, John, and James supported Paul’s message and those converted through it. They did not require Gentile converts to adhere to the ceremonial law: such as circumcision or a kosher diet.
Soon after that, Peter visited the church in Antioch, Paul’s base of operations. There, Peter apparently ate non-kosher food with uncircumcised believers in Jesus without a concern.
READING FOR JUNE 10, 2024 CONTINUED: GALATIANS 2, PSALM 51:13-19 Then some Jewish believers in Jesus came from James, who seemed to be the leader of the church in Jerusalem (see Acts 15). Suddenly, out of concern for the reaction of these Jewish Christians, Peter disassociated himself from the Gentile believers and reverted back to the ways of the Mosaic Law. This in turn impacted the behavior of the rest of the Jewish Christians in Galatia, even Paul’s trusted coworker Barnabus. Somewhat shockingly, this public act called for Paul to publicly rebuke Peter for acting as if faith in the completed work of Jesus was not sufficient to make the believer acceptable in the sight of God—that somehow doing the ceremonial works of the law was still required.
Paul asks if not keeping the ceremonial law (such as in kosher food and circumcision) is sin, does that mean that faith in the justifying work of Jesus does not free us from sin (vs. 17)? Paul answers that the law itself showed him that our justification comes only from dying to ourselves, to our works, and living in the forgiveness and power of the living Christ (vs. 19-20). Ponder again his last statement: “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” THIS IS THE GOSPEL!
PSALM 51:13-19 David seems to link his state of unconfessed sin, unclean heart, and lack of joy to his being ineffective in converting unbelievers to faith. Might an ineffectiveness in our Christian witness be linked in this same way? David certainly believes a restored relationship with God will facilitate his bringing unbelievers to God. Perhaps we might pray for this closer relationship with God and then likewise commit to sharing the good news of God as David intended: “Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation; then mytongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. Lord, open my lips, so that my mouth may declare Your praise” (vs. 14-15). So often we think the way we live our lives is sufficient testimony to others about our faith so that we don’t need words. Not so with David.
Why does the Psalmist say in verse 16 that God doesn’t delight in burnt offerings when God commanded Israel to offer them? In fact, verse 19 says God does delight in these offerings. It is because God cares much more about the intent of our heart than our religious activity. He is making a point that we must embrace. John the Baptist was sent to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus by telling us we are in a state of condemnation and need to repent. Jesus’s first words of ministry? “Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”’ (Matt. 4:17). We are not OK. We are not good. We need to repent in order to receive the sacrifice of Jesus our savior and then follow Him as Lord. THIS TOO IS THE GOSPEL!
