January 18
Genesis 47:28-50:26
One common objection skeptics have against the Bible is that God is not as clear about certain moral issues, like slavery, as they think he should have been. The Bible gives principles that would ultimately eradicate slavery but, as we read through the Old Testament, we may find ourselves wrestling with why God would seem to go along with the culture in various ways. Despite these concerns we must acknowledge that God continually pushes against the cultures which were written about in the Bible. In Jacob's time, the firstborn received double the inheritance, was heir to royalty, and essentially the chosen one. Yet God is more than willing to subvert these values when he has Jacob bless Ephraim over Manasseh.
Flipping this cultural script has already been seen in Jacob and Esau, Ishmael and Isaac, and in the promise that Judah, the fourth born, would be the line from which the "ruler's staff" would come. This promise of kingship from the line of Judah is the promise of Jesus. In Christ the role of a servant is exalted, the poor are blessed, and through suffering comes glory. God calls us to take off the cultural scripts in which we were born and replace it with Jesus'. This may put us swimming against the tide of our world but will put us in alignment with God’s desires.
Father God, help me to follow you and not the ways of the world. Help me to see true greatness is found in following you and not in the power, wealth, and prestige of society. Amen.
How do you see cultural values at play in a harmful way in your life? How can we replace these values with those of God?
One common objection skeptics have against the Bible is that God is not as clear about certain moral issues, like slavery, as they think he should have been. The Bible gives principles that would ultimately eradicate slavery but, as we read through the Old Testament, we may find ourselves wrestling with why God would seem to go along with the culture in various ways. Despite these concerns we must acknowledge that God continually pushes against the cultures which were written about in the Bible. In Jacob's time, the firstborn received double the inheritance, was heir to royalty, and essentially the chosen one. Yet God is more than willing to subvert these values when he has Jacob bless Ephraim over Manasseh.
Flipping this cultural script has already been seen in Jacob and Esau, Ishmael and Isaac, and in the promise that Judah, the fourth born, would be the line from which the "ruler's staff" would come. This promise of kingship from the line of Judah is the promise of Jesus. In Christ the role of a servant is exalted, the poor are blessed, and through suffering comes glory. God calls us to take off the cultural scripts in which we were born and replace it with Jesus'. This may put us swimming against the tide of our world but will put us in alignment with God’s desires.
Father God, help me to follow you and not the ways of the world. Help me to see true greatness is found in following you and not in the power, wealth, and prestige of society. Amen.
How do you see cultural values at play in a harmful way in your life? How can we replace these values with those of God?
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