A Bride Worth Waiting For

January 3, 2016 Background Scripture: Genesis 28 – 30 Lesson Passage: Genesis 29:15 – 30 The Eastern culture’s norms concerning betrothal, engagement, and marriage can seem quite strange when viewed in the light of the Western culture’s romanticized view of love, engagement, and marriage. One can argue that the various types of pre-arranged marriages used in the East really can serve to bring stability to families which will in turn translate into stability in the community. From a Western perspective, a number of those Eastern marriage arrangements look more like business deals or contracts than love and happiness. This is not to say that romance cannot blossom from an arranged pairing. On the other hand, I believe that today’s Western society is proof that it takes more than feelings and positive emotions to hold a marriage together for decades. Likewise, we can also witness that marriages arranged in the East don’t necessarily survive if true love does not develop between husband and wife. Our lesson today presents one of the arranged—or perhaps better defined as negotiated marriage arrangements of the East. When Jacob met the woman that he believed to be his dream wife, Rachel, he arranged to hire himself out for seven years as a servant to her father as a form of dowry in exchange for his approval to marry his daughter. As can be seen, the arrangement in our lesson was somewhat of a composite between the West’s romanticized view of “boy meets girl and falls in love” and the East’s respect for the “quasi-business arrangement involving a dowry”. The dowry represented some form of wealth that a man must bring in exchange for the privilege of marrying his bride. In other words, Rachel was Jacob’s choice but there remained the business to be taken care of with her father to gain his approval of the marriage. The dowry was the business side of this arrangement. Based on the scriptures, it appears that Jacob might well have been more of a romantic than he was a shrewd businessman. After Jacob labored for seven years, Rachel’s father pulled a fast one and swapped her sister, Leah, in her stead on the night the marriage was to be consummated. Of course this “swap out” was not discovered until the next morning after Jacob apparently consummated his marriage to the wrong girl! How disappointing this must have been to Jacob after seven years of labor invested. This brings me to the topic of this lesson: “A Bride Worth Waiting For”. Because Rachel was Jacob’s choice and not merely the product of an arranged marriage, Jacob had a serious decision to make. Jacob agreed to serve Rachel’s father an additional seven years in exchange for Rachel—the woman he wanted from the start. In total, that’s over fourteen years of labor in exchange for the approval of the bride’s father. That is a very high price to pay no matter how it is viewed. In today’s terms, that’s almost half of a career in many areas of work. To Jacob, she was worth it. After fourteen years of labor, Jacob finally had the bride of his choice and he knew she was “A Bride Worth Waiting For”. Robert C. Hudson December 5, 2015

A Generous Gift

December 27, 2015 Background Scripture: Matthew 23:1 – 12; Mark 12:38 – 44 Lesson Passage: Matthew 23:2 – 12; Mark 12:38 – 44 Giving is an act of love. Generosity is a degree of love. A generous gift is at act of love at its highest degree. Most people I know appreciate receiving gifts. Simple and inexpensive gifts are appreciated just as much as gifts that are more than that. However, when gifts cross the line—and the line is not necessarily well defined, and it seems that there is something unusually special about the gift, we deem the givers as being generous. Generosity always exceeds our expectations of what one would receive from another. In our lesson today, Jesus validated the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees but condemned their actions for trying to make themselves important in the eyes of others. (It should be noted that Jesus admonished the multitude to follow the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees but not their example. This takes away the excuse many use to not be involved or even come to church because of the shortcomings of leaders. Ministry leaders are ordained of God and therefore their teachings are also ordained but their examples are not always what they should be. Although I have not found a record that shows that the scribes and Pharisees taught people to “do as I say and not as I do”, this is precisely what Jesus instructed the people to do.) After condemning the actions of the teachers of Israel, who had the privilege of sitting in the leadership position once occupied by Moses, Jesus went on to teach the multitude how to receive freely from God what the scribes and Pharisees were attempting to take for themselves. Those who want to be exalted should learn to serve others with humility. Then God will gladly give them the recognition and accolades that were being sought by those who were placing themselves above those they were sent to serve. This reminds me of a simple lesson I was taught many years ago: If you take care of your character, God will take care of your reputation. The gift that God gives freely to those who belong to Him and trust Him is that He will exalt them far above any level they can attain on their own. This is an expression of God’s generosity brought about by the proper attitude of His servant. Our society teaches that those who are great in society have others at their beck and call. Some will even dare measure their success by the number of servants they employ or the number of people who trip over themselves to follow them voluntarily. True success, as described by Jesus, can only be measured by the number of people one chooses to serve in humility. By extrapolation, the greatest of all is the one who humbly serves everyone. This greatness is bestowed on the individual by God and is not received by the individual from the multitude. The true servant gives his life to serve others and thereby offers himself as a generous gift to those who are served. With this understanding, now we can begin to explore God’s gift of Jesus to a sin-sick world. Jesus, in turn, gave his life to serve others and then as a ransom for all who put their trust in him. The proof of his generosity is the indwelling Holy Ghost who comforts, leads, and instructs all believers who open their hearts to receive God’s generous gift of His son. Robert C. Hudson November 20, 2015

Dedication of the Firstborn

December 20, 2015 Background Scripture: Exodus 13:11 – 16; Leviticus 12:1 – 8; Numbers 3:5 – 13; Luke 2:21 – 39 Lesson Passage: Exodus 13:13b – 15; Luke 2:22 – 32 The dedication of the firstborn of Israel was one of several memorials the Lord established to be a teaching tool from generation to generation throughout Israel’s history. This memorial was to be used to teach future generation about the final plague God used in Egypt to deliver their ancestors from bondage. God sent a death angel throughout Egypt to kill the firstborn of mankind and beasts but He protected the firstborn of Israel under the blood of the Passover lamb. Since God delivered Israel’s firstborn from destruction by the death angel, He claims all of Israel’s firstborn as His own, forever. Initially, Israel was commanded to acknowledge God’s claim to the firstborn by setting them apart for God’s service at the time of birth. The firstborn males of animals were to be offered as a sacrifice to God or redeemed. This commemoration by setting apart or redemption of the firstborn of animals and children at the time of birth in Israel was to be practiced throughout Israel’s generations after they were delivered from Egyptian bondage. However, during the wilderness years before Israel entered into Canaan, God changed the redemption process for firstborn children. God chose to separate the tribe of Levi as holy unto Him to serve as priests of the Lord rather than the firstborn from each family. All of the Levites were taken, instead of the firstborn, and set apart for the Lord’s service. (This was in keeping with the blessings Jacob pronounced on his sons before he died. Jacob declared that Levi and Simeon would not both inherit because of the brutal way in which the two brothers massacred an entire village to defend the honor of their sister who had been violated by one of the villagers. When their father Jacob learned of their deed, he was in awe of it and concerned as to how it would appear to the neighbors seeing that the Israelites were foreigners in Canaan at the time it occurred. Jacob remembered the incident as he blessed each of his sons prior to his death.) Not only were the firstborn children required to be set aside for the Lord and redeemed, but the mother who had given birth had to follow a purification process prescribed by God. Although the Levites were charged with serving the Lord as priests all of their days instead of the firstborn of Israel, the firstborn were still required to be presented before the Lord after the days of purification of the mother. After the process was completed, she had to bring an offering to the priest to be presented to God to atone for her. All mothers in Israel were required to comply with the purification process but the offering to be sacrificed afterwards varied depending on the family’s ability based on their substance. No one was exempt because of poverty or lack. It is this provision of the Law that gives us some insight into the financial status of Jesus’ earthly parents. Mary’s offering after her days of purification is an indication that she was a poor person but yet obedient to the Law. It was this obedience that led her to dedicate her firstborn, Jesus. Robert C. Hudson November 16, 2015

Acceptable Offerings

December 13, 2015 Background Scripture: Leviticus 22:17 – 33; 23:9 – 14, 31 – 33; Deuteronomy 22:6, 7; Micah 6:6 – 8; Isaiah 1:10 – 20; Romans 12:1, 2; 1 Corinthians 10:14 – 22 Lesson Passage: Leviticus 22:17 – 25, 31 – 33 When we believe that the one receiving is the most blessed, then our attitude about giving is anything but what God requires of us. With this attitude, the giver is likely to think that he is bestowing the blessings himself. However, if we begin with the precepts about giving that are found in the word of God, then our understanding—and hence our attitude—about giving will be quite different. Through the bible, God shares much about giving and receiving. A very important biblical precept is not included in the background scriptures but it says “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” When our thinking is twisted about the human act of giving to others, then it can be difficult to understand God’s requirements concerning our gifts to Him. God requires that we respect His choice of human channels through whom we are to give gifts to Him—or through whom He will receive them. Sadly, many never make it pass that stumbling block. Once we get beyond the people God uses, we are then expected to understand and comply with God’s standard of acceptability of offerings. This may be a newsflash for some: God does not have to accept whatever we choose to give Him! I warn you not to get too far “off the chain” because God may choose to take it all from you and give it to someone who will honor His standard. So let’s look to the bible to gain an understanding of God’s standard of acceptability of offerings. First, offer one’s self to God by being just, merciful, and humble. In other words, we should first make sure our vessels are acceptable to God by examining our attitude and motives concerning giving. We offer ourselves to God by allowing our character to be shaped by the word of God. We accept what God says in His word as the standard for right and wrong. No matter how perfect the gift or offering, it is made acceptable or unacceptable by the character of the giver. Perhaps some people insist you should take whatever they offer you because they do not yet realize this. Or, they don’t want their character to be examined in light of the gift or maybe the gift is being used as a smokescreen to hide some character flaw. I am suspicious of people who believe the worth of the gift is based on the fact that they are the ones offering it. Secondly, offerings for God should be brought to God’s house or the place(s) where God chooses to place His name. How do we know if a location is such a place? We know by the fruits of those who congregate there. God is at work in His house and the results speak for themselves. If the congregation convening at a specific location is being led by God, their works will manifest it. If they are doing the works of God, then this is a proper place to bring an offering for God. Your offering should not have a blemish, or in other words, should be what you would desire to keep for yourself. If it is being offered in thanksgiving, then it should be a freewill offering and not coerced or the amount determined by someone else. We should offer the first fruits to God and only consume for ourselves after this offering is made. After we have humbled ourselves, we honor God by giving Him the first and the best of what we have. This is an acceptable offering. Robert C. Hudson November 16, 2015