Faithful During Distress

September 1, 2019 Background Scripture: Genesis 18:16 – 19:29 Lesson Passage: Genesis 19:1, 4, 5, 15 – 26, 29 During this next series of studies, our focus shifts from covenants to matters of faithfulness. If nothing else, the faithfulness of Christians should speak to our steadfastness during changing times and circumstances. Perhaps there’s no better place to start such a series than to look at Abraham, the father of the faithful. Abraham had many stressful events to unfold in his life according to the biblical record. Today’s lesson text presents one of those events. Abraham was warned by the Lord of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the rampant immorality that was practiced there. Part of the distress for Abraham was the fact that his nephew, Lot, was a prominent resident of Sodom at the time. God is sovereign and omnipotent and has the right to destroy whatever He chooses whenever He chooses to do it. Abraham believed that there were righteous people living among the wicked. Abraham asked whether the Judge of the whole earth would destroy righteous people along with wicked people. To do that would count the righteous people as wicked. The Lord said that He would not destroy Sodom if He found fifty righteous people living there. Abraham suggested that the number of righteous people that should warrant a reprieve from the Lord should be less than fifty. Therefore, Abraham besought the Lord with a petition that the Lord would spare those places for the sake of the righteous who lived there—not just his nephew. The Lord told Abraham that if He found ten righteous persons living in Sodom, He would not destroy it for their sake. In the language of the Old Testament, then the Lord departed from the presence of Abraham. The Lord knew that there were not ten righteous people living in Sodom, but He would deliver Abraham’s nephew and family from the place before the destruction. Therefore, the Lord sent two angels to Sodom to bring Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and Lot’s family out of Sodom before the destruction commenced. This answered Abraham’s concern that only wicked people living in Sodom be destroyed and the righteous delivered or spared destruction. Divine justice ensued but the family of faithful Abraham was mercifully delivered out of Sodom. One would think that relocating the righteous in the face of impending doom would have been fairly simple. However, the angels had to grab Lot, his wife, and their daughters by their hands and pull them out of Sodom. The Lord’s mercy is sometimes shown when He literally drags the unwilling away from imminent disaster. We often speak of Lot as being blessed by association. Abraham’s relationship with the Lord had provided many divine benefits to him and his family. Lot was the recipient of many of those blessings. Today’s lesson is an example of it. Because of Abraham’s faith, Lot and his family were pulled from Sodom before the destruction of the city began. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah still stands as a solemn warning that God’s mercy is great but His judgment is also sure to come. Such disasters will cause a lot of distress in the lives of those who are affected either directly or indirectly. Abraham was safe but his nephew, Lot, was in harm’s way. Abraham’s faithfulness to God became Lot’s salvation at a time of distress for Lot. Robert C. Hudson August 12, 2019

A Covenant of Love

August 25, 2019 Background Scripture: Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4 Lesson Passage: Ephesians 5:21 - 33 In the background scripture of today’s lesson, Paul gave a brief list of some characteristics of the relationship that should exist among Christians. Paul started the list by reminding the saints at Ephesus that their salvation is also a call for them to live out their lives according to the desires of God. Since Christ died for us, then we should live for him. The world is evil, but God has empowered Christians to live righteously in an evil world. Christ has broken the power of sin in the life of Christians. Therefore, how we live is a choice for Christians. Furthermore, how we interact with other Christians should be typical of actions befitting children of the same heavenly Father. Praising and worshiping God together should become part of our pattern of behavior. Put another way, Christians should seek opportunities to pray and worship God together. We are even told that we should not forsake assembling ourselves together. Beyond the assembly of Christians, we should accommodate each other by living in submission to each other. Paul’s instructions are definitely congruent with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus admonished his disciples to love one another. He went on to tell them that their love for each other would be the sign to all men that they were his disciples. These instructions would not be necessary if we naturally did these things. The truth is, we don’t do these things naturally. Therefore, we are instructed as to what it means to live as a community of believers in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I am reminded of a lesson I learned years ago in a secular career. Throughout the years, I have shared it with many others. The lesson was, “In this world, all we ever have to work with are real people. And each of us has flaws.” That simple lesson is sometimes extremely difficult to apply. Too often we focus on people’s imperfections and inconsistencies rather than on their strengths and personal support of our endeavors. Today’s lesson is a reminder that we should see the interactions between Christians as synonymous with the New Covenant. If we can understand and aspire to this within a local church congregation, then certainly this behavior should be no less within a Christian family. A wife who recognizes her independence in Christ should voluntarily submit to her husband as an act of obedience to God. A husband, likewise, should give sacrificially to support the welfare of his wife. Paul explained that marriage was patterned after the relationship between Christ and the church. The wife’s role is comparable to that of the church and the husband’s role is comparable to that of Christ. Christ voluntarily sacrificed himself for the church. He died a sinner’s death to pay the price for the sins of the church. He intercedes continuously in prayer for the church and continuously washes her with his word. He does this so that he can present the church as a perfect gift to himself. The church voluntarily submits to the Lordship of Christ, and over time allows herself to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is the divine description of love. Christians are united in a covenant of love. Robert C. Hudson July 31, 2019

A Mother-Daughter Covenant

August 11, 2019 Background Scripture: Ruth 1:1 – 18 Lesson Passage: Ruth 1:6 – 11, 14 – 18 Many women who lived during biblical times have not had their great deeds documented or actions appreciated perhaps because the societies they lived in were controlled by men. It is not very often that women are the focus of something positive in the scriptures. Today’s background scripture gives us information about a relationship between two women who lived in the shadow of their society. Their relationship with each other and their actions impacted the biblical genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Naomi was a wife and the mother of two sons. Her family traveled to the land of Moab to escape the famine in Judah. While in Moab, Naomi’s two sons married Moabite women. Naomi’s husband and both sons died in Moab. As a childless widow, Naomi was destined to become impoverished. Naomi urged her two daughters-in-law to return to their Moabite families so they could find husbands and she would return home to Judah. One daughter-in-law left to return to her family but the other, Ruth, refused to leave Naomi. To Ruth, Naomi had become her mother and she would stick with her through thick and thin. She refused to allow Naomi to push her away—even if it was for her own good. What Ruth said to Naomi is being looked at as a personal covenant in today’s lesson. In fact, the words of Ruth oftentimes can be found in various marriage vows spoken by the bride to the groom. Ruth pleaded with Naomi to stop asking her to leave. Ruth pledged to go and live wherever Naomi went to live. Ruth was pledging to give up her entire family just to go and live with Naomi. To make clear her intent, Ruth declared that she wanted Naomi’s family to become her family. Further, Ruth vowed to make Naomi’s God her God. This goes well beyond day-to-day living and brings in the element of faith and religion. Ruth pledged her entire being in covenant to Naomi—physically and spiritually. Ruth said that she was willing to die wherever Naomi died. Ruth stated that death would be the only acceptable reason for her to be separated from Naomi. The depth of Ruth’s commitment to Naomi was enough to silence Naomi. What person would go to such an extreme to show their allegiance to another? Ruth was not offering to make a sacrifice to benefit Naomi. Ruth offered her whole self as a sacrifice to benefit Naomi. Naomi’s husband and two sons had died, but God had placed a person in Naomi’s life who was more dedicated to her than any reasonable person would have been. There is no wonder that Naomi was silent. How could one respond to such a devoted person? Although our lesson title is, A Mother-Daughter Covenant, one must remember that Ruth was not Naomi’s daughter. Ruth was Naomi’s daughter-in-law. This makes Ruth’s commitment to Naomi even more special. Ruth was pledging all that she was and even what she could become. It is noteworthy that Ruth would extend herself in such a way. It begs the question as to how Naomi had presented herself to her daughter-in-law to elicit such devotion. Although the words may be found in modern wedding vows, Ruth’s commitment is worthy of the bloodline of God’s only begotten son. Robert C. Hudson July 20, 2019

Love One Another

July 14, 2019 Background Scripture: Matthew 5:21 – 32 Lesson Passage: Matthew 5:21 – 32 This lesson is Part 3 in this series that is taken from the Sermon on the Mount. In this lesson, Jesus teaches about the nature of sin. After careful consideration of what Jesus told them about sin, there is no wonder that at some point in Jesus’ ministry, someone noted that they had never heard anyone teach like that. Jesus did not focus exclusively on a person’s actions. Jesus taught that sin is a condition of a person’s heart. In other words, sin is a matter of the person’s inward disposition and not to be equated with the action that may or may not ensue. A person may never act immorally or unjustly towards another and yet they can still be very sinful. In fact, Jesus taught them that sin was present in the person before the person took action. That is radical teaching! This is the kind of teaching that would have been irritating to the Jewish religious leaders who made their reputation based on outward show. Their reputations were based on what they were known to do or not do. If you did not see them do it or could not prove that they had done it, then they considered themselves to be innocent of all sins. To this, Jesus said: Not so fast. You may never do a wrongful act publicly or privately and still be a very sinful person. As Jesus stated previously in this narrative, the believer’s righteousness must exceed that of an outward display of holiness or piety. Jesus encouraged his followers to resolve any differences they may have with another person. Jesus gave this a higher priority than bringing a gift to the altar. In fact, he taught that reconciliation should be sought before a gift is offered on or at the altar. He also taught that personal harm can be limited by making reconciliation with one’s enemy rather than going before a judge or arbitrator. Jesus taught that even something as egregious as murder is a secondary response to internal sin. Murder is the repercussion of the sin that is internalized within the sinner. Likewise, he dealt with the subject of adultery. Jesus defined the lust of the sinner as the sin. So, even if the person does not act beyond their lust, the sin has been committed in the person’s heart. Understanding this is what makes it abundantly clear that we need a Savior because we could never become righteous on our own. Our thoughts betray us. When we meditate on our thoughts, they can easily become lust. The Apostle Paul’s outburst was related to this understanding when he said, “O wretched man that I am!” The old adage that you can’t judge a book by its cover is especially true when it comes to sin. When it comes to the true spiritual condition of the person, it is a matter of what’s on the inside that counts. This is central to what Jesus was teaching his followers. Sin is present inside of a person. Unrighteous and immoral actions are manifestations of internal sin. The other saying that we sometimes hear is, “It doesn’t hurt to look.” Well, according to Jesus’ teaching, maybe it does hurt to look. With so much sin, with and without actions, it is best that we practice loving one another—even more so, now that we have a better understanding of the true nature of sin. Robert C. Hudson June 19, 2019