January 17
Gen 35-36 | PS 15 | Prov 3:21-26 | Matt 12:1-21
Nothing in Scripture is there by accident. We read of the death of Rachel in childbirth in Bethlehem giving birth to Benjamin, which means “Son of the right hand” in Genesis 35:16-20. Jesus, quoting Psalm 110:1 in Matthew 22:43-44, uses His sitting at the right hand of the Father in His defense to the Pharisees of His being Messiah. Bethlehem is then seen as the location of Ruth and Boaz, Boaz being the “Goel”, or Kinsmen-Redeemer. Jesus is our Kinsmen-Redeemer. Continuing with Bethlehem we next see it as the birthplace of King David, and we know from 2 Samuel 7:12-16, that the “Son of David” is a Messianic title of the future Messiah. Prophetically, later in the prophet Micah 5:2, we read, ““But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”” A little over 700 years after this prophecy and around 1800 years from when Rachel gave birth we see our Savior born in the tiny town in Bethlehem as described in Luke 2:1-7. Realize at the time of Jesus’ birth, Bethlehem was a tiny town (perhaps a population of 300) around 5 miles south of Jerusalem. One last item to consider is when we get to the throne room in Revelation 4, various gemstones are featured. These stones bring us to Exodus 28, and the breastplate of the high priest to understand their significance. The twelfth stone, representing Benjamin is jasper and as previously stated, signifies “Son of my right hand”. I hope this wasn’t too laborious. I just hoped to point out that everything, and I mean everything in Scripture is both meaningful and relevant. Nothing is there by chance. So many of the prophetical implications are probably not even realized.
Back to the story of Jacob. Though Jacob had made a decision to cling onto God and receive a blessing in Genesis 32:24-29, he was told previously what to do in Genesis 32:9, “Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:”. But, when Jacob left Esau, he stopped in Shechem, 80 miles north of Beersheba which is the land of his fathers. So, he acted in disobedience. Partial following, partial obedience is still disobedience. God allows us our free will, but He loves us too much to simply overlook our acts of disobedience. Just as we correct or discipline our children, God disciplines His children. This little act of disobedience caused him the rape of his daughter, and an entire city murdered at the hands of two of his sons: Simeon and Levi (Genesis 34). God offers us so much, but how often we diminish what He gives us for mere trinkets.
Many fail to realize that the Sabbath was a wonderful gift given to His children as a means of rest and spending a day to focus and gain guidance from Him. But from when the law was first handed down to Moses around 1400 BC, until the time of Jesus, years later, this gift had been turned into a multi-volume set of difficult rules by the religious leaders. Rules like a tailor could not have a pin in his clothes on the Sabbath as this constituted work. To modern times when you can’t press an elevator button because that constitutes an electrical spark and therefore work, but you can walk up those 10 flights of stairs. So, when Jesus appears to break the Sabbath, He is purposely breaking the man-made traditions which robbed the joy from the beautiful law given by God. We see this in the confrontation between his disciples and the Pharisees about plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath, which the Pharisees launch their accusation in Matthew 12:2, “And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” After further explaining His point, Jesus concludes this interaction in 12:7-8, “ But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”” He then directly confronts the leaders with a question in 12:10, “ And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.” We serve a perfect God. But we, His people, are anything but perfect. May we learn to humble ourselves before our God. When things don’t make sense, if something in Scripture doesn’t seem to resonate, just remember every time, and I mean every time He and His word are correct, and if your opinion differs, then it is your opinion which is incorrect, every time. His Word is perfect and deeper than we can even begin to realize.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: