Sunday, January 05, 2014

January 2, 2014 Devotional - Genesis 3 & 4, Matthew 2

Genesis 3 – The Fall 
A serpent that God made deceived the woman, and she disobeyed God, and the man followed in disobeying God. God punished the serpent by cursing it and promising its defeat through the offspring of Eve. Eve was punished by experiencing difficulty in bearing children and desiring for her husband. Adam was punished by the difficulty it would take to work the ground for food, and in the certainty of death. The man’s name was Adam, and he named the woman Eve, because she was the mother of all living. God is seen as a plurality again, and he killed animals to make clothing for Adam and Eve, and He banished them from the Garden of Eden, and stationed cherubim with a flaming, whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 4 – Cain Murders Abel 
Adam and Eve had Cain and the Abel. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer. God regarded Abel’s offering of the firstborn and fat portions more than Cain’s offering from the field, which indicates two things, that Cain’s heart was wrong, and that his offering was not the first fruits that were the best and most desirable. In anger and depression Cain killed Abel. God pronounced that the ground would no longer bear him fruit and he became a wanderer, who was not to be killed by others. Adam and Eve had another Child, Seth, and in His time people began to call on the name of the Lord.

Matthew 2 - Wisemen/Fleeing to Egypt/Massacre of Infant Boys/Settling in Nazareth
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, kings came from the east to Jerusalem asking where the one born King of the Jews was, for they had seen His star. Herod and all Jerusalem was disturbed. He asked the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah was to be born, and they replied from Scripture "Bethlehem of Judea". Herod summoned the wise men to find out when the star appeared, and asked them to report to him where the Child was so he could "worship" Him. They left, and the star led them to Jesus. They went in the house and saw Mary with the child and gave treasure of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In a dream they were warned not to return to Herod, so they returned home on another route. Then an angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt and stay until he told him, because Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him. In the night Joseph, Mary, and Jesus escaped. When Herod learned that the wisemen outwitted him he gave orders to kill all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and younger. All of this was to fulfill Scripture in Jeremiah. After Herod died an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel, he obeyed. Because Herod's son, Archelaus, was ruling Judea, Joseph was scared to go there, and after being warned in a dream he withdrew to Galilee. There they settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill Scripture that He would be called a Nazarene.

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